Healthy Children's Recipes

I can't claim that it is the easiest task in the world to cast my mind back "xx" years and recall precisely how my own parents persuaded my brother and I to eat real food that was good for us as well as tasty, but I will share here those distinct memories that do spring readily to mind. Perhaps I should ask my parents if they would care to contribute more material for this section...?

I will point out that getting me to eat was never a problem for my parents. I am very reliably informed that the first word I ever spoke was, "More!" and that it related to a mealtime request. Getting me to eat the right types of food, however, was not always so straightforward.

Probably my earliest food memories relate to my mother making a smiling face on my plate. A favourite recipe in Scotland when I was growing up was minced (ground) beef and potatoes - or mince and tatties, as it was and still is colloquially known. I do not recall being in any way adverse to eating the main dish - but the accompanying vegetables I was served, such as but not limited to broccoli and carrots, were not quite so appetising to my child self. What my mother did was mash the potatoes and mix them with the mince to make the "body" of the face before using the vegetables to add features such as the eyes, the nose and the smiling mouth. It's a simple idea - probably emulated around the world with different types of produce - but simple ideas are often the best and I can personally vouch for the fact that this practice certainly got one child eating his vegetables!

I do not (yet!) have a smiley mince and tatties image to include as the accompanying photograph for this section, but on the basis that many children love fried chicken, click here for my Healthy Pan-Fried Chicken recipe, as seen above right.

The BLT - bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich - is not in itself an unhealthy type of sandwich. It is the manner in which it is generally prepared and the type of bun upon which it is served that generally causes the problems. Why not, therefore, try making it at home, following these simple instructions, and give your kids a treat similar to what they are used to - but one which will not introduce the same noxious chemicals in to their vulnerable bodies.

Click here to get the full recipe for this delicious and healthy BLT sandwich today!