10 helpful tips to getting families eating healthier

1. Lead by example. If you are making healthy food choices and offering them to your children they are much more likely to follow suit. Sitting together as a family for at least one meal a day is something that everyone will benefit from.
2. They won’t starve: Ensure the food they eat isn’t just ‘kids food’ in other words your plate and theirs looks the same, just smaller. They may turn their noses up the first few times, but if nothing is offered in place of it you will surprised how a child will come round. A hungry child becomes a lot less fussy, believe me it works!
3. Educate yourself: Get to know what healthy eating is. It’s very hard to ensure your children are getting the right food if you don’t know yourself. There are lots of websites and forums which give you information, but a good rule of thumb is, the closer the food is to it’s original state (e.g an apple is in it’s original state, processed square chicken nuggets look nothing like a chicken!) the better it is for you. Processed, ready meals – even when labelled ‘low fat’ or ‘healthy’ are usually very far removed from this. These should be used sparingly if at all. Making food from scratch is not as time consuming as people think. You can email me at jillskitchen 2012@gmail.com for some great FREE family meal recipes that are budget conscious and easy to do (they also freeze great so you can be extra prepared!)
4. Get them involved. Don’t panic, but including children in shopping trips to supermarkets has proven to get them more interested in the food they consume.You can choose age appropriate tasks for little ones. If they are sitting in the trolley, hand them the produce naming it as you do and let them put it in the trolley..best not to do this with eggs and such like! Older kids can have their own shopping lists and tick off items as they go or it can even be a game to see who completes their list first. Get kids to help unpack bags at home and then set them age appropriate tasks to help with prep too.
5. Grow your own. Studies have shown and my experience in my home and cooking classes has bore fruit(excuse the pun!) to this, when children are involved in growing fruits and vegetables there is a better chance that they will then be interested in eating it. Whether you have a balcony or an acre plot grow your own has become a lot easier in the past few years. I have found the people at quickcrop.ie extremely knowledgeable and helpful and they have some pretty funky tools on their website that make it easy even for someone like me!
6. Work with their tastes. If you and your family lean towards sweeter items then work with rather against this by purchasing (or growing) some sweeter produce—such as strawberries, sweet peas, corn, oranges and similar foods—to make this trait work in your favor.
7. Make it a game. There are arguments for and against this, but if you’ve ever dealt with a fussy eater you’ll try anything and in the scale of things this isn’t a bad one. Let children arrange fruits in snacks into faces or animals and engage their creative side.
8. Discerning palates: Children have double the taste buds that adults have so they can be more susceptible to subtle tastes or changes in food. But this is not a reason to shy away from mild spices or herbs and seasoning. Each child is different and some will find the texture of new food are what turns them off. Continue offering a child something they have turned their nose up at in the past, a good way of doing this is offering it to them when a friend is over, competitiveness amongst their peers can be a powerful tool!
9. Positive Reinforcement: Focus on using positive talk around food choices. E.g tasting new foods -  even if they don’t eat them is something to be encouraged.
10. Don’t give up. It can be a battle, but it’s one worth winning. Keep at it, and soon your family will be asking for seconds!

Turkey Sausage Frittata

Using either fairy cake or muffin tins you can make these and they can be frozen.
I used a regular cupcake tin (which is a little deeper than ‘fairycake’ one for the quantities below but really just use whatever you have, fill to the top and then they will rise a little to give a nice ‘muffin’ top – the only one you’ll see after following the 3 day detox (www.facebook.com/jkjuiceireland) and a healthy eating regime.

 Note: You can use a different types of protein for this, turkey burgers, chicken, tuna, lean beef pieces, just make sure you cook any raw protein BEFORE putting into the frittatas.

For 5 cupcake size frittatas you will need:

INGREDIENTS:

5 organic free range eggs
(you can use more whites than full eggs if you want)
2 Turkey sausages – cooked and sliced into small thumb-nail size cubes (165g)
½ leek or ½ white or red onion
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon tumeric
2 handfuls spinach
black pepper
pinch sea salt

METHOD:

Cook off the turkey sausages and cut into bite size pieces
When starting to brown add the leeks/onions. Cook for 3 minutes
Add garlic and spinach and cook for about 1 minute
Remove all from pan
Meanwhile using a fork whisk eggs in a bowl  and add pepper & salt, chilli and turmeric (or whatever spices you are using)
Add the cooked sausages and onion mixture and combine.
Grease the tins using a little coconut oil
Add enough mixture to each one to reach below the rim
Cook in preheated oven at Gas Mark 3/ 150⁰C for approx 20 mins. The egg will be just set in the middle.
Leave to cool for just a few minutes  (leave them too long and they will stick to the tins) and use a knife or spatula to go around the edges to release from the tins.

Eat hot or cold!

Pretzels

Ingredients

Makes 8 large

300g strong white bread flour
2 teaspoons castor sugar
1 x 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
¾ teaspoon salt
225ml lukewarm milk
1 large egg

Method

Put the flour, salt, sugar & yeast into a bowl and combine
Add the milk
Press and squeeze everything together so it makes a soft dough
Add a little extra flour or milk if needed
Lightly sprinkle the worktop with flour and knead the dough thoroughly for about 5 minutes
Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with clingfilm
Leave to rest and rise for about 30 minutes
Turn it out onto the worktop, no need for flour
Divide into 8 equal pieces and leave on the worktop for 5 minutes, uncovered
Using your hands, roll each ball of dough out to about 45cm, if it starts to stick use a little flour on your hands
Try and get the width of the dough even along the whole sausage shape
To shape: bend it into a U shape and then cross over one end from right to left and then the other from left to right, so that the bent ‘legs’ of the U now cross in the middle
Carefully lift onto a lined baking sheet and leave enough space for expansion between each pretzel
Beat the egg and add 1 tablespoon water to it.
Lightly brush the dough with this mixture and add any other toppings you would like at this point, e.g sea salt flakes, or cheese
Place in preheated oven 220⁰C/425⁰F/Gas 7 for approx 15 minutes
Meanwhile, melt 30g butter  and have it ready with a pastry brush when they are cooked
Remove from oven and brush lightly wit the melted butter to give them a lovely sheen
Place on wire rack to cool

Enjoy!

Rudolph Cupcakes

 

Ingredients

• 200g butter, cubed
• 200g plain chocolate, broken into squares
• 200g light soft brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250g self-raising flour

For the icing

• 200g plain chocolate, broken into squares
• 100ml double cream, not fridge-cold
• 50g icing sugar

For the reindeers

• 12 large milk chocolate buttons (we used Cadbury Dairy Milk Giant Buttons)
• 24 white chocolate buttons
• 12 red Smarties
• black icing pens
• mini pretzels, carefully cut in half horizontally

1. Get started: Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases. Gently melt the butter, chocolate, sugar and 100ml hot water together in a large saucepan, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool a little while you weigh the other ingredients.
2. Make your cakes: Stir the eggs and vanilla into the chocolate mixture. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl, and stir in the chocolate mixture until smooth. Spoon into the cases until just over three-quarters full. Bake on a low shelf in the oven for 20-22 mins. Leave to cool.
3. Ice the tops: To make the icing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Once melted, turn off the heat, stir in the double cream, sift in the icing sugar and mix well. When spreadable, top each cake with some icing.
4. Have fun decorating: Position a milk chocolate button on top of each cake, then 2 white chocolate buttons above it. Use a little icing as glue to stick a red Smartie onto the milk chocolate button for a nose. Then use your icing pens to draw black dots on the white buttons for eyes. Stick 2 pretzel top halves into the top of each cake for antlers, and stick the bottom half of a pretzel under the Smartie for a mouth. These cakes will keep in a sealed container for up to 3 days, but we doubt they’ll last that long!

Graveyard Cake

Ingredients

To decorate

• 1 egg white
• 50g icing sugar
• 200ml single cream
• 200g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 125g rich tea finger biscuits
• 100g double chocolate cookies
• 25g white chocolate
• silver balls, to decorate

For the cake

• 85g cocoa powder
• 200g self-raising flour
• 375g light brown muscovado sugar
• 4 eggs
• 200ml milk
• 175ml vegetable oil

Method

1. To make the ghosts, heat oven to 110C/90C fan/gas ¼. Whip the egg white in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form. Whisk in the sugar a tbsp at a time and keep whisking for a couple of mins until the mixture is thick and resembles shaving foam. Gently spoon the mixture into a large freezer bag, then cut a 1.5cm hole in one of the corners. Cover a baking sheet with some baking parchment. Carefully squeeze a small circle of whipped egg white out of the bag, pulling upwards as you do to make a ghost shape. Repeat until the mixture is used up – you should get about 15 ghosts. Bake for 1½ hrs until crisp. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
2. Now make the cake. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the cocoa powder, self-raising flour and sugar into a large bowl, breaking up any clumps of sugar. Mix together the eggs, milk and oil in a measuring cup or bowl, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir everything together until smooth. Grease and line a deep baking dish (20 x 30 x 5cm) with baking parchment. Pour in the cake mixture and bake for 30 mins. Leave to cool, then turn out onto a serving plate. Alternatively, wrap well and store for up to 2 days.
3. Finish decorating the cake: heat cream in a saucepan until just boiling. Place the dark chocolate in a large bowl and pour over the hot cream. Stir until the chocolate melts. Use a clean brush to paint a layer of chocolate over 7 rich tea finger biscuits, then set aside to cool. Pour the rest of the chocolate mixture over the cake and smooth over with a knife. Whizz the chocolate cookies, or bash in a freezer bag with a rolling pin, until small crumbs form. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
4. Place the white chocolate in a small bowl, set over a pan of simmering water. Leave for 5 mins or until melted, then spoon into a small freezer bag. Wait for 10 mins so the mixture is not too runny, then cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag. Pipe out 2 small blobs onto each ghost, place a silver ball on each to make eyes, then pipe out suitable words and shapes on the gravestones. Leave for 30 mins to set, then push the biscuit gravestones into the cake and arrange the ghosts around. To get the ghosts to ‘fly’, push a thin wire (you can get these from a florist shop – remember to remove before eating) into the bottom of the ghost, then place in the cake, hiding the wire behind a gravestone.
   
   
   Enjoy!

An Ode to Seville

I decided a well deserved trip with old friends was on the cards. With milestone birthdays and time moving too fast there was lots to celebrate. My love of everything Spanish from the wine, food, sunshine and dancing is well known amongst my circle. So it was no surprise when I said Seville would be the place I'd most love to visit.

It didn’t take much persuading and I soon found myself Spain bound strapped into a plane seat with a Rioja in hand.
The thought of stepping to the door of the plane and feeling the heat on my face as I looked skyward was all consuming during the flight. We talked about that distinctive aroma that washes over you as you disembark in sunny climates.
So you can imagine our surprise and disappointment when we arrived into torrential rain and had to run through it in flip flops and summer tops. But, not dissuaded, and being Irish, we can deal with the rain, we decided surely life wasn’t so cruel and the rain could only last a short while?
Once ensconced in our apartment in the old Seville district of Santa Cruz our gracious host assured us the rain would soon stop so we decided to walk and find a tapas bar for some authentic cuisine and perhaps a tipple of wine.
Our stroll took us through the meandering cobbled streets peppered with orange trees, reminding us where Seville Oranges come from, and we found ourselves admiring the magnificent Cathedral de Sevilla that dominates this part of the city. Our quest was short lived and soon we were tucking into chorizo, iberico jamon and croquettes. As we munched and chatted the sun shone and dried the streets, the locals and tourists alike came out to play and we strolled the city for the afternoon taking in the sights and sounds. The stunning Plaza De Espana which was built for the Latin American Expo in 1929 quite literally takes your breath away as it comes into view.
Wanting a view of the city we headed towards The Metropol Parasol which locals refer to as the mushroom (las setes) due to its unusual shape. It affords a viewing deck like no other with a walkway constructed around the outside of the building. Archeologically protected Roman ruins in the basement add intrigue to this unusual building and a libation break afforded us a Sangria served with a star fruit garnish. Don’t you just love holidays!
The ease of getting around the city was not lost on us and by renting bikes or taking the tram you can rest weary legs for a moment. It was a wonderful city filled with families and friends enjoying a relaxed, cosmopolitan life and I look forward to returning with my son soon to once again bask in the glorious sunshine, sip a cafe con leche and enjoy the many parks on offer. Forget leaving my heart in San Francisco, mine is in Seville.

BBQ Chicken with slaw

 

 

I got this fab recipe from Jane Hornby's Fresh and Easy recipes.  I love that you can pre-prepare the chicken and the slaw to make BBQ day even easier!

Ingredients

12 chicken pieces, thighs and drumsticks are best2 tbsp paprika1 handful fresh thyme2 tsp sea salt½ tsp freshly ground black pepper1 tsp chilli powder(120g) ½ cup dark brown sugar(150ml) 2/3 cup tomato ketchup1 tsp Tabasco sauce2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce1 small red cabbage2 crisp, tangy apples1 onion(150g) 2/3 cup mayonnaise2 tbsp cider vinegar1 tsp black onion (kalonji) seedsSea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 Method:

1. Slash the chicken straight down to the bone2. Mix the paprika, thyme, salt, pepper, chilli powder and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a food storage bag, add the chicken and toss3. Preheat oven to 180⁰C (350⁰F) Gas Mark 4, and make the barbecue sauce4. Mix the remaining sugar, ketchup, Tabasco and Worcester sauce until smooth.
(This will keep in the fridge for at least a week)
5. Spread the chicken in a large roasting dish and roast for approx 30 minutes.
(This can be done several hrs ahead and stored in the fridge)6. For the slaw, cut the cabbage into wedges, remove any very hard bits from the central core, then thinly slice. 7. Thinly slice the onion and apples, no need to peel the apples first, and add the cabbage to a large bowl.
8. Mix the mayonnaise and vinegar together to make the dressing.
9. Toss the dressing into the slaw, season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle the onion seeds. This can also be made a day ahead, keep the dressing and slaw ingredients separate and just toss before serving.

To cook on BBQ, make sure your grill is very hot - 200⁰C (400⁰F) and cook for 10 mins, turning regularly, until charred and sizzling and hot through the middle. Brush some sauce over it and serve with the coleslaw and rest of the sauce.
If it rains: Roast the chicken in a preheated oven at 220⁰C (425⁰F) Gas Mark 7 for about 10 minutes, until heated through, then finish with the sauce as above.

 

Enjoy!