Since I have two young children (five and two years old) many of the recipes on my blog are family friendly.
Blog Event
I try and post as many family friendly recipes as I can, usually on a Friday. You can link up your recipes at any time thorughout the month, the deadline is at the end of every month and there will be a round-up post to follow shortly afterwards.
THE CURRENT ROUND OF FAMILY FRIENDLY FRIDAYS AT THE VEGETARIAN EXPERIENCE
Upcoming Hosts:
May host – Clare from The Vegetarian Experience
June host - Solange from Peppble Soup
July host – Nazima from London Working Mummy
August Host – Fabulicious Food!
September Host – Katie from Feeding Boys and a Firefighter
Recipes that are quick and easy to make are important to me. Yes, I love treats and more challenging recipes to try from time to time, but the most important thing of all is to find the time to sit down altogether and eat good food.
Previous Round/Round Ups
January 2012 - winner Sian Fish Fingers For Tea (won Cooking with Coco)
February 2012 - winner Jenni Jenni Eatwell’s Rhubarb and Giner (won My Daddy Cooks)
March 2012 - winner Dad’s Cooking Tonight (won Cook It, Grow It with kids)
Family Friendly Recipes
There are a few links to easy recipes on my blog that you can either make with your kids, for your kids or for the whole family. I will be adding as I go along and if it helps a few of my tips below to help prevent mealtime melt-downs.
Easy Macaroni Cheese with Baby Leeks - (photo above)
Easy Peasy Home Made Pizza - a great rainy day activity
Pear and Chocolate Brownies - use mashed banana or pear to make lovely squidgy brownies
Banana Cinnamon Blondies - easy to make, great teatime treat with a good dollop of custard
Easy Hellmann’s Recipes - including Lemon & Garlic Roasted Salmon and Haddock Fishcakes
Make Ahead Pancake Mix (Vanessa Kimbell’s) - includes Ice Cream Sunday pancakes
Lemony Spring Cupcakes for a playdate – Scroll to bottom of post for recipe
Teatime Treat – Polish Apple Cake - delicious with apples from the garden
‘Feel Better’ Carrot and Tomato Soup- yummy and easy to make
Book Reviews –
My Daddy Cooks - One of the best family friendly cookbooks around at the moment! Click on the link to see me road-testing some of Nick and Archie’s recipes
The Usborne Children’s World Cookbook - fab for creating themed meal or trying new things
Fay’s Family Food - a great book with lots more ideas for family food
Top Books for Budding Cooks - including The Silver Spoon for Children Favourite Italian Recipes
My top tips for happy mealtimes -
- Eat as a family whenever possible and try not to cook separate meals and invite friends over for tea every so often as kids enjoy the social aspect of eating
- Stick to your guns – the more of a pushover you are, the more your child will think it is acceptable to reject food and be given something else.
- Start by offering small portions, they have little appetites and can get overwhelmed by a big plate of food.
- Get your kids to help you in the kitchen and make it a fun place. Getting them involved in simple ways and making a habit of it makes them feel more involved in the process. Give them a board and safety knife and ask them to butter bread, chop soft items such as mushrooms, set the table or help to serve the food.
- Be comfortable with the fact that sometimes a child may not have a good appetite, they might be unwell or just not hungry at the time specified. Always have them sit at the table and join in, even if they are refusing to eat. Space out snack times so they are not full when they sit down to eat. Try not to give in if they don’t like something and make them a ham sandwich five minutes later, at a push, offer them a re-heated version of what you offered in the first place.
- Have themed food every now and again, e.g a Mexican night where the kids can make their own fajitas or wraps, an Italian night where they can add their own pizza toppings, or picnics. Kids also love colour, so have a pink theme or a red or green theme and colour co-ordinate your napkins and food (my big sister Mrs Pink does this and its fun!)
- Try incorporating foodie activities into your life, take your kids to a farm shop, go strawberry picking or berry picking, try planting some simple herbs in a herb box or vegetables in a pot or your garden.
Look out for posts throughout my blog, there are labels for Family Food as well as Family Friendly Fridays
