Summer Time Eating

Well today is officially the first day of summer (in Australia) and I thought I'd write about some summer time eating for the family that doesn't have to involve enormous amounts of the stuff that sends them crazy and doesn't benefit their beautiful growing bodies.

The kids get so busy outside that we can forget to feed them until they are at our heels fainting from hunger at which point it's easy to send them in the direction of a sugary ice block in the freezer or that kid sized packet of chips in the pantry.

If the kids survive only on sugar this summer, no matter how much time they spend burning it off in the pool, not only will they crash and burn, but summer won't be as much fun as it could be with even blood sugar levels!

Being prepared is much easier than trying to pull something together when the little treasures are hungry.

Here's what works for me:

Frozen fruit is a winner. Watermelon and pineapple in chunks are good fun and bananas, peeled, cut in half with paddle pop sticks stuck in make sweet ice blocks that can be pulled out of the freezer quickly and easily. And frozen grapes are yummo.

The kids will also enjoy making juice in the juicer and then pouring it in to ice cube trays. You could then put the cubes into some soda water, throw in some frozen blueberries and you've got a fab kids cocktail.

Adding milk to the ice trays gives you a boost of extra protein to fill up their tummies and frozen smoothies are great too, especially if they're old enough to help make them. We put in milk, (cow's or soy) and frozen fruit with some yoghurt and maybe some cinnamon or honey if they need more sweetness. These fill up little tummies and keep them going longer. The other thing we do after school and on long sunny weekend days is platters of all sorts of goodies that can sit on the table with a cover or in some tuppaware, and they can help themselves when they're hungry.

These platters could hold chicken or beef kebabs with sauce, sushi (if you're feeling inclined to make some, it's actually quite easy), chunks of cheese with crackers and baby tomatoes, carrot and cucumber sticks with dips, and some slices of home made pizza.

Don't forget lots of water. When my kids are home all day, I give them a drink bottle and bargain (ok bribe) with them to finish it by the end of the day. Then they get juice with dinner.

They could also make their own salads from big containers of different veggies and fillings and may be more inclined to eat it if they've been involved in the process.

The chips and ice blocks are not black listed but once again leave them for sometimes or party time and get them into the good stuff and watch their little sun kissed bodies glow with health.

Have fun!
LvJane
PS. I'll post the recipe for sushi in the next few days, it¹s healthy, yummy and a great lunch box or after school snack.
©thefamilyroom 2006