Tag: kids cooking

Food Items Best for Children

For parents, it is very comfortable to purchase and prepare nutritious food for your kids but the difficult part is to make them eat it. It is a very difficult job for the parents to provide their kids with the necessary nutrients. This job becomes so frustrating because the parents can’t compel their kids to eat those nutritious foods. These days’ kids are much happy with the food stuff like pizzas, burgers and many more but these items does not provide the essential nutrients to the body. Parents must ensure that their kids get the supply of all the required vitamins and minerals from their meals as it is very vital in the growth of the child. So below there are some super nourishing food items that are best for the children.

Milk:

it is most essential drink for the kids. It is well liked by the kids but as they gradually grows up they tends to like it less. The reason behind it is that they start drinking so many other drinks which are obtainable in the homes. But milk is fundamental source of protein, calcium and so many vitamins. So make sure that milk is included in the diet of your child. You can add so many flavors to the milk in order to make it more likable by your kid. If the child is taking in foods that are rich in calcium then milk is the best source to compensate for that.

Apples:

Similar to many other fruits, apples are greatly enjoyed by the children. Apart from being sugary and juicy it is an immense source of nutrients that are very essential for the healthy wellbeing. The amount calorie in it in low and it is rich in Vitamin C. It is very important to know that the apple loses its fiber after peeling it off. So it is much better to provide your children with unpeeled apples rather than peeled apples in order to deliver them with the essential and needed fibers. Children tend to enjoy eating apples so it is necessary to include it in your kid’s diet.

Yoghurt:

It is another food that is very rich in calcium and hence it is quite beneficial for that child who doesn’t like drinking too much milk. So you should make sure that your child’s intake includes a good amount of yoghurt. The children usually enjoy eating it and hence it becomes so easy for the parents to make their kids eat it. But it is necessary that one should select the appropriate yoghurt for their kids with low fat and which does not include huge amount of added sugar in it.

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Vegetables:

As everyone knows that vegetable plays a very significant role in supplying nutrition to the body, but parents usually end up forcing or tricking their kids to eat them. Generally kids don’t enjoy eating spinach, sprouts etc. which are very nutritious and beneficial for the body. But apart from these vegetables, there are so many other that the children tend to relish. The vegetables that are usually friendly to children are pea, potatoes and carrots. Apart from this, it is very vital that the parents familiarize their kids with a lot of vegetables starting from the initial stage as gradually they will start eating them.

Oatmeal:

A nutritious breakfast is very important for the kids so they can perform very well at their schools. It has been found out that the breakfast helps in improving the memory of the children. Oatmeal can be treated as a very healthy breakfast your kid as it is very rich in fiber. In addition to that the cognitive functioning and implementation is also increased. It is not compulsory to serve oatmeal only during the breakfast. We can prepare it as more edible and appetizing by accompanying it with honey, berries and walnuts.

Eggs:

They are a perfect blend of taste and nutrition. Eggs are greatly enjoyed by the children and in addition to that they are very rich in vitamins as well as minerals. Moreover they provide proteins to the body. They include vitamin D and iron. They also contain choline. Eggs play a very crucial role and help to build and repair the muscles. They support the body in absorbing the calcium. A little amount of cholesterol is present in the eggs but they don’t include a great amount saturated fat. And hence eating an egg normally is acceptable. So serving the kids with scrambled eggs in the breakfast is a great source of nutrition.

Cheese:

Calcium is very essential for the body and hence parents must include calcium rich foods in their kid’s regime. Low fat cheese provides a great amount of calcium to the body. One can come out with various methods to include it in your kid’s diet. You can serve the kids with the vegetables topped with melted cheese. It is quite evident cheese sandwiches are very famous among the kids, so it can act as a delightful lunch.

June 24, 2014
Every Plate of Food has a Story to Tell

Everyone knows that there are two types of people in the world when it comes to food – those who eat to live and those who live to eat. If you’re the type that lives to eat, then you would know that nothing in the world sounds better than the “ping” announcing that your food is ready. That ping can be the ping of your oven or the ping at a fast food joint, it doesn’t matter. You would know that those clichés where people say that their favorite thing to do is to curl up in the bed with some chocolate pudding and a book or a movie are all true. You would know that if there’s one thing in this world that has the power to make you smile, it’s food.

The biggest dilemma in the life of a foodie who knows to how cook is whether to go out to eat or to stay at home and cook. I’m a foodie. I love cooking. I made my first chapatis when I was six and I woke up in the middle of the night with my stomach rumbling. I didn’t want to wake my mother up so I went into the kitchen and found some left overs, but there were no chapatis. So my six year old self decided that she really wanted to have warm, soft, chapatis and she made them. Of course they were hard and crisp and slightly burnt but that was when I realized that cooking was exciting. After that, I often used to wait for my mother to go take her afternoon nap so that I could go into the kitchen and cook something for myself. I thought one day I would surprise my mother by cooking a meal for her all by myself. That never happened because the first time I cut my finger, I ran to her crying. Nonetheless, almost everyone who is passionate about food and about cooking remembers the first time they made something and how amazing and excited they felt.

Food brings happiness to us in many ways. It’s not just the eating part that makes people happy; it’s also the cooking part. Having a chocolate cake that you baked yourself sure feels amazing. But it feels even better when you’re eating it with a bunch of people who love it and they tell you so.

So when you know how to cook amazing food, which isn’t a difficult thing to do, and you enjoy it, why would you want to go out and eat? I’ll tell you. When you go out and you order something new and you eat it, it gives you a rush because you can’t wait to get home and try making it. Often, you might fail to reproduce that dish. After a point, you even give up. So you go out and back to that place to eat the same thing again and again because that place makes that one particular dish perfectly. And this way, over time, you label places with particular dishes that they make and if someone wants to eat that thing, you know the perfect place to take them to.

A foodie knows that there should be no discrimination between a roadside vendor and fancy restaurant. A nice little dhaba tucked away in some corner has the potential to serve as good food as that fancy place near the fancy mall. The only thing that should matter is hygiene. Not all dhabas are unhygienic and not all restaurants are hygienic. Also, if you’re a student and you keep dining at pricey places, your parents will soon realize that the extra pocket money you’re asking for, is not for ”research material” and that, my friend, is not a good thing. It’s not difficult to get addicted to good food so you need to keep in mind that those pricey places with the orgasmic food are a luxury. They should be treated like the occasional cigarette. You plan on ahead and save up for weeks to eat there. Or you spend the money you were given to buy shoes to eat there and walk around with your toes poking out of your shoes as a punishment. (If, in case, that does happen, you have my sympathies.)

Another golden rule when it comes to food – never waste food. You have a little too much food and none of it can go in the fridge? There are plenty of men, women and children out there who need it. Take a walk after your meal, a healthy habit too, and give it to someone who needs it. Can’t find someone? Put it out with a bowl of milk and the Dog Fairy will make sure it vanishes by the time morning rolls around.

Food, books, pets – to each, their own. Or some people prefer to have a combination of any two or even all three in their lives to be able to call it a perfect and happy life. Whatever the combination be, you need food in there to be happy – or even to simply survive. If you eat to live, slow down once and think about the taste of the food you’re eating, think about the texture, the feel of it and think about the story behind that plate of food because be it the burnt chapatis I made when I was six or be it the chef’s signature dish at a restaurant every plate of food has a story to tell.

May 23, 2014
Anybody can Cook – Your one step Guide to become a Good Cook

World cuisine is a term that has always been fantasized by all the foodies out there. Many of us are even well aware of the history, developments and latest trends in each of those cuisines. Well, this article is not going to talk about anything of that sort. On a general basis, many of us reading this article would agree if I say that ‘Masterchef Australia’ shows which aired on Star World channel had a major part in teaching culinary lessons and also about world cuisine! Being an Indian and watching ‘Masterchef Australia’, there were days when we used to go out on a hunt for the so-called ‘Australian’ cooking ingredients, which had all been in vain. While watching these shows, there was a moment of realization and understanding about how simple many of these cuisines were, and how the life and culture of a region affected the development of its cuisine. Personally, Italian cuisine had a major impact on my cooking style which turns out to be a combined version of Indian and Italian – may be termed as Indo-Italian! Well, the point here is that, it is always good to have one’s own theories and inspirations about cooking.

One important lesson that these shows taught most of its audiences was the presentation of a dish – an area which was not explored much by many of us, especially housewives. And that helped in changing the perspective of cooking among many of them. Most of the Indian housewives consider cooking as a part of their ‘duty’ as a housewife, rather than a passion. Though they give uttermost care during the process of making a dish, presentation was not among their primary concerns. But after the advent of such shows, there seems to be a slight change in attitude. Such cooking shows aired on television do a great deal in evoking that spirit of cooking within the most unlikeliest of people, including myself. Though the start-off dishes were the Australian and Italian dishes – mostly by name and not by its taste – the Indian ones were pulled off easily later on, after acquiring the basic understanding about cooking as an art. Cookery shows like ‘Masterchef Australia’, rather than being a mere competition, also teach a lot of culinary skills. Well, I can proudly say that I learnt to cook the perfect mashed potato after watching the former season of Masterchef Australia.

Another side to this is the remade and dubbed versions of the original ones. It is very rare to find such remade versions growing to become a success in their respective languages. In many of those versions, the spirit of cooking is rather overshadowed by an emotional drama among the contestants, turning a competition into a mega serial show. Cooking when seen as an art and passion, and not just a mere daily routine, can give a lot of self-satisfaction and joy of creating something of your own. And to see such a growing passion in children at such a young age is more than just heartening. In this age of video games and advancements in the Internet technology, amongst kids who have simply lost the spirit of outdoor games and traditions, it is a good sign to see a bunch of young kids out there showing a great deal of interest in developing culinary skills. Kudos to all those Masterchef shows, and kudos, without any doubt, to all the parents who support them!!

And to end it all, many among us feel that cooking is an art and great sense of taste does not just to come to anyone. Well, here is good news: ‘Anybody can cook’; people who watched the movie Ratatouille would know that!! It’s just a passion that can be developed by anyone. But once that is done, and then you are sure to find yourself in an eternal relationship with food!!

May 16, 2014