Holmes - Supercharged food for kids : building stronger, healthier, brighter kids from the ground up

Here youll find recipes that will please
even the pickiest of little eaters!

Supercharged Food for Kids features
old favourites such as pizza, nuggets,
pasta and desserts reinvented using
fresh, healthy ingredients, plus ideas
for yummy snacks and school lunches
that kids will actually want to eat.

Think Cauliflower Mac and Cheese,
Cacao Bomb Crackles, Cheesy Mini
Tartlets, Crunchy Chicken Drummers,
Watermelon Icy Poles and Savoury
Breakfast Muffins, just for starters.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Im a mum, holistic nutritionist, wholefoods chef and author. As a former English teacher, Ive spent a lot of my life in the classroom, helping kids grow academically. Now I want to combine my teaching knowledge with my nutrition and health coaching qualifications to bring you a book that will inspire the whole family to make better food choices. My mission is to change the way children eat so we can build stronger, healthier and brighter kids from the ground up.

This book features meal ideas that not only taste delicious but also deliver the nutrients needed to help kids sustain their energy levels, keep their mood up, concentrate and perform at their best.

Please note: this book is designed to provide general dietary information only for children between the ages of six and twelve. For specific advice on your childs health or dietary and nutritional needs, please contact your GP.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Getting kids to eat healthily doesnt have to be the Mount Everest of parenthood. In Supercharged Food for Kids youll find recipes that will please even the pickiest of little eaters, plus healthy and delicious options for school lunchboxes, snacks and plenty of dinner ideas that kids will enjoy.

When it comes to school lunches, we always have that niggling feeling that our kids might throw it away and buy something from the canteen instead. Here youll discover a unique spin on the standard school lunchbox, which too often fails to provide the boost kids need to learn and play throughout the day.

You wont find any Frankenfood (genetically modified food) in Supercharged Food for Kids. But you will find kids favourites, such as pizza, nuggets, pasta and desserts, all made with healthy ingredients. I hope youre inspired to create fresh, wholesome and nutrient-rich meals your children will eat again and again, and to help them develop good eating habits that they can maintain for the rest of their lives.

I also wrote this book to cater for the growing number of children who suffer from food allergies and intolerances, or conditions such as asthma, ADHD, hyperactivity and obesity, or dental problems, digestive issues and learning disorders and difficulties, all of which can be aggravated by poor eating habits. Each recipe is signposted so that you can choose the recipes best suited to your child.

GETTING STARTED

Whether youre a mum, dad, grandparent or carer (or perhaps a kid yourself), my aim is to inspire you. Youll find an abundance of fun, fast, simple, practical and tasty recipes that wont end up carpeting the floor. Ive used good-quality, wholesome foods that encourage healthy eating and snacking but are not puritanical or hard to find in your local supermarket. I believe in the 80/20 rule: try to give your kids healthy options 80 per cent of the time and youre doing well!

To create healthy meals, snacks and lunchboxes for kids, you need to use nutrient-rich wholefoods in a stress-free, practical way. The trick is to keep things as simple as possible. Once you feel comfortable letting the processed and instant foods go, youll start creating your own meals.

We all know that kids can be the toughest critics, so many of the recipes Ive created are healthy versions of familiar favourites, swapping one or two ingredients to make them more nutritious. Ive created school sandwiches, wraps, pizza, pasta, nuggets, muffins, energy bars and desserts to appeal to a childs sense of fun and adventure. Even reluctant and picky kids are catered for, with meals that make eating enjoyable without compromising optimum nutrition.

You wont find any low-fat foods here, as their manufacturers often compensate for the loss of fat with large amounts of sugar and additives. I use good fats, which are an essential component of any childs diet, ensuring healthy development and brain function.

When youre making the recipes, wherever feasible, choose foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. This means looking for ingredients that have been produced with the planet in mind, such as organic, fair trade or locally grown or made where your budget permits. Search for real, unprocessed food.

The serving suggestions are to be used only as a guide, and you can modify the ingredients to suit personal tastes. The recipes also only use equipment that youll already own. Perhaps best of all is that you can cook up batches of meals and freeze single quantities so theyre simple to bring out of the freezer and heat, which really helps if you have a busy schedule.

Included alongside many of the recipes youll find information about the particular health benefit of the dish; you may also find a Supercharged Tip, which could relate to shopping, storing or cooking.

Once youve read this front section, look through the you can work from to make planning easier.

The World Health Organizations White Book on Allergy 20112012 reports that, worldwide, sensitisation rates to one or more common allergens among schoolchildren are currently approaching 4050 per cent. In other words, almost half of all children have a food allergy or intolerance of some kind. As you work your way through this book, youll notice at-a-glance icons that indicate whether the recipe is suitable for children with allergies and intolerances.