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"Don't forget to eat your vegetables!". How many times have you heard that when you were young? Now as a mother I realise, it wasn't vegetables which children disliked, mothers just didn't know how to cook them so they appealed to children's taste buds :-) !
The first art of getting your children to eat their veges is to cook them so it looks so good, that they will come through rain, hail or shine to be sitting at the dinner table when its served or miss out forever. Yes, the simple trick is to make the veges so mouth watering that they just can't resist.
Unfortunately, many children grow up as adults without overcoming their fear of greens.
You can never be too creative with your greens, and that's actually the secret in getting your kids hooked on greens! The more creative you are in experimenting, the more chances you give your kids to find that love for veges. Imagine that one day the following conversation at the dinner table
Son : "Hey mom, what is this?"
Mom : "Just try a bit, its something new I cooked up."
Son : "Is it avocado again? You know I hate avocado! Why did you cook it again ..."
Mom : "Come on honey, just try a little bit, if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it"
Son reluctantly tries a bit. He nibbles at an ultra small portion like he is tasting poison.
Son : "Hey, mom! It actually tastes nice ... can I have some more?"
Finally after several mouthfulls, you get the question you have been waiting for ... and been dying to answer ...
Son : "Ok mom, what is this green thing that I've been eating ....?"
Mom : "It's avocado...... "
This was an actual conversation we had in family a few weeks ago, but it wasn't mom talking to son, it was wife talking to husband. So miracles do happen everyday :-)
Now with the arsenal of Celebrity TV Chef Recipes that we have for you, getting your kids and family members to eat their greens should (cross your fingers) never be a chore.
Wishing mouth watering miracles for you,
Catherine
I absolutely love soups! When I grew up, there would always be a soup dish at the dinner table. Now a days with society rapidly changing, soups are starting to become a thing of the past. My fondest memories of soups is when my mom would make some when I was sick. It's funny isn't it, even though the soup was one that she cooked any other time, but because you were feeling sick, it tastes 10 times better!
Making soups never have to be a difficult chore. If you ever have a dish which requires a long boiling period, you can always try making it in a slow cooker (or rice cooker) and let it boil all day without fear of burning the whole house down.
For all the moms out there, soups are a great way to get your kids eating the food which they would never eat. I remember my husband sharing with me one day how his mom would throw in fish fillet into a beef stew. My husband has a serious dislike for seafood, so the only way his mum was able to get him to eat fish was by mixing it in a stew. This was the fish literally was mixed into the dish (you can't tell it a part once its mashed together) and the stew easily masks any fishy taste!
Catherine
In chinese starters and snacks are called "xiao che" which literally means small eat. These nibbles can either be used as something you serve as an appetizer, or a side dish, or even as a nibble when you get peckish and need quick bite to eat between meals or as supper.
Generally, starters and snacks are very easy to make. They are a great way to add the extra dish to a meal which otherwise 'lacked something'. I remember one day when we had a family get together where everyone brings along something. In Malaysia we call such gatherings 'pot luck', everyone brings along one dish (whether they cooked or purchased it) and together we have a combined dinner. Pot luck dinners are great because the family can get together for a feast and no one person is burdened by the cooking, everyone chips in.
But as it turned out this particular pot luck dinner, something was not right, we just could not put our finger on it. So with 5 minutes to spare before we started to dig into the feast, I cooked up Jamie Oliver Quesadillas with Guacamole , it is literally that easy and added the extra dish to complete the feast.
While you are here, take a moment to bookmark this page so you can easily drop by from time to time. We are always growing this site so check back to see the next quick small eat you can use to bring your dinner to life!
Ciao,
Catherine
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