Good Food Friday…Spelt Flat Breads with Grilled Chicken and Rainbow Salad

How do you get your children to eat healthy food?  I am forever singing the praises of iron-rich spinach and sight-improving carrots but what really gets my kids eating everything on their plate is letting them do the ‘cooking’ themselves…that and the fact that I don’t let them snack after 3pm so by the time dinner is ready they are starving helps a lot too!

Encouraging children to eat the healthy and wonderful food you prepare can be an exhausting exercise.  It takes time and success comes slowly to most of us, but I have found with perseverance and a few helpful strategies…the range of foods my kids eat has widened considerably.

Leo with the 'de-constructed' version...unfortunately the carrot ended up on the floor!

Helpful Hints to get kids eating healthy food…

1. Make a rainbow on your plate

We all eat with our eyes so make kids food look enticing.  Make your plate a rainbow!  A friend and I often make a platter with lots of different healthy things like carrots, celery, hummus, strawberries, cheese, grilled chicken and just let the kids help themselves.

2.  It’s all about choice

It’s great if you can give your kids some freedom to choose what they are going to eat…this might not be achievable all the time but if you are making something like the flat breads in this post, you can let them choose their own toppings – though, I will say to my girls…you need to pick at least three things, not including tomato sauce!

3.  Positive Encouragement (ok, bribery…)

We don’t have dessert in our house every night but there is no way you are getting it if you don’t do a good job with your dinner first!

4.  Just keep trying

It can take up to twenty tries before kids will like a new food so persist!  Encourage them to at least try new things, even if they really don’t like them…having said that, if there is a food my kids really, really don’t like (like tuna…) I don’t force them to have it, food should be fun.

Tips five and six are for not for the feint hearted…read on if you are in to tough love…

5.  No snacks after 3pm

My kids eat dinner at 5.30pm so I rarely let them snack after about 3pm.  This came about after my Master L, at 16 months, got all fussy and wouldn’t eat his dinner…when I realised he’d had a biscuit, some strawberries and a banana since lunch time, it wasn’t hard to figure out why.

6.  That’s it, there is nothing else

I don’t force my kids to eat everything on their plate but I do expect them to appreciate the effort I have put in to making their meal and have a good attempt at eating it (we can all dream…) I will often be heard to say…well, you don’t have to eat it but there will be nothing else…why would you eat your veggies if you knew an ice-cream sundae was just around the corner?

So it might sound tough, it might sound like a lot of effort but setting your kids up with healthy eating habits should definitely be up there in our top 5- most- important- jobs as mothers.

I’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions about how you get your kids eating well…feel free to leave a comment…but first…here is this weeks Good Food Friday recipe…

Kid Friendly Spelt Flat Breads with Grilled Chicken and a Rainbow of Salad

Low fodmap, wheat free (not gluten free) dairy free and optional vegetarian

Serves 4

Flat Breads

2 cups spelt flour (you can use regular plain flour)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp Olive Oil

Up to 150mls tepid water

Put the flour in the food processor and turn it on…while you are whizzing, slowly pour the oil and water in, stopping when the dough forms a ball (you may not need all the water).  Remove the dough, give it a quick knead and then pace in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rest for thirty minutes.

Spelt Flat Bread Dough resting...

Heat up a medium sized fry pan.  Divide the dough into eight equal pieces and roll out into a circular shape on a lightly floured board (if using spelt flour, the dough can be a bit sticky so use a little more spelt flour for dusting).

In the dry pan, cook your flat breads one at a time, about 1-2 minutes on each side.  They will bubble up a bit in the pan and develop golden patches on them.  Load them up with your favorite toppings and dig in!

Rainbow Salad …your choice of toppings…

You can really put anything you like on your flat breads…we had grilled chicken with a little olive oil and lemon but you could easily do a vegetable skewer with your favorite veggies like zucchini, capsicum, mushrooms…the list is endless!

Help Yourself!

I also LOVE this simple carrot salad…

2 grated carrots topped with 2 shakes of cinamon, 4 shakes of cumin, 4 chopped fresh mint leaves, a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of lemon juice…DELICIOUS!

You could also try this simple salsa and guacamole, this pesto or this hummus.

Colorful, delicious and healthy...

Whatever you choose, put it all on the table and let the kids go for it.  My kids think these flat breads are great…I really hope yours do too!

Happy, healthy eating!

mamacino x

Low Fodmap Recipes: Food to Flatten Your Tummy

Anyone who suffers from uncomfortable digestive problems…whether it be constant bloating, wind and tummy upsets or just the occasional ‘food baby’ dilemma we have all experienced on a night out in a tight dress…listen up!  It can be managed by paying attention to the foods we consume…after all, we are what we eat!

I love a challenge and this week, I have been set a great one…come up with some low fodmap recipes and ideas for a friend beginning a new journey towards good health.  Some of you may have suffered from the symptoms of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and Fructose Malabsorption.  It’s uncomfortable, distressing and literally a pain in the ass.  My own children have weak digestive systems and the constant struggle to find great tasting, healthy food that doesn’t upset their little tummies can be tiresome and overwhelming.  A clean, happy, functioning digestive system is the key to good health so it is definitely worth looking after it by choosing the right foods…and you might just find you have a flatter tummy for your trouble!

Berries...Delicious, low fodmap and full of anti-oxidants

The beautiful Miss C is one of the most outgoing, vibrant and fun loving people I have ever met.  She is soon to be married (to a lovely guy in a ROCK BAND! Seriously!) and so will be beginning a new chapter of her life…what an awesome time to get healthy and make some really positive changes to your lifestyle.  I might add that Miss C is a vegetarian so avoiding staples such as onion, garlic, mushrooms and legumes is freaking her out.  Not to worry…there are heaps of delicious vegetables and fruits we can use to make quick, easy, satisfying meals.

Let’s start with Breakfast…here are some no-fuss healthy low fodmap ideas and recipes to get Miss C started…

Go Green Juice

You’ve heard the hype about green juices…well it’s all true!!!  Green juices are an amazing way to begin your day.  They allow all those amazing nutrients straight into your system and are wonderful for anyone with digestive issues.  I can honestly tell you this juice will give you a big energy hit and send you off with a smile on your face and a swing in your step…give it a go, you won’t be sorry!

The thing to remember is to keep it veggie based and leave out apples and pears…they are renowned to be  fodmap offenders!

Even the Mona Lisa is going green!

Lemon and Lime Green Juice

This one is thanks to Lee Holmes from Supercharged Food but use any low fodmap vegetables you like!

2 bunches of English Spinach

2 cucumbers, cut in half lengthways

1 lemon, peeled, pith removed

1 lime, peeled, pith removed

1/2 cup basil

Put through the juicer and pour into a fancy glass, I like mine with ice.

Banana Porridge with Toasted Walnuts and Maple Syrup

Restricting your diet means thinking carefully about getting the right amount of nutrients through the day and protein is a big concern to most vegetarians.  Add quinoa to your porridge for an extra hit…this seed has a nutty taste with a little bit of bite and will keep you fuller for longer making it easy to resist not-so-healthy snacks!

Hot, creamy, sweet and satisfying.

Makes enough for four serves..

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup quinoa

1 cup rice, almond, soy or oat milk

2 cups water

1 tsp cinnamon

2 bananas

A handful of toasted walnuts to serve (just toss them in a warm fry pan for a few minutes, until fragrant)

Drizzle of maple syrup to serve

Get your oats and quinoa into a medium sized pot with your milk.  Stir over a medium heat for about five-ten minutes, adding water to keep the consistency smooth.  Add your chopped banana and cinnamon and continue to cook for a few minutes until your porridge is creamy and the banana has melted slightly.

Spoon into a bowl and top with your toasted walnuts and maple syrup.  This is serious healthy comfort food…keep any leftovers in the fridge, it lasts for a few days, and heat up each morning as desired.

Miss C’s Favorite… Mushrooms on (Spelt) Toast

Mushrooms are on the ‘foods to avoid’ list when it comes to a low fodmap diet but not everyone is intolerant to all the foods on the list and so a little trial and error is required to weed out your worst offenders.  This low fodmap version uses garlic infused olive oil and spelt bread and will certainly be more easily digested than the traditional way.  It might be worth a try and enjoyed occasionally for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Better than a cafe!

Serves 2

A handful (4-6) of your favorite mushrooms

1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil (tolerated by most on a low fodmap diet)

3-4 sprigs of thyme

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Greek fetta, crumbled

2 slices of Gluten Free or Spelt Bread toasted

Add your oil to a medium sized fry pan over medium heat.  Add your mushrooms and thyme and cook until golden.  Season to taste.  Spoon the mushrooms over the toast and top with crumbled fetta.  Garnish with thyme and a small drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil if desired.  Delish!

Spelt Bread

It’s a good idea to avoid wheat while on a low fodmap diet and while there are lots of great wheat free breads around these days, we had a go of making our own spelt bread.  We used Teresa Cutter’s recipe from her website The Healthy Chef.  We used maple syrup instead of honey and we baked it in a loaf tin as our dough was a little wet but it was so delicious and wholesome and easy to make…I thought I’d share it with you…

Teresa Cutter’s  Irish Soda Spelt Bread

Still Hungry?

Here are a few more ideas to get your taste buds tingling….

Toasted Banana Bread with whipped ricotta and maple syrup

Fruit salad of strawberries, blueberries, rock melon, kiwi  and raspberries with low lactose yoghurt and chopped almonds

Frittata with tomato, basil and boccocini

Low fodmap Super Fruit Smoothie

* You can search online for a full list of the do’s and dont’s of low fodmap foods but it’s best to speak to a professional nutritionist or your GP for all the information you need.    Stay tuned for some more recipes…I’m loving all the taste testing!

Stay healthy!

mamacino x