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SAVVY
KIDS
By
Sarah & Rupert McKerron
With
Linda McCourt
  
Sarah
and Rupert McKerron have certainly hit the jackpot once again with their
new cookbook 'Savvy Kids Menus', which follows 'Savvy Kids Food'. The
children have grown and Sarah is a typical busy working mum,
increasingly concerned about the way children eat today. What she aims
to do in this book is to provide parents with a blue print for the best
possible start in life.
MODERN
MALNUTRITION
Many
children throughout the developing world suffer from outright
malnutrition due to under nourishment. A less well known problem,
which is having a wide spread effect on the physical and mental
health of children throughout developed countries, is
micro-malnutrition.
What
can parents do?
*
Provide
your children with a varied range of wholesome meals and snacks
* Buy
organic food whenever possible
* Restrict
access to junk foods and drinks
* Give
your children a general vitamin and mineral formulation if you are at
all concerned about the quality of their diet
IRISH
OMELETTE
1
potato, peeled and diced
2 free range egg
50 ml water
a knob of butter
pinch of salt
(Serves 2)
In
a non-stick pan, gently fry the potato in butter until golden.
Whisk the eggs , add water and add a pinch of salt. Pour over the
potato and cook until egg is cooked through then serve
immediately.
TIP:
Serve
with some gently heated tortillas.
 
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IS
JUNK FOOD ADDICTIVE?
"Junk
food might be popular, not only because it is highly tasty,
readily available and convenient, but it is potentially
addictive."
Various
animal studies have shown that long-term exposure to high
sugar or high fat diets can alter brain chemistry in much the same
way as addictive drugs, although to a much lesser degree.
The
key is to make changes gradually replacing old eating habits with
new ones over time.
We
define junk food as over-processed food that is low in nutrients
but high in fat - especially the harmful saturated hydrogenated
and trans fats - sugar, salt and artificial colourants,
flavourants, sweeteners and preservatives.
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JULIA’S
CHICKEN KIEV
This
is one of Julia’s favourite chicken dishes. The added extras in the
chicken breast give this a savoury taste.
4
free range chicken breast, de boned and skinless
150 g feta cheese, crumbled
1 handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
toothpicks
(Serves
4)
Cut
the chicken breasts in half, lengthways. Stuff with feta and parsley.
Secure a toothpick through the ends of the breast, so that the stuffing
does not ooze out. You can fry or grill the chicken until it is cooked
through.
Serve
with mashed potatoes.
TIP:
You can use any cheese if you don’t have feta. Goat’s milk is a
great alternative.
POACHED
FISH IN COCONUT MILK
4
fillets of kingklip
1 can coconut milk
1 mango, peeled and sliced
50 g almonds
salt to taste
(Serves
4)
Place
your mango and coconut milk an a food processor and blend until
smooth. Place the fish in a deep pot and pour in the coconut/mango
milk until the fish is covered. Bring the milk to
a boil then allow it to cook very gently for 3 -
7 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.
Once
the fish is cooked, remove from the pot, sprinkle the almonds on
top of the fish and serve with rice.
TIP:
You can use frozen fish fillets for this.
TIP:
Spice it up with some red Thai paste for the more adventurous
kids.
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WHY
WATER IS SO IMPORTANT
Children
are at greater risk of dehydration than adults and research
suggest that many children may be suffering from mild dehydration.
Mild
dehydration increases the risk of fatigue, headaches, constipation
and possibly urinary tract infections. It has also been shown to
reduce mental ability, reaction times and physical performance, by
as much as 25%
Children
need to drink at least 6 – 8 cups of fluid ever day and water is
the most recommended fluid to keep them performing at their
physical and mental peak.
Water
is the best fluid for your child to drink as it enters the
bloodstream and tissues rapidly it is also readily available and
unlike cordials and fizzy drinks, comes free of sugar and harmful
additives such as flavourants and colourants. Such drinks are not
that thirst quenching and are a significant contributor to
childhood allergies and obesity.
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FISH
KEDGEREE
Hugo
and Julia used to love eggy rice when they were small, this is a more
grown up version - you can sere with some fresh bread - (Wholewheat)
1
large can salmon or small cans
4 free range eggs, hardboiled and sliced
100 g Basmati rice, cooked
10 ml butter
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
(Serves 4)
Place
100 g basmati rice in the bottom of a deep pot, cover with water. Bring
to the boil rice the rice has absorbed all the water, remove from heat
and cover with the lid and leave for 10 minutes. Put back on heat. Add
the butter, fish and parsley cook for 5 minutes stirring
occasionally.
EASY
RICOTTA CANNELLONI
1
box cannelloni tubes (16 tubes)
White
Sauce:
500 ml crème fraîche, cream or sour cream
125 ml milk
100 g parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Cannelloni
Stuffing:
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
250 g parmesan cheese
500 g ricotta cheese
Tomato
Sauce:
2
x 400 g cans Italian tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt to taste
250 g mozzarella to sprinkle on top.
Preheat
oven to 180°C.
For
the cannelloni stuffing, heat a large saucepan and add 1 tbsp
olive oil and 1 crushed garlic clove. Remove the pot from the heat
and let cool. Add the Ricotta and Parmesan, mix well and fill the
cannelloni tubes with the ricotta mixture. Put aside.
To
make the tomato sauce, in the same pot add 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1
crushed garlic clove, basil, salt and canned tomatoes. Let the
tomato mixture simmer for 15 minutes. Add 100 ml water if you find
the sauce is too thick.
To
prepare the white sauce, combine the cream, milk and Parmesan cheese in
a saucepan. Stir the mixture for approximately 5 minutes or until smooth
over a moderate heat. Keep the whites sauce on the lowest temperature
setting on your stove to keep it warm.
In
a large ovenproof dish, pour in the tomato mixture. Place the ricotta
filled cannelloni tubes in the tomato mixture and cover it with white
sauce. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top and bake for 20 – 25
minutes until it is bubbling and golden brown.
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SAVVY
KIDS
By
Sarah & Rupert McKerron
With
Linda McCourt
For
further information
see Cook's
Corner
www.savvykids.biz
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