My dear husband sent me the link to this article, http://www.babwnews.com/2015/09/apples-reign-supreme-as-kids-favorite-fruit/ and I must say it made me smile. Apples truly are a gift from nature and to hear that children are still choosing to snack on them is good news. Thinking about apples also brings back happy childhood memories for me. My dad loved eating apples; you could almost say he was obsessed with them. On a fairly regular basis he would come home from the market with boxes of different varieties of apples along with a whole selection of other fruits. Looking back I wonder how we could afford so much fruit and how we got through it all. I also remember driving along in the car with him and he would have several apples that he would manage to eat his way through no matter how short or long the drive. It’s no surprise that I wrote a children’s book titled Albert Apple.

We all love a bento box at our favourite Japanese restaurant, however it never occurred to me how wonderfully creative and inspiring a bento lunch box could be for kids. The inspiration for this blog came to me whilst watching Destination Flavour Japan on SBS tonight . A Japanese mother lovingly hand crafted a masterpiece bento lunch box for her children, and does so each and everyday.

I jumped onto the web and sure enough discovered a world of recipes and images to get your creative juices flowing. There are endless opportunities here to get your children eating healthy food and at the same time tap into some serious creativity, this is just fantastical…

http://happylittlebento.blogspot.com.au/

This week on the ‘Today’ show channel nine, Nutritionist Joanna McMillan discussed the concern many parents have in regards to children not eating their veggies. Parents are asking whether it’s worth giving their kids multi vitamins as a back up. There is no harm in doing this, however they will  not receive the same benefits and fibre as from a variety of vegetables. Easier said than done right? Joanna had some great ideas, most importantly get creative and find different ways to present veggies to kids. For example:

• Vegetable mash (most kid’s love mash potato) this is a great way to add a few veggies in a tasty way.
• Bolognese sauce (with added veggies).
• After school snack, cut up celery and carrot sticks, wash dry and store in ziplock bags for a few days. Look for freshest looking ingredients. You could make your own dip and ask your kids to get involved. It will only take 10 minutes to wizz up and they will be proud of what they have created.
• Start to involve your kids in the cooking process from a young age. If you are not much of a cook you could have them assist with school lunches.
• Take your kids to a farmers market or local market and talk to your kids about the produce. You can even play a game of “what vegetable or fruit is this”? It is unrealistic to expect children to understand the difference between healthy and non healthy foods if they don’t know anything about it’s origins. A little knowledge can go a long way.