How to get children away from convenience food?

ToastLady

Daughter asked me for recipe for easy recipe for cream of tomato soup, went down well, but 6 year old GD said it wasn't the same as the tinned version, so wouldn't eat it after a few spoonfuls, but went down well with Mum and Dad. I checked the sugar content for a one person can of Heinz and was shocked to see it was 4 tsp! My version had 1 tsp for over 2 litres. I've suggested adding a little more sugar to GD's bowl of soup, and cutting it back little by little, or even a wee squirt of tomato ketchup. Also said to keep the next can of tomato soup, wash it out and produce it in evidence when next batch of home made is served....naughty, but might work?

My daughter is not a confident cook, and unfortunately I live abroad, so am not there now to help her with cooking. She is very keen to get away now from convenience foods as much as she can, as she is building up her cooking skills. I encourage her as much as I can, but she finds my bit of this and handful of that method of cooking a bit daunting. I am having to weigh things, measure by spoons, so that I can write down recipes for her to use, but worth it if it makes for healthier eating.

The other thing is grand daughter prefers jars of pasta sauce rather than home made sauce. Again, I think it must be to the excess amounts of sugar and salt in processed foods.

I am so out of touch with cooking for children, and daughter was brought up with home made food rather than processed, so looking for ideas to pass on to her to try out. Helping with prep and cooking is working a little.

I made pizza (amongst other things) last time I was over, and involved grand daughter in all the steps....and kept her on looking at the dough rising in the bowl, which she found amazing and kept reporting on it's progress. We got in a right mess, with sticky fingers and flour all over the place, but it was fun. Was the first time she actually enjoyed a pizza. Perhaps it was the thinner base that worked for her, perhaps home made tomato base or a combo of both....no idea, kids will chop and change from day to day.

Anyway, any ideas for meals for children will be so good, so that I can pass on.

comeandgo

Our kids ate what we did, there was no other food cooked. With the soup, could she not make a batch and add a tin to it so it's more to your grand daughter taste and next time reduce the added tin until back to home made?

MovingForwards

Your daughter needs to build confidence with her cooking and also needs to be able to do this easily.

This

http://www.noshbooks.com/vegetarian-nosh-for-students/

Is a great, easy to follow book (under £2 on eBay), measures are with cups / spoons rather than scales, they are quick recipes too as it's written for students, however they are really good meals!

While the book is aimed at vegetarians, I often adapt them by putting meat in

The tin idea would probably work as your granddaughter is young enough to fall for it (I have to admit homemade tomato soup isn't Heinz, I make tomato soup with fresh toms, passata and cream)

bouicca21

Bung a few red peppers in with the tomatoes so it’s tomato and red pepper - GD then has nothing to compare it to. Gradually as she is weaned off processed foods, she will get used to the new tastes.

Also involving her in cooking will work, as you already found out with the pizza. BBC food has some parent/child ideas. Cooking is also great for numeracy and literacy!

buildersdaughter

Although bouicca's idea is a good one, I personally wouldn't try to compete with tinned tomato soup! I would park that one whilst getting on with other cooking.

Bread - definitely - and its variations - savoury stuffed bread - and things like chelsea buns, chocolate bread etc.
Flapjacks are easy to make - you can cut down the sugar, replace treacle with honey and throw in dried fruit, and chopped apple (if they're not going to hang about too long)
Pancakes that can have all sorts of fillings wrapped in them.
If you can get to a shop that sells those thin Chinese wrappers you can do mots of variations on samosas and crispy pancakes - filo is a decent substitute.
We have found that stir fry and simple mild curry work well.
With all of these encourage tasting - do you like that? What else can we add?
And never forget jacket potatoes, make your own filling.

buildersdaughter

PS: ages ago, someone on this forum said that almost all cake recipes can have the sugar cut by a quarter without losing texture. I haven't tried that with sponges, but with everything else, I agree - and thanks to whoever it was!

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I make my own soups, but I still occasionally enjoy Heinz classic vegetable from the tin, it is a unique taste.



Asking children to suggest and help with recipes is a good way to get them interested in cooking from scratch; Heinz tomato can always be saved for treats.

Prinzessilein

6 years old is old enough to start 'helping' with cooking....make sure lots of praise is given!

I agree with tomato soup coming forma can...always pick your battles carefully, and at the moment, tomato soup is a losing battle - give in gracefully and amass your troops to battle on a different front!

I would NEVER try and 'trick' a child with an empty soup can....children are way smarter than you think!

I would try homemade burgers...home made seasoned/coated chicken (trust me, my southern-baked chicken is way tastier than a certain bucket-of-fried-chicken!)...an air-fryer makes delicious chips/wedges (can be done in an oven too) with little/no fat.....curry and stir-fires....oh and topped flat breads (maybe avoid calling them pizza...they are yummy but taste SO different from pizzas!)

And don't forget sweet treats too...flapjacks instead of biscuits/cakes...homemade frozen joghurt instead of shop-bought sugar-loaded icecream (I make my own joghurt too...really easy)

It may take time....and there will be a few fails on the way...but it is worth it!

DigForVictory

+1 for cooking with mummy - or helping mummy follow the instructions doing wonders for eating, relationships, maths, future life skills etc.

Playing switcheroo with an empty tin works on the very young, but at 6, I'd be inviting her to help me make a soup of things she likes - a green one one week, a red one another, & maybe a yellow one? (Ah sweetcorn!)

Not least as she has a vested interest in the praise & rewards of being the clever soul who cooked supper but it also works on grownups - my husband helped me get jam into jars & is eating it happily, without a cheep about the goosegogs therein!

ToastLady

Thank you for all the suggestions, some great ideas there, will pass them on. Granddaughter is helping out with cooking, so that's a start. The student cook book sounds ideal, thank you. Agree that the empty tin might be a stretch now, kids seem to be a lot smarter these days. Have said to daughter not to fuss if she doesn't eat something and just leave it be, and try something else.
It's so long since I've had any processed food that it's difficult to try and mimic the taste, I really was shocked at the amount of sugar in the tomato soup.

VfM4meplse

comeandgo wrote: »

Our kids ate what we did, there was no other food cooked.

I was made to do the same and meal times were a constant trial from me - and probably my mum! - because I hated heavy Indian food. I got to the age of 13 and decided I just wouldn't eat it any more because I found it so disgusting and unhealthy. It was at that point at I started eating an excess of bread, breakfast cereals and refined foods which set a dreadful pattern for life.

5 years ago I would have offered no choice, but having a little person around since has changed my mind. Why shouldn't she eat something tasty, although healthy? The two groups are not mutually exclusive. And she loves helping out in the kitchen, given plenty of encouragement and credit for her efforts and she is going from strength to strength (the other day she told my guests how to make macaroni cheese with broccoli!).