Encourage your child’s interest in food by inviting her into the kitchen for some fun baking. Who knows, she might even turn out to be the next Nigella!
Animal bread rolls
An edible extension of playing with modelling clay, kids love making these. Don’t get precious about the finished product – if your child thinks their creation looks like a hedgehog/snail/daddy, that’s all that matters! Use raisins for eyes, or other dried fruit. Combine a wholemeal bread mix and a white bread mix for a healthier result.
MAKES 24 PIECES
PREP & PROVING TIME: 30 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES
1⁄2 x 495g pack wholemeal bread mix
1⁄2 x 495g pack white bread mix
175g grated cheese (optional)
a few raisins or currants for decoration
extra flour for kneading
1 egg, beaten
- Make up the bread according to packet instructions. After kneading for the second time, preheat the oven to 200ºC, fan
180ºC, gas 6.
- If using the cheese, mix into the dough at this stage. Divide the bread dough into 12 pieces, to suit the size of your child’s hands.
- Dust the surface with plenty of flour, and start shaping.
- For the crocodile, make a long worm shape and use children’s safe scissors to make the scales on his back.
- For the hedgehog, make a ball and point the nose, and use children’s scissors to make deep cuts in his back for the spikes.
- For the snail, simply make a worm shape, roll up and make two little antlers for the front. Stick them on with the beaten egg.
- Place on a floured baking sheet. Cover loosely with a clean damp tea towel. Set aside to rise for 15 minutes or so. Brush with the egg glaze and bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.
Biscuits
Reinforce your child’s learning by making his name in biscuits. The fun part is the decorating – the biscuit shapes can be cooked and ready for him to finish off with icing, coconut and dried fruit.
MAKES 20–24 COOKIES
PREP TIME: 10–15 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 10 MINUTES
FOR THE BISCUIT DOUGH
100g sunflower spread
120g caster sugar
1 medium egg yolk
200g plain flour
flour for dusting
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC, fan 160ºC, gas 4. Cream together the sunflower spread and caster sugar. Stir in the egg yolk, then the flour. Knead slightly. Chill wrapped in cling film until required.
- Roll the biscuit dough out to approximately 5mm thick on a lightly floured surface. Dust the cutters with flour before cutting out shapes and transferring to an oiled baking sheet.
- Bake the biscuits for 10 minutes, then leave to cool on a wire rack.
- To decorate, make icing by mixing cold water with 250g Royal icing sugar gradually, until it is of dropping consistency. Divide into 3 bowls. Meanwhile, leave 100g frozen blueberries to defrost, over a sieve, reserving the juice. Add a few drops of natural yellow food colouring to one bowl, and drops of blueberry juice to another bowl. Stir in until smooth – you now have white, yellow and purple icing.
- Set a few biscuits on a tray with the bowls of icing, some desiccated coconut, and dried cranberries, blueberries and mango, and let the children get creative with the decorating.
Fruit dipping kebabs
This is a fun way to get your children to eat fruit. Straws are a safe way to thread fruit, and there is a huge choice of suitable dips in store – you could also purée frozen fruit. Simply place a selection of soft fruits (such as kiwi, mango, banana, Canteloupe melon, pineapple slices in juice, lychees in juice etc), peeled and cut into bite-size pieces, in bowls on the table. Add some dipping sauces – Sainsbury’s fresh raspberry coulis, Ella’s Kitchen The Red One and The Yellow One fruit smoothies, and Sainsbury’s fresh custard are all good choices, or you could try maple syrup, Del Monte Fruitini or Ambrosia banana custard – and some drinking straws that have been cut in half. Ask each child to thread a straw with pieces of fruit and then dip into the coulis, smoothie or custard. Repeat as many times as desired.
Easy pizzas
Pizzas are easy to make and good to eat, too. Have their favourite toppings ready to sprinkle on. Use smaller shapes so that the children can have more than one go – and if you cook them in batches, no one will be left waiting around. Preheat the oven to 200ºC, fan 180ºC, gas 6. Open 2 x 300g packs of Sainsbury’s Classic Italian pizza bases and cut shapes (eg star, square, flower, circle) out freehand. Transfer to a floured baking sheet, and chill. Set out bowls with chopped Sainsbury’s Taste the difference finely sliced honey roast Wiltshire ham, sweetcorn, halved cherry tomatoes, deseeded chopped peppers and grated mozzarella, with spoons if necessary. Using a 200g tube of tomato purée, spread a dollop of purée on each of the pastry shapes, then let the children get stuck in with the toppings! When the toppings are on, bake for 10–15 minutes or until golden and the cheese is just melted. Serve hot or cold.
