Cooking with kids: Fish pie

Sainsbury's Active Kids promotion is back, and many parents like me, collect the vouchers for our kids' schools. The more Active Kids vouchers you collect, the more your school will benefit, as they will be able to exchange the vouchers for Active Kids equipment and experiences.
Even if your children are no longer in nursery or school you could check out who's collecting near you at Sainsburys.co.uk/ActiveKids.
Sainsbury's Active Kids recently released an "Eat well. Move well. Live well" report. It delved into the current issues surrounding young people's attitudes to their nutrition, health and fitness.

Image credits: Sainsbury's Active Kids

The report showed some thought-provoking stats about the health and nutrition beliefs of children.
- Over one fifth refer to social media, YouTube stars and bloggers to find information on healthy eating.
- 41% of kids believe they should "probably do more" when it comes to exercise
- 43% of kids think that cutting out a food group will lead to a healthy lifestyle.
There is considerable evidence that the UK's children are living increasingly unhealthy lifestyles, for a number of reasons, including the rise of social media, the increased availability of cheap fast food and the move away from home cooking.
Sainsbury's Active Kids programme is now in its 13th year. Every year it donates millions of pounds worth of equipment and experiences to UK schools, nurseries and clubs.
Both of my sons' schools have boxes in the offices, and encourage parents to collect the vouchers.

What needs to be done to encourage our children to live healthier lives? Is it a school's role or parents' responsibility? Also it it up to a school to police what children are eating?
I regularly read discussions on Mumsnet about how confusing and contradictory the policing of what children eat at school is. Some of the schools implement stupid regulations on what is allowed in the lunchboxes, confiscating yogurts or homemade flapjacks, at the same time offering calorie and sugar-laden desserts to children who eat school lunches.

My children's schools are quite laid-back about what comes in the lunch box.
Looking at Eddie's school menu (he eats school lunches four times a week, except on Wednesday when he takes a lunch box, as he doesn't like roast meat), it is quite varied and includes a good selection of meals. However, almost every dessert (or pudding, as my son calls it) is pretty sweet - iced buns with fruit, strawberry jelly with peaches, sticky toffee sponge with cream, iced cream with fruit, chocolate and pear brownie, fruit salad waffle and chocolate sauce, apple turnover with custard etc.
A treat once in a while is absolutely fine, but I would have liked them to include more fresh fruit as a dessert, or a fruit salad without cream or sauce.

I know it is easier to say we should all have a balanced diet, than actually follow your own advice. My children are both fussy eaters.
Teaching children to cook is one way of encouraging them to eat healthier.

Both of my sons show interest in cooking, though they prefer to help me with cakes and bakes, and understandably so. Decorating a cake is much more fun than cooking steamed broccoli.
Sasha loves to watch while I'm chopping and mixing. Eddie loves to help with beating the cake batter.
I should be more relaxed about them getting it wrong, or making a big mess, otherwise how will they learn.

Last week, I asked Eddie to help me to make individual fish pies. He was in charge of mashed potato topping, and he was very enthusiastic about it.

Individual fish pies (serves 3-4, depending on the size of ramekins)
Ingredients:
2 medium to big potatoes
4 heaped tbsp Greek style yogurt
a squeeze of lemon juice
1tbsp olive oil
350g fish pie mix (salmon, haddock, etc)
2tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2tbsp chopped fresh spring onions
a handful of sweetcorn, defrosted
a handful of peas, defrosted

Make the potato mash first by boiling the peeled and chopped potatoes in a medium pan of boiling water for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain the water, leaving a little bit in a pan. Mash the potatoes, allow to cool, then stir in the yogurt and lemon juice.
In a frying pan, give fish mix a quick fry for a couple of minutes, turning over. Add the chopped herbs, sweetcorn and peas, and put into the slightly oiled individual deep ramekins. Top up with the mashed potatoes, and put the ramekins in the oven preheated to 180C for 20 minutes.
Serve hot, with some steamed greens, like tenderstem broccoli or green beans.

This is a healthier version of the fish pie. We didn't use butter or whole milk in the mash, adding the low calorie Greek style yogurt instead. Usually I would top up the fish pie with grated cheese, but we skipped it this time. It was a lovely fish pie nevertheless, but I think next time we'll still add a bit of grated cheese.
Eddie liked being in charge of the mash, and pronounced it delicious (even if it was quite lumpy).

Disclosure: I received a Sainsbury's voucher for the purposes of cooking a healthier meal with my kids. All opinions are our own.

Spaghetti and meatballs & Sloppy Joes (Summer Sorted)

Summer holidays... You eagerly await them and whoop with joy when they arrive, but after a while the task of entertaining kids non-stop becomes more and more taxing. Many family activities cost a lot of money, and don't even mention going away on holidays. Our staycation in Cornwall costed us an arm and a leg, though we had a truly fabulous time. Recently Sainsbury's has launched a Summer Sorted campaign to help families get the most out of their summer holidays. This campaign runs until the 24th of August, and offers ideas to parents as well as an inspiration for simple solutions  on how to keep children well fed and entertained this summer. It also offers a practical advice on how to manage the budget with some great promotions in store.
You can read more about the campaign on Summer Sorted page.
As a foodie blogger, I was asked to test one of the tasty recipes from the campaign. I was pleased to be asked to cook Spaghetti with meatballs and Sloppy Joes.

Sloppy Joes

We eat lots of pasta, and spaghetti are always eaten with great enthusiasm.
If you haven't seen the campaign yet, have a look at the recipes and cook one of them. As part of the campaign, Sainsbury's has launched a fun competition to encourage readers and their families to upload a "platie". Take a photo of your meal (Choose from Apple Thins, Pitta Pizzas, Meatballs and Sloppy Joes, Yoghurt Buttons), then tweet an image to @Sainsburys with a hashtag #Platie #Summer Sorted for a chance to win a £200 grocery shop.

The Summer Sorted recipes include Apple Thins, Pitta Pizzas, Meatballs and Sloppy Joes and Yoghurt Buttons.

Sainsbury's have offered a budget recipe which stretches one meal into two. For example,

Tonight’s dinner - Spaghetti & meatballs

Tomorrow’s lunch: Sloppy Joes

Spaghetti and meatballs (recipe reproduced with kind permission from Sainsbury's)

Description: Tasty meatballs made from tender beef mince flavoured with herbs, served with a mixed vegetable tomato sauce and spaghetti

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4, plus leftovers for Sloppy Joes for lunch the following day

Ingredients:

500g pack extra lean beef steak mince by Sainsbury’s

1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs by Sainsbury’s

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

500g jar tomato and herb pasta sauce by Sainsbury’s

4 medium carrots, chopped

2 sticks celery, chopped

350g spaghetti by Sainsbury’s

30g mild British Cheddar, finely grated

Method:

1 In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mince, mixed herbs and garlic until combined. Season with freshly ground black pepper then, using your hands, shape the mixture into 12 balls. 

2 Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook for 10 minutes, turning regularly, until golden all over.

3 Drain off any excess from the pan, then pour in the pasta sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes. If the sauce is a little thick, add a few tablespoons of boiling water. 

4 While the sauce is simmering, bring a medium pan of water to the boil, add the carrots and cook for 7 mins until tender, adding the celery to the pan for the final 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain then stir into the pan with the meatballs.

5 Meanwhile, fill another large pan with water and bring to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until tender. Drain.

6 Divide the spaghetti between bowls, top with the meatballs and tomato sauce, and serve scattered with the Cheddar.

I have slightly adapted the recipe by cooking the chopped carrots and celery with the meatballs, as I like them slightly caramelised rather than just boiled. You can add a bit of water while they're cooking in the frying pan. 

Cook’s Tip:

To make enough meatballs and sauce to have Sloppy Joes for lunch the next day, simply use a 750g pack mince, a 700g jar tomato and herb pasta sauce and 2 extra carrots. This will be enough for 20 meatballs  – use 12 for dinner (or 3 meatballs per person) and use the remaining ones for lunch the following day. Serve them warm in white finger rolls. 

Due to the generous amount of chopped carrots and celery, there was plenty of sauce for pasta. My family agreed that it was very tasty.

And today for lunch we had some Sloppy Joes.

Disclosure: I received a selection of Sainsbury's products to prepare the meal. 

Just Yu! and nobody else but Yu!

Eddie is our king of raisins, he would live on raisins alone given a chance. I have been buying Yu! yogurt-coated raisins for him for a few months, and he enjoys eating them very much.

When I was asked to review some of the new Yu! products, I immediately said Yes, please.

You might have seen Yu! products in the baking sections of Sainsbury's and Tesco among the dried fruit snacks.

Yogurt coated fruit pieces are availaible in strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant and raisin (RRP£0.45 per single 25g pouch or £2.00 per 5 x 25g multipack).
They are delicious bites of real berries covered in a creamy yogurt coating. Perfect for the school lunchboxes and for snacking at home too. Kids will love these healthy snacks, they taste so good.

I say kids, but actually they are not just for kids. It is easy to carry a small bag of snacks with you in a purse, and enjoy with your cuppa in the office. You don't have to feel guilty for having a sweet treat. These snacks are made from real fruit and berries and are totally free from any added nasties.

 We first tried the little bag of yogurt coated raspberries, and they disappeared so fast that I didn't have a chance to take a photo. These are freeze-dried pieces of raspberries, naturally sweet and with a delicate taste of the yogurt coating.

Next it was the turn of the strawberries coated in yogurt, and they were lovely too.

What you see on a photo on a plate above are the strawberries coated in yogurt and 100% Jus Fruit (mango and blueberry).

100% Jus Fruit are delicious bite-sized pieces of dried fruit, one of your 5-a-day and less than 90 calories.They are made from more than 7.2 times its own weight in real fruit. The fruit has been concentrated into fruit pieces.100% Jus Fruit is available in 4 fantastic flavours: strawberry, blackcurrant, blueberry and mango. They retailat £0.67 per single24g pouch.

Eddie absolutely loved them. Alas, I cannot find them yet in the local supermarkets. They are basically little buttons of the concentrated fruit juice, full of flavour and slightly chewy. Hopefully they will appear soon locally. Personally I prefer them to the yogurt coated berries, they are delicious. I guess they might be lovely sprinkled on top of the granola in the morning, or added to Greek-style yogurts.

Yu! Bars - 40% fruit combined with cereal in a healthy yogurt coating. These bars are available in four different flavours: strawberry, cherry, wild berry and apricot. RRP £1.79 per 3x 30g bars.

I left trying the cereal bar until the very last moment, as I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I had
my share of the yogurt-based health bars that taste like cardboard.

But a strawberry Yu! bar happened to be a lovely surpise. It looks fun too: a layer of rice crispies with the bits of strawberries, all coated in yogurt. Eddie and I both had a half each, and it was
gone in 60 seconds. It has a delicate taste, with a nice crunch and well-balanced flavours. And it changed my view on the yogurt-coated cereal bars. Perfect for when you are feeling peckish.

Monsters for my little monsters (Halloween Make a Monster kit review)

Browsing shelves in Sainsbury's, I spotted a box of Hallowe'en Make a Monster: Gingerbread men kit by Sainsbury's. The kit comes with a mix, a cookie cutter and a small bag of golden syrup as well as two icing tubes, all you have to do is add a bit of water and butter.

So we stirred and we poked the dough, we rolled it on the board and cut out the gingerbread men, then in they went in the oven to come out in 10 minutes all nice and golden brown.

Sasha wasn't interested in helping and watched me a bit anxiously, trying to take away his book Noisy Monsters that I tried to use as an inspiration for decorating my Mummy and Skeletons.
I also bought a pack of Dr Oetker Coloured Ready to Roll Icing which comes in several colours and Silver Spoon Writing Icing.
This is how the cookies looked before being baked.

You get 6 men and a bit.
My gingerbread men are a bit psychedelic. The Mummy is covered with yellow rolled icing and painted over. The skeletons were decorated with the icing pen from the kit, and I thought that I would prefer a slightly whiter icing, this one is almost translucent.
And if you like your gingerbread men have a more pronounced ginger flavour, I suggest adding a bit more ginger while making the dough, as the flavour is quite mild.