I am a true believer in the idea of tasting everything and eating in moderation. I like to try different foods and use a variety of ingredients in our meals. Although I believe kids should themselves choose what they want to eat, I also believe in exposing them to as many different ingredients as possible. Only when ingredients appear in our diet in moderation and not in excess can they truly benefit us. Too much of something is always bad.
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| Egg souffle for brunch |
Since day one my son has had a problem with eggs and/or bread as part of his breakfast. It is usually porridge or wheat-flakes that take him to cloud nine but nothing else will do; especially eggs. Since he could eat solids, eggs never really tasted good. No matter how I tried it eggs was a 'no-no'; no omelette, sunny-side-up, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, scrambled or poached eggs did the trick
For a while I felt quite disappointed since one of my childhood favorite breakfast options involved eggs. I still remember my mother's egg-in-a-cup breakfast. She would soft-boil an egg, place it in a coffee cup, add small pieces of bread and a pinch of salt and scramble those together with a fork. Bread mixed up with the white and liquid yellow of the egg was a delicious breakfast option and I enjoyed every spoonful.
Lately my son started getting interested in helping out in the kitchen. Every time I approach the stove to cook something he always offers to help out. One morning I decided to boil an egg for me and he insisted on helping out; so he did. Once at the table he asked if he could taste some. Since then I offer him the option of a boiled egg for his Sunday breakfast and he accepts gladly. I am happy again :)
Eggs are known for being rich in protein but they also include many other vitamins; namely folicic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 and iron. Also, eggs help with muscle strength, provide important vitamins to during a pregnancy, promote better eyesight and help with the brain development of a foetus.
Having open the 'egg' gates with my son, I decided to add it little by little to his weekend breakfast. Another favorite of mine through the years has been αυγόφετες (avgofetes). Avgofetes is my family's version of french toast sans the sugar. So, it is simply toast dipped in egg and milk and then fried lightly in sunflower oil. Heavier than a boiled egg but delicious nonetheless To my surprise my son loved it too!
Navigate through the 'breakfast' section of my blog for great 'egg' related recipes.
Enjoy :)
Eating fast-food meals isn't considered healthy. Burgers, chicken nuggets, pizzas or hot-dogs (whether bought frozen and cooked at home or eaten at a fast food restaurant) belong to a league of foods people are advised to scarcely consume.
Nevertheless, a fast-food meal can be turned into a good home-made dinner when cooked at home with your choice of healthier ingredients and a bit of love.Why not create your own chicken nugget or burger recipe kids will salivate over, instead of having them beg for a visit to the local fast food restaurant?
We never really know the quality of meat used in the nuggets, burgers or even pizzas at our local fast-food restaurants. Take matters in your own hands and be the one to choose what goes in your family's belly. Choose the quality of meat to create your burgers and the type of oil to fry/bake your chips/wedges. Compliment you dishes with fresh vegetables and regulate the amount of salt in every portion.
From time to time I prepare home-made burgers which everyone enjoys. Each one can add their own choice of ingredients and sauces. I keep mine simple. I compliment my beef burger with green salad leaves, tomato, pickle cucumber, pineapple slice and cheese all tucked in a toasted burger bun accompanied by home-made potato wedges.
Check out this wonderful recipe (under main dishes) and enjoy a healthier burger meal at home.
I was recently watching the animated film 'Ratatouille' with my son. The film is about a mouse interested in French cuisine. The mouse dreams of becoming a chef and ends up fulfilling it. The story shows us how the mouse can follow a recipe but also use some of its imagination to alter the recipe to make it its own.
One of the dishes the mouse cooks at the end of the film is the famous 'ratatouille', a traditional Provincial dish. I got really interested in the dish itself and looked up the real recipe for ratatouille on the net. There are many different alternatives to follow. None of the pictures on the pages I visited presented the dish in the same way as the mouse in the film. I found out that ratatouille is actually a very complicated dish consisting of very simple ingredients. After having done my research, I tried to recreate Ratatouille's ratatouille dish á la Marianna :)
With a little improvisation and common sense plus some tips from the animated film itself I created the dish. To my surprise it looked and tasted great and it was not as time consuming as a real ratatouille dish. Here is my result:
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| Before baking |
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After baking
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But it not just Ratatouille-the film which inspires me to try new things and add my own twist. Great Chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Chuck Hughes and Jamie Oliver have been an inspiration. I mostly follow their recipes without changing a thing but sometimes there is space for improvisation. Some of the best recipes I have tried from these great chefs are Chuck's homemade Chicken Nuggets, Jamie's Chicken-bacon skewers and Gordon's basic lasagna. I tried Gordon's lasagna recipe which I followed word for word and this is the result:
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| Lasagna |
No matter if you follow a recipe word for word or you decide to add your own personal twist always remember to make it fun! Also, try recipes which will work for the whole family and can be cooked again and again. All three recipes mentioned above are ones I tried and have, since then, cooked many times :D
