Feeding your kids healthy, balanced food can sometimes feel like a challenge.
Luckily, Wicklow-based chef Oliver McCabe has made it his mission to help families eat well.
The author of Kids Kitchen Takeover (47) has seen parents make countless missteps in their pursuit of balanced family meals.
Knowing some of the key mistakes parents tend to make could help your family eat more healthily…
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1. Keeping kids out of the kitchen
A big mistake many parents make is not getting their kids involved in cooking, McCabe suggests.
“They can pick out some easy budget-friendly and healthy recipes. They can learn about food ingredients, the facts, the vitamins and the minerals, especially if they haven’t tried them before – that’s the whole journey and adventure with food,” he explains.
A common complaint from kids is not liking certain foods. By getting them involved in the cooking process, McCabe says: “If they want to leave out a fruit or vegetable and add something else in, they can do that.”
2. Not showing them what real food is
McCabe understands that many parents live “stressful lifestyles”, which means they might opt for the easy route: buying microwave dinners or getting takeout.
Particularly with children being “bombarded with brands on TV and social media”, he suggests children might think this is “real food”, when it might instead be “quite refined, processed food”.
Instead, he recommends showing children what whole ingredients look like, and how they can be brought together into a nutritious meal.
3. Putting packaged snacks in lunches
One of the unhealthiest parts of our child’s diet may be their packed lunch. With time and money in short supply, parents may opt for cheap, packaged snacks in lunchboxes.
“They’re putting in refined processed foods, packaged foods, and there are not a lot of fruits and vegetables and whole foods,” he says.
If you choose whole foods or make your own snacks, kids can also then see where their food comes from, “That it isn’t just in packets, or segments dished up to them”, says McCabe.
4. Thinking healthy meals are expensive
“Healthy is seen as being expensive,” McCabe says – but it doesn’t have to be that way.
“Unfortunately, parents and families are not visiting the smaller stores, the independent stores with fresh fruits and veg and whole foods, and local foods.
“We are in a cost-of-living crisis and smaller stores are often cheaper than supermarkets.”
5. Ignoring what is in season
Seasonal foods are often healthier and cheaper, McCabe says, and is a great thing to teach your kids.
He says families can “have a look at the blackberries in season, you can go and visit a local fruit and veg farm and orchard. Children will be able to see where the fresh fruit and veg comes from off the trees or bushes.”
Seasonal produce could be easier on your wallet, with McCabe saying: “It hasn’t arrived from overseas with import costs and refrigeration. If you go and visit your local farmer’s markets, you can do a good shop there and get a good deal on a basket of fresh fruits and vegetables.”
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Kids Kitchen Takeover by Oliver McCabe is available from Viridian, priced €23.
