Is food such a mystery?

Cheese is grown from trees. Tomatoes are grown under the soil.

Sounds absurd? Well, according to the latest headline from the BBC, almost a third of UK primary pupils believe that cheese is made from plants and a quarter of pupils think fish fingers come from either chicken or pigs.

The British Nutrition Foundation surveyed around 27,500 five to sixteen year olds in May 2013 – showing some further horrifying statistics such as 19% not realising potatoes grew under ground and a third of five – eight year olds believe bread or pasta is made from meat.

There have also been some stark revelations regarding some further basic food knowledge, along with many children skipping breakfast, the most important meal of the day, and many not receiving their 5-a-day of fruit and veg.

 

  

KiddiChef is determined to change these figures – We believe educating children the importance food has on your health is paramount. Specifically targeting ages of 6 months to 10 years, KiddiChef meals  provides children with nourishing, natural and nutritious meals, that not only benefit them with their tasty, healthy ingredients, but also their busy parents, as these daily deliveries take the stress out of cooking!

Using only the best food available, KiddiChef meals are freshly prepared and adhere to any nutritional need, and delivered right to your door.

These daily healthy meals from KiddiChef are fun and nurture children’s taste palettes, and most importantly help to educate children how healthy food can also be yummy food.

Get clued up on food: Get KiddiChef.

 

For more information and to see our fresh, healthy meals, find us at: http://www.kiddichef.com/

Are you aware of the ‘hidden nasties’ in your food?

Change4Life – the government’s public health programme – have launched a new campaign to expose the high levels of sugar, fat and salt in food.

 

The scheme, which aims to reduce obesity, increase activity and improve lifestyle, aired its new advertisement this week.

 

It shows a large wine glass full of fat, which supposedly represents the amount of fat in a pizza and also claims that there are 17 sugar cubes in a bottle of cola.

 

 

 

It is hoped that this very visual representation of the ‘hidden nasties’ will help people make better food choices.

 

Change4Life’s ethos is quite similar to that of KiddiChef in that we both want to create a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle.

 

KiddiChef’s meals contain only a varied selection of fresh, nutritious ingredients with no additives or preservatives.

 

However, we are not only about food, KiddiChef’s online community allows children and parents to feel part of fun, creative and inspiring hub.

 

Victoria Taylor, a dietician at the British Heart Foundation, welcomed the Change 4 Life campaign.

 

She said: "If we're to lessen the heavy burden of obesity, this campaign must provide the spark for a continued, joined-up approach to the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity across the UK."

 

 

We, at KiddiChef, hope that people take notice of the new campaign and bear it in mind when they are making food choices for themselves and their family.

Make Fish the Dish of the Day: Fish Keeps Asthma Symptoms at Bay!

A new study carried out in Rotterdam has found that introducing fish into your child’s diet between the ages of 6 months- 1 year can help in reducing the risk of developing asthma later on in life.

The study assessed the medical records of 7210 children, along side their early fish consumption levels, and found that 40-45% of the children who were not introduced to fish until after the age of 1 had developed symptoms of asthma, compared to 30% of children who consumed fish between the ages of 6 months and 1 year.

The study concludes that introducing fish into your child’s diet during this window of opportunity can reduce the risks of developing asthma by around 36%.

It was also found that the benefits of fish to children’s health was not dependant on the amount of fish consumed, meaning that introducing even a little fish into your child’s diet during this time will give them a better chance of staving off asthma.

Jessica Kiefte-De Jong, lead author of the study, states ‘introduction to fish between 6 and 12 months- but no fish consumption afterward- is associated with a lower prevalence of wheezing.’

It is believed that these health benefits are a result of certain fatty acids that fish contains that can help to protect the body against the symptoms of asthma.

Paediatrician T. Bernard Kinane comments that these results are not surprising, stating that they ‘make reasonable sense because that’s when the immune system is getting educated.’

Even though the benefits of fish in the protection against asthma only appear to fall between the ages of 6-12 months, this does not mean that fish should not be included in your child’s diet at any age.

Fish have many other health benefits, the fact that they are a great source of protein and are high in Omega-3 fatty acids helping greatly in growth and organ health, as well as being a “brain food” for a healthy mind.

Willy Wonka of the Art World Set to Change How Children View Healthy Food!

You would be forgiven for thinking, on first glance, that Carl Warner’s creations were just mystical, intricate landscapes; however, look a bit closer and you’ll get a tasty surprise!

The Willy Wonka of the art world’s latest venture of Foodscapes, a series of landscape photographs created entirely out of food, are to be published in his new book,  ‘A world of food,’ and are set to explore food in a fun and creative way.

Warner’s aim for his latest Foodscape project is to get children interested in healthy food options, as opposed to just wanting a plate of chips or a cake. Warner states ‘I use my work as a vehicle to get kids to think about what they are eating.’ Warner’s landscapes certainly do this, his pasta and cucumber trees, chilli pepper scorpion and banana hot-air balloon, complete with melon fruit basket, giving a whole new fun and creative meaning to healthy food choices.

Warner has said that he wants to change the face of healthy food with his images, making them more engaging and appetising, tempting children to pick fruit and veg at meal times over a less healthy option: ‘…make Asparagus become a rocket or turrets on a castle and it makes it much more engaging for them.’

Through Warner’s images, it is no longer a ‘yucky’ plate of broccoli in front of your child at the dinner table, but an enchanted, creepy forest that they can’t wait to explore. Seeing food in a more imaginative and engaging way at meal time, as opposed to ‘boring greens’, will encourage children to want to choose these healthy food options more, and in turn lead to a happy, healthy future generation.