Become a Rainbow Wizard: foodie tricks and experiments for kids

Kids, there’s more fun to rainbow foods than just cooking and eating them. Try practising some of these experiments in your own kitchen and amaze your friends with these simple tricks, showing them the magicians you are.

The brown apple test

When slicing or cutting an apple into pieces, the fruit turns brown in a short time. Using different methods can keep this from happening as quickly. Try the following and by timing them, see which keeps the apple from browning the longest.

Needed:

1 apple

1 lemon

knife

cutting board

Method:

With an adult supervising, cut the apple into quarters – how many pieces is that? Juice the lemon by first rolling it on a counter until it is soft than cutting it in half and squeezing the juice into a container.

Sprinkle some of the lemon juice onto 2 of the apple pieces. Take one lemon juice covered apple piece and one without and put them into the refrigerator. Leave the other 2 pices out in the air-one with and one without the lemon juice. Checking every few minutes, see how long it takes for each of the apple quarters to turn brown. Which one takes the longest?

Explanation:

This experiment shows how oxygen in the air, acid from the lemon and temperature affects the apple. It demonstrates the principle of free radicals which are damaging and anti-oxidants which are protective substances. The oxygen in the air is a free radical while the acid in the lemon is an antioxidant, in this case it is ascorbic acid also known as vitamin C. The cool temperature also acts as a preservative. So which quarter of the apple took the longest to turn brown? It should have been the piece in the refrigerator with the lemon juice on it. Which one turned brown the most quickly. You should be able to guess just by the explanation - it would be the one left out in the air with no lemon juice.

If you’d like, send a comment saying which piece of the apple was second and which was third to turn brown.

Welcome to the food blog for adults and children

If music be the food of love then maybe food is the music of healthy family life.

This blog aims to inspire and encourage adults and children to enjoy healthy eating in a fun and balanced way using the teachings of naturopath, Sharyn Singer, creator of Eat a Rainbow Every Day, together with the ideas and family food expertise of Sally Dorling of Marketing Foods.

The following recipes, stories, nutritional tips and fun activities are for adults and children to share. Enjoy, with us, fantastic food, fun preparation and the pleasure of sharing it.

Ginger Fudgy Muffins

Scrummy, dummy dumptious! These are moist, full of flavour and a real muffin treat.

Makes approx 14

Ingredients:

200g butter diced
175g dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons black treacle
2 large eggs, beaten
2 dessert spoons ginger preserve (available from The Chiltern Brewery Shop)
150ml semi skimmed milk
2 large eggs
300g SR flour
1 tablespoon ginger powder

Method: Heat the oven to 170°C. Place 14 paper muffin cases on a baking tray. Melt the butter, sugar and treacle over a gentle heat in a large saucepan. Remove from the heat for 5 mins, stir in the milk, the beaten eggs and the ginger preserve. Sift the flour and ginger powder into the mixture and stir thoroughly. Spoon the mixture into the cases and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes, they will be a bit stodgy when they come out but this makes them extra moist. Cool and enjoy as a special treat.

Kids: These are great fun to make and you can help with every stage of the cooking as above. Did you know that ginger is a prized spice and grows as a root plant. It not only tastes delicious but is supposed to help make tummy aches better.

Rainbow Ratatouille

Flavours of summer, colours of the rainbow and bouquets of the Mediterranean, my oven-baked ratatouille is fresh, simple and delicious. Make a big batch, it will last you for a few days in the fridge and can be served on its own with crusty bread, with pasta or rice, or even as an excellent pizza topping.

Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients:

4 medium aubergines
3 peppers (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green, preferably)
5 courgettes
3 medium white onion
4 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs (Herbes de Provence are perfect)
Salt & pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil
500ml tomato passata (you can use tinned chopped tomatoes and whiz them up in the liquidizer)
A splosh of red wine (or balsamic vinegar)
1 teaspoon sugar
Fresh basil leaves to serve

Method: Heat the oven to 200°C. Chop the aubergines, peppers, courgettes and onions into big chunks (about 1 inch). Place in a large baking dish and mix around with your hands. Crush the garlic and add to the mixture with the bay leaf, dried herbs, salt & pepper, and 4 tablespoons of olive oil (the aubergines absorb a lot). Mix thoroughly with your hands and place in the heated oven. Bake for 45 minutes but check every 15 minutes and stir the vegetable round to get them evenly roasted. When the vegetables begin to soften take the dish out of the oven. Pour the tomato passata and red wine over the vegetables then sprinkle the sugar over the top. Stir and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes. Check the seasoning when you remove from the oven then leave to stand for 15 minutes before sprinkling with some fresh basil leaves and serving with a fresh piece of crusty bread.

Kids: This will definitely ensure that you really enjoy the delicious flavours of the vegetables used in this dish. How many colours from the rainbow can you actually spot? Help to prepare by chopping some of the vegetables and make sure you get your (clean) hands involved in mixing all the ingredients together before the ratatouille goes into the oven.

Watercress Soup

Delicious hot or cold, this is so easy and quick to prepare, and ideal as a starter or a lunch option. Rich in vitamin C, watercress also contains lots of health-giving minerals to keep you nourished. One of my seasonal favourites…

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 x 250g bunches watercress, washed
A knob of butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
850ml vegetable stock
salt & pepper to season
Greek style natural yogurt to serve

Method: Finely chop the stems of the watercress, setting the main leaves aside for later. Heat the butter in a heavy based pan, add the onions, garlic, potato and watercress stems. Put on the lid and ‘sweat’ the pan contents for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour over the vegetable stock, add half the remaining leaves and bring to a simmer until the potatoes are softened (approx 10-15 mins). Season to taste then add the remaining leaves, liquidize until smooth and serve with a spoonful of Greek natural yogurt stirred through. Serve with some fresh crusty bread and enjoy…

Kids: This is definitely GREEN when it comes to our rainbow of foods. Can you name 5 other green vegetables? Help to make the soup above and enjoy the vibrant colour of the watercress along with the delicious, peppery taste.

Tricolore Salad

Having invested in a new vegetable table this spring we are just reaping the first harvest of fresh salad and rocket leaves which taste equisite picked straight from the garden and are packed with nutrition. Used as a base for an old favourite, try this spring version of tricolore salad (with leaves and avocado) which I serve with a homemade garlic and rosemary pizzette.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 large handfuls of mixed baby salad leaves and rocket
4 large beef tomatoes (or 8 medium ripe tomatoes)
2 ripe avocadoes, peeled and halved
350g good quality buffalo mozzarella
1 large bunch fresh basil leaves
Salt & pepper to sprinkle

Dressing:
50ml balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
150ml olive oil

Method: Lay out 4 dinner plates. Wash and prepare the salad leaves and place a good handful on each plate. Slice the tomatoes thickly and arrange over the salad leaves – 1 tomato per plate. Slice the avocado lenghthways and arrange over the tomatoes – 1/2 an avocado per person. Break the mozzarella into small chunks and distribute evenly over the 4 dishes. Break and scrunch the basil leaves to bring out the natural oils and scatter over the top. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper to taste. To make the dressing put the balsamic vinegar and mustard into a bowl and whisk together. Add the olive oil slowly and whisk as you go, it should make a lovely thick dressing which you can just drizzle over the top of each salad. Enjoy with fresh crusty bread and benefit from the excellent source of vitamins, antioxidants, lycopene from the tomatoes and vitamin E from the avocado.

Kids: The Tricolore is the name of the Italian national flag which is red, white and green. Each of the main ingredients represents these colours – you could also call it Rainbow Tricolore Salad. It’s another great way to benefit from the colours of fresh foods.

Vegetable Cheddar Muffins with Spring Nettles and Wild Garlic

Waxing lyrical about the benefits of nettles is easy, especially in the spring, as these ’wonderful weeds’ contain so much goodness. Packed with minerals like iron, potassium and magnesium which help when we are stressed, nettles make a great spring tonic and blood builder for those with low iron levels.

6 regular sized or 12 -16 mini muffins

Ingredients:

225g gluten free flour (try Dove’s Farm)
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
35 g cheddar cheese – grated
1 small onion- chopped
1 carrot- grated
small handful of vegetables such as small broccoli florettes, grated courgette, spinach or other vegetables
small gloved handful of nettles –top 4 leaves, rinsed
2 or 3 wild garlic leaves, rinsed and chopped (try substituting 2 TBS other herbs chives, parsley, thyme, rosemary) if not available
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1 egg
¾ cup plain yogurt
salt, pepper to taste

Method: Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).

Line the muffin tin with muffin cups or parchment squares.

Heat butter in a frying pan, add onion and carrot and cook for few a minutes until soft. Add remaining vegetables, nettles and wild garlic or herbs. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and process in a food processor or chop finely by hand.

Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda together in a bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk egg and mix in yogurt, cheese, vegetable mixture, salt, pepper. Mix the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and mix just until it comes together. Add a little more yogurt if the dough is too thick. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups filling to the top.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the muffins are golden and risen and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. For mini muffins, check after 15 minutes.

Kids: If you thought nettles were just bothersome weeds, this may change your mind. Help with the recipe by picking the nettles. Of course wear gloves, choose carefully where you pick them-away from a lot of traffic, pollution or places people walk their dogs. If they grow in your own garden, that is often a good place to pick them.  Eat these muffins when you have a lot of school work to do, the nettles will help you cope. .

If you know where places wild garlic grows, you can also pick this for the recipe. Like ordinary garlic, it is good for the immune system, especially if you are very busy. As it only grows  in the early spring, pick some extra-wash it,  chop it and freeze it in a plastic bag to use year round in soups, sauces and of course these muffins.

Always make certain you know what plants you are picking by asking an adult!