Having the kitchen at arm’s length during home isolation is an instant distraction for children whilst they are trying to power their way through schoolwork on a weekday. Not to mention the struggles at the dinner table when your child somehow seems too full to eat their nutritious home cooked meal!
Good nutrition is vital for growing children, and our OSHC services often refer to the Camp Australia Healthy Eating Cookbook for nutritious ideas when it comes to providing food that will help children to thrive at before and after school care. Our cookbook was developed in consultation with Nutrition Australia and contains healthy recipes that are quick and easy and all kids approved. Ideal for encouraging children to get creative in the kitchen.
Cooking is one of the great after school activities for kids to do at home. Children love to be kept busy at home and if they have recipes to refer to, they can create some delicious snacks for themselves instead of automatically heading to the pantry for more convenient options.
Convenience doesn’t always have to come in a cardboard box or snack-sized packet. Here are some healthy snack ideas from our very own cookbook that’s been tried and tested each day at before and after school care.
Banana Smoothie
Serves 3
Delicious and easy to prepare smoothie.
Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Method:
- Peel the banana and break into pieces
- Blend all ingredients until smooth (use blender if provided, otherwise use fork)
- Serve cold
Apricot Balls
Ingredients:
- 200g dried apricots
- ¼ cup desiccated coconut
- 2 Vitabrits
- 1 tablespoon water
Method:
- Place apricots, coconut and VitaBrits into a bowl and mash until smooth
- Add water gradually and continue to mix until well combined
- Using wet hands, form mixture into balls and roll in coconut
Rice Bubble Hedgehog
Serves 24
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Dried fruit
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup cocoa
- ½ cup coconut
- ½ cup rice bubbles
Method:
- Finely chop the dried fruit
- Melt the honey so it is warm and runny
- Add all the ingredients together until well mixed
- This can be rolled into balls, put into muffin tins or made as a slice
- Refrigerate until set and then serve
Cheesemite Scrolls
Serves 6
This hearty snack can be enjoyed all year round.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups self-rising flour plus extra flour for dusting
- 1 ½ cups of reduced fat milk
- 1 cup of reduced fat cheese (grated)
- Vegemite
Method:
- Preheat an oven to 220°C
- Sift the 4 cups of flour into a bowl then mix in milk
- When combined into a dough put extra flour on bench and roll out the pastry flat
- Spread a thin amount of vegemite and grated cheese onto dough then roll from one side to the other
- Cut into 2-3cm pieces and bake in oven for approximately 30 mins
Mini Pizzas
Serves 10
Pizzas are thought to be of Italian origin. They consist of a shallow bread-like crust covered with tomato salsa. Children can choose their own toppings.
Ingredients:
- Bread (toasted) or rice cakes (not toasted)
- Salsa
- Grated cheese and sliced vegetables e.g. carrot, cucumber
Method:
- Spread salsa on toasted bread or rice cakes
- Grate vegetables and cheese then put on top of toast or rice cakes
- Place toast in the oven till cheese melts and serve
- If using rice cakes just add the grated veggies and the toppings
Keeping children busy at home is often challenging but we’ll be sure to share more healthy recipes regularly via our blog to mix it up a bit. In the meantime, if your child is a chef at heart, there are more cooking ideas in our Cooking at home guide that has been collated by our dedicated programmers at Rocketeers.
Camp Australia is an advocate for healthy eating and incorporates food into before and after school care sessions that is not only fresh and nutritious but tasty too. To find a location near you, please visit https://www.campaustralia.com.au/families.
