parenting | Vegie Smugglers

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Perfection, for one minute only

October 27, 2010 · Filed under News · Tagged family, parenting

Parenting bliss, for a fleeting moment

In our house at the moment, the tantrums are over. Mr Meat & Potatoes has reached that magical age where logic prevails and his vocabulary is sufficient to render tantrums a bit useless. He’ll still have a go, the face screws up and a wail begins, but then for a split second he gets eye contact with me, sees my cross face and realises that there’s just not really any point. He’ll sigh dramatically, storm off telling me that “I’m not your mummy” and that’ll be it.

After 4 years of living with toddlers, it’s a strange revelation to be coming out the other side.

I ask the kids to take their discarded clothes to the laundry – and they do. I warn them to take little bites because something is hot – and they do. I scream at them to stop fighting – and they don’t… I guess we’ve still got a way to go.

Yesterday as they ran off to the daycare entrance together – Miss Fruitarian in her school uniform that now vaguely fits and Mr M&P with his own backpack full of grown up stuff like a spare pare of undies and a blankie – I was struck by this lovely moment of perfection. The sky was blue, the day warm and my lovely little children were giggling and running just for the sake of it, because it feels good. They yelled, “race you mum” and then at the gate they were triumphant but softened the blow of my poor performance with “don’t worry mum, you’re lucky last”.

These perfect moments are always just a flash throughout a mundane day. They’ve happened throughout their childhoods, but are occurring now with more frequency. Perhaps pushed forth by their impending change into proper grown-up children. I’m so aware of the daily little events that are all about to disappear. The little hands covered in baby fat, that still curl up around my neck when I pick them up. The clumsy running styles, the little nudie runs at bathtime and my pathological need to squeeze their little bums whenever they’re presented to me (and them letting me do it). Their enjoyment of being with me, the way they like me to hold their hands the whole way to their destination. How I’m supposed to stay in the playground to wave goodbye. Their pride at abstract scribbles and folded bits of paper. At the moment, it’s all PERFECT.

Which means of course, that any day now I’m going to wake up and find that it’s all in the past. They’ll have suddenly made the leap to the next level and I’ll no longer have a 6 and 3 year old (and I’ll no longer be 37). Will I grieve it? Hopefully it’ll just be replaced with another stage of enjoyment. And just for today, I have one more chance to embrace my inner-Buddhist, and live life wholly in the moment, enjoying the perfection surrounding me.

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The real reason I do craft (is to get the gossip)

October 7, 2010 · Filed under Craft for non-crafty parents · Tagged craft, family, parenting

The world has turned in the last year as Miss Fruitarian ventures forth into the playground and the world of alliances, secrets and boys.

It’s hard to keep up. Last week you had to take sandwiches for lunch, one ponytail only and white socks. Last month it was green stockings, two piggytails and plain pasta in the lunchbox.

Miss F slaves dutifully to the trends and I am starting to dread the teenage years when all of the peer pressure starts to impact in more truly existential ways.

Figuring that good communication comes from years of habit, I’ve instigated a couple of new strategies aimed at keeping our relationship strong. We go to the library every 3 weeks after school. Choose books; read a couple then take tea at the library café. She gets to choose whatever gluggy cake takes her fancy and I latte away. These affairs are nice, but not entirely successful. They tend to go like this

Me “Who are you playing with at the moment?”
Her “Same.”
Me “How are you enjoying the games you’re playing with the girls?”
Her “Good.”

You get the idea.

More successful is the impromptu sitting at the dining table, attention wholly on her, with glue sticks, scissors and bits of paper. There is no eye contact; we are too intent on our creation. We chat about colours, how many shades of pink exist in the world etc. Then, from time to time after a little pause, I get little gems out of her like “do you know… Georgia has a boyfriend!”.

Bingo. Craft has delivered the goods yet again.

Colouring in worksheet for mum/daughter bonding time.

Get all the important news while you colour away.

With that in mind, here’s some girl colouring, with all of the little creatures they like. Interesting enough to keep her at the table for the half hour needed to really find out what’s going on.

What Juanita eats when she’s not reading the news…

September 30, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, News · Tagged brunch, dinner, eggs, family, feeding the family, mealtime, parenting, recipe, salmon, vegies

With the Vegie Smugglers cookbook so fresh off the presses, I’m still a bit chuffed whenever I receive positive feedback about it. Setting up as an independent publisher of quality publications has not been easy. I love it when people tell me how nice the stock is, how gorgeous the photos are etc etc. That’s all great, but what I REALLY want to know is how are the recipes working in your household?

A smattering of copies have made their way around town, and one person who instantly sprang to mind to send one to was Juanita Phillips, broadcaster and author of A Pressure Cooker Saved My Life. She seems like a nice lady. And a busy one. With small kids to boot.

And apparently she is nice, since she emailed me straight away – a chatty note about the food battles at her house (food boredom, with a small and over-used collection of dinners on high rotation). I was VERY chuffed when she said…

“I love your book! I’m very very excited about it. It looks gorgeous but more importantly the recipes are terrific. I made the salmon pancakes on Sunday night and the only sound at the table was quiet scoffing as every last pancake was eaten.”

She plans to work her way through the book AND tell all her friends about it. Awwwww she IS a REALLY nice lady. So in tribute, I’m renaming the Salmon Pikelets after her…

The pikelet that more journalists trust.

Juanita’s salmon pikelets

These little miracles are delicious fresh, reheated or from the freezer. The smaller size makes them perfect for toddlers seeking a bit of feeding independence.

2/3 cup self-raising flour
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
400g can red or pink salmon, drained, flaked
2 cubes frozen spinach portions, thawed (or ½ cup fresh English spinach, finely shredded)
1 small red onion, finely diced
125g can corn kernels, drained
2 tbsp chopped chives or coriander (optional)
Black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and milk and whisk out any lumps. Use your hands to crumble in the salmon (crushing up any bones), then stir through the spinach, onion, corn and herbs (if using) until evenly combined. Season with pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add 1-2 tbsp of batter to form pikelets 5-6cm wide. Cook for 2-3 minutes then use a spatula to turn over carefully. Flatten with the spatula and cook for another couple of minutes until golden brown on both sides. Repeat in batches with remaining batter.

Serve with green beans and lemon wedges.

MAKES 20

STORAGE Place cooked pikelets on a plate for 10 minutes to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Reheat in the frying pan, oven or microwave.

FOR THE ADULTS Serve these on a bed of rocket and smother them with sweet chilli sauce and a squeeze of lemon.

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My holiday house survival guide

September 28, 2010 · Filed under News · Tagged family, ideas, kids, parenting, top 10

Holiday heaven awaits you

Yippeeeee. Holiday time. The chance to settle into your family for more than a snatched half-hour. Time to play and explore together. Time to experience true moments of joy and remember why it is that you had a family and how much you all love each other. Awwww, don’t the kids look cute down on the beach! You just went exploring and here they are, after being soaked by a couple of waves, down to their undies frolicking. Soon, they’ll resemble sand schnitzels and soon after that the whinging and crying will begin… ‘I’m cold’ ‘the sand won’t get off’ etc. You get the idea. Like all of life, holidays are just as full of good and bad, perhaps we’re just a little more aware and focused than usual.

Family holidays are more fun now than they used to be. Remember those early trips, when you were still having to do all of the tasks of baby wrangling, but without all your stuff? So much hard work that you wondered why you bothered. Now though, it’s almost smooth sailing. But even today, I have a list of things that (if I remember to pack them) will make my holiday house or caravan cabin experience much easier.

Ten things to take on your next holiday.

1. A big sharp knife. Holiday rentals only ever have crap knives. Just pack one nice big one that can do everything. If you are particularly devoted to BBQs, pack steak knifes. Whilst talking sharp things, a good peeler and a pair of scissors that actually cut is handy.

2. Zip lock bags. Or a roll of cling wrap. Or IKEAs best ever product, the Bevara clip. So that you can do something with all that half eaten stuff.

3. While we’re at it, take a couple of plastic containers, which can store stuff and double as salad bowls and seashell storage.

4. A roll of paper towel. Use as napkins, for draining bacon and mopping up wee, when lovely child has been too preoccupied in the sand to make it to the toilet in time.

5. Olive oil. The frying pans are never non-stick. Or if they are, they have been scratched raw, which is a pretty good example of why frustrated landlords give up on supplying anything decent (see number 1).

6. Kids plastic bowls/plates/cups and cutlery. Because they WILL smash anything else.

7. Stove top cafetiere. Most Australian coastal towns have decent coffee somewhere. But it might be a walk, or slow service. Just take your own.

8. Salt & pepper. Because your prawn roll needs seasoning. And if you forget them, you’ll be forced up to the IGA to buy a picnic set that costs a fortune and when back home will gather dust along with the other 6 sets that you’ve bought on your 6 previous trips away. Tomato sauce falls into this category too.

9. Tea towel and face washer (wrap the knife in them). Mozzie spray. Bandaids and panadol for everyone. A spare roll of loo paper to keep in the car.

10. Two-use stuff. Pesto can be smeared on toast with tomato, stirred through pasta or dolloped on meat. Antipasto for nibbles and the oil works as salad dressing. Peanut butter can go on bread without margarine and also used to make a basic satay sauce.

And while we’re at it, beer coolers work as ice block holders and ice blocks work as ice packs. Towels and bunks make cubbies and champagne corks and a texta make cool little people. Yoghurt containers can be used as sand toys and cocktail umbrellas make everyone happy for so many reasons.

So with that I must go. It’s after wine o’clock and the front deck is calling.

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School holiday fun (on the cheap)

September 23, 2010 · Filed under Craft for non-crafty parents, News · Tagged craft, family, ideas, kids, parenting

Your kids can have THE BEST DAY EVER these school holidays.

Right-o. School holiday time again and desperate parents throughout Australia are trying to find fun ways to get through the break without killing their offspring. With Christmas just around the corner, it’s also great to find a few ways to pass the time without spending too much money.

I’ve done a bit of web trawling and here are some ideas about how to fill in those spare half hours (when the kids are starting to climb the walls)

Every kid I know is in love with Mister Maker. Amazing how a few empty containers and some silver paint can keep them busy for a bit. It doesn’t get much easier (or more unisex) than his Lolly Stick Lizard project that you can make in 1 minute.

Despite kids getting older, they still love to have a go with play dough – they can add a few paddle pop sticks and straws and start making a few more sophisticated things. There’s a nice article and playdough recipes at Sixty Second parent. Girls might like to add a big handful of glitter to their dough to make it all fairy sparkly.

The other morning on ABC 702, Adam Spencer played ‘Popcorn’ by Hot Butter. Remember it? Far out, my kids went nuts. So now it is on high Youtube rotation. A Youtube disco is great, since it is FREE. While you’re in the silly song groove, check out Yolanda Be Cool Vrs DCup – We No Speak Americano which will have them jumping about like idiots. And then finish them off with anything by Fatboy Slim, although The Rockafeller Skank has strange people dancing in weird dress-ups, a cowboy clad DJ and breakdancing. All good fun.

If you’re keen for a bit of kitchen time (after you’ve made all of my recipes, of course), check out Annabel Karmel’s cooking with kids section for a good range of recipes. Usually though, the kids just want to make sweet stuff – nothing beats this
chocolate chip cookies recipes from Martha Stewart kids.

And if they’re still bored? They can design and make a lounge room cubby house or whip up this cute paper chatterbox from www.freshforkids.com.au (which comes with instructions).

And don’t forget the craft worksheets that I’ve already posted on here. Reprint and do them again – kids don’t seem to mind the repetition!

So that’s my list. But what’s on yours?

Eat with your eyes (and get food in your eyebrows, on your lap and in your hair)

September 13, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged dinner, feeding the family, mealtime, parenting, recipe, salmon, vegetables, zucchini

One of my kids has always been a grotty little thing. A bit like a walking diary – remnants of the day gather in layers on their clothing and are smudged in stripes around their head (and my house). I can see layers of morning tea underneath the milk from 2.30 and the after dinner biscuit adds a decorative element to finish the day. The fingers have permanent texta stains and I have, more than once remembered Pig Pen and wondered if we’re related.

Dirt is apparently good for kids, which might explain why this child is very healthy. But at dinner I’ve been driven to the point of total frustration and have now had to instigate two new rules.

1. If there is cutlery set out, then we MUST at least TRY to use it before we start picking through dinner with our fingers. And;

2. NO TONGUES at the table. I DO NOT want to see your tongue at any stage. We do not lick our gnocci clean. We do not lick the seasoning off baked vegies. Our tongue stays in our mouths at all times and if at all humanly possible we try to keep our mouths closed while we chew.

Of course, it’s a bit of an uphill battle, but one I feel the need to revisit every time someone else’s child has been here and displayed stunningly good manners. Recently a little friend came over. She sat still all dinnertime. When her plate was clean (and there was NOTHING on the floor around her) she brought her empty bowl to me in the kitchen, unprompted. I was so shocked, I forgot to say ‘thank you’.

I like to think that my kids can turn it on when they’re visiting elsewhere, but I’m not sure.

Some nights I have the strength to tackle lessons in etiquette and correct usage of utensils. But other nights, if my mummy-patience is more than a little frayed, I just make these salmon bites and avoid the flashpoint entirely.

See, they\’re mouth sized, in the hope that your child can play \’fit the shape\’.

Salmon & zucchini bites

Don’t worry about this mix being quite ‘wet’. Rolling the balls in flour gives them a nice crunchy coating and ensures that the inside stays nice and moist.

185g can pink salmon, drained
2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
1 zucchini, grated (you can peel the skin off first, if your kids are absolutely green-phobic)
1 egg, lighten whisked
Pepper
1/4 cup plain flour
2 tbsp canola oil, for cooking
Lemon wedges, to serve

Combine all of the ingredients except the flour in a large mixing bowl.

Squeeze into gold ball sized patties. Toss in the flour and coat evenly.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the patties in the oil for 3-4 minutes each side until golden.

Remove and drain on paper towel.

Sprinkled with lemon juice and serve as a snack or place in a wrap with salad and light mayonaise.

MAKES 10

Toddler Recipes: What (and how) to feed fussy eaters

Advice on how to get your toddler eating a wide variety of vegetables with 26 clever recipes that smuggle the healthy ingredients in.

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Because there’s more to life than slaving in the kitchen

September 7, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Vegetarian, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged dinner, Fast food, feeding the family, mealtime, parenting, pasta, recipe, vegetables, vegetarian

For someone with a devotion to feeding my family healthy food, I have a strangely mixed relationship with the kitchen. I am not a chef. I am a care-giver. I think, like me, most parents have times when it feels like they are trapped in the kitchen, trying to conceive and prepare tasty things that their kiddies will eat with the minimum of fuss.

Perhaps my devotion to Vegie Smuggling recipes is actually laziness-based. Parenting is exhausting and I really like to clock off at the end of the day. I love to feed them, bath them, and pop them into bed, with a clean conscience about their nutritional welfare. Because then what I really love is to sit with my hunky husband, a BIG glass of wine and a variation of whatever meal I whipped up earlier.

So a basic necessity for all VS recipes is that everyone will enjoy them. At the very least, they need to be super-easy to adapt for adult palettes. Because there is more to life than being in the kitchen all night, and I just won’t cook and clean for the kids and then again later in the night for the adults. This recipe is a great example of how with the addition of a few extra ingredients (add them after you’ve served the kid’s meals) you can take a kid friendly meal into the realm of adult gourmet.

We’ve happily made many concessions to be a family, but eating boring food and being a kitchen slave just isn’t among them.

Serve the kids this, then add a few little extras and VOILA, a tasty grown-up meal.

Ravioli with orange sauce

This sauce can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. At the end of the day, cook your pasta (home-made if you’re a saint or store-bought if you’re like the rest of us) and toss through the sauce and other ingredients.

1½ red capsicums, deseeded, cut into large chunks
¼ cup cottage cheese (or ricotta)
1 tbsp sun-dried tomato slices in oil
600g packet beef ravioli
125g can corn kernels, drained
1 punnet cherry
tomatoes, halved
TO SERVE (all optional, to suit different family members) basil leaves, olives, toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat grill to high. Pop the capsicum under the grill skin-side up and leave until black and charred. Don’t be shy about it – the blacker the skin, the more easily it will peel off. Remove and cover with a tea towel for 10 minutes, then peel skin off and discard.

Chop capsicum flesh roughly and place in a stick blender. Blitz until smooth. Add cottage cheese and sun-dried tomato and blend until smooth.

Cook pasta according to packet directions, then drain and return to the saucepan. Poor the sauce and vegies on top and toss to combine. Scatter with basil.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

Like this recipe? Check out my cookbooks to find a bunch more meals that your family will love.

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We love you dad!

September 2, 2010 · Filed under Craft for non-crafty parents, News · Tagged breakfast, celebrations, craft, parenting

It’s Father’s day in Australia this weekend. We don’t do much to celebrate in our house. Particularly since both kids are now toilet trained. That used to the best part of birthdays and special parent days – sending the child with the poo in his pants to your partner, knowing that you just weren’t going to have to deal with it. For his final hurrah last mother’s day, a 3-year-old Mr Meat & Potatoes decided to poo three times in the one day. The bliss! The joy! Escaping multiple sticky revolting messes and knowing that he was all cleaned out for the next day too.

So without nappy avoidance, it’s back to more traditional, servitude methods of celebrating my husband’s greatness. I’ll cook and clean and give him a day off. And I’ve made this week’s craft with a decidedly male bent. No dad will be able to resist these soccer players. They’ll immediately be down on the floor with their little champions screaming “ole ole ole ole”.

Ole ole ole ole! Fun for dads too!

Mr Meat & Potatoes is modelling here. The PDF of the Italian football team comes complete with the pitch and 11 players with two different finger hole sizes – one for dad and one for his little protégé. Keep in mind I’ve allowed for big fingers – you might need to cut the size of the circles to suit the digits of your loved ones.

Baggio has nothing on Mr Meat & Potatoes

And while they’re immersed in their blokey fun, why don’t you whip up these oaty banana pancakes for breakfast. Then later in the day, when they’ve moved to the couch to watch footy finals, you can present them with these healthy and tasty sausage rolls.

Don’t worry, just smile, grin and bear it. Life returns to normal tomorrow.
_______________________

Like this project? You can find it, along with 39 other boredom busters in the ‘Craft for non-crafty Parents’ e-book. There’s a stack of silly fun stuff, projects that encourage healthy eating and a bunch of worksheets covering preschool education and school readiness. You can buy it at the shop now!

128 pages, 40 projects, 85 pages of printables…

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Fly me to the moon, little buddy.

August 26, 2010 · Filed under Craft for non-crafty parents · Tagged craft, kids, parenting

An astronaut work sheet making parenting easy.

Print, paste, parent. Easy.

It’s Friday uber-parent time. Download and print this astronaut PDF and get the kids onto it this weekend. A bottle of glue and some tin foil is all you need. Remember, it’ll take just a few minutes of effort on your part and you might just be creating a happy childhood memory for your little lovelies.

As you can see, it’s been rigorously tested by Miss Fruitarian. Mr Meat & Potatoes was chief gun-consultant.

Enjoy!

All Vegie Smugglers worksheets are rigorously tested.

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Book excitement fills my world

August 19, 2010 · Filed under Craft for non-crafty parents, Food experiences, News · Tagged books, craft, ideas, kids products, parenting

Advance copies of The Vegie Smugglers Cookbook!

The Vegie Smugglers cookbook is even closer!

Much excitement at Vegie Smuggler HQ (ie, my dining table, where I’m sitting all by myself) as a mystery box arrives with 3 advance copies of the cookbook. 160 colour pages that look great! I’m happy. Should collect the rest of the shipment within a month or two and then when I figure out how, I’ll have them for sale for all of you lovely people.

The Usborne Book of drawing, doodling and colouring

After my book, this is possibly the best book ever!

In the meantime, another book is filling me with joy. After a tip off from the excellent Attic 24 blog, I ordered a copy of The Usborne book of drawing, doodling and colouring for the upcoming birthday of Miss Fruitarian. Like all the Usborne books, it is SO great, that I am tempted to keep it for myself as a little guilty pleasure and order another one for her. I guess the more responsible parenting method would be to give it to her totally untampered with (much restraint needed) and then settle down with her for a pretty good colouring and drawing session.

I may have to beg and be on my best behaviour though. Miss Fruitarian is starting to think that Mum is getting a bit daggy and embarrassing. The other day when we were late for school, she looked at me with panic at the thought that I was going to walk her ALL THE WAY TO THE DOOR! “No mum!” she gasped, “you can stay here”. Oh the scorn!! And she’s only in kindy. Oh well, hopefully behind closed doors she won’t mind sharing a bit of mummy/daughter time.

The page that particularly caught my attention and gave me a lovely idea is this one.

Possibly the best page in the best book ever!

Luckily for all of you, in my other life (the one where I get paid), I’m pretty handy with a pencil. So here’s my little uber-parent gift to you. Print out this lovely plate picture and enjoy a bit of craft bonding as you draw, doodle and colour with your littlie. Don’t worry if art just ain’t your thing. Fish fingers just require a few scribbles with a yellow texta and peas are pretty easy too (try green paper and a hole-punch).

Hopefully the results will be great. Email me a pic of how you go vegiesmugglers@gmail.com and the best response (as judged by Miss Fruitarian) will win one of the precious advance copies of the Vegie Smugglers cookbook.
Get colouring!

Download this craft worksheet for some uber-parent warm and fuzzies.

Click this link to download a large PDF version.

Vegie Smugglers