Brought
to you by Coles
The first thing my boys do when they walk
in the door is throw their bags into the middle of the walkway so that anyone
attempting to walk through behind them has to perform some stealth ninja type
moves to avoid falling over them and breaking some really important bones.
Once they’re done with creating a school
bag mine field, they head straight into the kitchen, open the fridge door and
stare in there like they have never see food before.
“I’m starving”
“I’m sooooo hungry”
“We have no food”
Insert 10,000 variations of the above and
that is pretty much as close to a “hello Mum, was your day?” that I am going to
get until they are fed.
It does not matter how much I have packed in
their lunch box for them during the day, when they get home they are starving.
Like chew the handle on a hockey stick kind of hungry.
And so my priority is to feed them, BEFORE
they go and get all hangry on me and turn into feral animals scavenging for
food.
As much as I once had this homely image of
me welcoming the kids at the door and then serving them up a freshly baked
scones whilst we chat about their day, the reality is – was has time for that
every day? Besides I suck at making scones.
Add an after school play date into the mix
and the pressure is on to impress with something they actually want to eat.
Fruit is my go to option for feeding the
troops after school. Quick, easy, healthy and affordable.
The only challenge is mixing up the fruit I
put on offer as well as how I present it to them to make sure I keep it
interesting and ensure the fussier of the three doesn’t turn his nose up at it.
Making fruit fun is the goal here people and
if you manage to sneak a few veggies in there without them noticing then winner
winner chicken dinner – bonus points for a sneaky win.
Here are some quick and easy ways we have
fun with fruit at our house, with little to no effort required.
FRUIT TACOS
Got a couple of tortillas or small wraps on
hand?
Then fill them up with some fruit salad and drizzle with yoghurt and you have
yourself some fruit tacos Senorita!
FRUIT & YOGHURT CONES
Take some flat bottom ice cream cones and
fill them up with fruit salad.
Again, drizzle a little yoghurt on top and
you have a fruity treat they can eat right there and then or take with them if
you have to head out the door for after school activities.
FRUIT RACE CARS
Ok so I know as adults we are supposed
discourage playing with food and all that but... come on, these little babies
actually move like real toy cars and as long as they get that fruit into their
bellies whilst there playing then play away I say!
WATERMELON POPSCICLES
The perfect after school snack for a hot
day. Cut your watermelon into small triangles, and then using a melon baller
scoop out a small well half the thickness of your slice of watermelon.
Fill the hole with some yoghurt and place a
rock melon ball into the hole.
Pop in a Popsicle stick through the rind
and freeze.
You can actually fill the hole with any
fruit you have on hand, the frozen yoghurt will help to keep it in place.
TOMATO, CORN, ZUCCHINI & CHEESE PASTRY PUFFS.
Here’s where we go and get all sneaky on
them putting vegetables in their after school snack without them even realising
it.
Use a round cutter to cut some circles of
puff pastry and coat with a little egg before popping them in a muffin tin. Top
with a little diced tomato, zucchini and corn kernels and sprinkle with cheese.
Pop them in a preheated oven (180 degree Celsius) and cook for 10-15 minutes or
until golden brown.
Serve them warm and then hide the smug look
on your face as your veggie haters scoff them down.
These make perfect lunch box fillers too as
they are just as good cold as they are hot.
Coles has 12 weekly fresh specials that run
from Friday to Thursday, so mix your recipes up to take advantage of the fruit
and veg on special. Easy on the lips and easy on the hips… the hips AND the hip
pocket too. Check out the weekly specials and catalogues here.
The watermelon, bananas, grapes, peaches
and nectarines all taste great at this time of the year and make for the
perfect summer snack.
As for the tomatoes , corn and zucchini –
well they are all 100% Australian grown all year round from Coles so you can
pat yourself on the back and feel good that you are feeding your kids and supportingAussie farmers at the same time.
For more great recipes including lunchbox
and after school snack ideas; go to coles.com.au
and taste.com.au
Do your kids suffer from hangry
attacks after school too?
Have you got any recipes or tricks you
can share to keep them from turning feral?
