Creative Food for Kids (and Adults too) / Creativo y divertido con la comida para niños (y adultos)

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Welcome to this new year, full of endless possibilities and resolutions to change little by little and be healthier in our choices for us and our children.

January is the month to start, to be born again, to get rid of the old and bring in the new. It is the month of the kids too! Their holidays culminate in the magical day of Wise Kings, the Magi , the 3 Kings or Reyes (whatever you want to call it )

Surrounding yourself by kids is an incredible opportunity to be food creative with them. There is so much food choice , sweets, chocolate that it is pretty easy to forget that the little ones still need to have healthy ideas appropriate for their age but with a little twist.

Creative fruit desserts are so eye catching for kids that they will ask you to do it again. And because it is super simple it won´t take much time.

This is just one of them! : The palm tree: Kiwi, banana and clementines.

There are plenty of ideas, books and even better: your kids imagination to engage them in eating better and healthier. 

Next entry I will post a superb and festive ship for Kings Day Lunch, that I am planning to do. Stay tuned!!

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Bienvenido al nuevo año, lleno de infinitas posibilidades y propósitos para cambiar poquito a poco y ser más sanos en nuestras elecciones , tanto para los adultos como para los niños.

Enero es el mes del comienzo,  renacer, volver a ser niño y tener ilusiones. Estas vacaciones tan especiales para los más pequeños culminan con el dia de Reyes.

Rodearse de niños es una oportunidad increible para ser creativos con la comida. Los postres, dulces, turrones, chocolates y demás golosinas de navidad siguen en casa y a veces acaban reemplazando los buenos hábitos. Esto no puede ser!! La fruta también puede convertirse en motivo de fiesta:

Los postres de fruta creativos son muy atractivos para los peques y les gustan tanto que querrán repetirlo. 

Además, pueden ayudarte en la cocina y esto será muy importante para que la comida sea parte de la educación.

Esta palmera en una isla desierta es una creación muy fácil y divertida, con fruta de temporada: kiwi, plátano y mandarina:

Hay muchas ideas, libros y mejor aún: la creatividad de los propios niños para que se enganchen a comer más sano.
En el próximo post enseñaré un espectacular y festivo barco de fruta para la comida del Dia de Reyes que planeo hacer. Seguro que será un éxito entre los pequeños y adultos.

A Christmas mesage: Eat, Enjoy and Exercise!

Let´s not deny the evident: Christmas is as much about eating as family gatherings and presents. We still have a few memorable days left that involve a food and drink fest: New Year´s Eve, New Year´s Day and The Three King´s day( (in many countries like Spain, Portugal, France, Philippines and most Latin American countries).

So, if you are the host or the guest, there is always a good way of enjoying this moment without reaching the point of feeling stuffed. How unpleasant is that feeling when you finish the meal and your stomach is inflated like a balloon and you almost cannot eat anything until next day. Obviously, when that happens your whole digestive system is working so hard that it is almost impossible to avoid some digestive aid.

 What is the message during these days? : The 3 E's

EAT (DON´T OVEREAT):

What is wonderful is to be able to enjoy a delicious Xmas lunch without overeating and feeling guilty of gluttony.

What can we do when we are the guests?

- Offer ourselves to prepare some great salads and fresh vegetables.Believe it or not, they are always a winner. You will help your host and you will give yourself the opportunity to create fantastic salads that you will want to try first.

- Fish, meat or any other protein like seafood are almost on any menu. Enjoy them! try just a bit of everything and you will be able to get to dessert time with just enough space in your stomach to indulge in some good nougat or chocolate.

- All types of bread are also a must to accompany spreads, pates, butter...and they are the reason why many meals end up being extremely heavy. Try those spreads in little pieces of bread instead of a whole slice for each.



 ENJOY (DON´T FEEL GUILTY ):

-That is the most important thing. To just enjoy the moment and delight yourself with all your senses in the food you are eating. This is a time for looong  conversations and laughs during meals. Now there is no excuse to rush , eat slow. As you know, the food that is slowly eaten will be much more easier to digest. Not only that, but you will also be able to recognize the moment when you are effectively full. Remember that your stomach needs at least 20 minutes to send the message of fullness to your brain.

EXERCISE(DON´T MAKE EXCUSES TO NOT VISIT THE GYM!):

Keep moving!! Always!! The key to a healthy lifestyle is the exercise. And it is of course the best way to balance a bit of extra calories accumulated in the form of glucogen in our muscles. It is actually great to work out with your batteries fully charged as you will probably perform much better.

Merry Christmas And a Healthy New Year!!