Simple Soups just for you!

A Healthy Lunch Pack

They want to eat: Meatpie and juice. Cupcakes, doughnuts, chips. Zero vegetables.
You want them to eat: Rice, yams, sandwiches, beans. An apple. water

A lot of my friends have children between the ages of 1 and 10. In talking to them, especially when school is back in session, I find that a major concern is what to include in the child's lunch pack.

After dealing with back-to-school battles over homework and bedtime, many mothers would rather surrender than fight over what their child eats – or throws away. The good news: It's easier than ever to "think outside the box" when it comes to the school lunch box. It doesn't have to be a choice between what's "good for you" or "fun for you."

For some of you this is really not an issue, but for most working mothers it is a constant headache. You wake up early to beat the traffic to work, sometimes your kids don't see you before you leave, and they might be asleep by the time you get back. The job of getting them prepared and fed is left in the hands of a maid. Sound familiar?
Another scenario is you being available to atleast see them before or drop them at school, and you're thinking 'what will they eat for lunch?'. And so you take the easy way out and stop at a fast food to buy them snacks.

What's wrong with that? some people might ask. Well nothing so long as you do not spend the better part of your life asking if you're providing your child with proper nutrion. And ofcause ensuring there's a proper meal to go with the snacks.

Most schools now make it easy for the parents by providing the children with a proper lunch, but with so many after school activities, it is important they have something extra for later. Snacks are good but your kids would do better with more healthy choices than pastries all week long.

I have a friend whose routine is to ensure her children have a breakfast cereal before leaving home. The night before she would arrange their school lunch packs on the dinning table, ready to be filled the next day. The pack would include a sandwhich, a fruit (either an apple or banana), a small bottle of juice or water, and our ever popular walkers crisps. Her children's school provides cooked lunch.

Sandwiches are a popular choice just remember that meats, dairy products, and eggs are perishable, so be sure to use a freezer pack to keep them cold. Each sandwich should have a healthy protein source and healthy toppings. Some suggestions:
Tuna sandwich wrap with light mayonnaise, lettuce and tomatoes
Egg salad sandwich on whole grain bread
Peanut butter, Sliced beef, or chicken probably left over from last night's dinner--with light mayonnaise, mustard, and a slice of cheese (LOL - I can just hear some of my friends laughing).

For some others, you will need to think beyond the sandwich

Like my previous post on meal planning, you can make a roster of what to include in your child's lunch pack for the week. Start by brainstorming foods and snacks that he would like to eat. It might be simply packing up leftovers from that delicious meal you made last night.

A packed lunch carries the added responsibility of keeping the food safe to eat. That means keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold.

Here are some suggestions to keep lunch foods safe:

1. Wash your hands first.
2. Use a thermos for hot foods.
3. Use cold packs or freeze some foods and drinks overnight. They'll thaw in the lunchbox.
4. Wash out lunchboxes every day or use paper bags that you can dispose of.
5. Add some tissue or moist wipes to remind them to wash their hands before eating and to clean up after.


PS: As I am yet to have kids of my own, experienced mothers your suggestions would be highly welcome. Let us in on what worked for you and what didn't.

Planning A Good Menu.

''What do I feed my family today?'' is one question whose answer eludes many home makers today. With a lot of Nigerian women also bringing home the bacon, and the state of the economy not being any less harsh on us, it's a wonder that we still manage to provide our families with the sort of nutrition they require.

A well balanced diet is a basic requirement for a healthy family. As home managers we ponder what to serve, how much to serve, how much to spend, where to shop, how much to buy, what dishes to make and how to serve meals. Getting sufficient information on nutrient requirements and individual preferences is an essential part of preparing a delicious meal.

Most importantly, your meals have to be planned within the family income. Time, labour and gas need to be economised. Meal planning is a skill no doubt but it doesn't have to be complicated. After all, practice makes perfect.

I remember my earlier days of planning meals for myself, mostly in the bid to shed off some weight (hmmn, I think I'm getting there), I would only consider food options that were tasteless, had very little nutritional value, and potions that couldn't feed a todler, let alone a full grown adult. Well turns out I was always hungry and would fall off my diet, leaving sheets of abandoned meal plans lying around. But I learned the art, and years later, it paid off.

Planning your meals in advance saves time and money - reducing your trips to the market and impulse or last minute spending. You already know what it is you are going to prepare, and have the ingredients ready and available.

My tip for you:

Have a weekly meal plan. This eases the daily chore of meal planning and cooking. No more random buying. Prepare a grocery list and shop for the entire week. A meal plan adds variety to your diet and gives you an interesting menu.

Sample Weekly Menu:

Day Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Monday: Bread,Tea,Eggs/Soup,Garri/Moimoi & Ogi

Tuesday: Boiledpotato & Egg sauce/Beans Pottage/Boiled yam & fish in veg sauce

Wednesday: Bread,Tea or cereal/Soup,Garri/ Potato Pottage

Thursday: Dodo & Egg Sauce/Jollof or coconut rice with chicken/Unripe Plantain in Fish peppersoup

Friday: Potato chips & fish stew/Soup & p-yam /Moimoi & Ogi

Saturday: English Breakfast/Spaghetti bolognaise/Akara

Sunday: Pancakes & cornedbeef stew /White rice & Ofada stew/Dodo & fish in veg sauce

Soup Options: Egusi soup/Edikang-ikong/Afang /Efo-riro/Ogbona/Okra soup/

Oha/Okazi etc.

This is merely a guide (as most Naija men must eat 'solids' or they don't feel they've had a meal), as a rule I try to ensure a daily meal includes one carbohydrate meal, one protein meal, and one vegetable meal. It doesn't matter which you have as breakfast, lunch or dinner, that's up to you, but I like to leave my night meals very light.

Why not try working with the menu above, substitute where you see fit. You can keep the soups to two types per week and a pot of stew ... they do come handy for a quick meal fix.

Let me know how it works for you, what challenges you face.

PS: Soups and stews can be ordered from SimpleSoups ... call us at simple pleasures on 07023345039, 08099537164 0r email- simpleasures@ymail.com

Warm regards,

Kela.

What's in a recipe?

RECIPES - Fantastic instructions on how to prepare that 'Oh so delicious' meal, right? Well allow me to disagree with you. Here's one reason:

A friend of mine set out to prepare this wonderful 3 course menu for her finals, back then in school. The menu was perfect, the recipe so very straight forward, the display would make you salivate and the aroma, to die for. She followed the instructions to the letter, and the result - a disaster!

The potatoes and beef were under cooked, her sauce was bland, and the vegetables were soggy.

Oh let me add that my friend was a fantastic cook and I looked forward to her many meals. So what went wrong? She simply followed the instructions to the letter.

Truth be told, there's nothing wrong with following a recipe. I look at recipes all the time, even for meals I can prepare in my sleep. Recipes are not instructions but simple guidelines - there are no hard and fast rules. Let's not forget that recipes are written by people, like you and me.

Permit me to say, but most recipes are somewhat incomplete. There's what you call trade secrets but we like to refer to it as the 'SECRET INGREDIENT'.

This is that thing that sets your meal apart from others. And believe me no-one is going to write you a recipe that includes their 'secret'. The secret ingredient could be anything from a pinch of salt, a cube of sugar, that dash of lemon, to simply reducing or increasing quantities of a particular item, blanching rather than boiling, a type of marinade, or a simple substitute of one item with another. Wow! The possibilities are endless!

These, however, should be done with caution. I will be taking you through the menu planning process in subsequent posts, with a recipe or two. Ask your questions - I'll be here to help.

Come, join me in planning simple meals in a way that brings back to you the pleasures and joys of cooking.

S P services

At Simple Pleasures we provide quality, cost effective catering services that cater to your needs. We use only the finest and freshest ingredients in everything we create. Nothing in our kitchen is mass produced. It is prepared with passion, style and creativity.

Below are our services:

Simple Soups – Soups prepared for your convenience. Edikang Ikong, Afang, Native (Kalabari ) soup, Oha, Efo-riro, Egusi, Ofada stew, Banga, Okazi , Ogbona, Okra, etc. Available in three sizes: small, medium, and Large at price ranges from N2500, N3500, N5000. Extra items such as snails, crabs, prawns, cowleg, stockfish are charged separately.

Kiddies Lunch Pack – A variety of snacks are available during the school session. These include individually packed meat-pies, sausage rolls, doughnuts, biscuits, cup cakes, cookies etc.

Pleasant Functions – We cater for a wide range of events at a maximum of 250 covers. Menus can be customized to meet your specific needs and budget. Function price quotes are available on request.

Please allow at least 48 hours notice.
We will do our best to accommodate your request.

To place your orders, please contact us at:
E-mail: simpleasures@ymail.com
Phone: (080) 99537164, 23080744, (070) 23345039