Should you force your teenager to eat meat?

On Sunday we were invited for a BBQ with Ben's family. We were sitting in the garden and having fun with the water hose until food was served and drama took its course.

Ben's oldest niece didn't want to eat any of the grilled meat, while her step-dad insisted she had some. With her being almost 13 years old and her step-dad only wanting her to get the nutrients she needs, you can imagine it all ended in a big discussion, tears and a teenager refusing to eat anything at all. 

Well, this whole situation got me thinking about whether as a parent you should force your teenager to eat meat or let them decide themselves, knowing that they might miss out on iron and other nutrients important for their development. I could sympathize with both sides. As a teenager you go through phases of wanting to try different things. I remember that a lot of my friends at school went through a meat-free time. Some because they suddenly didn't like meat anymore, others because they didn't agree with animals getting killed just for us to have something on our plates and some just because they wanted to test themselves. I didn't belong to any of these groups. I have always liked my meat and knew that I couldn't live without certain meats such as chicken or my beloved sausages so I didn't even try it - I hate failing! 

Anyway, one of my friends went vegetarian for a couple of months and got serious problems with her bones due to an insufficiency of a specific nutrient that you can find in meat. She was weak, tired and all the supplements her GP prescribed didn't help. She had to go back to eating meat just to feel healthy again. 

As a parent you have heard about these things and do of course worry that, if your child decides to become vegetarian, their health might suffer. Their body is still developing after all. So what do you do? Would you force your child/teenager to eat meat or would you let them go ahead although you might know that their health could be in danger?

Review: Thai Taste's Green Curry Meal Kit

We love Asian food and we love experimenting with different flavours, so when I was contacted by Thai Taste's press office, I jumped at the chance to test some products from their new and revamped range. We were sent the Thai Taste Green Curry Paste, a Thai Taste Green Curry Meal Kit and some Thai Taste Sweet Chilli Sauce and I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I couldn't wait to try the products. 

 

We are always looking out for new products that bring original Asian flavours into our house but unfortunately many of them don't live up to my expectations. Not long ago, we tested a Thai Green Curry Kit that promised exactly the same as Thai Taste's product: a quick and easy Thai curry with an authentic Thai taste. Well, let me tell you something: It was quick, it was easy and it tasted absolutely horrible. Thai Taste's Green Curry however was absolutely gorgeous. As it contains curry paste, coconut milk and Thai herbs, all we had to add was the meat of our choice and some coriander. We decided to use Turkey fillets as they are lean and a tasty alternative to chicken breasts and also threw in some chopped onions (simply because we like them). The curry turned out absolutely amazing and was done in no time. Preparing a curry from scratch is great if you are a passionate chef (daddy is) and have a lot of time, but with a newborn baby the Thai Taste Green Curry Meal Kit is a real life saver that allows you to serve a delicious meal in just 15 minutes and at £1.99 the price is more than fair as well. 

If you are a fan of Thai cooking, do not forget to visit Thai Taste's website for some delicious recipes and more information on their new revamped product range. 

Pancake Day: Giveaway and recipe

It's Pancake Day today and I have to admit that about three years ago I did not even know that it existed. I just thought, what another crazy English invention and didn't think much of it. Little did I know about how important it is for kids and families: Pancake Day is an institution in this country and by now I have realised that there is no way of escaping it. So why not simply join the fun?

We've started the day with this simple recipe for pancakes and it made enough pancake mix for about ten pancakes:

200 grams of sieved flour
3 medium sized eggs
550 ml of milk
1 pinch of salt

We've gone for the classic English lemon and sugar topping, which I've only been introduced to last week, but to be honest you can top your pancakes with whatever you like. If you want to try it the German way go for lots of apple sauce and sugar. It's absolutely delicious!

If your little one loves to help you in the kitchen, I do also have the perfect Pancake Day competition for mummies and daddies of messy little helpers: Tracey from Maddigan Mooch has kindly offered to make a handcrafted apron for the winner of today's Pancake Day competition.

Here is what Tracey says:

"I make handcrafted, high quality personalised gifts and keepsake items. Nothing is mass produced and everything is made to order. Beautiful and unique gifts made with love, that people will love to give! Gifts are appliqued with whatever fabric I have available. Fabrics range from commercial cottons to recycled, eco friendly remnants. I particularly like to use denim for its hardwearing versatility plus it looks incredibly fun when teamed with dotty fabric!"

How to enter the competition:

1. Leave a comment telling me what your favourite pancake topping is (required)
2. Follow @caro_mad and @maddiganmooch on Twitter and tweet "I want to win a personalised apron with @caro_mad and @maddiganmooch" (required)

For 2 extra entries:

1. Like Maddigan Mooch on Facebook
2. Subscribe to Mummy Alarm via email

Please, do not forget to use separate comments for each of your entries.

The closing date of the competition is 15/03/2011

The winner will be chosen at random.

The winner's name will be shown on this page.

Competition is open to residents of the UK only.

The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions.

And the winner of a personalised apron from Maddigan Mooch is...

@lilyfer85

Congratulations - I'll be in touch shortly!

Jamie Oliver's "Jamie At Home" giveaway and Sun Buzz promotion

If you are struggeling for new exciting recipes and do not want to be stuck in the kitchen all day, then this offer from The Sun Buzz is exactly what you need to get some inspriring ideas for family-friendly home cooking:

From 5th to 11th February you can collect a token to receive a free Jamie At Home DVD with every paper that you buy. There are 2 episodes on every DVD which means that across the week you can pick up the entire series of the TV hit Jamie At Home. The tokens are instantly redeemable at Tesco, on the day of print. The first token will be in this Sunday's Buzz magazine, the rest of them will then be featured for the rest of the week.

If you can't wait until the end of the promotion or just want to make sure that you do not miss out on a DVD, I can let you know that it's your lucky day.

I have one entire series to give away to one lucky reader.

 

How to enter the competition:

Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect (required) and leave a comment

For 1 extra entry:

● mention this giveaway on Twitter including the link to this competition and @caro_mad and @TheSun_Buzz (you can use the button below to share this post, but do not forget adding my name to assure I see you have tweeted)

The closing date of the competition is 07/02/2011

The winner will be chosen at random.

The winners' name will be shown on this page.

Competition is open to residents of the UK only.

The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.

And the winner of the Jamie At Home DVD Set is

mummy24 - @ashlallan

Congratulations - I will be in touch shortly!