Cooking for children. Advice from Samantha Vallejo-Nájera
Samantha Vallejo-Nájera belongs to a family of prestigious psychiatrists, but far from following in her footsteps, she decided to dedicate herself to the exciting world of cooking. After learning from the best chefs in the world, Samantha de España Catering, a company based on traditional and intern
Samantha Vallejo-Nájera belongs to a family of prestigious psychiatrists, but far from following in her footsteps, she decided to dedicate herself to the exciting world of cooking. After learning from the best chefs in the world, Samantha de España Catering, a company based on traditional and international cuisine, set up. She is one of the presenters of MasterChef, a contest of chefs from Spain.
In addition, she is the mother of 4 children, so Guiainfantil.com has spoken with her to give us good cooking tips, ideas that we can easily apply in our children's meals.
Cooking tips for children by Samantha Vallejo-Nájera
- How can we introduce children to the kitchen? They have to see the parents do it, and they have to make it easy, beautiful, with colors and in the most didactic way possible. You have to start doing very simple things like skewers with different colored ingredients and so they get the taste of working with fruits and vegetables. And enjoy doing it with your parents. We can make the kitchen a game, and let them see that everything they are doing, then they will eat it.
- How can parents cook healthy and at the same time be appetizing for children? Siempre I always say that it is much easier to give a child a pizza than a cream of vegetables, but what you need to do is to get used to them from a very young age and to assimilate that eating vegetables is very important. I do not tell them at home that I will not give them pastries, I give them fruit directly and they eat it because that is what they have always taken. It is important that they have the awareness that at home they eat healthy. - And when in a house there are children with different tastes and appetites?
Always look for things that everyone likes, and well if one day there is something that someone does not like then nothing happens, we have all eaten things that we do not love at all. In my house I have celiac, what I do is a meal for them and another for the others.- What caprices can we give to children?
My father always took me to a supermarket and told me to give myself a treat, and I bought anchovies in vinegar, whims are not always associated with trinkets, the important thing is that children know what they like, that always have and give it as a reward, but it does not have to be an unhealthy thing. - Is the kitchen compatible when you are a working woman and a mother?
It's quite complicated, I do not cook at home, I usually do it for hobbies on weekends. But do not get too complicated, I prepare my dinner every day, my motto is to cook if you complicate your life, rich, healthy and simple things. - How to take time to cook our children when we almost do not have it?
The important thing is to do simple things, prepare the basic things on weekends, have a good pantry fund and go with all the dishes prepared to purchase, so that you will not miss anything. - What is essential when we cook for our children?
Have a good bottom of refrigerator and pantry so you do not miss anything when cooking and have things prepared and frozen. - What recipe can not be missing in homes where there are children?
Macaroni with chorizo - How do you combine work as an entrepreneur and your role as a mother of 4 children?
The truth is that I combine it very well, all day running, but every day I try to be with them in the morning and spend the afternoon in addition to the weekends, all my free time I dedicate to them. - What advice would you give to parents of children with celiac disease?
- Buy gluten free and have a good store at home, bread biscuits, so you can give them the same as others and do not feel bad.
- Work a lot with rice, which is great.
- Having pizza bases at home frozen for a hurry.
- Bring birthdays a cake and a gluten-free sandwich so they can eat.
- Have snack and sweets without gluten for the day that others eat.
