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Back To School
Tony McKay • 1 September 2020
After nearly 6 long months our children are heading back to school. So what do we do?.
Vitamins and supplements will help transition from long days and maybe too many treats!.
Firstly, not everyone will necessarily benefit from taking some sort of vitamin or supplement. With a broad, balanced diet, it's possible for your child to get all the nutrients they need. However a lot of children do not get the well- balanced diet they could. This could be down to a number of factors, such as bad habits, taste preferences, reluctance to try new foods, budget restrictions or time constraints...it's not easy!
With children, it can be more difficult, with some kids not fond of eating fruit, vegetables or fish. These foods contain important nutrients that help support growth, energy levels and even brain function and concentration.
Getting ready during the breakfast time rush and then spending the day at school can take a while to get used to again and some children can get a bit run down and show increased signs of tiredness. Indeed, some children may be more prone to picking up an illness in the weeks after they start back at school, especially if they are a bit run down.
Come in and chat to me if you have any concerns about the back to school routine. I have personal experience with 2 schoolboys of my own. We have a range of vitamins/supplements that I prefer to stock and recommend. I can show you what I give to my own sons. They both have had no time off school with illness over the last few years.
Ingredients: 3 x Organic Chicken breast fillets Greek Yogurt full fat Tsp turmeric Lime 1/2 tsp cinnamon Small bunch fresh coriander 4 x pitta breads Salt & Pepper Method: Dice chicken into small pieces, approx 2cm sq. and add to a bowl. Spice with turmeric, cinnamon and season well with salt & pepper,add in 2 heaped tablespoons of yogurt, juice of lime and some lime zest. Chop up the coriander and mix in well. Leave to marinade for a few hours if you have time but can be cooked straight away too. These can be cooked either by heating oven to 190c and spread chicken out on a baking tray and cook in oven for 10-15 mins turning as needed. You could also skewer these and cook under grill turning often or equally skewered and cooked over a bbq. Heat up pitta bread as per directions and serve with some rice and some home made kaleslaw.
Bag of fresh Kale Red onion 1/2 Red Cabbage 1/4 Carrots x 2 Sesame seeds Lime Coriander Mayonnaise Method Roughly chop up Kale quiet small removing stalks and wash, finely chop into small thin strips cabbage and red onion, grate carrot mix all veg together. Get 1 cup of mayo add lime zest and lime juice, finely chop coriander and add, mix all together and stir into veg mix, add sesame seeds for some crunch. Serve in a big bowl
400g Organic Mince Beef 1 x Red Pepper 8-10 Closed Cup Mushrooms 1 x Onion 2 Garlic Cloves Italian Herb Seasoning Fresh Oregano Salt & Pepper Small Bottle Mutti Passatta Olive Oil Tomato Puree Tsp Redcurrant Jelly 1/2 Pack Drum Wheat Pasta (2 adults 2 children) or any pasta of choice. Fry oinions and garlic in olive oil until soft and add mince stir until browned. Add herbs and season. Finely chop red pepper and slice mushrooms thinly and add. Cook for a few minutes and add passatta. Either simmer for 10 minutes while pasta cooks and add tomato puree and redcurrant jelly. Otherwise transfer to a casserole dish and slowly cook in oven at 140 degrees for 90 mins. This really gets the flavours going and softens the veggies nicely. Boil pasta in water and salt for 12-14 minutes until just starting to soften. Strain and add a small bit of olive oil, stir in and plate up. Garnish with some fresh basil if you have some on the windowsill.
Burger & Pommepaille Large potatoes Organic mince beef Shallots x 4 Dijon Mustard Salt Pepper Floury Baps Mayo Coriander Line Red Onion Method Finely chop potatoes into very thin chips <0.5cm wide Mix mince and mustard, shallots salt & pepper and roll into balls, squash down into patties and fry gently in olive oil Mix mayo with lime juice, limes zest coriander and red onion for dressing Eat
Vitamin D and COVID 19 The Daily Mail has published an article today on Vitamin D, citing a study from Indonesia that shows a very significant difference in outcomes for patients that are Vitamin D deficient compared to those with sufficient Vitamin D levels, link here. There have been numerous studies recently published reaching similar conclusions. I have long advocated supplementing with Vitamin D, in babies & children as well as adults, you can read my blog on this site that I first published over 2 years ago. This is the first time we are seeing more and more references to Vitamin D benefits in the main stream media and hopefully it is the beginning of some properly funded sustained research into all the benefits, not just the current COVID link. My recommendation for adults is to supplement daily with 2000 - 2500iu, especially from October throught to March in Ireland. I can reommend a specific dose for your child upon consultation.
Ingredients 3 x Organic Chicken Breasts 2 Tbsp Greek yogurt full fat Salt & Pepper Tempura Batter mix Tomato Lettuce leaves Burger buns Mayonaisse Radish Coriander Lime Method Cut Chicken breasts into nice sized pieces relevant for placing in a burger. Season with salt and pepper and marinade in yogurt. Make up tempura batter as per instructions and heat up deep fryer. Coat the chicken pieces in batter and fry in fryer until golden brown, dry off and place in oven in stay warm. For dressing mix up mayonnaise with juice from lime and some lime zest add in finely chopped radish and coriander. Build bun using dressing, chicken, leaves and top with tomato slice/s EAT
Ingredients: 4 x sea bass fillet sides Sweet cherry tomatoes Courgette Shallot Garic clove Baby Potatoes 5 Tbsp passata 2 tbsp white wine Sprig of fresh oregano Salt & Pepper Olive oil Lemon Method: Sea bass only takes 2 mins so cook last. Boil baby potaotes and rest once soft. Heat some olive oil in pan until hot and fry slices of courgette, once coloured remove onto some kitchen paper. Finely chop shalllot and garlic and fry in some oilve oil, once coloured add in wine and reduce, add in some lemon zest then passatta and tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, finish with oregano and another spalsh of olive oil. Score skin of bass and seaon with salt, place skin down in hot olive oil and sear for 90 seconds, carefully turn and add a splash of lemon juice, put some butter in pan and drizzle over skin. Add butter to potatoes and crush gently with a spoon. Plate up as photo Enjoy