Welcome to Healthy Kids’ Corner.

Here at Kids Club Network we know that keeping children healthy is a top priority for parents and carers. All the fun clubs and events that they attend thanks to Kids Club Network will go some of the way to achieving this, but there is so much more that can be done to keep kids healthy.

We are told that the recipe for a healthy child includes five portions of fruit and vegetables, sixty active minutes as well as a nutritionally balanced diet every day. It all sounds straight forward but parents and carers everywhere face the same daily struggle to combine these healthy elements with the ever growing demands of modern day family life.

Healthy Kids Corner is here to help. You will find easy healthy recipes for those times when you have half an hour to prepare and eat a meal before heading off to the latest fun club! There are fun activities for the whole family to enjoy so that you can persuade them to ditch the games console and turn off the TV.

We would also love to hear from you with any hints and tips or healthy recipe suggestions. As always the team at Kids Club Network are ready to read and enjoy your emails at - team@kidsclubnetwork.co.uk so get involved and join in the fun!

Enjoy Healthy Kids Corner and make being a healthy kid fun!

Lunchbox Advice!

When you look over the course of a week and see how much of your child’s nourishment comes from what is packed into their lunch box everyday, you realise how important it is to get the balance of nutrients right.

At the same time most parents know that anything that doesn’t appeal to your child is just left in their box and returned home in a squashed, inedible state. Anything that goes in must also be robust enough to withstand the battering that the average lunchbox gets over the course of the morning.

So the key is to provide healthy food that your child wants to eat, that stays in good condition until lunchtime and that they will enjoy.

Another dilemma for us parents! Well here at healthy kids’ corner we want to share ideas and suggestions with you. If you have found a winning lunch combination or a super sandwich filling, then send them to us here at Team@kidsclubnetwork.co.uk and let us all into your secret!

Some healthy lunchbox ideas!

One way of keeping the contents of your lunch box fresh is to freeze your yoghurt tubes. They will act as a freezer block and by lunchtime they have defrosted and are ready to eat.

If your child can’t be bothered to peel an orange at lunchtime, why not leave the skin on and cut it into segments. Wrap it in foil or put it in a freezer bag and they can eat it straight from the peel!

Bored with sandwiches? Cut up carrot, celery and cucumber into sticks and pop into a tub with cherry tomatoes and cubes of cheese. Add some bread sticks or crackers for a tasty lunch.

Whats for dinner?

It’s the dreaded question and a daily dilemma that we all face. We want our kids’ meals to be nutritious, tasty and easy to prepare. In addition many of us have to be thrifty with our monthly shopping budget and therefore recipes with a list of fifty ingredients are unappealing.

However, here at Healthy Kids Corner we don’t believe that you need to reach for the nuggets and chips to be quick and cost effective, there are so many healthy and easy recipes that will tempt our little ones.

We’ve included a couple here that the team at Kids Club Network have submitted but why not share some of your own with us? In coming weeks we will feature your recipe suggestions along with our own and together we can make mealtimes more interesting, delicious, good value and stress free. Now there’s a thought!!

E mail us at Team@KidsClubNetwork.co.uk.

Have you had your sixty minutes today?

Football training, gymnastics and martial arts, to name but a few, are all excellent ways of keeping our kids active but they are not every child’s cup of tea. So, you’ve found a great art class for your budding Picasso and a fun and friendly drama club to feed his acting obsession but how can you keep him fit and active?

Getting your recommended sixty minutes of activity everyday doesn’t mean you have to become a drill sergeant and make them run around the park with twenty pounds strapped to their back, dropping every hundred metres to do fifty press ups!

Sixty active minutes should be sixty fun minutes. If the whole family can join in then that is even better. Healthy Kids Corner looks at different and fun ways to get your whole family active. We aim to include activities that can be tailored to suit each family and each individual’s requirements so why not have a go!