Why did I start this blog...

Today I realized, when talking to a friend, that I never quite explained why I started this blog in the first place! After all, there is no dearth of cooking blogs in the web. I started this blog when Anjalie became a toddler. At that point, I was looking for recipes that a toddler can appreciate and enjoy along with the whole family. Oh! I did try the commercial baby food first though. I simply could not resist their marketing strategies ;) But after one lick of it both Anjalie & I chucked it straight away into the bin. After talking to other parents, and health visitors, I decided that making food at home that the whole family can enjoy was the best choice for us. I will add that I am very much pleased to read an article today in BBC that suggests that this might be a good idea too :) Here is the link for it : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22281962 The study conducted on five-year-olds shows that, among other factors, children who eat what their families eat have healthier diets. Having decided, to make family-pleasing meals, I was out hunting for children-friendly recipes that adults can enjoy too. When I tried them, at home, I have had many successes and quite a few failures. I came to the conclusion that a blog was a great way to record my successes and share them with others who are looking for recipes that the whole family can enjoy, i.e, you!



From what I have observed with Anjalie and her friends, children tend to enjoy more of the food that they "help" to make as well. So I usually involve Anjalie, whenever I can, in the making of these recipes. Toddlers and young children can help with simple things like washing veggies or peeling garlic or mixing and rolling out doughs. This helps them build their self confidence and also makes for quality time with the adults. Here is a video of Anjalie helping me with dinner (rice-daal-curry) tonight by peeling garlic for me. The video was a spontaneous one, so, please excuse the messy kitchen :)

All the recipes here have been approved by Anjalie and Naz and Anjalie's friends whenever possible. Anjalie "helps" with many of the recipes given here. So in this blog you will find recipes that toddlers, young children and adults can enjoy together and the children themselves can help with the making of them. I also try to include as much health information as possible in these recipes since I am interested in the whole family maintaining a healthy life style. Feel free to try them, share your ideas and suggestions. Hopefully, it will lead to all of us having a healthy happy family.