Annabel Karmel Gives Baker & Taylor An Insight Into The Best Ways To Feed Your Child
Of all the books you have written which presented the biggest challenge?
My first book, Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner was by the far the hardest. So many experts disagreed with each other on the correct advice on feeding babies and toddlers. In the end I worked with the Institute of Child Health so that all the advice was backed up by scientific research. There were so many misconceptions like babies on liked bland food, or you can’t give eggs before one year when in fact eggs provided they are well cooked are fine from 6 months. I had never done anything like in my life. It took me two years to write the book and once it was written it took a long, long time to get it published, nobody was interested in it, 21 years later it is still the number one parenting book on feeding babies and children.
What was the inspiration behind your ‘Kids Book Club’, how long has it been running, and how do you go about joining?
I don’t think we can underestimate the importance of books. Reading with our children is a great way to bond, to teach them lessons and encourage their imagination, it is also so important for their reading and speaking development. I have wonderful memories of reading to my three children when they were younger, and I felt so disheartened to hear that many young children are not getting the opportunity to read or be read to which is why I really wanted to be able to use my website to highlight some of the wonderful children’s authors we have in this country and try make children’s books more accessible to parents. I started the book club three months ago and have been amazed by the response. Members of our website are given the opportunity to register for one of 500 free copies of our book of the month, they can also discuss each book on our dedicated book club pages. To enter you just need to register onto our website www.annabelkarmel.com
If a child is a fussy eater, what are you recommendations to combat this? What if they will only eat food along the lines of Pizza and chips?!!
- Try to make mealtimes a really positive experience. One of the most important things is to hide your frustration. Praise your child excessively when he or she eats well or tries something new. You may need to ignore some bad eating behaviour to refocus attention on good behaviour. This may make mealtimes less stressful for you, too.
- Importance of variety. Do not just stick to favourite meals but offer a range of healthy dishes and keep trying new recipes. Offering only the foods that your child will eat can encourage extreme fussiness and may lead to a restricted and unbalanced diet.
- If your child has a very restricted diet, it is best to give new foods when she is really hungry. Try to encourage her to eat just a small amount and give lots of attention and praise if she is willing to try it. If she still refuses to eat it, maybe mix it together with something your child likes. For example, if your child likes pasta but won’t eat vegetables, try making a lasagne with spinach.
- Get your kids into the kitchen. Most children adore cooking and it’s amazing how being involved in planning and preparing of a meal can stimulate a child’s appetite. It’s a good idea to ask your child to invite over a group of friends, choose a menu and get them to prepare their own supper or tea. Not only are they more likely to eat something they have a hand in preparing- they are also weighing ingredients, measuring time, etc., all without noticing.
What are your suggestions if a child will not eat their meal, would you make them eat it or just take it away and make sure they have no treats?
If you want to avoid getting into a pattern of them refusing food, it is important to not show your frustration and let them get down from the table if they are not eating, but not give in and then give something you know they will eat whether it’s healthy or not . A hungry child is a less fussy child.
After consulting and producing your own children’s foods for various supermarkets do you worry about the variety of unhealthy foods and ingredients that are put into children’s foods?
I do worry about it as more and more families are relying on convenience food as a cheap and quick option to feed the family. A lot of the foods that children eat are high in salt and saturated fat, so it is important to be fussy if you are choosing convenience food, you need to find out what ingredients are in it and how much salt, sugar and fat it contains.
What is your take on the school dinner’s situation in Britain?
We have been following the blog of the school girl Martha with interest in the office, I find it quite hard to believe that those meals were passed as being in any way up to the standard needed for growing children. The budget for food and training is so small for schools, so I can understand that it must be quite a feat to produce quality healthy meals that will actually be eaten by children. However with the rising rate of diabetes and obesity, just as Jamie Oliver championed it, not only providing these children with decent meals but educating them about food must become a priority for these schools. I think it’s very important that school meals are tested on children themselves as there’s no point making a healthy meal that doesn’t taste good as they won’t eat it. It’s got to be both tasty and healthy.
How have you found doing a cookery programme with and for children?
I absolutely loved it! They always say never work with children or animals, but I had both, and it certainly was never boring on set! I love Jimmy (my Penguin sous chef and assistant) he makes me laugh.
Are you able to enjoy having food cooked for you or eating out, or do you find yourself reviewing the food?
I love eating out, it’s one of the ways I switch off after work and it is such a treat having someone else cook for me. Whilst I probably am a bit fussy when it comes to food and get ideas and tips from the places I eat out, I try not to start analysing it too much! I love going to friends for dinner, lots of my friends are good cooks and I often get inspiration from them for a new recipe for one of my books.
If you could give new mothers one piece of advice what would it be?
Try not to be overwhelmed, there is so much information out there and it can be so easy to get caught up on it and worry about all this information. A lot of it is down to your instinct, you know your baby better than anyone else.
As a talented harpist you studied at the Royal College of Music in London and at the Royal Conservatoire of Music at The Hague, do you still play?
I haven’t played for quite some time. I did play professionally for many years. As a musician you have to practice for many hours every day, it’s a huge commitment. I loved playing music but when I lost Natasha my first child, it changed my life and I knew then that I wanted to work with children and then ended up writing all my books on how to make healthy food. I did however teach all my children to play the violin, they started very young and all became very good musicians. . In fact my son played a violin concerto at the Albert Hall when he was just 13.
What inspires you?
My mum is a huge source of inspiration to me, she is still going strong and working, I hope I will be just as full of life at her age.
What do you like to do to relax?
I am a bit of a workaholic and usually work late into the night. To switch off I love to go to the cinema or go out for a meal with my children. I make sure I get the chance to escape occasionally with my three extremely energetic dogs, just taking them for a walk normally involves some sort of incident like Oscar my Golden Retriever trying to eat everyone’s picnic when he goes to the park which leaves me no time to worry about other things!
What are you currently reading?
Before I go to sleep by SJ Watson – such a fantastic first time novel, and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.
What was your favorite book as a child?
I liked a book called Flat Stanley – he was squashed by a notice board and then sent to America in an envelope
What’s next for Annabel Karmel?
I am very excited about the launch of my new organic savoury baby purees which have been launched in Sainsbury’s and Tesco this month. These have taken two years to develop, as I really wanted to make them taste like home made food. I have also updated my range of chilled meals in Sainsburys, Morrisons and Waitrose to make sure they are really tasty.
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| Annabel Karmel's New Baby & Toddler Cookbook Is Available Now. |
