KiddiChef has been shortlisted for a Medical & healthcare business award!

Here at KiddiChef we are excited to announce that we have been shortlisted for a medical and healthcare business award. We were nominated by Medilink’s 2014 medical and healthcare business start up awards and it has recently been announced that we have now been shortlisted. It’s exciting that a business which was launched in 2012 is doing so well and being recognised on this scale.

With the change in family lifestyles some working parents do not have time to cook healthy meals which they would like for their children. Therefore KiddiChef aims to help parents provide the nutritious, great tasting meals for their children. Kiddichef is changing parents and children’s views towards food and is encouraging much healthier lifestyles to help stop the obesity epidemic which Britain faces. Our aim is to get as many parents as possible to join us and our cause. This is why KiddiChef is so proud to be acknowledged by a healthcare organisation such as Medilink.

KiddiChef understands that parents worry about their children’s healthy and well being and with approximately 13.1% of 4-5 year olds being overweight and 9.5% being classed as obese KiddiChef aim to be at the forefront of changing this trend towards obesity and educating children and parents on healthy eating. KiddiChef meals have been created with help from experts such as doctors, nutritionists and dietitians.  Each perfectly proportioned meal is packed with all the nutrients your child needs and still tastes amazing.

We hope this pioneering concept will help improve the health and wellbeing of young children and we are honoured by such level of recognition in such a short time.

We can’t wait till the 8^th of January to find out if KiddiChef have been lucky enough to win the award and go through to the national finals.

Follow us on Twitter @KiddiChef

Like Us in Facebook /KiddiChef

Follow us on Pinterest /KiddiChef

An apple a day keeps your asthma at bay

A study published today has revealed that the number of children being admitted to hospital with symptoms of asthma has fallen since the smoking ban, which took effect in July 2007.

Research shows there was a 12.3% fall in admissions in the first year following the introduction of the law, and these have continued to drop in subsequent years.

Asthma affects one in 11 children in the UK, and can be caused by a variety of factors including family history, exposure to tobacco smoke or premature birth.

There are many over-the-counter remedies to help manage asthma on a day-to-day basis, however many parents may not know that their child’s diet can affect the severity of their asthma.

As part of the KiddiChef grown-up forum, we provide information on how different foods can help disorders like asthma, eczema and hay-fever.

Asthma is a respiratory ailment that causes inflammation in the lungs. Omega-3 from flaxseed and fatty fishes, such as salmon, mackerel or tuna, may reduce asthma inflammation as well as promoting healthy brain and heart functions.

Fruit and vegetables rich in Vitamin C- may decrease asthma wheezing symptoms.  These include apples, berries, citrus fruits, cabbage, broccoli, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and red peppers. Foods made with vegetables and fruits, such as smoothies, juices, stews, pasta dishes and vegetable-based soups, are also rich in antioxidants.

Studies have found that people with asthma tend to have lower blood and tissue levels of magnesium, and increasing magnesium intake over the long run can reduce the incidence of asthma attacks. Magnesium rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, legumes, whole grains and tofu may prevent asthma attacks, whereas low dietary intake of magnesium-rich foods can increase asthma symptoms such as wheezing, coughing and chest congestion.

Seeds, nuts and plant-based oils such as sunflower seeds and oil, almonds, almond butter, hazelnuts, wheat germ oil, peanut butter, peanuts and soybean oil, provide your body with unsaturated fats and vitamin E nutrients. It has been noted that vitamin E may also decrease asthma-related lung inflammation.

Are you aware of the ‘hidden nasties’ in your food?

Change4Life – the government’s public health programme –have launched a new campaign to expose the high levels of sugar, fat and salt in food.

 

The scheme, which aims to reduce obesity, increase activity and improve lifestyle, aired its new advertisement this week.

 

It shows a large wine glass full of fat, which supposedly represents the amount of fat in a pizza and also claims that there are 17 sugar cubes in a bottle of cola.

It is hoped that this very visual representation of the‘hidden nasties’ will help people make better food choices.

 

Change4Life’s ethos is quite similar to that of KiddiChef in that we both want to create a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle.

 
 

KiddiChef’s meals contain only a varied selection of fresh, nutritious ingredients with no additives or preservatives.

 
 

However, we are not only about food, KiddiChef’s online community allows children and parents to feel part of fun, creative and inspiring hub.

 
 

Victoria Taylor, a dietician at the British Heart Foundation, welcomed the Change 4 Life campaign.

 

She said: "If we're to lessen the heavy burden of obesity, this campaign must provide the spark for a continued, joined-up approach to the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity across the UK."

 

 

We, at KiddiChef, hope that people take notice of the new campaign and bear it in mind when they are making food choices for themselves and their family.

Make Fish the Dish of the Day: Fish Keeps Asthma Symptoms at Bay!

A new study carried out in Rotterdam has found that introducing fish into your child’s diet between the ages of 6 months- 1 year can help in reducing the risk of developing asthma later on in life.

 The study assessed the medical records of 7210 children, along side their early fish consumption levels, and found that 40-45% of the children who were not introduced to fish until after the age of 1 had developed symptoms of asthma, compared to 30% of children who consumed fish between the ages of 6 months and 1 year.

The study concludes that introducing fish into your child’s diet during this window of opportunity can reduce the risks of developing asthma by around 36%.

It was also found that the benefits of fish to children’s health was not dependant on the amount of fish consumed, meaning that introducing even a little fish into your child’s diet during this time will give them a better chance of staving off asthma.

Jessica Kiefte-De Jong, lead author of the study, states ‘introduction to fish between 6 and 12 months- but no fish consumption afterward- is associated with a lower prevalence of wheezing.’

It is believed that these health benefits are a result of certain fatty acids that fish contains that can help to protect the body against the symptoms of asthma.

Paediatrician T. Bernard Kinane comments that these results are not surprising, stating that they ‘make reasonable sense because that’s when the immune system is getting educated.’

Even though the benefits of fish in the protection against asthma only appear to fall between the ages of 6-12 months, this does not mean that fish should not be included in your child’s diet at any age.

Fish have many other health benefits, the fact that they are a great source of protein and are high in Omega-3 fatty acids helping greatly in growth and organ health, as well as being a “brain food” for a healthy mind.

Willy Wonka of the Art World Set to Change How Children View Healthy Food!

You would be forgiven for thinking, on first glance, that Carl Warner’s creations were just mystical, intricate landscapes; however, look a bit closer and you’ll get a tasty surprise!

The Willy Wonka of the art world’s latest venture of Foodscapes, a series of landscape photographs created entirely out of food, are to be published in his new book,  ‘A world of food,’ and are set to explore food in a fun and creative way.

Warner’s aim for his latest Foodscape project is to get children interested in healthy food options, as opposed to just wanting a plate of chips or a cake. Warner states ‘I use my work as a vehicle to get kids to think about what they are eating.’ Warner’s landscapes certainly do this, his pasta and cucumber trees, chilli pepper scorpion and banana hot-air balloon, complete with melon fruit basket, giving a whole new fun and creative meaning to healthy food choices.

Warner has said that he wants to change the face of healthy food with his images, making them more engaging and appetising, tempting children to pick fruit and veg at meal times over a less healthy option: ‘…make Asparagus become a rocket or turrets on a castle and it makes it much more engaging for them.’

Through Warner’s images, it is no longer a ‘yucky’ plate of broccoli in front of your child at the dinner table, but an enchanted, creepy forest that they can’t wait to explore. Seeing food in a more imaginative and engaging way at meal time, as opposed to ‘boring greens’, will encourage children to want to choose these healthy food options more, and in turn lead to a happy, healthy future generation.