Seasonal Berries - Seasonal Berries Interviews

Annabel Karmel

Annabel Karmel is the UK’s leading expert on baby and children’s food and nutrition, and a best-selling author.

Since writing her first book ‘The Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner’ in 1991, she has written a further 13 books selling over 2 million copies worldwide.

Seasonal Berries spoke to Annabel about why berries should be part of every child’s diet.

Why are berries so good for babies and children?

We all want our children to have the best start in life. One of the elements you can control to optimise their health, both now and for the future, is their diet. Berries are one of the best fruits that children can eat as they are packed with nutrients to help brain development, enhance concentration, promote higher IQ, extra energy, and boost immunity against infection.

Can babies under a year old eat berries?

Yes, of course. Babies can eat berries from six months. They are very easy to puree for young babies. When your baby is more used to solids, at around 8 months, you can mash them with a fork as it is good for them to get used to more solid textures at this age. From a year old you can slice the berries, and when your child has a decent set of teeth they can have them whole. Children especially enjoy eating raspberries as they fit perfectly on the ends of small fingers!

What are your favourite berry recipes?

Strawberry Smoothies, Cranberry and Raspberry Jellies, Strawberry Sorbet Lollies and Raspberry Ripple Cheesecake are some of my favourite recipes. As well as being absolutely delicious, they are really fun to make and a great way to get the kids involved with cooking.

How can time-poor parents include berries in their child’s diet?

Berries are the perfect food to put into school lunchboxes or as a snack for toddlers when you are out and about. They need no preparation so can be eaten as they are, straight from the punnet as a healthy snack. It’s a good idea to buy a few plastic containers with lids to fit into your child’s lunchbox. These will keep each food separate and as fresh as possible.

Berries sprinkled on top of a bowl of porridge or cereal is a great start to the day, especially for school-age children who need a breakfast that will keep them going all morning. A quick and easy dessert is berries on top of ice-cream or yoghurt and if you have more time you can also add jelly, meringue and/or crumbled biscuit for a great ice-cream sundae. One of my favourite desserts, which is very easy to make is to whip up some cream and then mix it with a little icing sugar and Greek Yoghurt. Put a mixture of berries into an ovenproof ramekin, top with the cream mixture and sprinkle with brown sugar. Place under a preheated grill until golden – it’s delicious…

What advice do you have for parents of children who are fussy about their food?

Try and get your children to try all different types of food – as young as possible. If they don’t like something try mixing it with other foods so they don’t notice they are eating it. Fruit is best hidden in smoothies, which all children seem to love. However, most kids seem to like to the taste of berries as they are soft, sweet and easy to eat. A good idea is to make fresh fruit ice lollies, make a sugar syrup by boiling some sugar in a little water. Puree some strawberries, mix together with the sugar syrup and some fresh squeezed orange juice. Allow to cool and then freeze in ice lolly moulds. I have recently launched a range of equipment in Boots which includes rocket ice lolly moulds for children.

How do you encourage children to learn to cook and why is it important?

Make cooking fun and get kids to start experimenting with food when they are still young. A great idea is to turn birthday parties into ‘cooking parties’ and get all the children involved in making the party food. If they learn to cook nutritious food from a young age they will grow up knowing how easy it is to eat a healthy diet and not have to rely on expensive ready meals and junk food.