Trick or treat turmoil - Halloween 2020

What are your trick-or-treat plans for 2020? We all know that there’s not going to be a lot of trick-or-treating this year, if any, give the current circumstances we find ourselves in.

parentsDeirdre DoyleOctober 7, 2020trick or treating, trick or treat, Halloween, Halloween is cancelled, Halloween ideas, creative Halloween, Ideas for Halloween 2020, Halloween 2020, alternative to trick or treating, Halloween at home, Make Halloween fun in 2020, Halloween parade, safe knife for kids, safe pumpkin carving

3 easy school morning breakfasts

So everyone is safely back to school and people all around the country and even the world are settling back into somewhat of a routine after the past few months. Here in this house, breakfast has been a bit of a non-event the last few months depending on the child.

parents, healthy eating for kids, Government ReportDeirdre DoyleSeptember 2, 2020breakfast, breakfast recipes, recipes for breakfast, breakfast ideas, kids breakfasts, ideas for kids breakfasts, easy breakfast ideas, easy breakfast for kids, quick breakfasts, simple breakfast ideas

Anything but sandwiches - ideas for lunch boxes that are not sandwiches!

Back to school is fast approaching and with it, the return of the dreaded school lunch box. And this year, with no school lunches for the past 6 months as a result of the school closures, will be a bigger challenge than normal to get back on the bandwagon!

parents, school lunch boxesDeirdre DoyleAugust 9, 2020back to school, back to school lunch boxes, school lunches, school lunch box, sandwich free lunchbox, anything but sandwiches, sandwich alternatives, healthy school lunches, coeliac options, school lunch ideas, easy school lunches, recipes for school lunches, recipes for lunch boxes Comment

Online cooking classes for kids - the beginning for The Cool Food School!

Teaching kids to cook online was never on my list of things to do in 2020! I had plenty of other aspirations but that was certainly not one of them!

parentsDeirdre DoyleJuly 23, 2020online cooking, cooking for kids, online cooking for kids, teach kids to cook, teaching kids to cook, cooking by Zoom, interactive cooking class, junior chef, kids in the kitchen

How our world changed in 2020

Our world’s changed on that fateful day in March when our Taoiseach announced the closure of schools and effectively, our society. And our lives changed out of all recognition.

parentsDeirdre DoyleJune 8, 2020lockdown, 2020

What age can my child start cooking?

What age can kids start cooking? From 10 years old? Or maybe 13? What about the dangers of using the cooker and hot saucepans and sharp knives. And the mess, oh the mess….

Let's get kids cooking!

I’ve got it on good authority (2 friends and the empty flour section in the supermarket!), that people are doing a lot of baking at the moment! Kids love to bake and it’s a great skill for them to learn - but are we missing an opportunity here?

parentsDeirdre DoyleApril 8, 2020cooking, cooking with kids, baking, benefits of cooking with kids, benefits of cooking, kids in the kitchen, health benefits of cooking, life skill, cooking skills, fussy eater, get kids cooking, mental health benefits of cooking, family time, quality time

COVID-19 - the good, the bad and the good

A week ago, the schools shut down in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus and life as we parents knew it, stopped (or radically changed). I’ve spent a week reading news stories, following it on Twitter and worrying.

parentsDeirdre DoyleMarch 19, 2020covid19, coronavirus, pandemic, virus, global health, crisis, St Patrick's Day, self isolation, worried

Food education in schools - a missed opportunity

I believe that food education is essential in schools. Recently, the The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment announced some proposed changes to the primary school curriculum.

parentsDeirdre DoyleFebruary 28, 2020The Cool Food SchoolNCCA, school curriculum, childhood obesity, childhood obesity in ireland, food education, food education ireland, the daily mile, well being, over-weight children, obesity, Sapere, sensory food education, Nelson Mandela

The Obesogenic Environment - Part 1

The work of The Cool Food School is centred around children - mine and yours. Our

children are very important to us - nobody disputes that. We cherish them from birth,

and as they grow, their little world expands and they are introduced to more of everything - people, toys, experiences and food.

parentsDeirdre DoyleJanuary 28, 2020obesogenic environment, obesity, childhood obesity, childhood obesity in Ireland

10 Christmas gifts for your little foodies and environmentalists!

It’s that time of year again when we all go into a frenzy of list writing and google searching for the perfect gifts for our loved ones.

parentsDeirdre DoyleNovember 26, 2019sustainable, gift list, gift guide, sustainable gifts, gifts for young chefs, foodie kids, giy, giy allmanac, kids cookbook, kiddies food kutter, safety food peeler, johnny magory, gifts for environmentalists, food lover gifts, christmas gifts

Why I keep saying no.....

I say no to my children a lot. I buy petrol, I say no. I’m grocery shopping and I have to say no. I bring them to the barber and I say no. We’re waiting to collect someone from swimming and I have to say no to sweets, jellies, ice cream, crisps. It’s wearing, frustrating and stressful.

parentsDeirdre DoyleNovember 13, 2019obesity, childhood obesity, childhood obesity in Ireland, food companies, obesogenic environment, Irish Heart Foundation, toxic environment, Childhood Obesity Manifesto, No, health and wellbeing, personal responsibility, junk food

Dealing with the halloween stash!

So Halloween is over but the stash of sweets, jellies, lollipops and other trick-or-treat “goodies” is still hanging around. My #givecashnottrash initiative was popular with all the kids who called to my door but what about my own kids?

parentsDeirdre DoyleNovember 5, 2019halloween, trickortreat, sweets, candy, trickortreat stash, ellyn satter, food on the edge, treat food, junk food

Give Cash not Trash this Halloween

October means it’s all about Halloween in my house. Along with the costume debate (who’s going to wear what, where can I possibly get a costume for a dead teacher/bus conductor/hedgehog?) goes the chat about the trick-or-treat haul. How many sweets did you get last year?

parentsDeirdre DoyleOctober 3, 2019Halloween, trick or treat, dressing up, Moam, single use plastic, give cash not trash, healthy kids, jellies

Using the environment to get our kids to eat better!

My daughter begged and begged me for a packet of Dairylea Dunkers in the supermarket recently. It is not the kind of thing I would ever buy for my lot as the list of ingredients reads like a chemists shelf (polyphosphate, calcium phosphate, lactic acid, citric acid, paprika extract..)

parentsDeirdre DoyleSeptember 30, 2019reccling, recycling, environment, greta thunberg, climate change, processed food, dairy lea dunkers, packaging, reduce reuse recycle

School lunch boxes - tips, tricks and musings!

Oh summer, where have you gone? How is it back to school time already? Back to routine, early mornings, uniforms, home work and the dreaded school lunches

parents, school lunch boxesDeirdre DoyleAugust 18, 2019back to school, school lunch, lunchboxes, school lunch boxes, food jagging, sandwiches at school, fussy eaters, lunch box tips, kids won't eat school lunch, sandwich options, school lunches are boring, teach your kids to make their own lunches, food education, teach kids independence, variety in the lunch box

Picnic food, tips and advice!

Summer is drawing to a close but there is still time to take advantage of the long days and get out and about with your kids.

parentsDeirdre DoyleAugust 8, 2019picnic, healthy picnic, picnic ideas, picnics for kids, beach, beach picnic, sandwiches, trail mix, healthy muffins, healthy options, healthy kids, division of responsibility in feeding, hungry kids, active kids

Our French food adventure

I’m just back from a couple of weeks in France and already missing the weather, the wine and the holiday way of life. But the food?

parentsMcKenna CreativeJuly 22, 2019eating in France, eating with kids in France, food chain, food in France, France, French food, frites, mussels, OECD, oysters, pain-au-chocolat, Sapere, sensory food education, snail

My Bloom Highlights 2019

I visited Bloom, the Bord Bia garden and food event, in 2018 and thought, what an amazing event, I would really love to bring my workshops here. Fast forward to 2019 and there I was, on the stage in the Kidz Zone.