Barry Lewis - My Virgin Kitchen - Delicious recipes you can make every day

DIFFERENT PASTA SHAPES

Shapes as well as colours are a very appealing to children – remember those smiley potato faces or alphabet oven chips? Well, they are popular for a reason, but you can create the same fun effect with some homemade pasta and cookie cutters in cool shapes. Ever seen train-shaped ravioli? Get the cutters out and try the Crab Ravioli.

MEALS ON A STICK

Put something on a stick and no longer is it just a dinner, it’s the most ‘exciting thing to ever happen to dinner time’ (to quote Phoebe). Yep, sometimes all you need is a good old bamboo skewer to get the kids gobbling up their food. You’d be surprised what you can put on a stick – the Caprese Chicken Saladworks a charm. And if you’re still struggling, just call them lollipops – that always seems to seal the deal.

HEALTHIER TWISTS

This one is a bit of a mind game. Of course, children are often drawn to less healthy snacks, be that through the media, convenience or just cravings. Use this to your advantage by making these naughtier snacks a little healthier. I once made a homemade ‘Happy Meal’ with my children and nephews using smoothie, cornflake-baked chicken nuggets (as seen in my first book) and baked sweet potato fries. It went down a storm – because I told them it was a homemade ‘Happy Meal’, they went bonkers for it. Making healthy versions of crisps, such as baked apple crisps or banana chips is also a smart move.

CHARACTER CAKES AND FUNNY FACES

You don’t have to wait for the next birthday party to make a Minion cake! And I’ve found that recreating funny faces or characters on the dinner plate can work fantastically. For example, make a chilli but use the rice to make funny hair, and soured cream blobs, cheese and herbs for facial expressions. I’m sure that Cookie Monster Cupcakes (see my website) get eaten twice as fast as standard ones in our house, but try to be creative with the savoury stuff too.

BOARD GAME PLATE

I’ve not actually tried this yet, but we went to a children’s party where the food was served on paper plates that had squares drawn on them. Each square had a separate portion of food in it with a start and end. The idea was that you followed the squares clockwise until you got to the final one – a piece of cake! I thought that was a pretty neat way of making eating food fun.

ICE-CUBE TRAY

Take an ice-cube tray and portion the dinner into each little slot; it may look a bit strange, but suddenly that huge intimidating plate of food becomes bite-size and manageable. Work with your kids here if they are always keen to hop away from the table before finishing a meal, and remember that you don’t have to fill up all the slots. This has worked a charm for us, particularly when introducing new foods.

MY TOP 4 KITCHEN TIPS

READ RECIPE BEFORE ATTEMPTING IT

It took me a while to work this one out, but it really is useful. It’s tempting to just look at the ingredients needed in a recipe and crack on one step at a time, but taking the time to read the full method can give you a much better understanding of the finished dish and what is involved. It will also enable you to put your own spin on things, which for me is what cooking is all about – personalisation. Having the confidence and understanding the full story before you start a recipe will make life so much easier.

KEEP YOUR KNIVES SHARP

This is quite an obvious one and you’ve probably heard it before, but a blunt knife can give you poorly cut food, slow you down and – most importantly – it is dangerous. Invest in a decent knife sharpener; there’s something very satisfying about prepping food with a sharp knife. No matter how fast or slow you are when it comes to slicing, your fingers will thank you for it!

PREP LIKE YOU’RE ON A COOKING SHOW

When I’m filming I always have my ingredients ready and laid out before attempting a recipe, but even when I’m not filming and am just cooking at home for the family I still find it beneficial. It’s worth getting a nice little collection of small food prep bowls that you can stack after each ingredient is used; anything that will take the hassle out of the steps so you are fully prepared and can concentrate on the good stuff is good in my book.

USE EGGSHELL TO REMOVE SHELL

In the early years of MyVirginKitchen, whenever we cracked eggs into a bowl both Phoebe and I would quite often end up with a little eggshell floating in the bowl. I’d be trying to scoop it out with my fingers – if you’ve ever done this you’ll know it can take ages to fish out! A great little tip is to take a large piece of eggshell and scoop it into the bowl – the smaller piece of shell will cling to it. Try it – it works a charm!

SOME OF MY FAVOURITE KITCHEN UTENSILS

SILICONE SPATULA

My favourite kitchen utensil ever. I love a good wooden spoon when it comes to mixing but there is no greater satisfaction than scraping a bowl clean in one good swoop with a spatula!

FOOD SCISSORS

Yep, having a decent set of kitchen scissors in your drawer can be a lifesaver in certain circumstances. Obviously useful for opening cartons and packets, but I also use them for roughly cutting up bunches of fresh herbs, or even slicing chicken portions, sausages or bacon into smaller pieces. If I can use scissors instead of a knife, I will!

TONGS

Love tongs! I look at them as being like a giant finger and thumb that you can use to manipulate your food, allowing you to flip, spin and grab most items of food safely. A well-known chef (who shall remain nameless) actually pinched my favourite pair at a food festival! Obviously a fan too.

DECENT NON-STICK PANS

I used to have quite a cheap set of pans but I soon realised what a difference a decent set makes. Like all pans they have a shelf life and you need to treat them right, but a good set of non-stick pans in a few sizes can make the whole cooking experience so much easier.

TOP 5 KITCHEN FAIL SOLUTIONS