School Holidays, Feed the Kids

CORONAVIRUS , SCHOOL HOLIDAYS AND MY KIDS

😱

As if all that's happening in the world and whole countries being on lock-down isn't enough, parents have to now worry about finding creative solutions to keep hungry, bored children at home, entertained and fed. 

Personally, I was not cut out to be a teacher. I don't have the patience or tolerance. I definitely feel unprepared. I can handle irate Board members, finicky CEOs of major companies, confidently talk to ambassadors and ministers but my own kids?  Now that's scary.

Precisely how I feel. 

And then it's the constant hole in their stomachs like "Didn't I just see you eating 5 minutes ago?"

As I waiver between 

• guilt for denying my child life-giving food (apparently they will starve if their mouths are not continually eating and I'm a terrible mom for even thinking of restricting them 😒), 
• worry over how your already over-stretched budget is going to handle this onslaught 
• trying to keeping them healthy, without the sugar-laden snacks that will have them piling on the kilos in the adult years, and 
• annoyance at myself for not having planned for the Coronavirus pandemic (or any disaster)  well, 

I have new found appreciation for my parents and then I remember - hang on, they weren't alone. There were grandparents, uncles, aunts and neighbors who all pitched in.  It really took the village to raise (and feed) kids. 

Now if you're anything like me, you will have had all these wild arguments (in your head) in the split second it takes your 11-year-old to stuff 3 homemade crackers into her mouth and then proceed to have a conversation with her 7-year old sister while spitting food the whole time, obviously results in a sister fight.  All this while you quickly come to the conclusion: 

More Food Needed!

It really doesn't matter what your kids are doing, watching a movie, playing a game etc. It seems like the moment it's holidays, a gaping hole in their stomachs appears with a huge, flashing sign that says 

FEED ME!

So for us who need to make sure our kids are fed and healthy but also can't afford a gourmet personal chef (hint: you are the personal chef), here's a simple recipe to keep them munching without breaking the bank or the scale.

Apple & Cheese Homemade Crackers

1 large green apple, peeled and grated

1/2 cup of grated cheese (any hard cheese you like)

1 egg

2 tablespoons of oil

2 teaspoons of fine salt

1 teaspoon of black or white pepper (some kids don't like the black "spots" of the pepper)

2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley

2 cups of flour plus extra flour for dusting

1/2 cup of oats

Warm water as needed to bind

Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. You are going to need a lined or oiled baking sheet.

In a bowl, whisk egg and oil together until frothy. In another bowl, sift together the flour, oats, salt, pepper and add the grated apple, cheese and parsley. Ensure that the apple and cheese are mixed well with the dry ingredients. 

Fold your egg mix into your dry ingredients. Add warm water,  a tablespoon at a time, as needed until you get a soft dough. 

Dust a clean kitchen counter with flour and roll our your biscuit dough thinly. Use any shape cookie cutter (preferably a shape your kids like) and cut out as many as you can. Re-roll dough and repeat until all the dough is used.

Place crackers on a baking sheet, leaving a little space between each and bake for 15 min. Turn over and let the other side brown for another 5 min. Make sure they don't burn. Take out and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.  

Keeps for .....what am I talking about? I don't know how long they can last cos there's nothing left after 2 days. 

This recipe makes about 60 of these round crackers.  

Variations:

You can replace the apple with grated carrots, grated zucchini (remember to add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar to the mix), or other firm fruit works well. South African fruit is still wonderfully sweet so no need for added sugar. 

TIP: I took some of the leftover dough, cut them in strips and twisted the strips.  It looked like fancy cheese sticks and I don't have a picture because 20 came out of the oven, cooled and then mysteriously "disappeared" .  

I lie. There's no mystery involved.  I ironed a few of my husband's shirts while I waited for them to cool and when I got back to the kitchen, they'd been devoured.

PS. Did you know a 2,5 kg bag of flour means you have 20 cups of flour? 

So 2,5 kg flour is R 25 and a 200 g box of 20 empty crackers is about the same price. Get the flour. 

You can do so much more. 

Happy munching!