Apple and Buckwheat Pikelets with Chia Jam and Mint Ricotta

Apple and Buckwheat Pikelets with Chia Jam and Mint Ricotta

Pikelet Ingredients
3 cups wholemeal flour
2 cups buckwheat flour
1 ½ tbsp cinnamon
2 ½ tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 eggs
2 ½ cups orange juice or apple juice
5 large apples grated

Method
Mix together flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
Mix together eggs, juice and apple.
Mix all together and cook in pan over medium heat.

Berry Chia Jam Ingredients
2 cups frozen berries of choice
1 tbsp coconut sugar (or honey)
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp coconut oil

Method
In a small frypan heat berries and sugar on low-medium for 5-10 minutes until soft and juicy.
Turn off the heat then add chia seeds, stir and leave for 5 minutes to set.
Add more chia seeds if mixture is still a little runny.

Mint Ricotta Ingredients
400g ricotta
½ bunch fresh mint
Zest of 1 orange
1 tbsp honey

Method
Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Leading chef Miguel Maestre has developed this recipe for Paisley Park Early Learning Centres nationally, and has come on board in a food advisory role to help instil healthy eating habits in children from a young age.

Paisley Park co-founder, Kat Wiezorek-Ghisso's top 10 tips for encouraging positive relationships with food at home:

Sit-down family meals are extremely important – try to all eat together at least five nights a week
Meal-times are a social experience, so it is important that children learn how to positively relate to one another strengthening their emotional and regulation capacities and nurturing family relationships.

Have your children help you prepare the family meal, including setting up the table and cleaning up together
Preparing and sharing a meal together allows children to experience a sense of personal achievement when they have produced a meal that is enjoyed by the whole family. Cooking extends to all learning areas such as measuring, estimating, problem solving, dexterity and coordination, language development through reading recipes and learning methods.

Planning is vital to avoiding the last-minute purchase of take-away dinners
Simply having a weekly calendar in place where family meals are planned will make it easier to commit to quality family time and healthier meal choices.

Expose your children to a variety of fresh ingredients from an early age

We now know this supports a child's development of a diverse, healthy palates contributing to them making better long-term meal choices.

Involving children in ingredients sourcing, growing their own in veggie patches and actively assisting with shopping, means they will be more receptive to taking responsibility for their own well-being
Plants can be grown in virtually anything. Simply take a trip to your local nursery or even supermarket to buy some seeds and watch them grow!

Allow your child to use real food implements, such as knives, forks, crockery and glassware
This experience promotes the meal experience as being 'real' and one where the child has contributed to the decision making. It's important to remember to role model appropriate use and excuse the odd accident.

Encourage your child to use tongs and serving spoons to serve themselves, rather than presenting them with a bowl of food
When given this responsibility, children are more inclined to eat what they serve.

Don't use food as a reward or punishment, such as, "if you eat your veggies, you will get ice cream for desert"
Using this threat is encouraging children to develop a poor relationship with food and negative associations with ingredients featured in meals. Children need to be encouraged and appropriately praised for being part of the whole meal time experience, which ultimately leads to its success.

Include physical activity into your family's day
Going to the park, walking the dog, throwing a ball or going for a scooter ride will role model a naturally active lifestyle for young children.

Find out when your local fresh produce markets are on and become familiar with local growers
Not only will this be a fun social occasion for your family, this will help build your child's knowledge of where food really comes from.