Families that eat together are healthier together, or so says LANCEWOOD in their recent Quality Time Report on South African families.

These days our lives are so fast-paced and filled with all sorts of distractions that it’s difficult to take a moment to actually be, well, in the moment. From work and traffic to parental responsibilities and social media, there seems to be an endless routine of ‘busy’ – too busy to even enjoy mealtimes anymore.

For decades now, the amount of time families spend together, especially during mealtimes, has been on the decline. That was until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Last year, many of us were forced to stomp on the brakes and slow it down. We were confined to our homes in an effort to stay safe and limit infections, and this meant numerous families were spending more time together. 

It was also during this time that local dairy producer LANCEWOOD conducted their Quality Time research study, which aimed to understand how families spend their mealtimes. Needless to say, the results were interesting.

The Details 

The study was conducted between 12 June and 6 July 2020 with 2 100 participants. LANCEWOOD collaborated with four local experts to share further insight on the research findings and assist South Africans with enhancing quality time over meal-times. This included psychologist Dr Ilse de Beer, TV personality and cookbook author Zola Nene, media personality and author Vanessa Raphaely, and former magazine editor and stylist Vicki Sleet.

The Findings

According to LANCEWOOD’s report, 89% of respondents believe that quality time with friends and family is important. Yet it found that while quality time during meals is valued, there are many responsibilities and barriers that prevent families from prioritising it. These barriers include work (62%), household chores (36%), school activities (35%) and traffic (21%) being the main culprits.

However, many of these barriers were reduced or fell away during the nationwide lockdown last year. With many not working, sitting in traffic or going to school, the report found that 59% of participants said they are eating together more and 43% said that they are cooking together more. With the majority of people spending time at home, it meant that supper wasn’t the only mealtime that family members were present. Being at home all day meant that breakfast, lunch and dinner were prepared and enjoyed together as a family. On the other hand, 20% of the study participants reported that their eating behaviour hadn’t changed at all
during lockdown. 

The majority did notice a change though, and Zola reiterates this. ‘There was absolutely a change, and I know this because of the type of interaction I received on my platforms. People have to cook more, and they need help. They’re also looking for creative ways to elevate their meals without breaking the bank,’ she explains.

The Takeaway

With life returning to a semi-normal state, it is understood that many of the challenges we faced when prioritising mealtimes will return. Yet the experts believe it is more important than ever for us to continue spending quality time together. ‘We need that sense of belonging, the sense of being accepted, a place of safety, and experiencing love and interest in one another’s life. If we do not spend quality time together, we lose that feeling of cohesion,’ says Dr de Beer.

Besides the distractions, there’s also this notion that mealtimes and food needs to be perfect in order for it to be enjoyed. ‘Sharing images of perfection are becoming the norm. But, remember that the image that is held up through social media is only an edited, highly curated version of what life is,’ says Vanessa. And it certainly doesn’t have to be the perfect family setting that we’re used to seeing in the media. Whether you and your family prefer to dine at the table, sit in front of the TV, eat on the floor, or use your hands, there’s no right or wrong way to enjoy your meals – and the same can be said for the food itself. Oftentimes a quick and easy meal is all that you can manage to muster up after a long day, and that is perfectly okay!

‘Creating a space in your home to eat, and actively clearing your mind to be present, goes a long way in having quality time. Where possible, try and separate your workspace from the area where you eat to help with distinguishing between work time and family time,’ suggests Vicki.

Food should always be a joyous occasion and so much more than simply nourishment. It is a way to celebrate, connect, share, show love and bond with others. So the next time you need to prepare a meal, why not involve the whole family, and turn an everyday moment into a quality mealtime moment. 

By: Taryn Wilson
Photography: Gallo/Getty Images

The post LANCEWOOD’s Quality Time Report proves that eating together is better appeared first on MyKitchen.

Of the many health trends we’ve seen this year, a big one has been the move towards organic eating and methods of living that promote sustainability and a healthy environment. While this is a great option, it’s no easy (or cheap) task. If you’re looking to go greener with your foods, try some of these tips and check out your local farmer’s markets for fresh produce and inspiration.

By Taryn Wilson

1. Buy fresh produce. Whether from a roadside vendor or a market, this is crucial. Your vegetables, grains, meats and other ingredients should be fresh and grown from organic food farms. You can also look at your local supermarkets for organic foods, but be sure to check the labels.

2. Get it whole. Instead of buying cut-up, processed and packaged foods, try to go for the whole thing. For example, purchase an entire chicken and make a delicious roast, or separate the pieces yourself to freeze and cook later on. Instead of going for a bag of pre-prepared veggies, buy fresh and whole options, cut them up yourself and season.

3. Recycle. Avoid plastic bags and tupperware altogether. Rather make use of organically made shopping bags and glass jars to store food and other items in the home. Also, keep your leftover food scraps to make a compost, or to put in your own garden.

4. Start a veggie patch or herb garden. While these require a lot of upkeep and patience, growing your own food brings not only a great feeling of accomplishment, but you will be rewarded with fresh home-grown ingredients, and it’ll save you produce costs.

5. Work from scratch. Stick to buying raw ingredients that you can put together yourself to make the foods you need. This will keep you from consuming processed foods and you’ll save space in your pantry.

OUR FAVOURITE ORGANIC MARKETS IN SA

Gauteng

Bryanston Organic and Natural Market, Johannesburg
Neighbourgoods Market, Braamfontein

Western Cape

Greyton Saturday Morning Market
Outeniqua Farmers’ Market, George
Oranjezicht City Farm Market

KwaZulu Natal

Karkloof Farmer’s Market, Howick
Shongweni Farmers Market, Outer West Durban

Free State

Boeremark Market, Bloemfontein
Clarens Country Market

Image: Unsplash

The post 5 ways to include organic eating into your every day life appeared first on MyKitchen.

Trying to get the kids to sit down and finish their vegetables can often turn into absolute chaos, and keeping them away from scoffing sugary treats can be equally as tough. But by using these simple tricks, you can slowly start to encourage your kids to eat healthy, leading to a good relationship with food.

By Taryn Wilson

1. Try to plan the majority of your weekly meals in advance so that you don’t rush and throw together an unhealthy meal, or give in to the pressure of take-out. When your meals for the family are planned, you can decide on which vegetables, meats and starches to include, and this will help to get your kids used to a certain standard of eating.

2. Make your children eat to a schedule. Their lunchtimes at school are set, so all you have to do is sort out breakfast and dinner times. This will make it easier to incorporate healthy meals and it also adds structure to an eating plan.

3. Teach your children from as young as possible about healthy eating, providing them with natural sugars and veggies as opposed to sweets, fried foods, etc. Educating them on these topics earlier on will make it easier to explain meal choices.

4. A great way to get your children to be more open to eating healthier foods is to get them involved in the cooking. Spend one afternoon over the weekend baking or preparing supper and have them do small tasks to help. Show them how various ingredients make a tasty meal, and allow them to feel proud of their involvement.

5. Getting creative in the kitchen is also an easy way to peak the kids’ interests. Try easy and fun recipes that create healthy snacks that they won’t be able to say no to. Our gorgeous banana penguins are perfect!

6. Make sure to show your children that eating well is rewarding. You can offer incentives, but not in the form of other foods. Go for things like extra TV or playtime as opposed to a chocolate or a sweet.

7. Educate your kids on the benefits of eating well. Try to help them understand the impacts it has on their bodies, and why it is important to make healthier choices. This should be done carefully and in a positive way, as you don’t want to guilt your child into anything.

8. Allow them to follow your lead by setting an example. You can’t expect your children to follow a certain lifestyle if you or your partner do the complete opposite. You need to be a role model in all aspects, including healthy eating. Show the kids how to go about eating in a balanced way that they will be able to replicate.

9. Present food positively to your children. Do not label foods as good or bad, and try not to restrict or limit your child in unhealthy and hurtful ways. Food is a source of life and should be celebrated. Teach your children to nurture their bodies with the foods that will make them feel good and perform better.

10. Let your kids be a part of the decision-making. Ask your kids to rate their favourites in each of the various food groups, e.g. vegetables, meat, fruit, starches, and come up with dinner ideas together based on their choices. This will allow them to feel some control, and will also get them more involved and excited about eating.

Image: Unsplash

The post 10 ways to encourage your kids to eat healthy, and enjoy it! appeared first on MyKitchen.

Once you have all the necessary equipment, a holiday in the great outdoors can be an amazingly cost-efficient venture. And just because you’re kicking it outdoors, doesn’t mean you have to resort to unhealthy and expensive readily-prepared supermarket meals. A little planning can go a long way, and we’re here to help you make your summer camping trip a fun, cheap and healthy endeavour.

By Mikaela Kagan

Avoid buying deli meats
You can save a lot of money by avoiding expensive deli and lunch meats. We recommend you wait for those yummy braai packs to go on sale and buy in bulk. You can keep it frozen until you’re on your way. As a veggie (and even cheaper) alternative, why not pack in some delicious and healthy protein substitutes like tinned beans, lentils or chickpeas? These will go beautifully with a mixed green salad, or even served hot in a stir-fry.

Pack your cooler wisely
Throwing away food is a quick way to waste money, and you’ll definitely end up wasting time and food if you don’t pack your cooler wisely:

1. Pack your eggs on top in a solid carton and keep them on top. It’s an unnecessary expense to buy a special camping container for eggs.
2. For products like butter and cheese, make sure they are packed in waterproof containers. Once water gets in, they will take on an unpleasant and unpalatable texture (even though it’s still perfectly fine), and some family members will be put off.
3. Try to pack only what you will need. No matter how careful you are, the chances of fresh goods surviving two car trips and time exposed to the hot weather are not high.

Bring reusable cutlery
Not only will reusable cutlery be good for your pocket – it’s environmentally friendly too. Also, it will add less weight and clutter to your gear if you aren’t lugging around piles of knives and forks.

The post Camping eats for the budget-conscious appeared first on MyKitchen.

Where’s there’s ash there’s fire. We take an inside look at Cape Town’s newest culinary offering, the smouldering ASH restaurant.

By Erin Starr Katzeff

The people of Cape Town love food. This city is practically foodie heaven. The walk along the bustling streets of the CBD, past the sights and scents of restaurants, bars and eateries, is enough to make even the most discerning food lover’s mouth water. Amidst the latest additions to the city’s food scene, there is one particularly alluring newcomer that stands out. The provocatively titled ASH restaurant, is something different.

ASH is the brainchild of Chef Ash Heeger in partnership with Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants and Publik Wine Bar. Heeger has played chef in some of the most sought after kitchens, The Test Kitchen, La Columbe and Dinner by Heston (yes, we mean Blumenthal) in London, all make a cool  appearance on his resumé. The concise menu is single-minded in its approach; this food is all about big, bold flavours. Most of the meat and seafood menu items are cooked over an open flame, giving the dishes – and the restuarant’s name – an added gravitas.

The ambience is moody and dark with a welcome hint of hedonism. The open kitchen, in full view of the diners, provides the evening’s entertainment, with Chef Ash and an ensemble cast dicing, charring, smoking and searing an array of ingredients beneath the kitchen lights. There is a sweeping emphasis on top-to-tail eating, most notably in the pig head scrumpet; a plate of bite sized porky morsels served with schezaun-spiced apple and quince sauce. With the meat being provided by the ethically-conscious and pedantically quality-driven Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants, the meat selection could sway the heart of your most self-righteous vegetarian friend. The slow-cooked lamb, served with rosemary oil, smoked onions, pickled lemon and spring broad beans, beckons from the menu. The Italian lemon meringue or the milk stout ice cream sandwich  is reason enough for a cheat day.

Book a table and let us know what you think.

The post Red Hot appeared first on MyKitchen.

By Erin Starr

Eating food is pretty much the most predominant characteristic of a living being. Forget emotion or maternal instinct or self-preservation or a beating heart – everyone has to eat. Food is a part of pop culture (think Lady Gaga’s meat dress), food can be political (remember when Donald Trump was strategically photographed enjoying a taco bowl?), and food can also present us with moral dilemmas (the vegans know what I’m talking about). To honour the joyous necessity that is eating, we’ve rounded up some of the most bizarre eats from around the world. Bon appetit!

100 year old egg – China

Unsurprisingly, Asian countries are going to make a frequent appearance on this list. The 100-year-old egg, otherwise known as the century egg, is considered a delicacy in China. This little guy is not exactly as old as its title claims: the chicken or duck egg is actually fermented in a mixture of ash, clay, salt and quicklime for a mere couple of months. The egg white turns brown, the yolk turns a dark green colour and its smell turns admittedly … pungent. It apparently has a strong taste of ammonia and sulphur – yum!

Mescal worm – Mexico

This is a bizarre food I have actually tried; it was dark, I was adequately inebriated, and the Spanish man handing me the shot (worm included) looked like he had been photoshopped. Forgive me. Contrary to popular belief, the worm is found at the bottom of a bottle of mescal (a generally cheaper, shoddier relative of tequila). The larva is commonly said to give the booze depth of flavour, but many claim this was simply a marketing gimmick employed by mescal producers to up foreign consumption. Either way, it makes for a great story.

Rocky Mountain oysters – United States

Despite its name, this delight does not contain any seafood, but instead makes rather spectacular use of sheep, pig or bull testes. Oh, America! The peeled testicles are deep-fried in a batter of spiced flour and served with a dipping sauce. To our male readers, I deeply apologise for having used the phrase ‘peeled testicles’.

Fugu (puffer fish) – Japan

This is the ultimate meal for the fish-loving adrenalin junkie with a penchant for living dangerously. Fugu is essentially raw slices of puffer fish. Unlike other more benign sushi dishes, if prepared incorrectly this sashimi may lead to accidental death. The puffer fish contains a potentially lethal poison called tetrodotoxin. The role of the fugu chef is not to eliminate the toxin altogether, but to reduce it to a more palatable (and less life-threatening) level. When it is correctly prepared, the diner is said to experience waves of euphoria and tingling sensations.

Cobra heart – Vietnam

This rather brutal delicacy involves slitting open a live snake, removing its beating heart, placing it in a small glass of its own blood, and downing it. The concoction is said to be rich in fatty acids, which cure skin ailments, reverse heart disease and treat asthma. Health benefits aside, this one is not for the faint … hearted.

Haggis – Scotland

We’ve all heard of it, but do you know what it actually is? Haggis is the inventive mixture of minced sheep heart, liver and lungs, traditionally thrown together with some oatmeal, onion and spices, and then cooked inside a bag made from the animal’s stomach. The multitalented dish is also used in a sport called ‘haggis-hurling’, which involves a participant throwing a haggis as far as possible. If that doesn’t make this meal more appealing, then you’re simply too hard to please.

What weird foods have you tried? Tell us in the comments!

The post Strange and scrumptious: A look at some of the world’s most bizarre foods appeared first on MyKitchen.