Alot of people I know struggle to understand the importance of feeding their children the most desirable foods; if you fall into this category then this blog is for you. So get a cuppa or nice cold drink ready as this is another long post... 

Summer period/ summer holidays is a time where mums, and parents especially want to get rid of their kids, either by sending them to their relatives or a summer camp to spend most of their holidays.

Here's a few tips on what to feed your kids during this holidays. I know some kids are very picky, but please do not let your children dictate to you, you are their parent and you know what you went through during their pregnancy, so don't let your child rule you.

-Sandwiches/pack lunch.. All kids love sandwiches, this is a great idea on what to make for them to take to the park. watch my Club sandwich video here;-

 http://youtu.be/1OzXGLrnu1U

-Calm down on the fizzy drinks, it gets them too hyper. You can substitute them by giving them Lemonades and Kool aids but they do deserve the odd treat of fizzy drinks once in a while :-)

-Fresh juices are really good for them especially Orange juices which is known for its health benefits, particularly its high concentration of Vitamin C.

-Reduce the amount of junk food (Mc'Donalds, KFC, Pizza etc) you feed the children; make them know that they are only allowed the junk food on their treat days (once in 3 weeks). Home-made burgers and chips, home-made Pizza are much better and a better substitute to restaurant burger/pizza.

-Potatoes/Mash served with one sausage, sweetcorn and mixed vegetables.

-Rice and chilli con-carne hmm yummy :-)

-Plantain and scrambled eggs:- Check my blog post on Grilled Plantain here:-http://saiprojectscooking.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/grilled-plantain-stuffed-with-scrambled.html

-Tuna Pasta bake

-Ice lollies are not bad, they hydrate them in the sun are literally just like drinking flavored water; just make sure it hasn't got loads of sugar.

-Chocolates every other week is acceptable not EVERYDAY.

-Sweeties are bad for their teeth, but having one or two wine gums at weekends is not bad.

-Most importantly, don't forget their 5 a day:- The 5 A DAY message highlights the health benefits of getting five 80g portions of fruit and vegetables every day. That's five portions of fruit and veg in total, not five portions of each.
Now the million dollar question running through your mind as a parent is  WHERE TO TAKE MY KIDS DURING THE SUMMER BREAK???? Don't worry Saiprojects will help you fix it :-)

-Take them to a Park, let them run freely, play on rides for a bit.. It helps their brain and tires them out after a long day at home bored...

-I wouldn't advise you to keep your children at home for the 6 weeks, engage them. Let them tidy up in a bid to win money or their favorite toy or a treat to their favourite place such as the cinema, their fav restaurant or even take them out for an outdoor activity such as cycling, taking a walk or even head out for a picnic.

-Organise a Beach day out with the family, kids love a large playground where they can play with sand, run about and meet other kids.. Plan this ahead either with friends or family to make it super exciting.. Make pack lunches, scoop up the kids in the car and take that drive to the beach with the kids; trust me they'll love it and even share the experience with their classmates once they go back to school (i used to when i was a child)..

-Take them swimming lessons, really good form of exercise.. I really wish I can swim, but unfortunately I've always had a ridiculous fear for water. However I'm getting there slowly :-)

-Limit the amount of TV and time spent on tablets watching all sorts; I know you might be thinking "The TV & Tab keeps them quite", as much as it keeps them quite, it also tires their brains out. They can watch TV and play on the Tab don;t get me wrong; however doing this 24/7 is too much... Why not get them to read story books sometimes online or hard-copy and  get them to narrate the story to you;  make them score points and rewards for every well narrated story they read. I'm sure they'll be well excited if they earn rewards to eat a chocolate or have a crisps or get a nice treat.

-Theme parks- I know kids gets super duper excited whenever you tell them they'll be visiting Theme park; I can imagine as I still get soooo excited when I go to Alton towers even though I might be scared of the rides; I love the atmosphere & the vicinity. There are hundreds of theme parks up and down the country, you'll find details of a host of other attractions on google. (Tip:- Book well in advance to get cheap tickets and also look out for vouchers in newspapers and magazines).



- Finally if you can afford to take your kids abroad; book your tickets well in advance; there are loads of hot-deals online; I'm currently looking at Martin Lewis' website (www.moneysavingexpert.com) for deals for my family sometime this year. There are so many packages he offers for deals abroad. You can opt for a Staycation if you cannot afford a holiday abroad, but what you'll find sometimes is it costs more to stay in the UK than to go somewhere such as Spain, France or other nice European holiday destinations. Check it out and I'm sure you'll find something to suit you and your fam.

I'm sure in some parents mind, 6 weeks is like 6 months but trust me time does fly, and to the working mums, why not schedule your annual holiday in the summer to spend time with your children. Get to know your children, ask them questions, ask their opinion of something, you'll be surprised that Children are very smart and 99% of the time, they do know what is going on, they just don't say or they are busy playing lol..

**** TIP from Saiprojects:- Always book your holidays with a credit card as credit cards cover you and your family the loss of your money if anything goes wrong. Debit card on the other hand doesn't.

I hope I've given you the fix to your million dollar question and worry; see you in my next blog and have a fabtastic summer .. o'toodles :-)