Are you tired of spending too much money on ready made food?  Spending too much time in the kitchen?  Preparing sandwiches every day for the snack box?  Then here are some top tips for shopping and cooking for kids in Bucharest:
  • For basic ingredients, including fresh fruit and vegetables, Lidl supermarket has everything you need (90% of my food shopping takes place here!)
  • For more special things I like the Bio Shop and Mega Image at Jolie Ville, DM Drogerie market at Pipera Mall or Baneasa Mall and the little health food shop next to Carrfour (not the one opposite).
  • When baking for special occasions there are a few online stores that sell specialist ingredients too:  Bucharest with Kids baking, Bucharest with Kids organic/bio.
  • Prepare things in larger quantities and then freeze them for later.  This can be done with pizza dough, cookies and cakes.  That way you always have something on hand if you need a quick meal to prepare one day.
  • Have fresh ingredients in the fridge ready for a quick snack.  Now that it is summer you can easily have fruit ready to cut up to eat or prepare as a smoothie.
  • Some fruit freezes well and can be used directly from the freezer in a smoothie (or snack!) like blueberries or strawberries and banana.
  • Granola is a great topping for breakfast cereals, yoghurt or just a finger-food snack. And it’s healthy!  Find my favourite recipe at the bottom of the page 🙂
  • Super quick and really yummy is this Salmon Spread.  Serve it with breadsticks to dip when you have guests over, or as part of a healthy lunch for kids.
  • After all this work in the kitchen don’t forget to treat yourself too – the Thermomix can make a mean Mojito once the kids are asleep!
  • The best way to learn new recipes is through a demonstration and tasting them with friends – organise a themed cooking class (snacks and school lunches, healthy food for kids, cocktails etc!) and invite a few friends!

 

I have been using a Thermomix in the kitchen for 6 years and it has totally changed the way me and my family eat and prepare meals.  Thermomix combines twelve appliances in one with functions that include weighing, mixing, chopping, milling, kneading, blending, steaming, cooking, beating, precise heating, stirring and emulsifying.  If you want to see the Thermomix in action, please contact me to arrange a demonstration and Thermomix cooking class.  You will find that you can easily make from scratch scratch things like soups, bread, cakes and risotto, but also vanilla sugar, chicken nuggets, mayonnaise, vanilla bean paste, granola, ice cream – to give you a few examples!

 

Silvia Schernthaner-Leitner,
Tel 0799/700650
Ingredients
60g almonds
70g coconut oil
60g brown sugar
90g honey
360g oak flakes
pinch of salt
1/2 tbs cinnamon
1/2 tbs vanilla extract
30g dried raspberries
Preparation
  • preheat the oven to 180c
  • Place the almonds in the Thermomix and turn to Turbo one or two times (if not using a Thermomix then you will need to do this in a food processor or grind by hand).  Then put to one side.
  • Place coconut oil, sugar and honey in the Thermomix 2mins at 90C Speed 2 (if not using a Thermomix then you will need to do this on the cooker in a saucepan)
  • Add the almonds, oat flakes, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract and mix for 30sec Speed 3
  • Place on a lined baking tray and bake for 15 minutes at 180c (turn every 5 mins)
  • Once cooked, transfer immediately to a cold, lined baking tray and add the dried raspberries and let it cool down
  • Store in an airtight container.

 

Salmon Spread (Click here for the full Thermomix Recipe card)

Ingredients
1 onion
150-200g smoked salmon
200g cream cheese
30g creme fraiche or smantana
onion rings and black olives optional
Preparation
  • Dice the onion (using the Thermomix speed 5 for 3 seconds)
  • Cut and mix in the smoked salmon (using the Thermomix speed 4 for 3 seconds)
  • Mix in the cream cheese and creme fraiche (using the Thermomix 5 seconds at speed 5)
  • serve and decorate with onion rings and blakc olives