Family Recipe: Easy Chicken Kebabs

Try this tasty family recipe that the kids will love – you can even get them to help you make it! With the chicken providing a good source of protein, and the valuable addition of an array of vegetables, this can provide a healthy meal that is suitable on both a summer or winter’s evening. Serve the kebabs with salad in the summer, and rice or potato in the winter for a more warming dish.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
Red peppers
Onions
Courgettes
Wooden skewers
For the marinade:
7 tablespoons each of: olive oil, ketchup and sweet chilli dipping sauce
4 tablespoons each of: honey, white wine vinegar
Pinch of salt and pepper
This is one of those easy recipes for kids that will keep the whole family happy.

Combine all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
Stir the chicken into the marinade until it’s all good and covered, put cling-film over the top of the bowl to

cover, and place in the fridge for one hour.
Thread the chicken and the vegetables on the wooden skewers, alternating chicken and vegetables. Tip: soak wooden skewers in water for 20 minutes to stop them from burning in the oven.
Lightly oil a baking tray and place kebabs on tray and cook in a preheated oven at 220°C for approximately 20 minutes.
Serve two skewers per person, and some form of potato side dish, such aspotato chips.
This is a great dish to make with the children. Get little fingers busy and helping you...cut up the vegetables and chicken and place on separate plates, then gather the children around the table and hold a threading competition to see who is the quickest at threading the chicken/vegetables onto the skewer, or who can get the most amount of vegetables/chicken onto their skewer!
Getting adequate nutrition is important for all ages, but is particularly essential for babies, toddlers and children, who all need plenty of energy to move, grow and develop. A well-balanced diet is essential during these stages of life.
The recipe above is the perfect dish for children that are being picky – with the colourful array of vegetables, and the tasty, succulent chicken. Putting food on skewers is also a good distraction and a different way of serving up food, and will helpfully give children something else to focus on if they are going through a picky stage with their food.

Healthy eating tips for children
It’s important that children learn good habits to do with eating healthily at a young age, as eating habits can last a lifetime. Ways you can help:
•    Make sure fruit and vegetables are a regular feature at meal times.
•    If your child is fussy, choose fruits such as strawberries and raspberries, which are gentler on the palate than, for example, apples, and choose colourful vegetables such as peppers, carrots and cucumber, cutting them into bite size sticks to make them more appealing.
•    Keep healthy snacks in view and ready to eat, such as in a fruit bowl, so that they are more readily accessible.
•    Ensure good sources of protein are being provided, such as lean meats, eggs and nuts.
•    Choose wholegrain or brown where possible e.g. wholegrain bread, brown rice and pasta, and cereals without sugar.
•    Steam or grill food instead of frying.