Parents are at home all day with their children and the value of time together is rediscovered, in the name of #orestoacasa. "The routine of our daily life has changed sharply but now more than ever, especially children, they need safety and rituals - explains the psychologist and psychotherapist Paola Medde -. Habits, in fact, serve to appease anxiety and also protect our children from uncertainty ».
How to deal with boredom by finding the right balance between routine and fun? How to organize the day with your children in a historical moment in which time and space must find new forms of organization?
Here are the 5 tips of the psychologist Medde for a child- resistant quarantine : it goes from marking out the times of the day well, without upsetting family habits, to explaining what happens but with caution, from making your children responsible at home, up to fun in the kitchen (but be careful not to "console" with sweet and high-calorie foods!) creating recipes, protein and light in the company of your children.
Cooking together can also be fun, engaging and useful! The blogger Sonia Peronaci recommends 3 recipes to make while playing , easy to prepare, tasty and colorful: from meatballs on a stick in the shape of a small ice cream, to fun swivels, up to an imaginative pie.
The recipes, complete with photos, are available online on www.vivailpollo.it.
THE 5 TIPS OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST PAOLA MEDDE FOR A QUANTITY FOR CHILDREN.
# 1 SCANDARE WELL THE TIMES OF THE DAY: PLAY, STUDY, MEALS, SLEEP
It is important to clearly mark the times of rest, study, play and meals, without radically changing the family's eating habits. «We must keep as much as possible. the time of awakening and falling asleep before isolation. " - explains the psychologist - «Your children will be less at risk of altering their circadian rhythms and will be more relaxed. Meals must take place together and become an opportunity for dialogue ».
# 2 EXPLAIN YOUR CHILDREN WHAT HAPPENS BUT DO IT WITH CAUTION
It is important to maintain emotional contact and dialogue with your children, taking care to inform them of the problem, a cause that forces everyone to stay indoors. But be careful not to go overboard in describing details that could convey distress and sense of bewilderment.
# 3 GAME YES, BUT ALSO HOME MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
It is important to empower children so that they can organize their time with reading and artistic activities, and make themselves useful at home with adults. "These behaviors are very important" - explains Medde "because they help to distract the mind from the" here and now "on the one hand and on the other they increase the sense of" self-efficacy "».
# 4 NO TO HIGH-CALORIAL FOOD AND SWEETS, YES TO A HEALTHY DIET WITH PROTEINS AND VEGETABLES
In these long days, as parents, you may fall into the temptation to "console" your children with sweet and high-calorie foods. Try to avoid it! It is better to prefer protein food, such as chicken or fish which, in addition to being particularly tasty and easily chewable for the little ones, contains important nutrients.
And the vegetables? "Many parents, to make their children eat vegetables, start real" table battles ". This happens because too often "green" dishes are presented without imagination "added the psychologist" Three small practical tips: use colored plates and cutlery; indulge in giving the vegetables a nice shape that is more accepted by the child and combine the vegetables of the day with a dish particularly loved by your puppy. In a short time a positive mental association will be created ».
# 5 PLAY IN THE KITCHEN WITH YOUR CHILDREN
It is important to involve children in preparing meals so that when they are at the table they will be more enticed to eat. «The manipulation that children love so much, like that of pongo, can be replaced by products normally used in the kitchen. Let's start the flour dough, cutting the food through the molds normally used to make cookies and experiment with your little ones the most creative recipes! ».
THE RECIPES OF SONIA PERONACI
MEATBALLS ON STICK
(Ingredients for 8 meatballs)
chicken 200 g
boiled potatoes 150 g
grated cheese 40 g
thyme 2 sprigs
fresh chives 5 g
Salt to taste
yolks 1
TO FRY
peanut oil 1l
FOR THE PINK SAUCE
mayonnaise 100 g
ketchup 50 g
FOR THE PEA AND MINT SAUCE
peas 50 g
mayonnaise 100 g
mint 4 leaves
basil 4 leaves
METHOD
The DOUGH
Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes and boil them in salted water, then drain them and let them cool.
Take the chicken breast and cut it into small pieces, then blend it with a mixer and put it in a bowl, in which you will add the grated cheese, the yolk, the thyme, the chopped chives, the mashed potatoes with a fork and the salt.
Knead all the ingredients and transfer the dough to the appropriate molds *, level the surface of each one, then insert the wooden sticks; store everything in the freezer for at least 1 hour, so that they firm up well.
Alternatively, you can also use the roasted or boiled chicken left over from the day before. Fray and coarsely mince the meat, then add it to the potato mixture together with the finely chopped aromatic herbs. Mix the mixture well.
COOKER
Bring the oil to a temperature not higher than 175 °, then check the situation with an immersion thermometer. Fry 2-3 meatballs on a stick at a time, until golden brown **.
FOR THE SAUCES
For the pink sauce, just combine the mayonnaise and ketchup, mixing well with a teaspoon.
For the pea and mint sauce, put the peas, mayonnaise, mint and basil leaves in a cutter (or food processor) equipped with blades. Operate the machine until a homogeneous mixture is obtained: your sauce is ready!
STORAGE
Once fried, I recommend consuming them immediately, alternatively you can keep them in the freezer until ready to cook them. You can prepare sauces first, but I don't recommend freezing them.
CHICKEN PASTRY
INGREDIENTS
FOR CHICKEN
• chicken breast 600 g
• carrot 1
• celery 1 stalk
• onion ½
• parsley 1 sprig
• Salt to taste
FOR PASTA BRISEE
• flour 00 320 g
• sugar 20 g
• butter 220 g
• water 170 g
• apple cider vinegar 10 g
• salt 8 g
• 1 small egg (for brushing)
FOR THE STUFFING
boiled chicken frayed
extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp
onion 100 g
carrots 150 g
celery 80 g
frozen peas 150 g
flour 35 g
thyme 4-5 sprigs
parsley 1 sprig
cream 120 g
chicken broth 400 g
Salt to taste
PREPARATION
FOR CHICKEN
Take the chicken breasts, cut them into 8 parts lengthwise and boil them in salted water together with a carrot, a celery stalk, half an onion and a sprig of parsley. Once cooked,
drain them (keeping the broth aside) and let them cool.
FOR PASTA BRISEE
Cut the butter into 1 cm cubes and put it in the freezer, then put the flour in the refrigerator, closing it in an airtight container or in a plastic bag for food. Mix the water with the apple cider vinegar and refrigerate these ingredients too. When the ingredients are completely cold, put the flour, butter, sugar and salt in a robot with blades, then operate the machine for about 15 seconds until you obtain medium-sized crumbs. Now transfer the mixture obtained in a rather large bowl and add the very cold water and vinegar, then quickly with your fingertips mix everything to mix the ingredients without making the mixture smooth: in fact, you will have to obtain an irregular mixture. Pour everything onto a work surface and quickly form two balls of equal weight (about 370 g each), flatten them slightly and cover them with plastic wrap *. Put them in the refrigerator for at least an hour to firm up, then stretch each of them between two sheets of parchment paper and keep them in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.
FOR THE STUFFING
Chop the onion and celery, then cut the carrots into cubes and brown the ingredients in a large pan over low heat with the oil for 10 minutes. In the meantime, chop the parsley and remove the thyme leaves from the twigs. Now add the parsley, thyme, salt, flour and stir in the pan; add the cream and the chicken broth and mix until you get a cream to which you will add the frayed chicken meat and the peas. Mix well, adjust if necessary with salt and leave to cool.
COMPOSITION
Take a 24 cm diameter and 5 cm high cake pan, butter and flour it. Take the first sheet of brisee pasta and lay it in the pan to line it, reaching the edge of the edges. Put the chicken filling inside and level it, then cover everything with the other disc of brisee pasta; pinch the edges of the two discs to weld them and prevent the filling from coming out, then eliminate the excess edges. Bake the chicken pie in a static oven preheated to 200 ° for about 35 minutes, then, when the surface is golden brown, take it out and let it cool. Serve it still warm: enjoy your meal!
CHICKEN SWIVELS
INGREDIENTS FOR 12 SWIVELS
• chicken slices about 400 g
• sliced bacon (or bacon) 150 g
• courgettes 250 g
• eggs 3
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• parsley 1 sprig
• Salt to taste
PREPARATION
To prepare the chicken swivels, first cut the courgettes lengthwise to obtain slices of 2 mm thickness. Place a grill on the fire, heat it and then grill the zucchini, then keep them aside.
Cut a sheet of parchment paper 40 cm long and spread the slices of bacon head or bacon in the center, overlapping them 1 cm with each other, obtaining a length of about 20 cm: in this way, you should have 10 cm of parchment paper empty on both sides of the bacon.
Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them together with a pinch of salt and chopped parsley.
Put the oil in a pan with a bottom of 24 cm in diameter and heat it, then pour the egg into it and prepare a 2-3 mm thick omelette; let it cool.
Without leaving any spaces, spread the beaten chicken slices over the bacon, then salt and arrange them over the omelette and grilled courgettes; with the help of parchment paper roll the ingredients from the longest part and tighten firmly, then close the roll obtained with candy.
At this point, place the roll on a baking sheet and cook in a static preheated oven at 175 ° for about 40-50 minutes. Once cooked, take it out of the oven and put it on a plate leaving it to cool for 5 minutes, then remove the parchment paper and let it rest for 10 minutes.
From the roll, cut the slices 1.5 cm thick, insert 3 into each stick of skewers and serve: enjoy your meal!