Who said 8-year-olds can’t cook? I’ve just spent the afternoon helping a group of them grate carrots, slice cabbage, measure out vinegar and finely chop garlic and parsley. We made coleslaw – the real way. No store bought mayonnaise for us. The kids made it from scratch – an egg, vinegar and garlic whisked together. Then the oil very slowly drizzled in while the cooking teacher whisked until it became thick and creamy. What a fun way to teach the science of emulsifiers.

There’s no denying that eating fish is good for you. One of the key reasons is that it’s a great source of polyunsaturated fat – in particular the omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA. These fats are help reduce inflammation, clotting, high triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood) and help keep the blood vessels flexible. They are a critical part of brain growth and visual and nervous system development. Some parents and teachers swear by fish oil as a solution to lack of concentration and unruly behaviour in kids although the scientific evidence is not so certain about this.

The Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand have a ‘suggested dietary target’ of 610mg per day for men and 430mg per day for women of long-chain omega-3’s.

It’s great to buy fruit and vegetables in season. Right now we’re eating heaps of sweet corn. It’s so easy to cook: three minutes per cob (husk on) in the microwave. My son and I munch ours straight off the cob but my husband loves his smeared with butter and salt. He’s succumbed to skinny milk, cup-cake sized steak, couscous and lentils so I figure he’s allowed the odd indulgence!

Corn gets its rich yellow colour from the family of phytochemicals (natural plant chemicals) called carotenoids. Yellow, orange, red and dark green vegetables such as spinach, carrots, tomatoes and pumpkin get their colour from carotenoids. Corn is especially high in two carotenoids – lutein and zeazanthin. The macular region of the eye has a high concentration of these substances which implies that they play an important role in keeping our eyes healthy. It’s thought that they protect against light-induced damage to the eye and help prevent macular degeneration, cataracts and other eye problems.

I knew it would happen eventually: my eight-year-old is finally asking for sandwiches. Not just any sandwich, mind you, it has to be avocado and tomato. Perhaps it’s all the activity of the past week on holiday at Whakatane and Lake Rotoma. We’ve been boogie boarding at the beach, water skiing, biscuiting, kayaking, swimming and jumping off scarily high rocks into the lake – fun! All that water and sunshine sure stimulates the appetite but I think the recent call for avocado and tomato sandwiches is just an age thing.