Kids Dish

KidsDish: Here we are again! I’d like to welcome Mark (AKA Chucklemonkey on Livejournal) to the KidsDish interview. Hi, Mark! Tell us a bit about yourself.

Mark: Young dad, an Englisman living in Sweden, flitting between paternity leave and editing, writing, starting up a publishing company and working on a short film. It’s all go for me here in such a good way at the moment!

KidsDish: So, how many kids do you have, and what ages?

Mark: I have a son, Maddoc, who is eight and a half months old.

KidsDish: How much influence do you have over the food Maddoc eats?

Mark: Unluckily for him, 100% (or 50% if taking my wife into account too)!

KidsDish: What are his favourite foods?

Mark: At the moment he is a big fan of porridge, adores banana and seems to be warming to bulgur wheat (his dad’s favourite).

KidsDish: Do you have trouble getting him to eat healthy food, like fruit
and vegetables? What methods have you developed to encourage him
towards healthy food?

Mark: Well in terms of getting him to eat healthily, that’s easy due to the fact that we only give him healthy foods and because he is so young. By that I mean that he isn’t walking past McDonald’s and wanting to go in there and dragging our arm off when passing the sweet shop… yet.

In regards to trying to get him to eat healthily, we believe that by doing that ourselves gives him a better chance to do it too. I mean I have a lot of fruit through the day and we cook using fresh vegetables every day. He will naturally be interested in junk food and snacks, as all kids are but with his parents avoiding those things most of the time means it will be easier for him in the long run.

KidsDish: Do you enjoy cooking for your family? What are some of your
favourite things to prepare?

Mark: I love cooking, I haven’t really been too adventurous recently but yesterday I did a mean roasted vegetable dish (swede, garlic, onion. potato) with rice. I love pasta, rice and bulgur wheat and using them as a base we try to add in a variety of vegetables.

KidsDish: What’s your breakfast routine?

Mark: Me and Maddoc get up at around six, he has porridge and I have muesli. Sometimes he lets me eat with him, other times he is too impatient and I have to feed him before I can eat! Then we play for an hour and then he goes back to bed with his mum.

KidsDish: I know he’s a bit young, but I always include this question - can he cook, or prepare food? If so, what sort of food can her prepare?

Mark: He’ll be doing that sooner than he thinks.

KidsDish: Do you ever feel guilty about what you feed Maddoc?

Mark: I worry that he doesn’t get enough of everything, being a vegetarian family we have to be very aware of what all his food contains and occasionally I worry that he doesn’t get enough in terms of protein.

KidsDish: What’s your favourite vegetable?

Mark: I think mine would have to be broccoli, although I overlook potato as a vegetable, seeing as I use it as a base (it is pretty versatile).

KidsDish: Thanks, Mark, for doing this interview!