Dairy is a vital component of our diets, for both children and adults alike. Mum Katy Hofstede-Smith is keen to make sure her whole family enjoy great dairy products either on their own or as part of meals, and praises their versatility…
“A glass of fresh cold milk, a thick indulgent yoghurt or a strong sharp cheese, dairy is one of life’s greatest gifts to any chef or foodie. It is also pretty vital for our health and wellbeing, but as a victim of the less fat campaign it has had a bad reputation in past years with many people now unsure as to whether they can, should or shouldn’t indulge in dairy treats. Whilst I’m no nutrition expert, nor am I about to wade deep into the arguments of dietary recommendations, there are many health benefits to ensuring our diets are rich in dairy. Indeed, in certain groups, such as children, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and post-menopausal women, an increased intake of dairy products and calcium is widely advised.
Given the range of ingredients that make up this group it is so easy to introduce more dairy into your diet, and if you’re feeding a family of fast growing children it is a really important group to include. Children up to 3 need at least 3 portions a day with adolescents requiring 1000mg calcium for boys and 800mg for girls per day. It is, however, really important to ensure that you are not introducing high levels of salt into children’s diets, so including non-cheese options as well will help get the benefits you need without the salt levels.
Breakfast offers so many different ways to include dairy: try milk or yoghurt with cereal and fruit, milky porridge, natural yoghurt with fresh fruit, pancakes with a big dollop of natural yoghurt, cheese omelette or poached eggs with smashed avocados, chopped tomato and grated cheese.
Snacks can include cream cheese on crackers or as a dip for breadsticks, fruit milkshakes or grilled cheese on toast. Topping jacket potato fillings such as beans or tuna mayo with a grating of cheese gives you an extra dairy hit without it taking over the entire dish.
Pasta cooked with peas, broccoli and salmon with crème fraiche, fromage frais or Greek yoghurt is always a quick to throw together favourite in our house, and a grating of Parmesan on top, adds to the dairy intake. A dollop of yoghurt, crème fraiche or soured cream on the side of curry, Mexican dishes or Middle Eastern sharing meals with grilled meats, salads and pitta helps to add in dairy without distracting from the main flavours and textures. Desserts such as milky rice pudding, homemade custard, and homemade low sugar ice-cream or frozen yoghurt (or, for a naughty treat, cheesecake) are all easy ways to add an extra dairy hit in your diet.
If you’re concerned about adding too much fat try low fat yoghurt, or fromage frais instead of cream or crème fraiche and reduced fat cream cheese instead of full fat – however, never choose low fat options for young children. There are so many ways to include dairy in your diet, don’t be scared to try new ideas and low fat options and enjoy the huge variety of delicious ingredients that we are so great at producing in the UK.”