I have baked with my children since they were toddlers and I want to share my top tips on how to make healthy baking with kids more fun, for them and us!

1.  Give them their own kitchen equipment

Be sure to use child-appropriate knives, chopping board, and an apron. Set up their own little baking station with a bowl and spatula. Not only is it super cute, they love it! Set them tasks and teach them how. Kids develop confidence through having responsibility and achieving tasks, even simple ones. It's also the foundation of teaching them an invaluable life skill.

2.  Embrace the mess!

I know this is hard for parents since we’re the ones who will be cleaning up afterwards. But, we all know the mess is going to happen anyway so relax, give in to it and it will make it so much more fun for everyone. And that’s what this is about, having fun and making something delicious.

3.  Make it more interesting and educational.

It really does make it so much more engaging and fun for kids. Let them measure out ingredients and do simple math. Or talk to them about the ingredients in an age-appropriate way. For example, if you’re using blueberries, tell them that they’re full of antioxidants that are like teeny tiny soldiers who help protect our body against illness.

While I am a mum who loves baking with my kids, I’m also a nutritionist and try to get extra goodness into my children at any opportunity. One of the easiest ways to make baking more nutritious is with some simple swaps and additions. Below are my favourites that I do all the time and have just become how we bake, so we’re getting a sweet treat and some nutrients at the same time.

My top three ingredient swaps:

1.Swap plain flour for wholegrain, to add fibre.

Fibre is so beneficial for our health and most of us don’t get enough. Getting enough fibre is beneficial for long term health out comes by reducing the risk of many serious illnesses but it also benefits us day to day by keeping our GI system functioning optimally. It's important to note that whole wheat flour is denser than white flour, so adjust your recipe a little to make sure your bake is still lovely and soft. For every 1 cup of plain flour in the original recipe, swap for about¾ cup of whole wheat.

This substitution works best with practically any type of baking! Breads, cookies, brownies, etc.

2.Use fruit instead of refined sugar for sweetness.

Dried ,pureed, or fresh all work depending on the recipe. You can add a handful of dried fruit to a cake to give bursts of sweetness which means you can considerably reduce the amount of sugar needed in the batter. Or you can even completely remove refined sugar by using pureed cooked apples or mashed bananas. Not only will they provide natural sweetness, fibre and vitamins,but they will also add moisture so you can also reduce the amount of oil or butter you’re using. On that note, remember that you may also need to reduce the amount of other liquids too, depending on how wet your fruit is.

3.Cacao powder instead of chocolate.

Sometimes, only chocolate will do, but most of the time when I want to make a chocolatey bake, I use cacao powder.

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Swaps are just one of the ways we can level up our baking; good nutrition is also about what we add in to our cooking and baking is no different.

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There are some nutrient packed ingredients that I love to use in my baking and you can too!

Greek yoghurt

This adds moisture so it’s a wonderful ingredient in any bake but the reason I love it in my baking is the high protein content. Most other baking ingredients are very low in protein so this addition will make your bake more nutritious and more balanced. The benefit of increasing the protein intake is that you feel more satisfied for longer and it will reduce the effect on your blood sugar levels.

Seeds

Seeds are little nutrition power houses and I use the min my bakes all the time. My two favourites are ground flax seeds and chia seeds. They are both high in fibre and Omega 3 fatty acids and have anti- inflammatory properties. The other benefit of flax seeds is that they make a perfect egg substitute if you want to make your bake egg free or just want to make it higher fibre. All you need to do is mix one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with three tablespoons of water and let it sit for a few minutes. Use as you would use normal eggs in any bake.

Grated vegetables

We all know that vegetables are super nutritious but we also know that they’re not kids' favourite foods, so adding them to bakes is a brilliant way to get them into our little ones. And they work beautifully in so many recipes to add structure and moisture. Courgette is probably top of my list because it's flavourless so unless you want them to, no one knows it's there. Carrots, pumpkin and sweet potato have a natural sweetness that works so well in muffins, cakes, pancakes. I even love using spinach for extra goodness and a gorgeous green colour. There are manycookbooks out there to inspire you!

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Whether you follow one or all of my tips, the most important is that you enjoy it and make something delicious to share.

Big Bear hugs, Christianna.Nutrtionist x