Ask our expert: My children seem to spend the whole of January with a cough and a cold. Even when I think they've managed to get rid of it, they come home from school with another one. Is there anything I can encourage them to eat which will protect them from the sniffles? Jennifer Oates, Cambridge

If you can encourage children to eat lots of Vitamin-C rich foods this will give them some protection against colds and also help their recovery afterwards. The trouble with vitamin C is that it’s not stored in our bodies so we need to eat it at every meal time to obtain the best protection possible, even if that means sending the children into school with a tangerine or a smoothie to have with lunch. I tell my children that eating oranges is a bit like putting on a suit of armour to stop us catching the sniffles, it works best if they’re under 8 years old.

Foods that are rich in vitamin C include citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, grapefruits, limes), blackcurrants, Kiwi fruit, melon, mangoes, papaya, pomegranates, red peppers, tomatoes and dark green leafy vegetables. Vitamin C is easily lost through cooking as it is water soluble, so make sure you steam your veg instead of boiling it.

I find the best way to encourage children to eat these types of food in the winter is in home-made smoothies, freshly squeezed juices and soups.

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Seasonal Food: January

Because seasonal food is fresher it tends to be tastier and more nutritious. Find recipes from Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and others

• Shades of green food

• Midwinter greens

Related Internet Links

• Real Food Directory

• Organic Box Finder

BACKGROUND

• Eat your greens Stir-fried sprouts with seeds

• Eat your greens: Cranberry muesli bars

• Eat your greens: Beetroot hoummos

Related Links

• Eat your greens: Mulled pear parcels

• Eat your greens: Parsnip chip sticks

• Eat your greens: Chestnut carbonara

Freshly squeezed orange juice will keep most of its vitamin C content for up to a week if refrigerated but it’s best to squeeze it freshly every time you use it. Make it fun and encourage the children to choose their own oranges and squeeze them themselves to drink with their breakfast each morning, you can always sieve the "bits" out if you wish. This is also lovely warmed up with a cinnamon stick as a stirrer.

Homemade tomato soup: use 2 tins of plum tomatoes, 3-4 roasted red peppers, 1 roasted red onion and 500ml of vegetable stock, season and simmer for 20 minutes then whizz with a blender – even if your children hate peppers don’t tell them and pretend it’s just tomato soup. Make the tomato soup thicker by reducing the stock and use it as ketchup or a base for pasta sauce.

"Cold attack smoothies": blend together a mango, two kiwi fruit, a banana (optional) and the juice of a couple of oranges for a vitamin C-rich smoothie.

Honey and lemon drink: for a bedtime drink that helps to soothe sore throats and coughing – squeeze the juice of a lemon into a mug of hot water and add a teaspoon of honey, stir to dissolve.

Green vegetables such as Kale and broccoli are good for vitamin C content, if your children aren’t lovers of green veg then sweet potatoes are a good alternative. These can be baked, mashed or cut into wedges and oven-baked so them come out like healthy chips.

Vitamin C also helps wounds to heal so you can encourage children to eat fresh fruit and veg on the basis that it magical medicine to help mend their grazed knees.

Got a question about children and food? Use the comment box below to post your question for our children's food expert Beverley Glock

For more information visit: www.splatcooking.net and www.beverleyglock.com

For the best local produce in your area visit the Times Real Food Directory

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