Delicious mealtimes to keep kids smiling

In the words of Oscar Wilde, "The best way to make children good is to make them happy," and that's what the Friends In Your Freezer are intent on achieving through delicious, healthy, fun, and convenient food. Oh, and a chance to win a family holiday worth R50 000 too!

Two of the largest brands in the frozen food world are on a mission to create convenient and nutritious mealtime solutions while bringing fun into the kitchen and onto kids' plates. Whether their summer holiday was the greatest six weeks of their little lives, or a time spent ranting about having nothing to do, the back-to-school transition is daunting for most children, and more than likely, moms too. Having a stable eating routine with exciting food helps children to look forward to mealtimes, and a nutritious eating routine improves not only their energy levels but their concentration and mental health too.

McCain and Sea Harvest offer the finest quality frozen fish and vegetables, which are incredibly healthy too. Their produce is harvested at its peak, sustainably sourced and snap frozen within hours to maintain freshness and lock in nutrients, meaning that your little ones not only get to enjoy a delicious meal but one that's packed with vitamins and minerals too. "Frozen foods are a convenient and affordable way of incorporating protein and vegetables into your children's diets. The combination of products that McCain and Sea Harvest offer are sure to satisfy even the most discerning of little palates," says Jared Patel, the Head of Marketing of the Sea Harvest Group.

Get the kids involved in the kitchen and create a fun and fresh (or shall we say, frozen) take on sushi:

Fish Finger 'Sushi' with Smiles

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Ingredients:

Fish & Smiles

8 Sea Harvest Fish Fingers

1 x 415 g bag McCain Smiles

Sushi

8 slices of brown bread, crusts cut off

40 ml mayonnaise

8 slices of pre-sliced cheddar cheese

1 small cucumber, peeled into ribbons

1 large carrot, peeled and finely grated

Dipping Sauce

¼ C (60 ml) mayonnaise

2 Tbsp (30 ml) chutney

Method:

Fish & Smiles

Preheat the oven to 200 ºC.

Lay frozen Fish Fingers and Smiles onto a baking tray. Place into the oven for 15-20

minutes and cook until golden and crunchy. Alternatively, cook in an air fryer for the

recommended time. Allow the fish fingers to cool completely.

Sushi

Roll each slice of bread with a rolling pin to flatten by half. Dollop roughly a teaspoon of

mayonnaise on each slice of bread and spread evenly to all corners. Place a slice of

cheese right on the edge of the side of the bread closest to you – this will ensure that

there is a margin of bread left on the other side that will stick the sushi roll together.

Place a cucumber ribbon on the edge of the cheese that is closest to you followed by a

cooked Fish Finger. Top the fish finger with grated carrot, then roll the bread roll away

from you to form a neat log shape. Press down on the seam to seal the roll. Trim off the

ends off, then slice into 4-5 bite-size pieces of sushi. Repeat the rolling process until

you have completed and sliced all of the rolls.

Dipping Sauce

Mix the mayo and the chutney together and set aside.

To Serve:

Serve fish finger sushi rolls with potato smiles and dipping sauce on the side.

Having these Friends In Your Freezer ensures that mealtime planning and creativity in the kitchen isn't higher grade, so to speak. "Our purpose is to make mom's lives easier, and kid's lives happier. The first two months of the year are generally chaotic and there's no doubt that having frozen meals on hand eliminates the added pressure of meal prep on a busy week night," says Danielle De Villiers, Senior Brand Manager at McCain.

Purchase any 1 McCain and 1 Sea Harvest product from participating stores and stand a chance to WIN 1 of 4 family holidays valued at R50K each with McCain and Sea Harvest. Competition ends 28 February 2022, T&C's apply. For more information, visit www.friendsinyourfreezer.co.za, McCain Facebook, McCain Instagram, Sea Harvest Facebook or Sea Harvest Instagram.

You can also download this fun activity book filled with puzzles, games and jokes, to keep the kids busy!