Cookery corner: recipes for a sunny day

When the sun’s shining, how much nicer it is to get the children outside in a shady spot, spread out the picnic blanket and treat everyone to a tasty and refreshing cold lunch. Even better, the children can help make both of the recipes below and bask in the glory of having created their own delicious picnic. Perfect for days when your chef has taken a well-deserved summer holiday too!

Serves 10 children

Healthier Coronation Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients

400g shredded, cooked chicken

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp low-fat yoghurt

1 heaped tsp mild curry powder

½ mango, finely diced

Juice of half a lime

Wholemeal bread

Butter for spreading

Method

Mix the mayo, yoghurt and curry powder together. Add the mango, chicken and lime juice and mix again. Serve in a wholemeal bread sandwich with salad on the side. If you’ve had enough of sandwiches, this filling can be mixed with cooked, cold pasta or rice to make a summer salad or served on top of jacket potatoes.

Melon and Strawberry Lollies

This isn’t so much a recipe as a suggestion. I’ve chosen cantaloupe melon and strawberries because of the gorgeous colour combination and because they are easy for the children to help prepare, topping the strawberries and scooping the melon into a blender ready for you to blitz. The quantities are adjustable too, so just go with what you have and create your own combinations.

Ingredients

250g strawberries

½ cantaloupe melon

Method

Puree the strawberries and melon separately and pour into lolly moulds to make stripes, then freeze. If you are making this for a large number of children, then freeze it in tubs, taking it out of the freezer a couple of times and giving it a good mix to break up the ice crystals. Serve in a bowl with a scoop of each fruit.