Making Lunchtimes Exciting with Actimel for Kids

On Saturday, me and D got to have a special day out together. As the middle child in a family where the other two kids can be quite 'demanding' at times (the eldest due to his Aspergers and the youngest because she is a toddler), poor D often gets the short straw when it comes to spending time with mum or dad, or even getting much attention from us.

So it really is extra special when we get to have 1:1 time with him. On Saturday, we were invited to join the Actimel team at L'Atalier des Chefs at their St Paul's venue to have a go at creating some fun food for kids and to celebrate the launch of the new Actimel for Kids range which are perfect to pop into packed lunches.

So it was just me and D that headed up to London for a day of foodie fun. Regular readers will know that eight year old D also goes by the name of The Brilliant Chef with his own foodie blog by the same name as he loves to cook, so this was right up his street. First off I discovered that I can no longer find my way around central London. We managed to get lost doing a journey that at one point of my life I used to do daily!

Once we did get back on track and find our way, we met Mark Northeast who is a food artist and the brains behind the Funky Lunch website and books. He ran the workshop with help from his fabulous daughter Izzy. We also met big cardboard cutouts of the three new Actimel for Kids characters AC, Ti and Mel.

After some space themed snacks of melon and space shaped tortilla chips and dips, we soon got started on making our own space themed foodie creations.

D made flying saucers from crackers, made sandwich monsters and watched a demo to make toast rockets.

What I particularly loved about Mark's creative ideas is that they look good and yet they are simple enough for the kids to do themselves. D did all his own cutting and didn't need any assistance making these.

He also advocated using bits and pieces you can find around the home and kitchen to use as cutters. We've often used the end of piping nozzles to cut shapes and so it was great hearing him say that they are also perfect for cutting out 'eyes'.

D got to eat his yummy creations, then we said our goodbyes as it was time to go.

That wasn't the end of our special day out in London though. We headed off to take part in what has become one of our fave things to do in London. In fact. I think we are officially addicted....It was time for yet another trip on the RIB London speedboats. We've been lots of times before which you can read about here, here and here and we hope to go again and again. We love seeing London at high speed on the Thames. It really is thrilling and fun!

A great way to end our fabulous day in London.

We can't wait to try out some of our foodie creations at home and in our packed lunches. We'll also be stocking up on these handy, healthy little drinks that come in perfect 100g bottles in three flavours; Strawberry, Raspberry and Vanilla. And hopefully the kids will stop pinching my Actimel now that they have some of their own. Although I might end up pinching theirs instead...

A huge thank you to Actimel for inviting us to the fabulous Actimel for Kids event with Mark Northeast. Actimel for Kids is available in packs of six, RSP £2.29 and available in supermarkets now. You can find out more about Actimel for Kids here or on the Actimel facebook page. 

Linking up with Kids in the Kitchen: