Party time

Alice Goller is a teacher, model, health coach and mother. “I have been interested in health and how to healthily grow old, fit and beautiful since I was a child,” says the mother of four, who leaves no doubt that you should pay close attention to the topic of nutrition from the very beginning. “Healthy eating starts in the womb, because that’s where taste preferences are formed. It is similar during the breastfeeding period. Basically, it is much more difficult to introduce a child to a healthy diet after the fact than it is to get them used to it from the beginning.” 

If you don’t want your child to react to wholemeal loafs and vegetable plates with an impulsive “Wäähhhh”, you should always start with yourself: “If you eat healthily yourself, you are also a good role model”. This already starts with seemingly small things: Water is always the number one drink on the table in the Goller family. “We rarely have juices, they contain an unbelievable amount of sugar, even if they look so healthy.” Alice Goller also advocates giving the children wholemeal bread to eat right from the start: “Everything is a matter of habit. If the intestinal bacteria are used to a healthy diet, they will demand it.”

In order to make healthy snacks palatable to the youngsters, they should be openly available on the table, because, as is well known, you eat as much with your eyes as your mouth. If this is done consistently, it is easier to find healthy alternatives on the cosy couch. “Once a week we have a film day for our children. If you give them apple slices or cucumber instead of crisps and the like, they automatically memorise that television has something to do with healthy eating. They still benefit from this as adults,” says the 42-year-old, who takes followers on her personal journey on her Instagram account @alicebalancee. 

A birthday party is admittedly a particularly gratifying emotional state of emergency for the child. And it doesn’t necessarily have to cause a headache for the parents. Instead of preparing everything on their own, Goller advises that the children should be involved in the cooking – not only is it fun for them, but the food tastes even better. The surprise effect is particularly great with the chocolate glaze made from sweet potato and baking cocoa. A must try!

Chocolate cake with chocolate cream 

Cake batter

170 g wholemeal spelt flour, 20 g baking cocoa, 1 tsp baking powder or 0.5 g bicarbonate soda (for the vegan version), 100 g soft dates, 2 eggs, 80 g unsweetened apple puree, 60 ml neutral oil, coconut oil or melted butter, 80 ml milk or buttermilk or yoghurt, 150 g cherries (pitted) 

For the chocolate cream 

300 g sweet potato (roasted in the oven), 20 g baking cocoa, 60 ml maple syrup or 60 g soft dates, 30-40 g coconut oil (softend or liquid) 

Tip: If your children don’t like vegetables, prepare the chocolate cream without them. It tastes so delicious that your children won’t think there could be vegetables in it. 

Grease the baking tin well. Set the oven to 180 degrees top/bottom heat. Mix the dry ingredients (wholemeal flour, baking powder, cocoa and, if applicable, baking soda) in a bowl. Important: Distribute the baking powder and cocoa evenly. Puree the wet ingredients (except the cherries), i.e. dates, eggs, applesauce, oil and yoghurt, with a powerful blender until there are no more date pieces. The dates can also be mixed separately first and then pureed again with the wet ingredients. Pour the batter into the greased tin and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the tin shape. In between, test the cake with a chopstick to see if it is ready. It must be completely cool before you remove it from the tin. 

Fruit ice cream

60 g icing sugar or a sugar alternative such as maple or rice syrup, 300 g frozen fruit (e.g. mixed berries), 100 g whipped cream or oat cream, oat milk or another milk alternative. 

For the fruit ice cream you need a powerful blender, e.g. Thermomix. Blend the icing sugar and the frozen fruit for about 10 seconds. Add the whipped cream and blend at a moderate speed until everything has a creamy consistency (approx. 30 seconds).

Children’s punch with fresh strawberries 

150 g strawberries, 150 ml fruit juice, juice of 1.5 lemons, 100 ml apple juice, 1 bottle sparkling water, 2 tbsp honey or other sugar alternative 

Wash the strawberries and remove the greens, cut into small pieces or puree. Place in a bowl and add the sugar alternative, fruit juice, lemon juice and apple juice.

Tip: Add the sparkling water just before serving to keep the children’s punch tasting fresh for longer. Don’t forget ice cubes in summer! 

Cucumber snake 

1 cucumber, 1 carrot, 1 radish 

Wash and dry the cucumber, cut into slices and arrange into a snake. Cut the long end into a wedge shape as the snake’s head. Cut a small piece of carrot as a tongue and stick it in. Cut out radishes as eyes and place on top of the head. 

Fruit tarts 

Tartlet pastry (increase the amount of pastry for large tartlets) 

170 g spelt flour and some spelt flour for sprinkling, 3 tbsp icing sugar or agave syrup, a pinch of salt, 100 g cold butter (in 1 cm cubes), 1 egg yolk (mixed with 1 tbsp cold water) 

Alternative: vegan dough variant 

300 g flour, 100 g sugar (e.g. xylitol), a pinch of salt, 200 g margarine (very cold) or vegan butter, 2 tbsp. water 

Mix the flour and salt, then work into a crumbly mass with the butter. Stir in the icing sugar (or sugar alternative). Mix the egg yolk and water. Add 2 tbsp of the mixture to the flour and work it in with a knife. The dough should now hold together. If not, add more egg by the spoonful. Form a ball. Divide dough into 8 equal portions, wrap individually in cling film, chill for 30 minutes. Dust the work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out each portion of dough to a thickness of 3 mm and slightly larger than the baking tin. Line the ramekins with dough and cut off any overhanging edges of the dough. Preheat the oven to 180°C top/bottom heat. Chill the moulds for 10 minutes, then prick the base of the pastry several times with a fork. Place on a baking tray or baking rack and bake for 15-18 minutes. 

For the filling 

Yoghurt (e.g. Greek style), fruit (e.g. kiwi, raspberries, currants, mango, blueberries, blackberries). 

Fill the baked pastry tarts about halfway with yoghurt and top with fruit.