Janine, who lives in Glasgow, explains how she made a fun activity out of food – as well as getting the kids to eat food they may not normally want to try! Let’s have a look…

What did you do?

My activity is ‘The Blind Taste Challenge’ game that I have done with my children every day this week.

My name is Janine, 32, I’m from Wirral in Merseyside but now reside in Glasgow and have done for ten years. I live with my husband (who is from Glasgow) and our two children, Quinn (6) and Caleb (2).

Instructions:

For this activity, I got many spoons and put different foods on to them, including:

  • sauces
  • herbs
  • spices
  • fruits
  • vegetables
  • sweets
  • chocolates

The last two are usually given after they’ve had something that isn’t as pleasant.

Before they come into the kitchen to start the challenge, I blind-fold them.

I make a tally chart and the one who guesses right gets a point (with a six and two year old, the oldest usually guesses first and the younger just copies… it’s always a draw).

I think it’s such a fun game as they love surprises and I think it’s great because I give them things that they refuse to try if I put it on their plate at lunch or dinner time.

For the things that don’t take their fancy, for example, hummus or brown sauce, I have a paper towel to hand in case they refuse to swallow. On the whole, they have loved trying new things and love the surprise element. It takes around 10 mins to prep and 10 mins to play.

When I was younger, me, my sister and our friends used to play this game a lot. It started with the cinnamon challenge and then just became anything. I was telling my daughter about it and that’s when she said she really wanted to do it with lots of different things in our kitchen cupboards/fridge.

How is all of this time indoors going for you and your family?

I’m loving spending so much time with the children. It has its challenges, especially when energy is low and there is a lot of tricky questions being asked all the time from my children. That makes me question if I know anything at all.

However I appreciate this time with them, I’ve served in the military their whole lives (I’ve been in the Royal Navy for almost 13 years now) and my commute to and from base is over an hour. Therefore I often leave whilst they’re still sleeping and come back just in time to do dinner, bath and bedtime routine. Having this time with them is precious and I can tell they are loving having my full attention.

Thankfully my job is not essential, but I could be called up if they are low on manpower. 

I think this is a great website and will definitely have a look at more creative things I can do with my children whilst we remain indoors and also for the future to ensure we spend more time together.