cheepest,easiest, healthiest meal, ideas wanted for parents aged 16-18 HELP!

[lolliepops]

i have to deliver a session for young parents age 16-18 on healthy food for their children. their children range from 1 month to 3 years. I am doing things like the cost of a jar/tin vs home made purees and want to do a healthy meal vs a happy meal! i need some ideas(inc recipies) for the cheepest healist meal you make. nothing fancey and very simple. Also do any of you have any reccomendations for healthy snacks? or appealing dishes to toddles ie ants on a log(raisns on celery!) ect

i got some lolly moulds and make fresh fruit juice/fresh fruit lollies

very easy

either just fill with fresh fruit juice or bump the goodness up by adding chopped/pureed fruit

also milkshakes/smoothies

Here! Organix

What do you do Lolliepops? I'm being nosy because I am thinking of retraining to be something like a family support worker.

youth and community worker (doing degree atm!)

ok just sent a begging email to them!

Is this a one off session? How long? How many girls?

Can you get them to actualy do some cooking in the session?

I would imagine that for lots of them the last thing they want is a 'lesson' type format, will it be possible to get them doing stuff for themselves rather than them passivly 'receiving' information?

it will be young mums and dads(not mam and dad in the same relationship with each other iykwim)
It is a trainig place (banardos that does nvqs) so they will be gettingout of there lessons to be with me they will come as its more of a laugh for them! it will be about 8 weekly sessions lasting 1hr to 1 1/2hrs

we would be able to do some cooking as there is a kitchen there, so its probley and idea for some sessions, just didnt want it to turn into school cookery lessons, besides i know it will end in a food fight!

no, I don't think it should be a cookery lesson either

But I'll bet that a lot of these kids are kinesthetic learners....learn by doing rather than listening or watching. You could, prohaps put them into groups and do a 'Ready , steady cook' thing for kids of different ages?

yes they mostly do learn in that way, so the ready steady cook idea is a good on eeven if there not acsually cooking the stuff i could give a budgett and they come up with ideas or i could give the ingredients and they come up with food ideas.

I think that by getting them to come up with ideas themselves (even if you do have to give them a ';nudge' You make it their project, make them the ones in control, which I bet they would prefer. They could then present their dishes to the rest of the group. The ready, steady cook thing would help to make it a bit ore fun, and would , as you say , intoduce the concept of a budget.

'Chunking' the session would be good for them too. 10 mins doing one thing, then move on....stops them getting bored

you want a job!!! thankyou for all the help i will no doubt call on you in the future!