Nutrition experts have unveiled a new initiative called 12 Before 12 – 12 food skills that kids must know before they turn age 12, which has also been turned into a cookbook. See here.

Sanitarium has partnered with nutrition experts, Themis Chryssidis and Masterchef fan favourite Callum Hann from Sprout Cooking School, to create these kid-friendly recipes to help get the kids more involved in the kitchen and learn essential skills that support life-long health and wellbeing.

Sweet Potato & Zucchini Fritters

Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these fritters are packed full of flavour! They're quick to make too, meaning you'll get them to the table in no time.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
400g sweet potato, coarsely grated
200g zucchini, coarsely grated & squeezed of moisture
2 shallots, finely sliced
3 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup wholemeal self-raising flour, sifted
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Pinch of salt
2 tbs olive oil
⅛ red cabbage, shredded
1 green apple, coarsely grated
2 spring onion, thinly sliced
juice of 1 lime

2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp reduced-salt soy sauce

Method:
1. Combine sweet potato, zucchini, shallot and eggs in a large bowl. Fold through flour, cumin, coriander and a pinch of salt until well combined.

2. Heat oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Add ¼ cup portions of mixture into pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes each side or until golden. Remove from pan and keep warm. Repeat with remaining mixture.

3. Meanwhile, combine red cabbage, green apple and spring onion in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl stir lime juice, brown sugar and soy sauce until sugar dissolves. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat.

4. Serve fritters alongside salad.

Discussing the benefits of the recipes and skills, Themis Chryssidis from Sprout said: "Somewhere along the way, the healthy eating message has got so complex. We've become overly focussed on looking at food through the lens of nutrients or kilojoules - the micro detail of what we're eating - that we've lost sight of the bigger picture behaviours that make healthy eating intuitive. Food has become over-thought, and it's not doing us any good.

12 before 12's simpler message is: Eat mostly whole plant-based foods, drink mostly water, cook more at home – and for kids, find ways to sprinkle in some fun"