He’s the semi-pro Kiwi dad famous for his videos that try to get you to laugh.
Girl dad of three, Jordan Watson aka New Zealand’s How To Dad is a pro at winging it, admitting like most dads, “I’m trying to be good at it, there’s no ‘degree’ in Dadding. You just need to hold on and learn on the job.”
Here, he shares his guide to cooking what’s left in the fridge - once you make it past the tornado of kid’s artwork for a tea they’ll actually eat.
Keep it basic - and throw cheese at it
While my typical approach to dinner is last minute and shambolic it ends in a decent feed. I’m a massive fan of winging it. For a fridge fry-up, you’re basically taking leftovers out of the fridge and then getting a little bit creative. I’m no chef but adding a little bit of this and a dollop of that is where it gets fun. The trick is don’t feel like you're on MKR or MasterChef, keep it basic and get some veggies in there. Just know, there’s always grated cheese and tomato sauce to save the day – a staple in every fridge!
Speed-to-plate
When it’s feeding time at the zoo, speed to plate is key to limiting the chaos. Quality appliances that are easy to use, like Westinghouse (wink, wink) make all the difference. Get this - when I turn my cooktop on, the rangehood turns on auto-bloody-magically thanks to Hob2Hood technology. I sometimes play with it even when we’re not cooking as it still blows my mind. It means I’m not wasting time fiddling around while the kids are hungry.
Find your veg MVP
Cook veggies you know your kids like. Don’t be an evil parent and force them to eat brussels sprouts. You hated them as a kid and so do they! You can still vary the meals but find great veg that they’ll actually eat that’s bloody good for them. At our joint, broccoli is served with almost every dinner meal.
Go naked
We’re pretty conscious of what our kids eat - not so much ourselves! Go for a decent variety of foods that can be eaten naked. Think plenty of apples, carrots and crackers - and don’t be afraid to serve toast and Weetbix for dinner sometimes. They go down a treat.
Make it family time
Dinner is the main meal of our day. We all catch up on each other’s day and for our youngest, from 7 am she wants to know ‘what’s for dinner’? It’s like a theme park for her!
