This week, I’m writing from Natural Kids camp. I’m hiding in the kitchen while the lovely Jennifer Soares gives our 26 children a Zumba class. I’m not sure exactly what they’re pretending to be at the moment — there’s a lot of stomping involved. Dinosaurs? Zombies?

All I know is that the walls sound like they might cave in but the children will be pooped by lunchtime, perfect!

Each camp starts with a refresher on our “traffic light” system for food. We basically teach children a simple system of “go” foods, “sometimes” foods and “try and avoid” foods.

Now they have the hang of it, we’re going through all the different colours of natural food and talking about what they do. We’ve all heard that we should “eat a rainbow”, but why?

We looked at red-coloured things today which are especially good for your heart and your blood.

We all agreed that we couldn’t really do anything without our hearts (or blood) so it was a good idea to eat lots of naturally red-coloured food.

We also showed them how to find red 40 on a food label and explained that artificial food dye doesn’t do anyone’s body any good.

At snack time the children tried red pepper, strawberries, baby tomatoes, red apples and red grapes.

There was much revulsion about the tomatoes from half the class, describing them as exploding eyeballs ... so that went well! Some children tried and liked them, too, phew.

Our emphasis is always on trying (even if you have tried before) but it’s important to let children tell you they don’t like something, so long as they are polite.

I still remember one little girl in our first-ever camp coming up with “thank you very much but that’s not my preference”. Ready for tea with the queen!

This morning we also carved out a watermelon (for smoothies later) and then used the shell to make an erupting volcano.

It was so simple and really fun for the children. It’s also a great way to use up any red 40 you may have hanging around in your cupboards. (There are great alternatives at The Chef Shop on Par-la-Ville and also the Waitrose essential range at Supermart. Natural colours are never as intense as the artificial ones but these do give you a great “next best”.) So, in case you fancy a fun summer activity, I have given you the volcano details below. (Credit to www.littlebinsforlittlehands.com for the directions!)

This week I’m also giving you our healthy chocolate pudding recipe.

It’s made from ripe avocado as the base which is a great way to sneak in some good fats, glutathione (liver support) and extra vitamin E, which is a heart-healthy antioxidant.

We added cocoa powder, almond milk, vanilla and maple syrup.

You could add more or less maple depending on taste, and you may need more almond milk depending on the size of your avocados.

It comes to a great pudding consistency — I found I had to stop the blender a few times, stir, and then restart.

This was a huge hit with the children at camp, despite most of them being sceptical.

I’d say we had an 85 per cent success rate, which is fantastic for this kind of dessert, so enjoy!

Avocado chocolate pudding

Ingredients:

• 1 very ripe, large avocado, pitted and peeled

• ¼ cup cocoa powder

• ¼ cup brown rice syrup or maple syrup

• ¼ cup plain almond milk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method: Chill the avocado and milk. Pop all ingredients in a blender and whizz until completely smooth. Serve and enjoy! It’s that easy.

Erupting watermelon volcano

You will need:

• 1 small watermelon

• ½ cup baking soda

• ¼ cup liquid dish soap

• Large bottle white vinegar

• Red food colouring (optional)

Directions:

1. Carve a small hole in the top of the melon. The smaller the hole, the better the eruption but you need to be able to scoop out the insides!

2. Scoop out insides with a spoon or an ice cream scoop. Set aside and freeze for smoothies!

3. Place the melon in a tray to catch the eruption or outside on the grass.

4. Add the baking soda.

5. Mix the food colouring (a big squirt) into the soap and add that.

6. Then pour in vinegar (start with 1 cup) and watch the eruption. Keep adding vinegar until the eruption subsides. You can then empty it and start over if you like!

• The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns BA Hons, Dip ION is the managing director of Natural Ltd and a fully qualified nutritional therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the UK. Please note that she is not a registered dietitian. For details, please go to www.natural.bm or call 236-7511. Join Catherine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nutrifitandnaturalnutritionbermuda