AD FEATURE: Insta star MyFussyEater reveals the kitchen gadget she can’t do without

She might be a social media sensation, but like any other parent, Ciara Attwell knows only too well how stressful family meal times can be – especially when it comes to getting kids to eat nourishing food. The busy mum-of-two, aka Instagram star @myfussyeater, often gets caught up in a whirlwind of school runs, after-school activities and work, making it difficult to plan and prepare healthy dinners.

But there is, she says, an answer to the prayers of time-poor parents. “People always ask me for tips on how to cook more homemade meals, or get organised and batch cook,” she says. “I always recommend a slow cooker. It’s up there in my top gadgets, and you could pick one up for less than £20.”. Ciara has now created a super-simple recipe for slow cooker tomato and red pepper soup - and not only is it healthy and tasty, but it’s also affordable and quick to prepare.

It was inspired by the Insta star’s backing for the Tesco Fruit & Veg for Schools scheme, which has been set up to help children struggling to meet the five-a-day recommendation. The retailer is spending up to £4million to provide up to 140,000 kids, attending the 400 schools with the highest ratio of free school meals, with at least one extra piece of fresh fruit or veg a day. It’s also supplying each school in the programme with a slow cooker to help children learn about cooking nutritious and tasty meals, with the British Nutrition Foundation providing guidance on healthy eating.

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan, gas 6). Add the tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic and oil to a large baking dish, mix well and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a slow cooker and add the veg stock, tomato puree and oregano. Mix well and cook on high for 3 hours. Blitz with a hand blender and serve. “Slow cookers are great for making healthy curries, stews and casseroles, and they get better results than cooking on a hob because they won’t dry out,” says Ciara.

“Most recipes are just one step – you put the ingredients in, stir, and turn it on. You might need to chop some veggies, but that can take just a few minutes.”. Starting in October 2024, Tesco has been on a mission to hand out a total of 16 million pieces of fresh fruit and vegetables. Experts say this could improve children's energy levels and concentration, and help them thrive in the classroom.

Items such as bananas, oranges, broccoli and avocados will be served at breakfast clubs, used to set up healthy tuck shops, or even given to children to take home with them. Parents can support the scheme by using the ingredients kids bring home to make nutritious meals, and introducing them to new, healthy recipes. “What Tesco is doing by giving away slow cookers and fruit and vegetables is a great way to educate children on what they need to eat to stay healthy,” says Ciara.

Ciara currently has 265,000 followers on Instagram and has sold thousands of books full of healthy and affordable recipe ideas. She also has plenty of helpful advice for mums and dads struggling to get kids to eat their greens. “We know fruit and veg are so important, but how much do we actually talk to our children about it? It’s this kind of initiative that we need to be supporting. “A lot is going on for families, and it’s easy for meals to get pushed aside,” adds Ciara. “Parents are under so much pressure, and food shouldn’t be part of that.

“At the start of the week, you usually have all these intentions of eating well, but by the time you get home in the evenings, you’re just exhausted. “That’s when you find yourself at six o’clock with nothing prepared, and when you’ll reach for a ready meal or call for a takeaway. Slow cookers are fantastic because the work is done for you. “I don’t make complicated food. I’m not a trained chef, I’m a home cook. I taught myself to cook when I had children – before kids, I was living off ready meals myself. I try to make everything as simple as possible.

“That’s always been my focus, and people tell me they don’t realise how easy it is to make healthy meals.”. Tesco nutritionist Natasha Maynard adds: "Almost all fruit and vegetables can count as part of your five-a-day, including fresh, canned, frozen and dried, so it may be easier than you think to get your recommended daily amount. "The NHS website provides some useful guidance on what counts, as well as portion size information for adults and children.