Personal Hygiene for Kids: Tips for Establishing Healthy Habits and Routine

Educating about personal hygiene is one of the many great habits to start teaching and practicing with your kids from a young age. Your kids need to practice daily routines such as washing hands, brushing teeth in the morning and before bed, showering at least once a day, and covering their mouths when coughing.

While these routines are obvious to do, kids are usually not mindful of the germs they pass along when they do not exercise proper hygiene habits.

Good personal hygiene can improve your kids’ self-confidence by tackling the problem of body odor or bad breath. Thus, personal hygiene for kids should be strongly enforced by parents on a consistent basis.

Here are some personal hygiene practices you should be doing with your kids: 

Washing Hands 

Handwashing has always been encouraged as this is one of the many ways you as a parent can prevent your kids from getting germs in their body and from spreading it to others. Handwashing should be done:

•     Before and after eating
•     After playtime 
•     After playing outdoors
•     After sneezing, coughing, and blowing nose
•     After interacting with an animal 
•     After every toilet use

The correct way of washing your kids’ hands is by first wetting their hands with water, lathering their hands with a generous amount of soap, rubbing hands in a wringing motion from wrist to fingertips for a period of 20 seconds. Singing the alphabet or one of your kid’s favorite songs can make the process fun and interactive. Rinse their hands thoroughly with running water, dry hands using a paper towel and now they have clean germ-free hands.

If water is not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer as a substitute.

Encouraging Baths or Showers 

Clean skin also plays an important role in your kid’s good personal hygiene habits. Showers or baths should take place at least once a day. This is to ensure that your kids are clean and not passing germs along to either you or others.

Supervise your kids when they are taking baths or showers to verify that they are washing all the different parts of the body. Areas of special importance include armpits, neck, back, groin, and feet.

These moments can be used as teachable moments where your kids can learn the importance of why they wash their bodies and why they wash the different parts. Make this time as interactive and fun as you like using songs, games, and bath toys.

Clean Teeth and Mouth  

Personal hygiene for kids also includes good dental hygiene. This is to confirm that your kids are properly caring for their teeth and gums.

Making tooth brushing a daily habit can help prevent gum disease and cavities. Make sure your kids are brushing for at least two minutes, twice a day. This can be done after they get out of bed and right before bed time.

Helping your kids floss should also be a daily practice. Removing any leftover food that may be trapped between your kids’ teeth, then using a kids’ antibacterial mouthwash to finish off this routine. Ask your kid to wash their mouth with water after eating food and/or candy, simple gargling is an effective way of making sure all leftover food has been removed from the mouth.

These simple personal dental hygiene steps can help combatant tooth decay and eliminate bacteria and germs from building up. Should your kids’ teeth show signs of deterioration, schedule a dentist appointment and have your dentist take a look and give advice on better means of prevention. 

These simple personal hygiene habits for kids can be practiced every day and can be a fun learning activity that your kids will continue doing throughout their lifetime.

Good hygiene is one of the most important aspects of our everyday life. It has been shown that good personal hygiene habits play a vital role in promoting health and boosting confidence in kids. 

Personal hygiene habit for kids is a way for your kid to practice good habits. It’s one they should put in practice and share with their friends.

The Creative Learning Academy has always provided a learning environment where your kids can learn and apply habits such as these. To learn more about Creative Learning Academy and what we can teach your child, call or visit our website! 

 

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5 Ideas for Having Family Gatherings During Social Distancing

In the outbreak of a disease, one of the most important containment measures rolled out is social distancing. Viruses and diseases spread rapidly due to the movement of people, especially when they aren’t aware they are virus-carriers. To prevent transmission, travel bans and restrictions are enacted and people are disallowed to congregate socially.

While social distancing is crucial to keeping yourself and your loved ones protected, we have to admit that missing family gatherings can be sad. It adds to the emotional burden during trying times. The good news is, with a little creativity, you can find ways to stay in touch and connect with your loved ones despite the distance.

Here’s how you can continue having family gatherings during social distancing. 

Hangout over coffee virtually

A pandemic may change the way people connect and stay in touch, but there are still ways to keep the bond alive. We may not be able to invite our loved ones for random coffee dates when we just want to hang out and catch up. But thanks to technology, a lot of things are made possible with the internet.

Go ahead and ping a family member you have been looking forward to talking to and invite them for a virtual coffee or ice cream or pizza date. Have a video call while enjoying a nice conversation over your favorite drink or dessert. This is now the best time to leverage video calling apps such as Facebook Messenger, Facetime, Skype, or Zoom.

Not only is this a fun idea to connect with your family from afar. It’s also a good way to get some much-needed social interaction, which is important for your mental health. 

Cook meals together

Cooking with the family is an excellent way to bond. Even if you’re physically apart, this is another one of those situations where the internet comes in handy. Reach out to your family members and plan a cookout session. Decide on a theme or cuisine everybody can agree on, whether it’s Asian, Italian or a fusion of dishes. Then, discuss specific meals each member will cook at their respective homes. Don’t forget to decide on the day and time of the actual cookout so everyone can hop on a video call and enjoy your cooking and bonding time!

Enjoy a hearty dinner

One of the best things about family gatherings is that it’s centered around food. And even if you can’t dig into grandma’s specialty pasta or brother’s famous steak, it is still possible to eat together as a family. Plan a virtual dinner on a weekend perhaps or a Friday night.

So long as everybody’s home and all family members can make it to your scheduled dinner date. In fact, you can make it a regular thing and do it every weekend or twice a month, depending on everybody’s availability.

Watch a movie

Because social distancing also means that cinemas are closed, turn your movie time at home into a venue for virtual family gatherings. Invite your loved ones and family members for a movie marathon at a time convenient for everyone.

Gather suggestions on which movie they want to watch and simultaneously watch it on the agreed schedule. Hop on a video call to watch the movie together so that you can share sentiments and reactions to various scenes. Many video conferencing apps even allow screen sharing so you won’t have to worry about synchronizing individual play times.

Create a social media group for the family

Does everybody in your family have a social media account or do social media? Now’s the best time to make the most of this technology! Choose a platform everybody will be comfortable using. Create a group or online landing page such as a group chatroom on Facebook Messenger. Use this chatroom to connect, keep tabs on what’s going on in each other’s lives, send photos and videos, or plan for a future gathering or vacation. Anything to keep everybody in the loop and to help everyone stay connected. 

Family gatherings may be difficult while doing social distancing but with the help of these ideas and by leveraging technology, connecting with loved ones will be so much easier.

For more helpful parenting tips and ideas, or if you’re looking for the best preschool for your child, please visit Creative Learning Academy. 

 

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5 Ways to Keep Children Occupied During Extended School Closures

If there’s one thing that takes up a huge chunk of our child’s time every day, it’s school. School isn’t only a place designed for academic learning. It’s a place that children love because they get to have fun while learning. They get to play games, play with their classmates, and build friendships. But what happens during school closures?

As much as we hate it, certain things are out of our control. Times of crisis or a state of emergency may require school closures. And during these times, it isn’t enough to just let the kids stay glued to their video game console or spend countless hours watching TV.

We need to keep a wide variety of options in our arsenal to make sure that our kids are occupied and entertained in ways that are fruitful and productive.

If you’ve been running out of ideas, don’t worry. Here are some helpful ways to keep your children occupied during extended school closures. 

Dedicate time for play

One of the things kids love about not going to school is of course, playtime! During the school closure, be sure to carve out time for child-led play as this is a perfect opportunity for them to nurture their creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills. Let them be in charge of their own playtime. If they want to build, invent, and create their own playtime stories, let them. This is when a tremendous amount of learning takes place.

In their daily schedule, make sure they spend an average of 30 minutes for child-led play. The kind of toys they should be provided may depend on their age and developmental stage. Be sure the toys aren’t broken. Weed out the broken ones or they won’t be able to enjoy a good play. And because play is a child’s job, you may get invited to participate but limit your involvement unless you are invited.

Visit national parks or zoos (virtually)

Thanks to the internet, you can take your little one for an exciting trip to the wild, to a zoo, or any national park without leaving home! There are live safari tours through South Africa which are accessible at the tips of your fingers. WildEarth.tv is one of those exciting websites you can try.

Also, check with your local zoos or national parks if they have live streaming services set up on their sites so you can bring your child on virtual tours. This would be an excellent use of their screen time as it not only keeps them entertained, but offers good learning opportunities as well.

Get busy with arts and crafts

Extended school closures provide excellent opportunities for kids to channel their inner artist. Let them unlock new creative skills by letting them engage in arts and crafts. Provide them with coloring books, paint, crayons, and other kid-friendly materials for their art session at home. They can also make use of recycled materials for their beautiful masterpiece. Make sure they are supervised when using scissors and other sharp tools.

Train them in the kitchen

Having little kids doesn’t mean you can’t get them to help out in the kitchen. Consider assigning them simple kitchen-related tasks such as meal planning or handing you the ingredients and tools when you’re cooking. (Just like nurses do for surgeons in the operating room.)

If your child is a bit older and able to follow more complex instructions, the school closure might be a perfect time to train them on some of the basics of cooking. Show them how things are done and let them try some steps with your supervision. Then, look for kid-friendly recipes and ideas online and have them try creating a meal for the family. Who knows, your child might be the next Masterchef!

Dedicate more time for reading

There’s no better time to let your little one develop a penchant for reading than now! Beside the fact that reading is fun, it can also benefit your child in many different ways. It helps improve concentration and focus. It’s good exercise for the brain. It fosters a child’s imagination and creativity, and more importantly, it helps them perform better in school!

Encourage your child to fall in love with reading by providing them with fun and exciting reading materials. Not only is this an excellent learning activity. It’s also a good way to curb too much screen time.

Extended school closures may be unpredictable and uncontrollable. But worry not! There are several ways to keep your little one productively entertained and distracted while they’re displaced from school.

For more helpful parenting tips and resources or if you’re looking for the best preschool for your little one, please feel free to visit Creative Learning Academy.

 

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Stuck Indoors? Here are 7 Fun Indoor Activities for Kids

With so many schools and business establishments closed due to the widespread threat of the coronavirus, families are urged to stay at home. For kids, this may mean boredom and tantrums along the way.

It could be fun for them on the first few days, but eventually they will feel trapped and a bit cooped up just staying at home. As a parent, you have to make sure that your kids are kept occupied and still learning during this time.

Here are some fun indoor activities that you and your kids can do that are also educational:

Read a Good Book 

Even if schools are closed, you can still help your kids with their reading skills. Cuddle up together on the couch or in a blanket and read a good book together.

You can start with some classic children’s books or some book series, such as The Chronicles of Narnia or Series of Unfortunate Events. Take turns reading, and have your child read out loud to keep them interested and focused.

At the end of a chapter, ask them what lessons they learned or what important idea they picked up from the book.

This simple yet fun activity is a great way to enhance their reading and communication skills.

Game Night

Most kids nowadays spend their time in front of the TV or on computer screens. If you want some valuable family time without screens, try a game night with the whole family.

Board games provide an educational way to keep your child’s brains working even when indoors. Classic favorites like Payday and Monopoly teach kids lessons on financial planning. Games like Hoot Owl Hoot or Count your Chickens encourages teamwork and collaboration over competition.

Whatever game you choose, board games are a great and exciting way to spend time indoors.

Build a Fort

There are so many items you can use to build an indoor fort. Whether you choose to build yours from pillows, furniture, couch cushions, cardboard boxes, or blankets, a fort is an all-time favorite indoor activity for kids that allows them to spark their imagination.

You can also make this activity more fun by having a friendly competition. Whoever creates the highest fort wins a prize.

Learn a Dance Together

Dancing is a great form of exercise as it lets you and your kids improve your motor skills.

Go to YouTube and choose a popular dance craze. Learn it together as a family.

You do not need to be a great dancer or a very flexible one to have a great time doing this activity. That’s not the whole reason for this activity—it is to have fun.

Let your kids teach you the moves and have fun together. If you are a better dancer, teach them.

You can do this activity at least two or three times a week. Not only will you learn dance steps, but you will also burn those calories and for your kids, this is a great way to keep them fit and active.

Play an Active Game

Another way to improve your kids’ motor skills and keep them active is by playing an active game. It could be everyone’s favorite, Simon Says or a game of Twister. 

Build an Indoor Obstacle Course

If you have really active kids who like bouncing off the walls every now and then, you can channel that heightened energy by building an obstacle course inside the house. This is a great exercise for your kids, plus it can also help them practice following directions, and develop their large and small motor skills.

Family Movie Time

Fun indoor activities do not have to only be active. Enjoy some cozy time with your kids by watching their favorite movies together. With so many streaming movie channels like Netflix and AppleTV, you will never run out of choices.

Pop some popcorn and hot cocoa and watch from the comforts of your living room. Sometimes, all the kids need is some quiet time with you while enjoying their favorite movie.

Being stuck at home with your kids does not have to be boring and complicated. All that’s needed to have fun is some creativity and a bit of patience.

Let your kids learn more about various exciting and educational activities when school opens again. Contact Creative Learning Academy and give your child the best education he/she deserves.

 

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7 Ways to Encourage Healthy Eating Habits in your Child

One of the most ideal traits of being a responsible parent is the ability to establish healthy eating habits in their children. With these habits, you allow your children to maintain a healthy weight and optimal growth. When you display healthy eating habits yourself, it is easier for your kids to pick up these habits and even apply it in their lifestyle as they grow into adulthood. 

 

Healthy eating habits include portion control and cutting down fats and sugar from their snacks and drinks. Though there may be a lot of ways to reduce their fat intake, a few tried and tested tips can get you going. Some of the ways to promote healthy eating habits include:

 

Make meal choices for the family instead of dictating what to eat 

 

Having a wide selection of healthy foods available in the house makes it easier for kids to choose according to their preference. Using this strategy, you can keep them healthy without forcing them to do so. Stash away the unhealthy choices like sodas, chips and other processed grocery goods that contain a lot of sugar and unnecessary fats. 

 

Let them eat slowly

 

When children eat at a slower pace, it is easier for them to detect fullness which avoids overeating in some cases. If they ask for a second helping or serving, let them have it in a smaller portion compared to their first and load it up with more veggies. Also let them wait for a few minutes for their brains to register fullness and reconsider eating more.

 

 

Always eat meals together as a family 

During mealtime, make sure that you are open to pleasant conversation and avoid arguments. When mealtimes are unpleasant, it sends signals to children’s minds and they’ll associate eating with stress. Chances are, they will eat faster in order to leave the table as soon as they can.

Let your children be involved in preparing food

This includes shopping for meals for the family. These simple activities can give you hints about your children’s preferences and you can adjust what to prepare for next time. While you’re at it, insert opportunities to teach them about nutritious foods and its benefits so that they become mindful not just in eating, but also in selecting what to buy for the family. When they think that they are in charge, it makes them feel good for being the ‘good one’ in the family. 

Carefully plan for snacks

Stick to your plans when it comes to snacks. Being mindful of snack times will avoid overeating tendencies in children. Most parents ignore this and just go about giving in to their child’s request for yet another snack. Unknowingly, this increases the intake of unnecessary and unhealthy sugars and fats in their system.  Help them develop healthy eating habits by planning ahead for nutritious snacks. 

Don’t use food to punish or reward your children

The moment you withhold food as punishment for misbehavior, it makes children worry if their portion is sufficient for their consumption. They might mistake the thought that you are giving them very little because they did something wrong. It might give them anxieties thinking they don’t have enough. Depriving them will increase their chances to overeat as well. Similarly, when you use food as rewards, it will make them think that these little treats are more valuable than the healthier fruits and vegetables and they might ignore the latter because they’ll aim for the sweeter “reward”. 

Make sure they get plenty of water

Nothing beats the habit of drinking the right amount of water everyday in order to maintain a healthy system. Especially for kids who are heavy on sweetened drinks and snacks, combat the risk of obesity by drinking water throughout the day. This method not only cleanses their system, but also hydrates them. 

It is important to keep an eye on your child’s diet but don’t restrict them to the point that you’ll shut down sweet treats forever. Balance is key in maintaining healthy eating habits in your child. Without it, they can either overeat or undereat and lack the nutrition their bodies need to function well. 

For more tips, head on over to Creative Learning Academy for more insights about parenting. 

 

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7 Toddler Activities to Try at Home

Having a toddler can be overwhelming. Toddler age is a time when curiosity and creativity begin. It can be challenging to get your toddler to do the right thing and not focus too much on the wrong activities. 

These fun toddler activities to try at home will keep them engaged and develop their learning abilities. Always check your toddler’s limitations and capabilities to handle such activity. They have a short attention span so getting their full attention can be tricky.

Color Matching with Cars

This is one of those activities for toddlers that will help them recognize colors at an early age. In this activity, all you need are toy cars and some colored construction paper (rainbow colors are perfect).

Line up the pieces of paper on the floor (either randomly or one single line – depends on the space you have at home). Bring the toy cars out from storage. Then point to each piece of paper telling your toddler the color name as you go. The papers will be their parking spaces. You may guide your toddler at first as they park their car on each piece of paper. You can be as creative by drawing parking lines on each paper. 

As you go along, you can start to let your child do this on their own. Let your kids’ imagination work. The papers can be a walking path or even houses.

Bath Time with Toy Animals

The great thing about this activity is that it is cleaning disguised as an enjoyable water game. Toys eventually need a good wash and toddlers will have fun in the process. This is a good opportunity to let your toddler review animal names and sounds. Learning animal sounds can be advantageous for a toddler’s language development.

For this productive, fun, and educational activity, you will need a large container, washcloth, plastic animals, water, and a bit of soap. You might need a shower curtain liner to keep water off the floor and lessen the mess. Fill the tub with water and put all the animals in. Let your toddler wash the dirt away. Let them pretend they are giving each animal a bath. Once done, lay down the animal on the washcloth to dry.

Indoor Color and Shape Game

One activity to try that will help your child learn about different shapes and colors is this simple indoor game. Draw colored shapes on a large art paper and tape it on the floor. Let your child come up with all sorts of ways to play with this activity. They can walk from one side to another on the same color or the same shape.

Roll and Hop Shape Game

Another fun idea to introduce shapes and colors is this game for toddlers. This is also a great opportunity to develop their gross motor development. You will need a large cube, painter’s tape (test on the floor first to make sure that the finish will not be damaged), and a marker to draw the shapes. You can also check online and print out some downloadable shape cards.

Use the print-outs and tape them to the cubes. You may also choose to draw the shapes instead. Using the painter’s tape, make the corresponding shapes on the floor.

The cube will serve as the “dice” for this game. Let your child roll the dice and then hop on the corresponding shape. Have fun playing until your toddler gets tired.

Cotton Ball Races

While you might have difficulty getting your toddler to understand the dynamics of this game, this is still one that is great for their motor skills. This is good for the little muscles in their tiny hands. You will need cotton balls, squeeze bottles, and painter’s tape for this activity. Use the painter’s tape to mark the start and finish lines on the floor. Demonstrate to your child first how to squeeze the bottle to make the cotton balls move. Once your toddler understands the concept, you can let the race begin.

Learn How to Count Through Number Paths

This fun learning activity is suitable for toddlers – crawling or walking ones, and even for preschoolers. Not only do they learn to count and familiarize themselves with numbers, it can also help them improve their motor skills.

For this activity, you will need construction paper, markers, and tape (clear or masking tape). Cut the papers in half and write 1-10 on each piece. Tape the numbers on the floor in order with some space in between. You might need to have the papers closer together if you have a toddler since their movements are not that big yet.

Let them go at their own pace and count the numbers as they go along. If they start to walk backwards, count the numbers in descending order. You can also be creative and use colored paper. Let them review colors as well while moving from one piece of paper to another.

Walk the Line

Another fun motor skill activity for your toddler is by using colored tapes. Tape some fun lines on the floor – be as creative as possible. Create a red zigzag line, blue straight line, or a curvy green one.

Simply let your child walk along the lines, one foot in front of the other. Make sure that they stay on each color while keeping their balance. If you want to make it harder for them, have them walk sideways or backward.

Final Thoughts

Toddlers are capable of learning so many things through play and everyday interactions with their parents at home. Doing these fun activities as much as possible is a great way to encourage your toddlers to learn and explore at their own pace in a stress-free way.

Need more fun learning toddler activities to try at home? Visit Creative Learning Academy for more resources that will help your toddler develop their skills.

 

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How Can Families Celebrate National Tater Tots Day?

Every February 2nd, people celebrate National Tater Tots Day. People dedicate this day to remembering how good bite-sized potato nuggets taste. They savor this treat whose name  literally means baby potatoes.

How tater tots came to be?

Tater tots came to life through two brothers, Nephi and Golden Grigg. Aided by their brother-in-law, they began playing with the idea of frozen food. They leased a plant on the border of Oregon and Idaho back in 1934. By 1952, they bought the plant and began Oregon Frozen Foods Company. After a number of years, it transformed into Ore-Ida.

To create tater tots, they season potatoes with different spices and bake them into casseroles. This makes tater tots anall-around food. From a meal, side dish, or even a snack, people just keep eating them. They dip it, pop it, or just merely savor its taste.

Recipes to try for National Tater Tots Day

Read through this for different recipes that your family will enjoy  this National Tater Tots Day!

Cajun Tater Tot Waffle topped with Fresh Avocado Lump Crab Salad

Ingredients

Fresh Avocado Lump Crab Salad

• 4 ounces Lump Crab Meat
• 1 ounce Mayonnaise
• 1 ounce Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 ounce Avocado, diced
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed
• 1 tsp Fresh Garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• Black Pepper, to taste

Pickled Charred Tomato Chive Relish

• 2 ounces Charred Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
• 1 ounce Red Onion, fine diced
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp Chives, chopped
• 1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
• Kosher Salt, to taste

Cajun Tater Tot Waffle

• 32 ounces Frozen Tater Tots, Thawed
• Cajun Seasoning, to taste
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• 1 ounce Fresh Parsley, chopped

Method

• Combine all ingredients for the crab salad together and fold together lightly; careful not to break up the crab or bruise the avocado. Set aside for future use.
• Combine all ingredients for the charred tomato relish together. Set aside for future use.
• Preheat waffle iron, per instructions.
• Spray top and bottom of the waffle iron with non-stick spray.
• Place thawed tater tots in a tight, even layer into the waffle iron; making sure each one is touching each other.
• Sprinkle Cajun seasoning, salt and parsley on top of tater tots.
• Close the waffle iron, and follow waffle iron cooking instructions.
• Remove the finished waffle and place on a plate.

Chef’s Tip: Top the waffle with the Avocado Lump Crab Salad and garnish with the Charred Tomato Chive Relish!

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Potato Tot Casserole

Ingredients for the braised beef

• 5 pounds beef short ribs, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• ½ tablespoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 yellow onion, peeled, quartered
• 1 carrot, peeled, quartered
• 1 stalk celery, quartered
• 24 ounces stout (substitute other strong beer, beef stock or mushroom stock)
• 6 cups beef stock
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with cold water to form a paste

For potato tots

• 12 large Idaho russet potatoes
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus 2 cups for frying
• 4 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For casserole

• Braised beef (ingredients above) plus reserved braising liquid
• 2 cups pearl onions, cooked
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, cooked, quartered
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons black truffle paste
• Potato tots (see below)
• 1 cup gruyère cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

*Note: If you cannot find truffle paste, replace the gruyère for grated truffle cheese. Unfortunately, truffles are so unique that there isn’t a substitute, especially in a dish that already uses mushrooms.

Preparation for braised beef

1. PREHEAT the oven to 325°F. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and sear the beef on both sides, working in batches. Then remove it from the pot.
2. KEEP the pot over medium heat, add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the onions, carrots and celery; brown slightly. Add the stout. Turn down the heat to low and reduce the liquid slightly. Place the beef back in the pot and add the beef stock, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover and braise in the oven until tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
3. REMOVE the meat from the braising liquid and reserve. Strain the liquid into a saucepan, bring to a boil and whisk in the cornstarch to thicken slightly.

Preparation for potato tots

1. HEAT the oven to 350°F. Wash the potatoes well with water to remove all dirt. Lightly prick the potatoes with a fork and toss with 4 tablespoons vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons salt.
2. SPREAD the potatoes out on a large baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Discard the skins.
3. CUT the potatoes in half and press the flesh through a baking grate into a large mixing bowl. Season with 2 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon black pepper, then fold in 4 tablespoons olive oil.
4. LINE a half sheet tray with parchment paper and lightly grease with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Firmly and evenly, press the potato mix into the tray. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill overnight.
5. CUT the potato mixture into about 1-inch squares. Heat 2 cups of vegetable oil in a shallow fry pan to about 325°F. Carefully place the potato squares into the oil and fry until golden and crispy, flipping as needed and working in small batches so not to crowd the pan. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Preparation for the casserole

1. PREHEAT the oven broiler to medium-high. Heat the braised beef in a large sauté pan with the thickened braising liquid, pearl onions and mushrooms. Once hot, add the heavy cream and fold in the truffle paste.
2. DIVIDE the mixture between 6 metal dishes and top each with fried potato tots. Sprinkle gruyère cheese over the top. Broil until the cheese is melted. Garnish with chives and serve.

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Now, what are you waiting for? Try out these recipes and feast with your families!

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