Hillary Graves is co-founder of popular children’s food brand, Little Dish. Originally from New York, Hillary lives in London with her husband Dean and two sons, Monty, 8, and Ridley, 6. She set up Little Dish when she was expecting Monty and noticed that no one was making proper, healthy and convenient meals for children. Little Dish now feeds over 100,000 children every week and Hillary has written two cookbooks. Her first book ‘The Little Dish Favourites Cookbook’ was published in June 2010 and her second book ‘The Family Cookbook’ goes on sale on 28th August. The new cookbook is packed full of 101 family-friendly recipes to make and enjoy with your children, and is a must-have cooking companion for parents.
I travelled a lot as a child, but my earliest memories are of my family making the twelve hour road trip from Memphis, Tennessee to Florida. My brother and I were bundled into the back of the car, without a seatbelt in those days, and I remember watching the amazing scenery of the Deep South fly by. My best holiday was a trip to South Africa with my husband before we had children. It’s such a beautiful country and the laid-back atmosphere stayed with us long after we returned home. We climbed Table Mountain, traveled to Robin Island, visited the wineries, ate delicious food and generally soaked up the incredible surroundings.
Our first trip with my eldest son Monty was when he was twelve weeks old. We took him to New York to meet my extended family. To be honest, it was surprisingly easy as he slept most of the way. In fact, we went to the US a few times in his first year to make sure my family didn’t miss out on getting to know him. Of course, once he started crawling it was a very different story! Our long haul trips became much less frequent.
Travelling with children can be a wonderful boding experience and a bit stressful simultaneously. I think it gets easier as your children get older because you have less kit to lug around with you but, as they get older, you have to plan more age-appropriate activities. Now we generally try to stay somewhere with a pool. It means there’s always something fun for the boys to do, and they can burn off their excess energy no matter what else we have planned during the day.
One year we spoilt ourselves and stayed at the Four Seasons hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. We all needed a family holiday with a bit of R&R, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s incredibly family-friendly with a wonderful beach and swimming pool, delicious food and the most amazing kid’s club. The boys were given fantastic welcome packs when they arrived, which they still remember. They did treasure hunts, played football on the beach, enjoyed arts and crafts and other other fun activities. And because they were so happy, we were able to properly relax. In the afternoons, we would all swim together or play Pétanque on the beach.
I also took my eldest son Monty on a city break to Paris when he was six, which was a magical weekend. I let him help plan our itinerary. We spent hours wandering around the army museum, Les Invalides, going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and relaxing in the Jardin du Luxembourg, a stunning garden in the heart of Paris. And, of course, eating wonderful French food.
After that lovely weekend in Paris with Monty we went back as a family of four, but it wasn’t such a success. It was half-term, so it was very busy. And I scheduled too many cultural sights and not enough outdoor activities, so we were all a bit on edge. On the last day we escaped to the Jardin du Luxembourg, which ended up being the highlight of the visit. The weather was beautiful and the children just wanted to run around and get some fresh air.
We always travel with a book about the country we’re visiting. We love the ‘This is Paris,’ ‘This is London,’ and ‘This is New York’ by Miroslav Sasek. They are a great way to get children excited about the country they are visiting and help them decide what they would most like to see and do. Of course we also have a bag of tricks with all the usual suspects – pens, paper, books, snacks… and an iPad if all else fails!
To beat jet lag we always try to get the boys on to the new time zone as quickly as possible. This often means encouraging them to stay up as late as they can but it’s well worth it. I would also say, don’t over-schedule your days. It’s tempting to plan in lots of sights, but this can leave everyone exhausted. I think part of the fun of travelling with children is seeing things through their eyes, so take your time and let them help plan the day. And always keep blood sugar levels high – have snacks in your bag and an idea of where you might stop for lunch.
We often take the kids to the food market to help us shop when we are abroad. It’s a great way to teach them about the local delicacies. At restaurants, we order lots of different things to share and they often end up trying things they wouldn’t eat at home. Pudding is always popular and can be a handy reward to encourage them to try something new, if all else fails!
For convenience and ease when on holiday, my kids love pasta and a simple tomato sauce made from chopped garlic and onion, sautéed in a bit of olive oil and a tin of plum tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes and you’re good to go. Your children can sprinkle on grated cheese, or mix in whatever delicious ingredients you’ve managed to buy at the market such as local vegetables, mozzarella, olives, or salami – you can’t go wrong.