Camembert Quesadillas with Guacamole Dip

Summer is almost here, and with summer comes the inevitable School Sports Day. Sports Day is when the school invites parents to watch their kids doing all sorts of physical activities like passing a bean bag over their heads or racing with an egg on a spoon with no apparent reason, as in most of schools Sports Day has become a non-competitive day.

Some parents have really become professionals in the art of moaning about Sports Day. And after this post I believe I will need to add my name to the list.

I am not a fan of sports and neither any of my kids is extremely sporty (or not sporty at all), however they both enjoy running, climbing, jumping and feeling wild in general.

But… what’s the point of playing sports if there's no competitiveness? I appreciate that some children hate sports, and that’s perfectly fine. We shouldn’t push children to do things they don’t enjoy doing. However, every day children come out of school with certificates for good writing/reading/maths etc., but sports day can't be competitive in case children get upset when they lose.

Let’s be honest… how many sports do you know that are not competitive?

I’m not saying sports days should be all about competition, but at least they should keep an element of it in. In my opinion is also important for children to learn how to cope with not winning always, how to work as part of a team and work collaboratively for a common goal.

I’ve always been competitive. When I play a game, I play to win, otherwise what’s the point in playing? I like to win, of course, but I don’t mind loosing. I also enjoy seeing others winning, and the reason why it doesn’t bother me is because I know I did my best and I had fun doing it. And that’s what matters.

If there's no competition, then there's no impetus to succeed. It is as simple as that.

If it doesn’t matter, if whatever you do is going to take you to the same place, if even if you can’t be bothered to do anything you are going to “win”, then why should you make any effort? And moreover, I find this to be completely hypocrite: children are encouraged to be the best but when it comes to sports, then we have to be all nice and say everyone is a winner.

Competitiveness makes you have interest in the game, follow the rules, and improve your skills. And most important, competitiveness helps you understand that it's ok not to be good at everything. And that failure happens to everyone.

Sadly, our children will find out sooner rather than later than you can’t win always. So if we help them to learn how to deal with small success and failures when they are little, they will be able to deal with big fails and to handle success gratefully and with humility when adults.

This week recipe is the perfect snack after a tiring sports day. Quesadillas are basically a Mexican-style stuffed pancake with a cheese based filling. Easy and quick to do and children love them!

WHAT YOU NEED

Makes 8 Quesadillas

4 Tortilla Wrap (I would recommend the corn ones!)
60gr Honey Roast Ham
250gr Camembert Cheese
Olive Oil

For the Guacamole (In love with guacamole? Click here!)

1 Ripe Avocado
2 Sweet Salad Peppers
3 Spring Onions
1 Lime
Salt to taste

WHAT YOU DO

To prepare the guacamole, peel and mash the avocado with a fork. Squeeze the lime in and add the diced peppers, spring onions and tomatoes. Sprinkle some salt and reserve.

To prepare the quesadillas, pick one of the tortilla wrap and put some ham and cheese. Cover with another wrap.

Heat a ridged griddle. Brush each side of the quesadilla with olive oil and grill for a minute each side. 

Transfer the quesailla into a board or plate and cut into 4 triangles.

Serve warm and dip in the guacamole.

P.S. You can also posh them up by using prawns, roast chicken, blue cheese, and anything you like!