Children's healthy recipe ideas

Sarahsaver

Jodun wrote:

I do shepherd's pie like that too, but for the mash I use about 2 thirds potatoes and 1 third parsnips. Tastes yum (and parsnips are the same colour as tatties, therefore invisible!), kids love it.

Can't they taste the parsnips? :rolleyes:

lilmisskitkat

When i make Shepherds Pie i use grated carrot and diced mushrooms added to the mince and onion mixture. Then mash carrots and swede in with the potatoes. Really yummy and packed with veg, my 3yr DD loves it.

Also when i make bolognese i add as much veg as possible and use less meat - grated carrot, finely diced mushrooms, peppers and courgette. i also chuck in a handful of red lentils for protein and added bulk. Never thought about liquidsing the sauce tho, might try that!

Kate xxx

Jodun

Sarahsaver wrote:

Can't they taste the parsnips? :rolleyes:

They can taste them, but I find that as long as they can't see them it's ok!

Yoga_Girl

We use a lot of lentils, chick-peas, kidney-beans, rice & pasta.

Lentil and potato soup is a favourite with my 2 little ones and very cheap and easy (fry onion, add diced potato fry for a min, add dried red lentils and fry for another min, then add veg stock and simmer for 20 mins or until everythings soft. Liquidise and serve with huge chunks of brown bread).

We also make a lovely lentil sauce that has chopped onion,carrots and tomatoes in it that goes lovely with pasta or rice.

We cook a lot of fish as well, we once cooked salmon in foil parcels (piece of salmon, place on foil, add oil, lemon juice, herbs, close the foil parcel and bake). We served them in the parcels at the table and my little boy loved "unwrapping" his tea.

Someone already mentioned Annabel Karmel and I do use her books for ideas, she does have some good healthy fun recipes for children.

https://www.annabelkarmel.co.uk

Savvy_Sue

1. the concession that baked beans are good for you - check the salt/sugar levels if you're really paranoid.

2. the school doctor telling me that if my son wished to eat one meal for the rest of his life, a jacket potato with cheese and baked beans was about the healthiest option on the menu - and that was his choice!

3. Pitta Pizza: since one son won't eat 'normal' pizza, and they all like very different things on pizza, this is my answer. Take a pile of pitta breads - they can even be frozen - and let each child 'build their own'. Once they're built they take about 10 minutes in a medium / hot oven - till the cheese melts or goes brown. Offer whatever you've got: we usually have
tomato puree or a thick tomato sauce (see below),
a drained tin of sweetcorn or drained cooked frozen sweetcorn
slices of ham chopped up
drained tuna
grated cheese (obvious, you might think but one son has his without any cheese!)
More adventurous families might try red and green peppers, carrots and other diced veg, drained pineapple, salami etc but we play it fairly safe.

3. tinned tomatoes! You can make a sauce for just about anything by simmering a tin of tomatoes for 10 minutes. You can add tomato puree, a teaspoon of sugar and some salt if you like - they were in the original recipe, which is about the only good thing to come out of Food Technology IMO, as was an onion, but as DS1 doesn't like onion he 'forgot' that bit. I don't always bother with those extras, but sometimes I add herbs (at the risk of noses turning up!). And sometimes I thicken it with cornflour. And sometimes I add tinned sweetcorn. And sometimes I add a tin of Campbells condensed soup, flavour to suit whatever it's going on top of. My 'luxury' is buying the tomatoes ready chopped. This can go on top of pasta with bacon, tuna, chicken, etc etc etc. In fact if you like tomatoes it can go with anything, and usually does, several times a week in this house!

Pal

Savvy

If you leave the tinned tomatoes whole and cook the sauce for about an hour, the sauce becomes really sweet. You can then chop them up into a puree at the end. If you chop them at the start the sauce is more bitter - it still tastes good but kids might not like it as much.

I made one last night and snuck carrots and cabbage into it - grated so you can't find lumps of it. Mrs Pal couldn't even tell they were in there.

I have found that if I don't let Pal_Junior eat for three hours before dinner he wolfes it all down, vegetables and all. It is only when he has had chocolate or crisps that he refuses to eat anything.

Sarahsaver

Biryani is dead easy, Im making a chicken one later, or it can have veg, lamb, eggs on top, I just cut out the chillies so the littluns will eat it.

Savvy_Sue

Pal wrote:

If you leave the tinned tomatoes whole and cook the sauce for about an hour, the sauce becomes really sweet. You can then chop them up into a puree at the end. If you chop them at the start the sauce is more bitter - it still tastes good but kids might not like it as much.

Fortunately they eat it pretty much as it comes. As I don't usually get round to cooking until I'm starving (I know, I know, but this is much more fun!) I can't see me simmering anything much for an hour!

VixxAnn

My two sons (9 & 11) can sniff out the smallest piece of veg in any kind of sauce like chilli, or spag bol. So I think I'll be trying the suggestion of blending the veg & tomatos and then adding to the meat - fantastic idea:T

The chicken in polenta sounds good too - we once did a similar thing with chicken strips rolled in crushed cornflakes and then baked in oven ! (actually very nice!)

I'd be really interested to hear any more suggestions on getting kids to eat veg. as thats the main struggle in our house

Sarahsaver

I made some bread - a bit like a focaccia, and added half a cup of spinach puree to the dough. My kids thought it was cool - green bread!
You can hide extra veg in mash, soups, cakes - carrot or beetroot, sausage casserole can be made with a sauce of tomato, mushroom, garlic and onion, and anything else you want - once its blended they won't notice. Peas are nice pureed with mint, garlic and chillies and used as a dip.
There was a hidden veg thread on here once, a bit of a recurring theme!