Vegie Smugglers

Even the papertoy monsters are needing a good lay down.

Each family seems to have its own charming vernacular ‘en famille’. A range of sayings based on cute toddler mispronunciations that become ingrained over the years and are known only in that household. For example, in our house, we all wipe our bums with “paper towels”, the second day of the working week is “tooosday” and “um on cake” is a cutsey, friendly way of asking the kids to HURRY THE FUCK UP.

The phrase originated from a friend’s 3-year old urging for action; “Come on Kate, come play”. Mispronounced it was cute and bossy enough, without being offensive. So it stuck.

I seem to have been saying it a lot lately. “Um on cake, get in the car… um on cake, put your shoes on… um on cake, get dressed”.

I realised, of course, that we’ve reached the dreaded WEEK 8 of term. In my household, it seems to be the tipping point, when tiredness catches up and everything starts to go pear-shaped.

True to form, Miss F started WEEK 8 by falling down the stairs. She was being a goose, attempting a risky maneuver that I’ve warned her off doing in the past. Usually kids have that fabulous innate aptitude that makes them bulletproof in all sorts of situations, don’t they? But by WEEK 8 of term, the reflexes have slowed and high-degree of difficulty activities just become disasters.

She fell badly, is quite bruised and I’m waiting for my phone call from DOCS.

So with basic movement proving tricky, the chances of them effortlessly eating challenging, nutritious meals just got that bit slimmer.

If your kids are at the same point, I don’t recommend trying out too much new stuff for the next few weeks. Stick to accepted basic meals, and familiar flavour profiles. Indulge them a little – you’ll just be making your own life easier, after all.

And I let my kids eat a bit more ‘junk’. Vegie Smugglers junk of course, like these oven-baked, egg-free chicken nuggets. Seeing as there’s no secret vegies in the nuggets I introduce the kids to the joys of a schnitty sandwich. The picture shows a lunchbox version with some pumpkin dip (recipe in the upcoming Term 2 planner) and spinach leaves. For dinner I add lots of grated cheese & carrot & iceberg lettuce (a current favourite). Secure the wrap with foil and you’re away.

Schnitzel sandwich heaven

500g chicken breast
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 cups crumb mixture (I like to make of mix of regular bought breadcrumbs, posh panko crumbs and blitzed up pumpkin seeds – sesame seeds are also a yum addition)
Spray oil of your choice

Slice the chicken into even, bite-sized pieces. Mix with the lemon juice, soy sauce & paprika. Cover and marinade in the fridge for at least 1 hour, preferrably overnight.

Preheat oven to 200C, line a tray with baking paper.

Toss the nuggets in breadcrumb mix. Spray with oil spray and bake for 25 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.

Serve with tortillas and your choice of dip, leaves, cucumber, grated cheese and carrot.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS