feeding the family | Vegie Smugglers

Posts tagged feeding the family

How to smuggle vegies at breakfast

March 14, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Vegetarian, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged breakfast, feeding the family, ideas, parenting, recipe, vegetables

At what stage in the day do your kids start eating vegetables?

If they have cereal and toast for breakfast, then a lunchbox of sandwiches and fruit, it’s quite possible that no vegies pass their lips until late afternoon.

The current Australian government guidelines suggest that a five year old child should be eating 3-4 serves of vegetables a day. Which is quite a lot. (BTW – If you don’t know what a serving size looks like, there’s a really handy visual guide in the beginning of a fabulous book called Vegie Smugglers 2.)

To have a chance of hitting that quota, it’s a great idea to start sneaking the healthy stuff in in as early in the day as possible before tiredness turns your little angels into grouchy and disagreeable monsters (or perhaps that’s just my kids).

Sneaking in some vegies at breakfast isn’t as hard as it sounds. You can make the breakfast burrito recipe from Vegie Smugglers 1. Or you can do a little baked egg dish with capsicums and eggplant. Pop a bit of corn in scrambled eggs. For a quickie, just put some avocado & tomato on toast. Or maybe you want to whip up a green smoothie.

They are my latest addiction. I used to come home from school drop offs needing tea and toast, but I’ve replaced that habit with one of these smoothies and find they fill me up and give me an energy boost in the middle of the day.

There are stacks of recipes for them, but this is my current favourite. I find for my kids to enjoy them, I need to load it up with frozen banana. Like the ice cream I made recently, using the frozen bananas gives them a real ‘thick shake’ texture that the kids can’t resist. And I find serving them up in a pretty cup never goes astray.

Oh la la! This is the fancy cocktail version (avec trashie).

Green smoothies

1/2 cup firmly packed spinach leaves
1/2 cup pineapple pieces
1 frozen banana, peeled, sliced
1/2-3/4 cup rice milk (you need a watery milk, so skim would work, but full fat isn’t so nice)
1 tsp white chia seeds

For an added kick, I also pop in 1 tbsp Nutra Organics super greens & reds food powder (click my affiliate link below to check out all their products).

I put everything in a glass jug and use my stick blender to whizzy it all up into fab green goodness.

This will make enough to divide nicely between 2 adults and 2 kids.
_____________________

So they’re my suggestions. What about you? Have you got a smoothie recipe or some breakfast vegie-smuggling wisdom to share?

Comments (9) »

The want-a-thon

March 12, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Ham/pork, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged feeding the family, recipe, soup, vegetables

Miss Fruitarian wants a turtle. And a hamster. She wants real wings, a DS and pony called Sparkle.

Mr M&P wants the Harry Potter Lego game for (my) iPhone. And a second console for the PS3 (for daddy) and as much Chima Lego as he can get his hands on (even after seeing only one ad).

I want a nanny, a saxophone with a ‘silent’ switch, no cellulite and a daily foot rub from Hugh Jackman.

Mr VS is diplomatically coy about his desires, but I suspect he wants an extra hour in each day, children (and a wife) who know how to tidy up after themselves and a few hours alone with Megan Fox.

The kids also both want broccoli that tastes like chocolate, a mum who doesn’t insist on quite so much fresh produce and a new system of eating that involves the couch and interlocking straws.

Meanwhile, when I put this dinner down in front of the kids the other night, they didn’t really want it. It’s brown. But luckily we have the ‘two bite’ rule – that is, if I’ve bothered to make them dinner, then they need to show respect and take two big bites. Then, after genuinely trying, if they still don’t like it, I’ll give them some bread, a banana or extra yoghurt instead.

Turns out after two bites, they did want this after all. Because it’s yummy and two bites was all they needed to discover that.

Tastes great with last week’s cheese muffins.

Slow cooker pea & ham soup

1 1/2 cups green split peas, rinsed well
1 brown onion, roughly diced
1 large carrot, peeled, diced
1 potato, peeled, diced
2 sticks celery, sliced
1 fresh bay leaf
1 kg ham hock
8 cups water
3 tbsp parsley
2 tsp thyme leaves
1/2 cup frozen peas
Pepper

Place the rinsed split peas in the bottom of your slow cooker. Layer the vegies over the top. Add in the bay leaf and plonk the ham hock in the middle. Pour over the water, cover and set to cook on low for 7 1/2 hours.

Remove the hock, transfer to a plate and shred off the meat. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Use a stick blender to make the soup a nice creamy consistency.

Return the shredded ham to the cooker along with the herbs and frozen peas. Leave for another half hour until the peas are bright green.

Serves 2 adults and 4 kids

___________________

If your family likes soups, try out these….
Pumpkin Corn & Lentil
Minestrone
Witches Stew
Chicken & Udon

Comments (8) »

The best way to smuggle… apricots

March 8, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Sweets & treats, The best way to smuggle... · Tagged feeding the family, fruit, lunchbox, treats

I haven’t done one of these posts for a while. If you’re new to the blog, these are the posts where I tackle a specific ingredient. In the past I’ve offered solutions for tricky vegies like mushrooms, spinach and beetroot. You can view a full list here.

So apricots seem a bit lame in comparison, but I figure with summer drawing to a close, you’ve probably got a few of these guys about, possibly looking a little worse for wear. Chuck them in this cake and you’ve got a nice alternative to banana bread. If though, you’re inundated with aging bananas, then you can see a recipe for banana bread here.

Apricots magically disappear!

Apricot slice

RECIPE EDIT: Please note that this recipes has changed since first being published. Originally I left out the egg! Huge apologies.

1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
½ cup LSA mix (or just almond meal is also good)
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup shredded coconut
5 fresh apricots, finely chopped (or use 10 tinned apricot halves – this is a better option than reconstituting dried ones)
140g tub apple puree (or peel & chop two apples, and make your own)
50g butter, melted
1 egg, lightly whisked

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 20x30cm lamington tray with baking paper.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix in the LSA mix and sugar. Combine in the rest of the ingredients and mix well. It takes a while to get the mixture really combined. Depending on your apricots and apple puree, you may need to add a splash of grapeseed oil or 10g extra butter to hold everything together). Press the mix evenly into your tray.

Bake 30-35 minutes until springy to touch. Cool and cut into squares.

MAKES 30ish squares.

Comments (15) »

A mummy-fail as my daughter gets fillings.

February 28, 2013 · Filed under News · Tagged feeding the family, lunchbox, parenting

Friend & foe.

Like a plumber with leaky pipes or a cleaner who lives in squalor, it would appear that I am teetering close to the word ‘hypocrite’.

You see on Miss F’s recent trip to the dentist, we discovered that she needed not one, but two fillings. Both in baby molars, but ones that need to stay put for another 3-4 years.

Turning up for our second appointment, I was primed and ready for the SCORN. Dentists specialise in it, don’t they? This dentist, who appears to be extremely nice, still couldn’t help but have a bit of a dig.

“So, we need to discuss her diet.”
Sigh. Heart sinks as I prepare for battle, because frankly, I’m a bit perplexed myself at how she’s managed to accrue TWO holes when I do what I do.

“Does she drink juice?”
No. No juice.
“Soft drink?”
Very rarely.
“Does she eat too many sweets?”
We both look at my skinny-mini daughter, who quite frankly could use a bit of fattening up, and it’s pretty evident that she doesn’t eat too many sweets.

But the inquisition continued.

“Does she eat fruit?”
“Well, yes.”
“Much fruit?”
I refrain from explaining that her name in blog-land is Miss Fruitarian, but concede that yes, she eats A LOT of fruit. Breakfast, fruit-break, recess, afternoon tea and sometimes dessert.

And there you have it. It turns out the problem is fruit. That and more generally the dawdling pace at which she eats. We have a joke about ‘Little Lulu bites’. She takes the tiniest bite and can make something last for an eternity. My mum will verify that one time she took AN HOUR to eat a Tim Tam. She can stretch a lolly bag out for several days, a bunch of grapes takes an entire afternoon and an ice block will have melted before she can finish it. From now on, after experiencing the joy of the dentist’s drill, she’s pledged to eat a whole lot faster.

DS (Dentist Scorn) shared the Lolly Bag policy that she enforces with her kids. You have until the car pulls up at home to eat the lot. After that it’s gone. And she really wishes that there wasn’t a ‘crunch & sip’ type breaks so close to recess. It’s just more hours of the day when sugars are dwelling near children’s teeth.

From now on, I’ve been ordered to supply carrot sticks, celery & capsicum sticks for one of these breaks. No more grapes or stone fruits. Also, I have to encourage the kids to rinse their mouths with water after they eat. Apparently sugar-free yoghurt is a good way to finish or a piece of cheese that will help to neutralise the sugars.

Sheesh. Perhaps calling myself hypocrite is a bit harsh, but it was a reminder that just like motherhood, healthy living is a complex beast and one that you often feel you can’t quite succeed at all the time.

Comments (16) »

Five chicken dinners

February 26, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, mealtime, recipe

Well, need I say more? Here are five dinners made with chicken, which apparently Australians eat more of than any other meat. This year each of us will consume an average of 44kg of the stuff. Fact.

These recipes should give you a couple of kilo’s worth of inspiration (unless you’re a vegetarian, in which case you might prefer to click here.)

Click the pictures to link through to the recipes.

Chicken & brown rice salad.

From the Lunchboxes planner e-book…

Chicken nuggets.

From Vegie Smugglers 2…

Sang choy bao.

A classic from Vegie Smugglers 1…

Chicken sausage rolls.

From Vegie Smugglers 2…

chicken and tarragon one pot winter warmer by vegie smuggers

Chicken & tarragon one-pot.

Do any of these take your fancy? How else do you like to cook chicken for your family?

Comments (8) »

What’s Jamie’s best cookbook?

February 20, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged cookbooks, feeding the family, noodles, recipe, salad, vegetables, vegetarian

Chuck a heap of coriander, mint and chilli on the adult’s serves.

The inspiration for this recipe is a noodle salad from Jamie Oliver’s ’30 minutes meals’ cookbook. I’ve evolved it quite a bit to suit my family and added a stack of extras (since that’s my thing really, isn’t it). We’ve been eating it every week for most of the summer since it ticks all the dinnertime boxes. It’s easy to make, I can make it ahead and serve it cold. And it’s delicious.

Do you think ’30 minute meals’ is Jamie’s best book? I do. It’s the cookbook of his that I return to often. Heaps of great flavours, all very accessible. Each time I browse through I find something else I want to make. The food is more healthy than his early recipes which featured meat, meat and a bit more meat but not as simplistic as the recipes in ’15 minute meals’, which I didn’t like so much. I can’t quite put my finger on why I don’t cook anything from that book. Am I missing something there? I flip through that repeatedly and don’t bookmark anything. Perhaps point me in the direction of the recipes you like from that one and I promise to give them another look.

Noodle salad

250g dried egg noodles
1 red onion
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp grapeseed oil

1 carrot, peeled, grated
1/2 red capsicum, finely diced
125g can corn, drained
1/2 cup cashews or peanuts, chopped
1 cucumber, halved, seeds removed, sliced
Mint & coriander to taste (I like heaps, the kids like none).
Lime wedges (optional)

In a mini-food processor, blitz together the onion, lime, sauces, sugar and oil. Set aside.

Cook the noodles according to packet directions. Drain, return to the saucepan and pour over the blitzed sauce while they’re still hot (the onion will cook and mellow a bit). Mix through the carrot, capsicum and corn.

Once the initial heat fades, you can add in the nuts, cucumber and herbs.

Serves warm or cold.

Serves 2 adults and 2 kids.
________________________

Your family likes noodles? Try these dishes…
Beef Pho
Chicken & udon soup

Comments (31) »

Is your kid a fussy eater? Here’s where to start…

February 13, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged feeding the family, freezer, ideas, mealtime, parenting, pasta, recipe, vegetables

Start simple. Here.

Today’s recipe is for all the parents whose toddlers get pleasure from winding their mummies and daddies up as much as possible during each meal.

Look! They think. Daddy’s face goes so red when I refuse to eat that! Look! Mummy’s head is about to explode each time I shriek! How about I drop the rest of my dinner ON THE FLOOR – won’t THAT reaction be hilarious.

Ah yes. Lovely mealtimes like that with Miss F are the reason why Vegie Smugglers exists. We had SO MANY unhappy dinners together. So much scraping of uneaten food into the bin. So often I was SO CLOSE TO LOSING IT. We were locked in an ongoing food battle.

I was determined to win the war, because I love to eat and I hated that dinnertime had become so miserable. And last Friday night when I watched a now 8-year-old Miss F crunch happily through a salad of corn/snow peas/broccolini & cos, I realised that I HAD WON.

But how did I start to turn things around? Well Miss F liked cheese, so I started there. I made her cheesy pots. And she liked bread, so I gave her salmon pikelets (at first without the green bits). I started with what she DID eat and expanded out from there.

So if your little food fascist likes tinned spaghetti, then this recipe might be your starting point. Do whatever you need to do to have some dinnertime wins and if that means sneakily replacing a junk favourite with a healthy home-made version then DO IT.

If they eat this happily then next time you could make it with wholemeal pasta. Or put in some grated carrot. Then, in a while, try little chunks of carrot instead. If they like these flavours, migrate them to a lasagna, cannelloni or a lentil pasta sauce that has more smuggling potential. As time goes by, you’ll have to do less and less to hide anything, until they happily just eat a raw carrot or snack on grape tomatoes.

Watching Miss F munch through her raw greens, I was so glad that I’ve put all the effort in. Most toddlers are fussy eaters and without intervention many will grow to be fussy tweens/teens & adults. Teaching them how to love healthy food is a gift they will carry for life.

Couldn’t help myself.

Home-made tinned spaghetti

I don’t usually stipulate organic products, but think in this simple recipe they’re essential.

2 cups pumpkin, diced
250g organic spaghetti (half a standard pack) – broken into short lengths
125g can 4-bean mix, drained, rinsed
700ml jar organic passata (find it near the pasta)
1 tsp brown sugar

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add the pumpkin and cook until soft (about 7-10 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces). Use a slotted spoon to remove the pumpkin and pop it into a drainer (keep the water boiling).

Pop the spaghetti into the same boiling water and cook according to packet directions.

Put the beans, cooked pumpkin, passata and sugar into a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to the simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Use a stick blender to blitz everything up into a smooth sauce.

Drain the spaghetti then add into your tomato sauce.

Serve topped with Parmesan. For a more substantial meal, top with crumbled crispy bacon or pop in some meatballs (try this lamb meatball recipe).

MAKES ABOUT 8 TODDLER PORTIONS (freeze some for easy dinners in a flash).

This recipe appears in my new "Kitchen Collection" cookbook, with a toddler-feeding tips and family-friendly recipes.

This recipe appears in my new “Kitchen Collection” cookbook, with toddler-feeding tips and 125 family-friendly recipes.

___________________________

Need more help with fussy eaters? Try these posts…

Please help Vegie Smugglers, my child only eats…
How to get fussy kids to try new foods.
My top 10 tips to smuggle vegies into children.

Comments (14) »

A free printable that keeps shopping simple

February 10, 2013 · Filed under News, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged feeding the family, ideas, organising

A quick ‘this-might-help-you’ today. A nifty printable that keeps your shopping and meal planning all together. This is how I like to organise myself. I like to jot down what we’re eating for the week along with the list, so that when I’ve gone brain-dead in Aisle 3, I can easily remember WHY it is that I need such a large jar of pickled herring.

It’s divided up into categories too – with fruit & veg coming first – it’s the most important after all, and also the first section of most Australian supermarkets.

Hope this helps you!

Practical AND just a bit cute. Click to download yours.

Of course, you might like to get some ideas for meal plans from my Vegie Smugglers Meal Plans e-book. And remember to print out the kid’s visual shopping list – which will keep them busy for a good 5 minutes, maybe even 10.

Comments (4) »

Jerk Chicken

February 5, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, recipe

Funny how you phase through ingredients. Often it comes with wider food fashions. A few years back there was the balsamic/basil/bocconcini thing. And then the Moroccan thing, with lots of cumin/coriander combos. And of course sumac – I still pour that all over so many things.

My latest thing is Allspice. I managed without it nicely for years, but it’s made an appearance lately. Possibly since it adds some tang without heat, which is perfect for kids. If you pick up a jar soon, you can make this delicious jerk chicken, which is the ideal protein to go with last week’s Caribbean rice. I’ll do my best to post some other recipes using it soon, too, so that the jar doesn’t sit unloved in the back of your cupboard.

‘Jerk’ chicken. Which seems harsh, especially when it’s so delicious.

Jerk Chicken

1 small onion, peeled, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp chilli powder (I use a mild Mexican one)
1/4 tsp Allspice
Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 bunch thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
600-700g chicken wing nibbles (they’re wings, but with the pointy ends chopped off – my kids find them easier to negotiate) OR chicken drumsticks

Blitz all the ingredients, except the chicken, together in a mini-food processor or blender. Pop the chicken into a deep ceramic or glass bowl and pour over the sauce. Mix well and leave to marinade (in the fridge) anywhere from 1-12 hours. Obviously, the longer you leave it, the better the flavour.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line an oven tray with foil and spray with oil. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer on the tray, pouring over the excess marinade.

Bake until cooked through and the skin is starting to blacken. Nibbles take about 30-35 minutes, drumsticks need about 45 minutes.

Serves 2 adults & 2 kids

________________________

YOUR FAMILY LIKES CHICKEN? Try these…

Oven-baked chicken nuggets
Chicken & cashew stirfry
Chicken meatballs
Chicken & tarragon one-pot

Comments (11) »

Carry on holidays

February 1, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian · Tagged feeding the family, parenting, recipe, rice, vegetables

Waking up on holidays the other morning, I had my eyes still closed, but I could tell that I was surrounded by a lot of skin. I was smashed up against a deliciously broad back and I sighed contentedly. I love sun-kissed, hedonistic holidays. Then I realised that there was another hand poking through into my tummy. Oooo-errr! And another arm was around my middle and a leg pushed in between mine. Saucy!

Wriggling over in the limited space I was accosted by surprisingly bad breath and then a wee hand smacking me on the boob, bringing me back to my senses. This was no scene of wild holiday abandon. This was an early-morning wake up on our very-family-oriented getaway. And the double bed was crammed full of a snoring Mr VS and two children seeking refuge – one from the scary cockroach on the wall of our van-park cabin and the other from a tangled and smelly old quilt cover which was discarded on the floor.

Note to self. Must arrange a mid-year getaway with husband. Alone.

In the meantime, this mild Caribbean rice side-dish will keep the holiday vibe going. Just a hint of coconut and a stack of vegies. As always, everything is optional. Use whatever will work with your family. I’m including instructions for this in either a rice cooker or in a regular saucepan.

Why not garnish with an umbrella. Cute.

Caribbean ‘I’m still on holidays’ rice

2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 spring onions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 litre water (boil the jug and use that to make cooking quicker)
160g coconut milk
1 cinnamon stick
Several stalks of fresh thyme (use half a bunch if you have it)
1/4 red capsicum
1 carrot, peeled, grated
1 zucchini, grated (peeled if your kids hate green)
400g can borlotti beans, rinsed, drained
125g can corn kernels

Heat your rice cooker on the saute function or heat a saucepan over medium/high heat. Add your oil and saute the spring onion and garlic for a minute, stirring frequently.

Pour in the rice and stir really well to make sure it is thoroughly coated and the edges are just starting to turn translucent. (This takes a minute or two).

Carefully tip in the coconut milk and stir. Then add the water, cinnamon and thyme. Stir well. Turn the rice cooker to the cook function and cover OR reduce the heat on the stovetop to low and cover with a tight-fitting lid (a glass lid so you can peak in, is perfect).

Once little vertical tunnels appear in the rice, it is practically cooked (about 15 minutes), so really quickly remove the lid and chuck in the vegies and beans. Stir briefly, recover, and leave for another 5 minutes or so (I actually tend to switch my cooker to ‘warm’ for this stage – the residual heat is enough to warm everything through).

Serve with salad and some meat from the BBQ – something tasty like jerk chicken is perfect (I’ll post a recipe for that next week.)

Serves 4 adults & 4 kids as a side dish.

Comments (12) »

« Previous Page — « Previous entries

Next entries » — Next Page »

Vegie Smugglers