parenting | Vegie Smugglers

Posts tagged parenting

From the suburbs to the world in just over an hour

May 8, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, Food experiences, News, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged cooking techniques, feeding the family, fish, parenting, recipe, vegetables

I’ve got yet another awesome parenting moment to share with you (I do like to make you all feel better about your own efforts)… I went to pick up my daughter from her friend’s house at 3pm on Sunday afternoon. Was offered champagne. Had to admit that not only would I love one, but that I’d already had a couple, whilst on a playdate with my son, which had started at 10am. Bad look? Much?

It’s been nearly 8 months since THE MOVE and I’m having trouble keeping up with the partying pace of the suburbs, but I must say I’m having a great time and I’m wondering why I struggled raising kids in apartments for so long when there were spacious blocks, sunshine, beer (and champagne) fridges and HOBBIES to be enjoyed out here.

Still, with highs come lows, and Monday did roll around. Not only was the washing not done, but neither was the shopping, the nurofen box was empty and the kids were HUNGRY since all we’d managed for dinner the night before was boiled eggs.

I’m still trying to catch up, which is why it’s taken so long to post up this congee recipe. Over on facebook, some were intrigued and unfamiliar with congee, which is eaten by over 2 billion people throughout China, Asia & India. Basically it’s a rice soup, affordable to make and fantastic comfort food. The name, texture and additions change depending on the region.

In Japan it’s called Okayu, served thick, with eggs & grilled fish. Koreans eat juk, of course served with kimchi and the Indians call it kanji, a runnier version, served with lentils and chutney. Throughout all of these cultures, it’s commonly given as a first food to babies. Pretty similar to rice cereal after all, but a hell of a lot tastier.

My version is a cultural hybrid, quite thick, and cooked until the rice is breaking down but still has some texture. I use it as a carrier for small cubes of fish. But if your kids will fuss over that, then shredded cooked chicken (even a BBQ chicken) will be a fantastic variation.

Perfect for babies, the elderly, the sick (and hungover).

Fish & corn congee

¾ cup short-grain rice
6 cups good-quality chicken stock
3 tbsp shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine)
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
125g can creamed corn
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
White pepper
300g boneless skinless firm white fish fillets, diced
¼ red capsicum, seeded
125g can corn kernels

Sliced spring onions and coriander sprigs, to serve

Rinse the rice well under running water, drain and add to a saucepan with the stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 50–60 minutes until the rice is soft and breaking down. Stir regularly to avoid sticking.

Add the shaoxing wine, soy and oyster sauces, creamed corn and ginger. Add white pepper to taste.

When this is nice and hot, add the fish and vegies and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes until the fish is just cooked through.

Serve the congee topped with spring onion and coriander.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

Vegie Smugglers complete lunchbox planner

You can now buy the complete VS lunchbox planner for just $9.95!

Have you all seen that I’ve updated the Vegie Smugglers shop? And newly available is The Complete Vegie Smugglers lunchbox planner – which is a snazzy 92 page e-book, combining all of the term planners into one place for a bargain price of $9.95. Unlike my cookbooks, which only ship in Australia, you can buy my e-books worldwide! Click here to grab one.

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Romance is dead – long live romance

May 1, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News · Tagged chicken, parenting, recipe, vegetables

My husband and I both forgot that today is our wedding anniversary. We’d spent last night discussing April-month-end issues without either of us tweaking to the fact that the next day would be May 1, the anniversary of our glorious wedded bliss. It wasn’t until this morning that it dawned on me that if yesterday was April 30, then that made today… THE MOST ROMANTIC DAY OF OUR MARITAL YEAR. Shame then, that I hadn’t had a shower or brushed my teeth and that Mr VS had just a minute to kiss me goodbye before heading out to hunt, gather, collect yams, kill oxen, run websites and do other manly things that support our family.

I yelled after his retreating back, “I LOVE YOU… AND I PROMISE TO HAVE A SHOWER BY THE TIME YOU GET HOME…”

I might even stop by the boozer to pick up a bottle of something fizzy. And I might even spend more than $10.

Older couples assure me that romance picks up again once the kids leave home. But considering how late we leave it to have babies these days, I’m not sure if I’ll have any working parts left by the time I hit 65 (apparently menopause will leave me shriveled and unwelcoming). So best to grab whatever romantic moments I can along the way, which means tonight I’m going all out. I’m going to put on my newest bonds undies, my best tracksuit pants and whisper really lovely things in my partner’s ear (but only during the ad breaks of The Voice).

Is romance dead when you’ve got children under 10? What do you think? How do you try to keep things a bit lovely at your place? I could use a few tips.

Now I know I promised either congee or rice paper rolls this week, but best if I post a recipe up that is one of Mr VS’s favourites – this chicken & udon soup from VS1 is always devoured with gusto and finished with proclamations of eternal love. But am I actually making this tonight for my beloved? Well… er… no. I don’t have any of the ingredients. But at least posting this, he’ll see my good intentions.

Happy Anniversary my love.

Not quite oysters & champagne - but chicken & udon soup instead.

Udon soup

2 chicken stock cubes
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
1 tsp crushed ginger (fresh is best but bottled is OK)
2 tsp sugar
¼ tsp ground white pepper
1 star anise (optional, but highly recommended)
500g chicken thigh
fillets, fat trimmed
¾ cup frozen peas
1 small carrot, peeled, cut into long matchsticks (just for fun)
½ green capsicum, deseeded, finely diced
Corn kernels from 2 ears of corn, rusks removed, kernels sliced off
400g packet udon noodles

Pour 6 cups water into a large saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Add the stock cubes, soy, mirin, ginger, sugar, pepper and star anise (if using). Bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat, add the chicken and cover. Leave chicken to poach 10-15 minutes until just cooked through.

Remove the chicken and set aside to cool slightly. Once it is cool enough to handle, slice the chicken into thin pieces.

Return the pan to a low heat and bring to a simmer. Add all of the vegetables and chicken and simmer for 4-5 minutes until the vegetables are cooked to your liking.
Meanwhile, prepare the udon noodles according to packet directions. Usually soaking them in boiling water for a minute is enough to loosen them. Divide between the bowls and pour soup over.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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Please help Vegie Smugglers, my child only eats…

April 11, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged cooking techniques, feeding the family, ideas, parenting, recipe, vegetables

Four thumbs up for Vegie Smugglers... hurrrahhhh!!!!!

For the sake of entertainment, I usually keep this blog deliberately light and fun, figuring that healthy food is best delivered with good times. But today I’m going to be serious. No truly, not a single joke, not a single bad pun. Why? Well over on the Facebook page I’ve had a recent influx of pleas for help from parents desperately bound and beaten by food wars with their children. I help where I can, but thought it timely to write a post on strategies to help solve your mealtime dramas. I’ll cover some basics and finish up with a real world example of how to apply it all.

OK! Let’s start with some basic vegie-smuggling thoughts and strategies…

1. It is possible to get your children excited about eating vegetables.
2. You have to tempt them with delicious smells, sights and flavours.
3. The techniques you need to do it are simple.
4. Commitment is needed from the parents – change isn’t always easy.
5. BUT! You’ll be so pleased that you made the effort once you’ve created a new habit of happy mealtimes.

Let’s look in detail…

1. Believe that you can make the change in your family.

I’ll be the example. Two horribly fussy kids. One ate only pasta, fruit & cheese, the other only meat & potatoes. Both now happily eat (nearly) anything. It’s possible. You can do it. And then you can start a fabulous blog and write gorgeous cookbooks.

2. You are going to tempt and lure your kids.

With food that smells great while it’s cooking, looks great when they sit down and is SO delicious when they take a bite that they won’t want to reject it.

3. Simple kitchen techniques can turn it all around.

Prepare ingredients wisely and introduce them to your family slowly.

I encourage you to do whatever you need to do to introduce new vegetables in a positive way. While I’m not a fan of hiding cooked and mashed vegies (too many wasted nutrients), if this is the only way they will be currently tolerated, then this is the place to start. My preference is to smuggle vegies by grating them or chopping them finely. Peel things like zucchinis first if your kids have a vehement hatred of green bits. Gradually the kids will become more tolerant and you will have to do less and less to hide stuff. The end goal of course, is to have children (and husbands) who happily accept everything.

Smuggle & don’t smuggle.

My recipes contain a combination of visible and invisible vegetables. Dinners serve a dual purpose – sneak in enough invisible vegies to solve the immediate nutrition concerns, and also present visible vegies to get the kids understanding that healthy food is part of the everyday.

Often food is a power play. Kids will pick out the visible stuff and think they’ve won the war. That’s fine, because the rest of the dinner they’re eating is also full of healthy stuff, so really you’ve won (keep your smugness to yourself). Getting a picky kid to happily sit and eat a chunk of cauliflower will take time. While you’re waiting for that miracle, you can relax knowing that their nutritional needs are being met.

4. Tackling change with your kids is tricky and requires patience and commitment from the parents.

Your child is not going to go from eating plain pasta to lentil soup overnight.

But you can serve their pasta with a dish of roast capsicum sauce to dip into. Soon, you might be able to serve the sauce on top. Then you can add some grated carrot. Gradually you’ll be able to work your way outwards, incorporating more and more ingredients and flavours.

It’s essential to keep your menus interesting (and new).

Please don’t serve the same thing every week. When parents say, “they only eat…”, it means that they’ve been browbeaten into only serving those things because they can’t deal with the dramas of trying to serve anything else.

The early days of introducing new foods can be tough. You need to persevere and get to the point where the kids are used to variety and unfamiliar food items. Get them used to leaving their food comfort zone and avoid the “I don’t eat that” food battle.

Don’t be put off by the tough times.

Not every new meal will have your children dancing with joy. Sometimes they will refuse food and they will have to go hungry. This is unpleasant. But hold firm – I never cook a second meal for my kids. If they’ve genuinely tried something (not trying is NEVER an option – our deal is TWO big bites) and they don’t like it, they can have some bread and butter or a banana. They won’t starve. It just means that they’ll be hungrier (and hopefully more open-minded) tomorrow. Hang in there, you will crack them.

5. And it’s worth cracking them.

I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to sit having a happy mealtime with your children, watching them munch away on something adventurous. It’s a battle worth fighting, because you are giving them a gift – a love of good food and healthy eating habits that will last them a lifetime.

So here’s our real world scenario from Zoe…

“Hi, my 3 year old son is a very fussy eater, the only things he eats are – pasta, schnitzel, nutella, cream cheese, butter sandwiches, it’s been like this for nearly a year, how do I change it.”

Start with what he does eat and work outwards.

He likes pasta. So try this orange sauce – serve it on the side the first time if necessary. Move onto a bolognaise. If he likes the bolognaise, try it in toasties and pop it into baked potatoes. Then move onto cannelloni or lasagne.

He likes cream cheese. So make these salmon pikelets (leave the green stuff out first time) and coat them with a generous slather of cream cheese as a lure.

He likes bread. So try these oat & banana pancakes, or these cheese puffs, or this okonomiyaki, or this frittata. You’re trying to break his narrow-minded approach and get him eating a wider variety of stuff. Then push further and further.

He likes schnitzel. So try this healthy schnitzel in a wrap. Add a bit of vegie dip.

And the nutella? Well, I’m really sorry, but that has to go. Remember, from now on, the parents are dictating the menu. Nutella offers you very little nutrition and keeps his palate trained to sweet stuff. Kids are still allowed to love treats and eat chocolate, but not everyday.

Once he’s making progress and eating a wider range of healthy stuff, surprise him with this beetroot & chocolate brownie. No one says food can’t be fun.

So I hope that helps. Remember, if you’re having ongoing concerns about your child’s health, please see your doctor. I’m a mum, not a nutritionist and can’t give any sort of medical advice.

And with a disclaimer given, I will just whisper from one parent to another, that Vegie Smuggling works, and you should try it. And it’s not just me; you can read testimonials here, about what other parents have to say.

Back to poo jokes next week, promise.

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Vegetable subterfuge (and when to tell the kids the truth)

April 3, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, News, Red meat, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged beef, freezer, mealtime, parenting, recipe, vegetables

Admittedly, the placement is poorly thought through.

Turns out that Mr Meat & Potatoes has been in the habit of overshooting the toilet and weeing in the plastic bathroom bin. Doing its job well, the swing-lid has been closing post-stream and I’ve been none the wiser. Now, without revealing too much about my lax home-making abilities, I had noticed a smell but thought I’d just give it a few more days before investigating. You know, in case it was going to fade away all by itself and my intervention was unnecessary.

It didn’t though. The smell got stronger, almost to the point of rancid and then I realised I was going to have to do something about it.

So I sniffed about and there in the bottom of the bin was a puddle of urine that dated back several days.

I wondered if this was my little boy’s subconscious way of getting back at me for all of the vegetables that I’ve hidden in his food over the years. Perhaps his angelic little face is hiding a brain that is secretly ranting, “and this hidden piss mum, THIS is what I really think of all of your hidden zucchini”. Or perhaps I’m just reading a bit too much into it?

Often I get asked about how much subterfuge goes into my meals. Do I TELL my kids what they’re really eating?

The answer is yes and no. When they first sit down and see something pleasing and smell something delicious, I’m not going to kill the mood by blurting, “hope you enjoy the mushrooms”. But once they’re finished, or if they ask mid-meal, I happily let them know what ingredients they’re gobbling up. Since I’m past the emergency, early days of absolute food rejection, I’ve now moved onto food education, which is a really important second stage. I need my kids to know now, that a meal is more than a single ingredient. That even an ingredient that they don’t THINK they like, can be combined with other ingredients in truly tasty ways that they DO like.

So yes, I DO tell my kids what they’re eating. It’s a vital part of teaching them that healthy food is part of the every day and something to be celebrated and enjoyed. And once your kids are eating a wider range of meals, it’s a good time to start with the wider education at your place. Get them talking ingredients, teach them how to choose good produce, encourage them to help out with little tasks in the kitchen.

And perhaps one day soon, they’ll even be big enough to start cleaning the bathroom.

Wee little meatloaves (boom tish!!).

Individual meat loaves

These are an easy to make vegie-smuggling basic. They store in the fridge for several days, can be cut up for sandwiches or wraps and crumbled into baked potatoes. And they freeze really well too.

Canola oil cooking spray
2 slices multigrain bread
1 carrot, peeled, roughly chopped
1 zucchini, roughly chopped
Handful of green beans, ends removed, halved
3 spring onions, roughly chopped
2 frozen chopped spinach cubes (about 50g), thawed, OR a big handful of English spinach, finely chopped
500g beef mince
2 tbsp tomato chutney
1 tsp soy sauce
(optional)
1 egg
Black pepper

Preheat oven to 180C. Spray a 12-hole muffin pan with cooking spray and line with paper cases.

Use a stick blender to do the chopping for you. Start with the bread. Make your breadcrumbs and add to your mixing bowl. Then chop the carrots then zucchini, then the beans and spring onions, adding to a mixing bowl each time.

Use your hands to combine the remaining ingredients. Divide the mix into 12 portions and press firmly into your muffin tray.

Bake for 20 minutes or until browned on top and cooked through. Serve with salad, steamed corn cobs and tomato sauce.

MAKES 12

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Leaving it all behind

March 30, 2012 · Filed under Craft for non-crafty parents · Tagged craft, ideas, parenting, school

'B' is for 'behind', 'beyond' and 'blocked'.

I love the parenting truth that once a stage or phase has passed, you totally move on and forget all about it. Or perhaps block it out of your memory, depending on how awful it was. Like the entire first eight weeks of having a newborn. Or the four months that I had ongoing mastitis (and a dependence on cabbage leaves). Or the 4.30am wake up stage, which lasted for a year or two (now of course, I can’t really remember specifics).

When you’re in the middle of these stages, they feel eternal. You are obsessed with them, googling specific questions like “3 month old baby poos only green moss-like substance”. Luckily someone else, somewhere in the world, has already had these issues and usually there are a stack of relevant answers to advise you. God knows what people did before the internet.

For a solid year, Mr Meat & Potatoes had night terrors. It was harrowing. Despite all my research that told me there was nothing we could do about it, and that it would pass and that there was no point trying to sooth him, we spent hours in his room, for nights on end, trying to pat, cuddle and talk away the unsoothable. It was a particular parenting lowlight that had us almost broken with lack of sleep and worry. But sure enough, in the space of two weeks it stopped. And we’ve never had to go back to it. Although on the rare occasion my children cry in the night, my heart immediately begins thumping and I feel the adrenalin surge again.

So too, now that Mr M&P is in kindy, I haven’t given school readiness another thought. Which is funny since last year I was so focused on it and made so many worksheets for him.

Possibly your kids were too young for them last year and you didn’t notice them. But this year, perhaps it’s your turn to focus on scissors and pencil grip and the alphabet. So here’s a rehash, of some of the sheets that I needed last year, that you might need now.

A lovely easy start to learning with some fun ‘spot the difference’ type visual discrimination pages…

Is your little monster ready for school?

Basic scissors & numbers here…

A Midnight Oils album cover? Maybe not, but numbers 1-10 nonetheless

Basic alphabet sheet here…

Don't worry, the actual download is perfectly alphabetical.

More scissor work (with a certificate) here…

Another award to stick on the fridge....

Basic shapes…

Because a circle is always MORE than just a circle

Some numbers and colours here in a pixel colour-by-numbers…

What will it be??? You'll have to download to see!

And no, I never did finish off the detailed alphabet sheets. On a quiet day I will though, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here are letters A-F, letters G-L and letters M-R.

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When did kids turn into such monsters?

March 26, 2012 · Filed under News · Tagged kids, parenting

Who else is volunteering at school these days?

With more time on my hands, I’ve put my name down for all sorts of things around school this year – reading groups being one of them. It’s proving to be an… um…. interesting experience.

Each Monday by 10am, I stumble out of the kindy room, slightly shell-shocked and desperately needing a cup of tea and a lay down.

I know naughty kids have always existed, but it does seem as though there are so MANY of them these days. Admittedly, the boisterous behaviour seems to have settled down by year 2 (I do reading with them another day), but the kindy kids are BLOWING MY MIND. Today, a boy was hitting me. I asked him to settle down, did all the ‘good’ parenting strategies, then ended up just wanting to smack him. I pointed out that he should be showing his best behaviour when there’s a guest in the classroom. “You’re not a guest, you’re just a mum”.

When and HOW did five year olds get so rude and disobedient?

I’d like to think it’s good parenting that has seen my kids grow up as lovely little people. But I’m not that smug and suspect that good luck has had quite a bit to do with it. Although I do maintain that good nutrition plays a major role. I’d love to know what these revolting little kids have eaten for breakfast – they just seem so out of control.

Afterwards, a mum of 3 and I debriefed. Both of us remember being incredibly awed and respectful of parents (our own and others). We decided that if we could pinpoint the moment, or the social change or value shift that altered this, we’d make a fortune. So what do you think it is? What has created this new normal of fearless kids who lack respect and are almost uncontrollable?

And PS, teachers, I love you ALL. You are all saints, and I thank you for your commitment to shaping the next generation. It’s astonishingly hard work.

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Um on Cake

March 17, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, parenting, recipe, vegetables

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

BAKED CHICKEN NUGGETS

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

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I give you permission to stop (why there’s a difference between being busy and having purpose)

March 13, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News · Tagged chicken, dinner, family, freezer, parenting, recipe, vegetables

A deck worth stopping on.

There’s nothing but sunshine and autumn brilliance in Sydney this morning. It’s a heart lifting respite after a miserable summer and to celebrate I drank a cup of tea out on my glorious and rarely-used-during-the-week deck. Why rarely used? Because, of course, I am usually too busy to stop and enjoy it. Too busy packing lunches, filling book orders, ironing shirts, getting sucked into the internet, marketing my business, hanging washing, trialing recipes, filling in forms, listening to readers, finding new freelance design clients, worrying about finances, volunteering at reading groups, reading my emails, making cookbooks, texting, organizing play dates, being a taxi, doing hair, correcting manners, blogging, chasing bargains, checking my email, viewing blog stats, baking cakes, fixing toys, paying bills, removing stains, networking… STOP! STOP! STOP! STOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPP! And I complain that my children are fidgets.

I’m a big fan of social researcher Rebecca Huntley. She usually has interesting points to make and she expresses them in such blunt, accessible terms. On the radio talking with Richard Glover on International Women’s Day, she discussed recent qualitative research done with young mothers. Pervading all aspects of parenting was a self-imposed guilt (about everything) and our compulsive need to make ourselves busy. As if busy-ness equals purpose, we never give ourselves a moment’s rest.

I am a prime example of this, but with the recent departure of Mr M&P off to school, I am now confronted with the gap between being busy and having purpose. With a full 5 hours of totally self-directed time in my day I find myself at a bit of a loss. There’s too much thinking time in it. Too much time to contemplate my life, my (increasing) age, my foibles.

In typical modern-day style, I’ve been contemplating a return to the more structured workforce, so that life can return to the maniacal pace that seems more psychologically comfortable. So I can be like all of the other overstressed parents who are so important that they’re never in the playground but have more crucial places to be.

Yes, I know, overscheduling simply postpones the existential contemplation of life, but doesn’t solve it.

When’s the last time you had a true moment of reflection? What did you discover in the process? If you haven’t stopped for a while, today, I’m giving you permission to just sit and think. I’d like to hear how you go – is it easy or difficult is it for you to do?

I know of course, that you’ll struggle to do it when you have SO MUCH TO DO. Therefore, today’s recipe is one to make ahead and pop in the fridge; ready to reheat when you need it. With dinner done, you’ll have a moment to stop and look within and see what’s there.

Anyway, my thinking time is up. Just heard the washing machine beeping… life calls and continues on.

Turn off the TV, just sit and eat in silence tonight. Can you do it?

Vegie & chicken tagine

1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
1 leek, finely chopped
500–600g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed
1 zucchini, finely chopped (peel if your kids won’t eat green)
½ eggplant, finely diced (peel if you prefer)
4 tomatoes, diced
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp turmeric (for colour)
1 tbsp honey
Large handful of sultanas

To serve:
Steamed couscous
Flaked almonds
Chopped parsley
Steamed peas

Heat the oil in a large saucepan (with a lid) over medium heat. Fry the onion and leek for 4–5 minutes until softening. Add the whole chicken pieces and cook on both sides until golden (it takes a few minutes each side).

Cook the zucchini, eggplant, tomato and spices. Stir well, cover, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes until everything is cooked through. Stir every 10 minutes or so to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom.

Add the honey and sultanas. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve over couscous, topped with almonds and parsley and accompanied by peas.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

First ever VS weekly menu plan (with a pretty shopping list)

March 8, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, News, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged feeding the family, mealtime, parenting, vegetables

At the risk of sounding very ‘organised housewife’, this post is a menu plan for next week. Despite urging emails, I’ve always avoided posts like this because they sound… so… well… bossy, really. You know, it’s YOUR house and eat whatever the hell you like, I say. But nonetheless, I’ve had enough requests now that I’m GONNA DO IT. And knowing how much I love a free printable, I’m even including a complete shopping list (complete with a key so you know what to buy for which meal).

Main problem devising a meal plan for strangers is that I don’t know your schedule. But I’m assuming that you’ve got a couple of days a week at home, and a few afternoons a week that are crazy busy and I’m suggesting dinners that you can move to whichever day fits best.

So here goes…

SATURDAY

Family dinner, or friends coming over? What about this Sang Choy Bao? It’s a messy, fun, communal dinner. Don’t know about you, but my mess tolerance is better on weekends, when I’m not trying to combine dinner with homework and tired children. And it’s a quick cook too, because you’ve probably spent the day at birthday parties or sport or (god forbid) Bunnings.

Lettuce delights for your munching pleasure

SUNDAY

Nice healthy Fish Pie tonight.

Mmmmmm, cauliflower

And while you’re hanging about the house in cooking mode, also make up a batch of Spag bol. It makes heaps so you can divide it up and pop some in the freezer for next week, and some in the fridge for Monday night.

I freeze this, pasta and all, in kid-sized serves

MONDAY

Spag bol.

TUESDAY

Another crazy day ahead? In the morning make up the mix for these Vegie & bean quesadillas.

Onions, carrot, capsicum, tomatoes, kidney beans, avocado. YUM.

Then they’re easy to whip up once you get home from swimming or tennis or dance or whatever other activity you’ve just sat through (as if you have nothing better to do with your time than sit on an uncomfortable bench or wait in the car for the afternoon). Of course, if you meat-free Monday, then you really should have cooked these yesterday.

WEDNESDAY

Got a moment to cook today? What about this chicken & vegie pasta soup?

vegie smugglers chicken pasta and vegetable soup

Pasta, chicken and bacon amongst the vegies...

Maybe you’ve been feeling excessive love for your little gorgeouses today and have indulged them with these berry and oat muffins… awwwwww mum… you’re the best!

Ready for this arvo & tomorrow (if there are any left).

THURSDAY

Use up all the soggy vegies in this Vegetable Slice. Leftover are good in wraps for lunch on Friday.

Working the soggy contents of the crisper drawer.

FRIDAY

Zzzzzzzz…. What! Sorry! You want dinner AGAIN? See I’ve lost interest tonight, which is just what I discussed last week in ON THE SEVENTH DAY. Toast, pizza muffins, something else will do.

And here’s the shopping list to download. Best thing about the list is that it shows you just how many vegies your kids are going to eat this week! Hope this helps.

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Don’t forget that you can buy an e-book of meal plans at the shop.

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ON THE SEVENTH DAY (A serious case of the ‘can’t be bothered’s)

March 1, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Ham/pork, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged eggs, feeding the family, parenting, recipe

A dinner to cook when you're not cooking dinner.

A while back I surveyed a few of you to find out more about your cooking habits. Admittedly, it was probably completed by those of you who enjoy being in the kitchen (so is statistically a total sham), but I thought it was interesting to see how often each week you make dinner.

Not a single family reported that they cook every night of the week. Most reported cooking (in some semblance) 6 nights with a takeaway on the 7th (which was usually pizza).

I think this is an outstanding effort! Well done all of you who manage to put a homemade meal on the table 6 nights a week!

This fits the pattern at my place. ON THE SEVENTH DAY I have no motivation or intention to cook anything. For us, that night is Friday night. At about 4pm I come down with the most severe case of ‘I’ve-been-cooking-all-week-and-all-I-will-reach-for-from-the-fridge-now-is-wine’ and the children’s hunger becomes extremely uninteresting to me.

But the pesky little rascals still need to be fed.

Seeing as we submitted to the mega-mortgage last year, any decent takeaway is a bit too $$$ for the budget (and despite my temporarily uninspired state, I still can’t face giving them the nasty takeaway options on a regular basis) so I opt for the cheap and cheerful ‘cooking when you’re not cooking’ options which can be made in 10 minutes from start to clean up.

High on the list is toasties. Multigrain bread, cheese, avocado, a bit of whatever vaguely slimy cold meat is left from the week and I’ll even sneak in a bit of tomato.

Muffin ‘pizzas’ are popular too, and even a bowl of baked beans/spaghetti combo with toast soldiers.

But ever since our trip to the country, but kids are HUGE fans of eggs. I have embraced them like a new best friend.

So pretty they are, full of protein, minerals and iron (and cholesterol – but kids don’t need to worry about that). And they’re so easy to cook. Boiled with soldiers is always a hit, and when I’m feeling a bit fancy, I roll out these…

Ham & egg yummies

2 slices ham, chopped
4–8 cherry tomatoes
100g roasted capsicums and/or zucchini
4 eggs
Handful of grated cheese
Parsley leaves

Divide the ham, tomatoes and capsicum between four shallow ovenproof dishes. Crack over the egg (whisked or whole is up to you). Scatter with cheese and black pepper.

Preheat grill to medium and cook for 3–4 minutes until the egg is set. Serve with parsley and fresh bread or toast soldiers.

MAKES 4