Healthy family meals

[SisterNight]

After reading a recent Guardian article about ultra processed food I've decided that our family diet needs an overhaul. Can anyone give me some recipe inspiration please?

I use all the change4life recipes, as well as these:
hidden veg pasta sauce
Woolton pie
mushroom carbonara
chicken and broccoli risotto
pea and ricotta fritters

Chilli con carne is a family favourite in our house. I've made it so many times now that I just do it my own way but I'm sure there must be some good recipes online.

The same to homemade beef burgers.

Stir fries are quick and easy.

I like making chicken and leek pie, I found the recipe in a Jamie Oliver cook book.

Salmon, chorizo and new potatoes with some veg is good.

A pasta bake sauce can be made from scratch using tinned chopped tomatoes, Creme fraiche, seasoning however you like it, onions and garlic. The pasta bake itself can then be topped with tuna or bacon.

I sometimes find nice things on bbc good food or YouTube.

Good luck

The feed your family for £20 book is good for ideass

I've never heard of woolton pie before, it looks nice thanks. I'll check out YouTube too, I didn't even think of that.

Chicken and gnocchi soup is a current favourite here.

Chicken (obviously), as much or as little as you like
Carrots, celery, and onion all chopped
Three cloves garlic
Tsp each of basil, parsley, celery salt
Pinch of nutmeg
Enough chicken stock to cover everything
Spinach, a good big handful
Bag of gnocchi

Put everything except the spinach and the gnocchi in the slow cooker until the vegetables are softened and the chicken is cooked (around 4-5hrs on low). Add the spinach and gnocchi for the last half hour. Sometimes I add a bit of dried broth mix at the start if I have any, other times I add a bit of cream at the end, it's also nice without the chicken and just use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

Even ultra fussy DS eats the components of it although he doesn't do sauce so he has plain carrots and celery, plain chicken, and spinach and gnocchi all on a plate.

Some good ideas on this video op. Emily Norris is also good.

I've bought the two Pinch of Nom cookbooks and there are lots of family friendly recipes in them.

We are a family of meat eaters and when we had vegetarian friends coming recently I had a quick search and found this fajita recipe.

Now my family ask for them all of the time, including DD who’s first question usually is “where’s the chicken”?

Have you thought of trying a Gousto box too?

Some of ours are -
Chicken curry
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/home-style-chicken-curry
Burgers and potato wedges
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/homemade-burgers-sweet-potato-wedges
Shepherds pie with hidden veg
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/hidden_vegetables_05418
One pan roast dinner

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/one-pan-roast-dinner
One pan salmon and veg

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/one-pan-salmon-roast-asparagus

We also like lots of simple pasta dishes and dhal with rice.

following

Paprika chicken, courgette and pepper skewers
Tuna steaks with balsamic reduction sweet potato wedges, green beans and broccoli.
Salmon parcels with chilli, garlic, ginger and spring onion with stir fried veg.
Mixed veg chilli with rice
Oven baked butternut squash and chickpea falafel with pita and salad
Mediterranean veg frittata
Peppers stuffed with cous cous and Mediterranean veg topped with breadcrumbs and mozerella.
Pasta bake with a sauce made from chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, peppers and kidney beans.
Jack Monroe’s carrot and kidney bean burgers
Tuna and sweet potato fish cakes
Pasta arabiata
Pasta with cream cheese, peas, sweetcorn and smoked salmon
Lentil dhal with rice
Chicken fajitas with guacamole and salsa
Homemade pizza

I don’t know how old your children are - mine are still small so we tend to eat at different times to them.
I still make pasta sauces from the Annabel Karmel books which have lots of hidden veg - I make in big batches and freeze in ice cube trays - I then just reheat cubes from frozen.
Chicken chopped and marinaded in honey and soy can be thrown with noodles/micro rice and a bag of frozen veggies for another quick meal
I also make bolognese or lasagne for whole family as well as roast dinners
BBC good food have the best cottage pie and chilli recipe - great for batch cooking and freezing
Tesco recipes have an amazing and quick salmon fried rice recipe

I also want to say good on you! We were bad eaters (children ate healthily but we didn’t) by cutting right down on processed food and takeaways I slimmed down a lot and I feel a lot better too!

I prefer to look through a cookery book rather than try to browse online. There are so many recipes online it's impossible tI narrow it down! The library is a great place to find recipe books and magazines for free ideas, and then just photocopy or take a photo of ones you like.

The Ella's Kitchen books are good for kids and adults, Pinch of nom (although they do sometimes use processed stuff like sweetener instead of sugar so may need some swaps)

I like bringing the odd cookery book home from the library too Rhyming

forgot to add, with the Woolton pie I add a gravy and you can make with turkey too. a women has added in the comments section changes she has made to the recipe x