What are your smuggest I am a perfect mother super healthy recipes?

[Varfalli34]

My DS's nursery are not the healthiest when it comes to food so am trying to compensate when it comes to dinner.

To be clear I am not constantly shoving spinach down his throat, we very often have things like homemade pizzas, lasagne with some veg, it's all a balance etc etc. I know that things like this are perfectly good.

But am interested to hear what everyone makes for their kids when they are in need of something really really virtuous and quinoaish.

Nigella's minestrone is a good tomato-less option.

They look like lovely minestrones- and better portioned , as mine feeds two adults and two toddlers usually, so probably needs more. But, why is the nigella recipe cooking the cabbage for so long? Surely it would be stringy slime? Perhaps I've read it wrong.

Hmm not sure - my friend cooks that one often for us for lunch so it's not one I have cooked a lot myself (have made it once or twice though and it is really good) Can't honestly remember when the cabbage goes in. You could add at the end with the beans I am sure.

Thanks for all the minestrone recipes. :)

Ah ha! My favourite subject......I make these all the time for my 3:

Healthy Flapjacks no butter/syrup/sugar

Chicken Noodles adapted from a Jamie O recipe (I leave out the chillies for kids)

tomato sauce/soup so easy, super cheap and very healthy, just bung lentils & tinned tomatoes in a saucepan with some extra seasoning

Oaty Biscuits my Gran's recipe. Just butter, sugar, flour & oats.

Here's another good one from BBC Good Food website:

Chicken Jambalaya

I adapt it:

• I call it 'barbeque chickeny rice' (Jambalaya would not be received well)
• increase the fibre with wholegrain rice (so takes about 40mins to cook) - more veg with extra tin of tomatoes & tomato puree
• double the peppers and onion (grate onion to hide it from DD1).
• Cajun seasoning can be a bit on the spicy side for children, so I add 2 teaspoons each of smoked paprika and oregano.

Smoothie: when hungry between meals and being difficult about eating a piece of fruit...the frozen berries make it like an ice-cream smoothie.

200ml milk (cow's/almond/rice/oat etc.)
handful frozen berries (I use Sainsbury's Basics as far cheaper than fresh)
ripe banana
teaspoon of honey

Whizz up with a hand blender.
DD2 is prone to constipation so may put teaspoon of ground flaxseed in hers, works wonders!

Another one here for lentil and veg soup made thick with shredded kale in it.

I intend to live on it for next six weeks to lose weight for holidays...

Risotto with quinoa, spinach, broccoli, mushroom, peas and sweetcorn, they love it!

Quinoa is much nicer cooked in with rice than on its own imo

Going to add kale chips to the veg crisps i do at the moment (Beetroot and carrot). I do find I have to package them enticingly though. My DC very fickle, one day love all veg the next would the carefully picking out just the pasta pieces from the minestrone and eating nothing else.

Impressed with all these veg eating kids. My DC accept some raw (peppers, carrots, celery, cucumber, lettuce) but can't abide anything cooked. Any suggestions?

Thanks PP!

Grilled salmon with vegetables. My DDs eat it plain but DH and I put sweet chilli dipping sauce on top.

Mingin I know all proper perfect mums say they never hide vegetables as they have just normalised them from the start but I don't think that is always realistic (children always have other influences!) So I always try and operate on a three veg policy in meals which has one 'hidden' (something like grated up or blended carrots in a bolognese) one partly hidden (like spinach that's chopped up really fine so it is clearly there, they can see the green etc so hopefully learning not to eschew green things but aren't pervasive in taste and texture and then one unhidden e.g. proper lumps of sweet potato or maybe another vegetable on the side. Might that help to gradually get them into it?

DS loves spinach and chickpea curry. One onion, sweated, add a tablespoon of curry paste (or curry powder/blend your own spices), one tin of tomatoes, one tin of chickpeas. Simmer for a bit, then add a bag of spinach and stir in until wilted. So quick and easy and it freezes well too.
He's also a big fan of lentil and vegetable soup. I make big batches to use up veg that's going soft. It's especially good with a bit of cheese on toast.

I really want to make kale chips now! I love kale.

Chicken and potatoes in the oven with olive oil and oregano accomapanied with greek salad. OK the kids just pick out the cheese and cucumber but what the hell it looks good.

A three veg policy? I think you're already there on perfect mothering to be fair.

I cut a carrot into batons, lay it on tin foil, put a piece of salmon on top, wrap and bake. I serve this with couscous as it is very easy, but I could think of healthier options and I'll be trying quinoa soon because dd has stopped eating the cous cous.

I think raw veg is fine - it's healthier than cooked, sounds like a good salad and I'd probably try and build on that.
Tbh I usually cook food primarily for taste, I weaned the dcs on international style food rather than pieces of meat and veg, so they have always been used to eating more exotic food and they have always eaten what the adults have eaten....but I have modified what I cook in light of this.
I still long for the day when I can cook fennel, aubergine, mushroom and an obscene amount of chilli pepper but celebrating the successes this year we've moved to leek and boiled ham frittata, asparagus and a onion and caper dressing for fish - that was a big surprise, vinegar is finally acceptable and they will now eat cooked salmon - previously it was just sushi or smoked!

I have also embarked on a fish challenge this year. I only buy it from a fishmonger, where the freshness is not in doubt and every week we try a different fish dish, the dcs are losing all fear of trying different kinds because as long as the fish is really fresh, it tastes mild and doesn't smell.

The salad challenge is next on the horizon, I've tried it before and failed but I have a good feeling we might be in luck, given the final acceptance of vinegar.

Made some fantastic fish fingers a few weeks back. Whizzed up some toast (I used white but next time I'll use our normal bread which is wholemeal with seeds), paprika, mustard powder and Parmesan to coat the fish in. DCs had fun and they were honestly the nicest I've ever had (ie I wasn't just saying that because the DCs made them :o)

They sound great fuzzpig, homemade fish fingers is definitely on our fish challenge list, as is fish cakes.

Ah now I am rubbish at making fish cakes. Definitely need a foolproof recipe for those.

And OP I don't think there's anything wrong with hiding veg :o gets more variety into DS who would otherwise only eat cucumber, carrot and broccoli. In a tomato sauce with pasta though he will eat it no matter what I've put in it.

Surely hiding veg is fine when the kids are too young to be satisfactorily bribed into eating more fruit and veg? Hell, I'm an adult and I'm happier with most of my veg being hidden in sauces

A fish challenge is a great idea, mine could all do with more fish.

Veg chips is also a hit here. Carrots, parsnips, celeriac and squash cut into chips and baked. The dc call them rainbow chips although the super health status is somewhat lost in copious amounts if ketchup.

Buckwheat noodles, black beans from a can (rinsed), diced tomatoes, sweetcorn, peas and diced mango. My lot wolfed this down last night.

I add chilli flakes and fresh coriander to mine and DH's. Everyone happy.