AsiaLIFE

For many parents, feeding our children is the most stressful aspect of parenting. We tend to associate meal times with battles over control, bribes we later regret, left over food and a lot of mess. Georgie Treasure-Evans offers a few vegetarian ideas to bring the fun back into family meals.

A common misperception in many countries is that children like their food plain and easily distinguishable. In Cambodia this can be rice porridge. Where I come from, fish fingers, alphabet chips and tiny frozen vegetables spring to mind – with plenty of tomato sauce on the side. You may find it hard to imagine your kids eating the necessary pulses and leafy vegetables to replace the iron, protein and vitamins that we get from meat and fish, but they will, if you make the food interesting enough.

The reality is that most young children love strong flavours and will happily eat whatever their parents do, allowing for personal preferences. Resistance at meal times usually has more to do with how they are feeling than with the food itself. When children are ill, tired, upset or over excited, their appetites are often the first things to go. The best advice I received for dealing with meal times was to relax, let go and trust that your children will eat what they need when they need it. Offer everything in small helpings and allow them to create a little mess as well. Give them some of the much sought after control they so rarely experience in their young lives. And make it fun!

Child-friendly Vegetarian Recipes

The tried and tested recipes below are just a start, to get your own creative juices flowing. Enjoy the process as much as the result. Remember that small kids love to cook and are more likely to eat what they have helped to make. Let them help you chop soft vegetables, grate cheese, crush the garlic, and lick the bowl. If you are in a hurry give them some pots and their own ingredients and let them make messy mixtures on the floor.

Lentil Bolognaise (vegan)
Ingredients: 2 cups green lentils / mung beans, red & yellow split peas, 2 onions, 1 clove garlic, fresh vegetables, 2 tins chopped tomatoes, seasoning, fresh thyme, oregano, cheese (optional)
Preparation: Soak green lentils or mung beans over night.
Cook red and yellow split peas from dried. Tinned lentils are a quick alternative.
Fry chopped onions and garlic in a large pan with olive oil until soft.
Add chopped carrot/courgette/pepper/aubergine/mushrooms (any or all as desired) and lentils. Fry for another minute.
Stir in vegetable stock and simmer for about 40 minutes, adding stock until the lentils are soft. Add tomatoes and season to taste. Add fresh thyme and oregano.
Make plenty and freeze excess for later. It’s ideal as a sauce for pasta or baked potatoes, with cheese on top, or topped with mashed potato (sweet and normal) and baked as shepherd’s pie.

Ten-minute Green Spaghetti
Ingredients: 2 cups spinach, cream / cream cheese, nutmeg, pasta, cheese
Preparation: Purée some steamed fresh or frozen spinach.
Add a bit of cream or cream cheese and grated nutmeg to taste.
Pour over pasta and pile grated cheese on top.

Spinach Quiche
Ingredients: Short-crust pastry, spinach, feta cheese, 3 eggs, ½ pint milk, 1tsp. English mustard
Preparation: Find a short crust pastry recipe and follow, or buy ready-made from Veggys, on Street 240.
Score pastry with a knife, line quiche dish with the pastry, and bake for 10 minutes.
Fill with steamed spinach and cubes of feta.
Beat eggs with milk and mustard. Pour mix on pastry. Grate black pepper on one side for adults.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Spinach is a great source of iron but you can replace it with any vegetable you like.

Courgette Pasta
Ingredients: Courgette, pasta, sour cream, garlic, cheese, pine nuts / cashew nuts (optional)
Preparation: Get the kids to cut or grate courgettes. Steam and toss on favourite pasta shapes.
Add a little sour cream, crushed garlic and grated cheese on top. If desired add pine nuts or cashews for protein.

Peruvian Bean Stew with Feta
Ingredients: 1lb potato and 1lb pumpkin, 1 onion, and garlic, 1 chilli (optional) and 1tsp. cumin, 1 tin tomatoes, 1 cup of white beans (cannellini / lima / butter), 1 cup corn, 1 cup peas, feta cheese, fresh thyme, parsley, coriander
Preparation: Cube potato and pumpkin, and cook until nearly soft.
Fry onion and garlic, chilli (optional) and cumin. Add tomatoes. When the onion is soft stir in potato and pumpkin and a little water. Cook until soft.
Stir in white beans, corn and peas. Crumble feta cheese on top with lots of fresh thyme, parsley or coriander.
Eat with brown bread, rice or quinoa for a really high protein meal.

Hot ‘Chocolate’ Ice Cream Sauce
Ingredients: Prunes, dried apricots, bananas, vanilla ice cream / plain yoghurt
Preparation: Soak prunes and dried apricots in boiling water until soft. Blend with bananas and pour while hot over vanilla ice cream or plain yoghurt.
Tastes like chocolate caramel but is full of iron.

Enjoy!