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.

[Thurlow]

Lentil and vegetable soup. Ridiculously cheap too. If you leave it quite thick then I suppose you could call it a stew

Tbh, if I think DC has had a bad few days food wise then I'm more like to present a plate out oatcakes, cheese and vegetables, with just fruit for dessert!

[pregnantpause]

Minestrone. With tiny pasta shells (only 50g between the four of us) onions, courgettes, peas, carrot, tomatoes and sometimes cabbage. It's 80% veg. And they love it. If I haven't got pasta I use cannellini beans instead.

I make a lot of veg soups actually, and all make me bask in their health.

[Meglet]

It's not quite a recipe but mine will eat the kale crisps from the Gwyneth cookbook.

[Redcoats]

Making place for some ideas. Mine eat quite well anyway, but I'm looking for new ideas as I'm a bit bored.

Mine won't eat soup sadly.

[MrsGarvey]

Minestrone, Chilli, homemade guacamole (because shop bought tastes evil) with cucumber. Frittata.

[Mama1980]

Salmon, garlic, ginger, cannelloni beans, little olive oil mashed up and made into patties, bake for 15 mins. Serve with sweetcorn, carrots and peas.

[ShoeWhore]

I have a pot of Hugh F-W's North African Squash and Chickpea Stew bubbling away as we speak feeling ultra smug and perfect - after a weekend away of feasting mainly on chocolate, scones, roast lamb and chips (not on the same plate) I feel we are all in dire need of rebalancing

[ShoeWhore]

How do you make kale chips? Are they nice? Kale seems to be having a bit of a moment.

[PoppadomPreach]

quinoa Tabbouleh

Quinoa is known as pasta full-stops (even smugger as I make dinner educational

I also add salami and grated cheese to encourage them to eat it

[Crazy8]

I just made a lasagne with hidden carrots and spinach. They will never know

[grabaspoon]

Pasta peas smoked salmon and grated cheese all stored together.

[Crazy8]

Also regularly make smoothies with hidden vegetables that my children wouldn't normally want to eat.

[Varfalli34]

I tried kale chips once, my DS ate loads in one go loving the initial taste then it gave way to the bitter and he spat them all out. Does Gwyneths recipe get rid of that taste?

Feeling super smug as just did a fish pie for supper which had sweet potato and cauliflower in the mash, tomatoes grilled on top, leeks, grated carrot, sweet corn and peas in it!

I need to get mine into quinoa again, used to do it with a bit of homemade spinach pesto mixed in.

Def going to copy everyone's ideas, now to find the time...

My DS eats soup at nursery but not at home. I slightly suspect they just fill in any old thing on the what they ate form

[BritInTDot]

A warm roasted chicken and root veg (beetroot and butternut squash) salad with kale, sunflower seeds and a mustard vinaigrette

Broccoli and blue cheese soup with a raw kale salad

Pan fried salmon with a ginger, garlic, sesame seed, maple syrup, rice vinegar and soy drizzle, served with stir fried bok choy and coconut rice

spinach, raspberry and cucumber smoothies/kale chips/crudites for snacks (can you tell we love kale?! )

Pasta with a homemade spinach and basil pesto and a tomato and mozzarella salad

Chicken, pumpkin and coconut soup

I love cooking though and am passionate about quality ingredients, eating as little processed food as possible and getting a wide variety of tastes and nutrients. I'm not silly about it though, we eat out on occasion or order in and I don't fuss when we do. I'm lucky in that my kids like eating vegetables so I don't have to hide them in the food.

[MoreSkyThanWeNeed]

Quite chuffed with my sweet daal for tea tonight - baby loved it on rice cakes (organic and salt free obvs!)

[Fizzyplonk]

I put a couple handfuls of spinach in homemade burgers. Packed with iron!

[coffeetofunction]

Homemade fish cakes, sweet potatoes chips & peas

[insanelycheerful]

Actually enjoying reading this for some healthy meal inspiration. We do eat pretty healthily already, but always looking for new ideas!

Anyone care to share a good minestrone recipe? Pregnantpause yours sounded nice....

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

A second request for a minestrone recipe please, especially if it doesn't contain tinned tomatoes.

Dhal with a load of finely shredded spinach (or a few cubes of frozen) stirred in - spinach hating dd2 never even notices it.

Omelettes stuffed with a load of peppers, onions and mushrooms.

Vegetarian roast dinner with loads of vege - I reckon the shed-load of vege makes the Yorkshire puddings virtually sin-free.

Baked sweet potatoes with mango salsa

Roasted asparagus in an omelette

[Varfalli34]

What is the main event for a vegetarian roast dinner?

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Depends. Sometimes nothing - just have everything else / sometimes stuffed butternut squash or mushrooms / sometimes nut cutlets these ones are lovely for when feeling lazy.

[pregnantpause]

Oh, I don't really use a recipe I dice an onion ( two if I have a red and white), a celery stick, a carrot or two, a courgette, and about six - eight tomatoes. I fry the veg on low with a crushed garlic clove for ten minutes until soft, and tomatoes crushed and ' melted' down. I add thyme and oregano, plenty of black pepper. A litre and half of stock. Drop in a handful of tiny pasta , which will absorb half your stock so make sure there's enough. Shred your cabbage and add for the last five mins, along with your frozen peas. My dc love it and the veg varies widely dependant on what's in. And it can include beans if I'm short on veg/ very hungry, or just as a substitute for the pasta.
If your stock is good and herbs are fresh there's not far wrong to go with minestrone. Even if your herbs are dried and you have to use tinned toms it'll be nice.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Thanks, PP. Will deffo give that a go.

[Meglet]

The gwyneth kale crisps don't taste bitter. Although there is a fine line between being cooked and being burnt .

When I'm on my own I buy naice flipping expensive ready made ones from the health food shop, they use lemon and cashews to flavour them so I might try that next time.

[ShoeWhore]

I like Jamie Oliver's minestrone (note there is a typo - only need to cook for 2mins after adding tomatoes not 12!)