Think colours and textures when planning your meals.
Some people find it really hard to think of dinner plans for the week and end up making something quick, easy and nutrition-less. I have a simple philosophy which will have your kids (or fussy partners) eating a massive range of fruits, veg, nuts and seeds. Plan your meals to consist of multiple coloured vegetables, something soft and something crunchy, something sweet and something salty. I literally rock up to the fruit and veg store and buy bunch of different coloured veg for the week, a variety of meats and work it out later. Just follow these instructions below:
Step 1: Choose your favourite vegetable combo (see below for ideas), remembering to choose a variety of different colours. Peel and cut the veg and place in a baking tray.
Step 2: Sprinkle spices over the veg and chuck in the oven for 40-50mins at 180degC fan forced.
Step 3: Make the dressing in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Step 4: Get a nice big bowl, put a bunch of baby spinach in there (to your liking), add the oven-baked vegetables and then add the ‘staple’ salad ingredients.
Step 5: Pour dressing over the top and toss to combine.
Finish off by adding:
A side of grilled pork cutlets/ chicken breast, slow cooked lamb/ beef or fish
A dollop of hummus, yogurt, tahini yogurt or beetroot relish (or combo)
A sprinkle of your favourite seeds (linseed, pepitas, sunflower) and crushed nuts (pistachios, almonds, cashews)
A few sprigs of parsley, mint and coriander
Other optional additions could be: chickpeas, quinoa, freekah and lentils.
And ‘voila’ you’ve created the perfect meal with every food group and jam-packed with vitamins and minerals. There’s so much flavour, your fussy peeps won't even know what they’re eating. It tastes so bloody great! And the health rating for this meal is through the roof. I love food and there’s no reason why it has to be unhealthy!
RECIPE
Oven baked vegetable combos:
Beetroot, Sweet potato & green beans
Eggplant, pumpkin & kale
Mixed carrots (purple, orange, yellow), purple sweet potato & cauliflower
Mixed beetroot (purple, yellow, orange), pumpkin & cauliflower
Spices:
Salt pepper
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Sumac
All spice
(Sprinkle the spices according to your desired preference. I am a littler more generous on sumac and all spice).
Salad (staple ingredients):
Spinach
Feta (or ricotta, bocconcini, cottage)
Crushed nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews)
Seeds (linseed, sunflower, pepitas)
Dried cranberries (or fig, pomegranate, dates, currants – depending what’s in season)
Dressing:
Olive oil - 2 tablespoons
Lemon - 1/2 squeezed
White wine vinegar (or red wine) - 2 tablespoons
Wholegrain mustard - 1 heaped teaspoon
Honey - 1 heaped teaspoon
(Once again I’m a little easy-going on the exact measurements, any combo will work lovely, you can play around with what I’ve recommended).
Read my blog “rainbow goodness” to understand the health benefits behind it all.
