As soon as you have children you try to give them good nutrition. Every parent knows that this usually comes with varying degrees of success. After you've introduced solid foods, it's just a matter of trying it out. All new flavors take a while to get used to, some flavors are ehhh… faster than others. In the end you will have some insight into which meals are successful and which are less successful. But the question 'what shall we eat' remains a recurring question, especially if you have varying eaters. But my urge/need for variety for dinner now means that I eat the same thing all week…
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And with three children, there is always one who doesn't like something. I have agreed with them that there are meals that they do not really like and meals that they really do not like. This is possible, I don't like everything either. That should be possible. They know that they should just eat a not-really-tasty meal. And they can choose 1 or 2 meals that they really don't like. Then they get an alternative. But because I was happy that there were some good success meals in between, I've cooked these meals a lot over the years. And I'm tired of these meals now!
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Now I can't complain, because luckily my children like a lot of vegetables, but I really can't see green beans, spinach or broccoli anymore!!!! I want something different and the children can now expand their taste palette. The basis is now good, time to expand the menus and get some inspiration for what we will eat.
So I started looking for other kid friendly meals. It turns out I'm not the only one, because there are so many cookbooks and websites that advise parents and indicate that children really do like these recipes. Every time I make a selection in which I pay attention to what seems tasty to me and what has some familiar vegetables or a variant thereof, so that I can get used to it. With varying degrees of success, of course. Because the answer to what shall we eat is different for some people than for others.
I am by nature not a kitchen princess. So half of the meals don't work out as intended. My children are therefore regularly unhappy about my latest discoveries, even though I am quite satisfied with them. Well, I also expected it to be better and it could actually be better. But it didn't fail very much anyway. In case the meal turned out well, they often have to get used to the taste.
But to make them eat my somewhat failed meal or new flavors for two days becomes a bit too much of a good thing. You don't have to think about what to eat anymore, but I don't think it's fair to tease for two days with something new that doesn't go well. So I regularly have food left over. And not a small clique but a really big pan.
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What to do with it? I regularly freeze all kinds of meals. However, this was not a success. On the one hand because the food turned out not to be suitable for the freezer (cauliflower for example), on the other hand because I forget to defrost it in time and eat it anyway, so that I can throw it away later because it has been in the freezer for more than half a year. I don't think throwing it away is an option. Then there's only one option… eat it before it gets old
So I regularly act as the green bin:all leftovers from the new recipes are deposited with me to “recycle”. After all, I chose them because they seemed tasty to me.
I recently found a recipe for a mild green curry. I love curry but hardly ever eat it. Since it was mild, full of fresh vegetables, it had to be suitable for children too. I had to be able to make this too! I got going, cutting, no chopping, the vegetables just a little smaller for them and the delicious smells soon filled my house. I was convinced that they would eat their plates.
While cooking I tasted a bit and that's how I found out that it turned out to be quite spicy! Oops, slightly misjudged. And we never eat spicy. A few bites were still possible, but a whole portion was really too much for (the intestines of) children who never eat anything spicy. They really tried but it was a bit too hot for them. So quickly put together another mash for them. Fortunately that went well and they were happy with the alternative. In the end I had a lot of fun but there was still a lot left. I didn't want to throw it away, so I gladly used it up. Finally something different than the usual Dutch pot! I thought…
Well I knew that. So I did the h-e-l-e w-e-e-k about that. Curry for lunch, for dinner, there was no end to it! Couldn't see a mild green curry anymore! That will stay off the menu for now. That's how it went with a recipe of cauliflower casserole, pumpkin casserole, noodles/nasi with fresh vegetables, Brussels sprouts stew and so on. Once it's gone, I'm so happy like a kid to eat "normal" green beans, spinach and broccoli again!
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