Courgette
Have you tried these spiralised? It changes the game with courgettes.
Nutrition
Courgettes contain vitamin A, C and K and minerals including manganese, potassium and magnesium. Vitamins A and C support our vision and immune system and vitamin K and manganese are important for bone health.
Shopping Guide
When purchasing courgettes, aim for firm and shiny ones that when lifted up feel heavier than they appear to be.
Storage
To store courgettes, just leave whole and dry and keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Serving Suggestion
Or prep by slicing a courgette in half lengthways and scoop out some of the insides. Fill those little boats with almost any mashed up mix of courgette and cooked meats like bacon or chicken, cooked whole grains such as rice, quinoa or couscous) and some greeted cheese. Roast these boats for 20-30 mins in the oven at 200C/180C fan/Gas 6.
Seasonality
Buying veg in season is not only great for the planet, it can be good for your wallet, too! Seasonal veg are often cheaper and frequently taste better, so can be a better time to try with a child as the often sweeter, riper taste is more enjoyable.
At Its Best:
June - September
Engage
Here are some of our favourite ways to engage kids with courgettes:
Arts & Crafts
Start simple with some non-food based engagement. This is especially helpful for a fussier child or those with sensitivities around food.
For courgettes, why not try making a 3D courgette piece of art? Keep a real courgette in front of you for inspiration. Scrunch up some newspaper into a courgette shape then cover with a piece of green paper, adding a little glue to hold it together around the newspaper courgette shape. Add a little more detail by using lighter green strips of paper or a pen to add some “stripes” and/or cutting a little top from green paper or painting a bottle lid green to be the little “cap” on the top!
Science
Science allows for curiosity, play and hands-on experiments. It helps kids to become fascinated with veg – how it looks, reacts, smells, cooks and more. Finding fun and simple experiments to allow kids to play with their veg makes them curious about it and helps them approach it in a positive way.
Explore osmosis together by getting 3 slices of courgette that are the same size and thickness, and placing on 3 small plates or saucers. On the first one, add 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp on the second, and leave the final one as is. Pour over a little water on each, and leave for 8 hours. Can you see how the one with the most sugar is soft and flexible and has shrunk in size compared to the other two? This is because sugar affects the osmosis process!
Sensory
Sensory exploration can be a wonderful introduction to physically interacting with veg. Turn it into a positive, pressure-free experience by starting off with the golden rules of “You don’t need to try and you don’t need to like.” Reassuring a child that, while they have a chance to taste a veg, they don’t have to, and are not expected to like it if they do, can make them more happy to engage with it.
Explore courgettes using sight by getting a whole courgette (if you can, get a green and a yellow one to compare colours) and having a few slices, too. What does the whole courgette look like or remind you of? What does the slice look like? Use your imagination and descriptive language to explore.
Kids in the Kitchen
Children who help to prep and cook veg are more likely to eat it. If you feel your child is ready to help and could benefit from it, keep the stress and mess to a minimum by choosing one simple task for them to do as part of the prep, meaning they can be involved and feel like the recipe is in part ‘theirs’, but also not make the process too much longer or more complicated.
For a younger child, why not help them to grate a couple of courgettes? Show them how to do it safely, and you can add the grated courgettes to sauces, baked goods, or pasta.
For an older child, it could be a great opportunity to learn some essential knife skills – why not use a couple of courgettes to help them learn the claw grip by slicing into rounds?
DOWNLOADS:
Use our Kitchen Ninja chart and videos to find simple ways for kids to help in the kitchen.
Your Food
Find your go-to meals in our family favourites section and see what veggies work best with them.
Find out how to add more veg to your suppers here.
Recipes
Serving
The moments before food is offered can be a perfect opportunity for engagement that can help make it more likely a child will eat it!
The first thing to do is remove the pressure. If the veg doesn’t get eaten, it’s not the end of the world. There will be other days, other dinners, other chances. Fun is key here – try not to worry about mess, perfect table manners, or playing with food. Instead, focus on making the process of getting the food to the plates, readying the table, and the actual eating relaxed.
The best principles for success here are the Three Rs (role modelling, rewarding, re-offering) which you can read about here.
But there is one more way you can serve for success, and that is giving your child a role. You don’t have to do this every time, just encourage them in their strengths through it when you can.
Here are some of our favourite ideas:
Design a menu
Come up with a silly name or story for a dish
Help with making a meal plan and choosing veg for dinners or snacks
Help to serve up the meal on dishes, lay the table or create a centrepiece to be involved in the physical ‘serving up’ process
The Wonderful World of Veg
Check out our vegepedia. When to buy in-season. How to store them to keep for longer. How to engage children with each veg, and simple ideas of how to prepare and cook them for maximum taste and minimum waste. Select a veg…