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Chicken rice & peas

Claire Wright

Effort:
Complexity:
Cost:

Serves: 4

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 50-55 mins

Ingredients:

Curry:

1 tbsp oil

1 onion, chopped

200g diced chicken or beef strips, or veggie alternative

200g sweet potato, chopped (frozen pre-diced sweet potato or squash is fine)

1 red pepper, chopped

1 tbsp curry powder

1⁄2 tsp ground ginger or 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (optional)

1 tsp garlic powder (optional)

100ml water

400g tomatoes, chopped (or 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes)

½ head broccoli, chopped into small florets or bite sized pieces

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 veg stock cube

150ml milk, or plant-based alternative (tinned coconut milk is extra creamy and nice in curry)

1 tbsp cornflour (whisked with 1 tbsp water to loosen)

1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped (optional)

Rainbow Vegetable Rice:

1 mug rice (ideally basmati, but you can use others and just check package instructions for how long it takes to cook)

2 mugs water

1 tsp turmeric powder

100g peas (frozen is fine)

1⁄2 red pepper, diced

½ head broccoli, grated (or 100g defrosted and roughly chopped frozen)

Veg Portions / Serving: 3

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Here’s our recommended recipe, or you can simply adapt your own recipe – The key here is the rainbow vegetable rice with decent size chunky vegetables the kids can easily find, served with a reminder to the children to Eat Them to Defeat Them and say “You’re going down veggies!”

Method:

Place a saucepan on the stove over low-medium heat and add the oil, onion, diced chicken or beef, sweet potato, and red pepper. Cook until the vegetables soften and meat is browned, about 10 mins. If using a veggie alternative, check the packet instructions, but most cook quickly so add to the pan with the spices in the next step.

Add the curry powder, ginger (if using) and garlic powder (if using) to the pan (and veggie alternative, if using) and add the water and chopped tomatoes, reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to cook out for 20-25 minutes, adding the broccoli for the last 5 mins, before adding the tomato puree, veg stock cube and milk.

Bring the pan back up to the boil and stir through the loosened cornflour, simmer for an extra couple of mins then remove from the heat, and add the chopped coriander, if using.

Whilst the chicken curry is cooking, add the rice, water and turmeric powder to a saucepan, and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the rice is just about cooked through (check the package as this may take longer), then stir in the peas, diced pepper, and the cauliflower and broccoli. Cover the pan and cook a few more mins until the rice softens, and the vegetables are cooked through, adding a little extra splash of water if needed if the rice and/or veggies aren’t cooked through. Serve with the curry.

Engaging Kids

Engaging Kids

Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating.

Kids in the kitchen

Kids in the kitchen

Kids in the kitchen – Have the kids help you measure and weigh ingredients, fill the mug for the rice with rice and water, and stirring things together (show them how to safely stir over the heat and keep a close eye on them). For more tips on cooking with kids check out Kids in the Kitchen on Simply Veg.

Activities

Activities

While getting kids to interact with veggies for real and using their senses to explore them is best, encouraging hands off activities like arts & crafts, puzzles & games or at-home science experiments can be a great start, particularly for those who are fussier eaters or struggle with anything too sensory. Use these veg-themed activities as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. We have loads of crafty downloads here, puzzles here, and quirky science with veg here.

Sensory

Sensory

Once you feel your child is ready to engage a little more, you can show them how to explore the veg you have on hand with their senses, coming up with playful silly descriptions of how a veg smells, feels, looks, sounds and perhaps even tastes. Find ideas, videos and some simple sensory education session ideas to get you started here.

Serving

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! Giving children a sense of ownership in the meal can make a big difference to their feelings going into it and the pride they take in it. You know your child best, but if you aren’t sure where to start, we have some fun and simple ideas for easy roles you can give them in the serving process over here.

Claire Wright

Editor: After leaving Exeter University with a degree in English Literature, Claire worked in various fields ranging from youth work and charities to publishing, before starting up a food-focused website when her first child was born. After being asked to project manage the publication of Veg Power's Crowdfunder book, Claire came on board as a fully-fledged team member in 2018 to take on the role of Communications Manager, then Editor, looking after Veg Power's website, content, recipes and social media platforms.

addsomeveg.com/

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