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Pasta Power Play

Claire Wright

Effort:
Complexity:
Cost:

Serves: 4

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:

100g courgettes, sliced thinly lengthwise (or use a veg peeler to make long strips)

100g carrots, sliced thinly lengthwise (or use a veg peeler to make long strips)

200g butternut squash, sliced thinly lengthwise (or use a veg peeler to make long strips)

1 tbsp oil

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

200g beef mince or veggie alternative

1 400g tin chopped tomatoes

2 tsp mixed herbs

1 veg stock cube (optional)

1 tbsp tomato puree

12 lasagne sheets (dried is fine)

50g mozzarella and cheddar, grated (or plant-based alternative)

Veg Portions / Serving: 3

Share:

We’ve heard the vegetables have taken over the pasta in Italy.

You need to search for the vegetables, pick them out, and then defeat them in the only way possible.

Your mission is to find them and eat them to defeat them and then let out your victory cry…

FEEL MY POWER!

Find out more about Eat Them To Defeat Them at eatthemtodefeatthem.com 

Method:

Here’s our recommended recipe, or you can simply adapt your own recipe – just keep the veg chunky and serve with a reminder to the children to Eat Them to Defeat Them and say “Feel my power!”

 

Preheat your oven to gas 6/390ºF/200ºC. Lightly oil a baking sheet and lay out the sliced carrot and squash in a single layer if possible. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until they start to soften but still hold their shape.

Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 mins until softened. Add the beef mince and continue to cook until it starts to colour, about 5-10 mins. If using veggie alternative, add to the pan at the next stage. Stir in the tomato puree and cook another minute.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes, mixed herbs, and veg stock cube if using (and veggie alternative, if using) and cook, stirring regularly for 10-15 mins. Set aside.

Ladle one third of the meat sauce into a casserole dish, place one layer of lasagne sheets followed by the squash on top. Spoon over another layer of the sauce and repeat with the lasagne and courgette, followed by the final third of the sauce, last few lasagne sheets and carrots. Top with mozzarella or cheddar and bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.

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

Have the kids help you measure and weigh ingredients, older kids can help you use the veg peeler on the 3 veg. Have them help with layering ingredients in the dish 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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