The vegetarian trend is here to stay! Vegetarian food is taking up more and more space on the table, and perhaps that's not surprising. Vegetarian food is good for both health and the environment. Many families have at least one vegetarian day a week, or eat vegetarian food altogether. Here are 3 simple recipes for vegetarian food for children - tasty and healthy!
Should children eat vegetarian food?
Vegetarian food is good for your health and good for the environment. Developing healthy eating habits as a child is important because it increases the chances of eating as healthily in adulthood. This way, you maintain a healthy lifestyle while simply feeling better. Try to fit in a few vegetarian meals during the week - and get the kids involved in helping with the cooking! Cooking together with your babysitting can have several benefits, including teaching children about where food comes from and how it is prepared, as well as encouraging them to eat more healthily and vegetarian. There are different types of vegetarian food (some vegetarians eat fish and eggs, for example), but what all vegetarian food has in common is that it is based on food from the plant kingdom. The important thing to remember is that the more foods you remove from your diet, the more important it is to replace them in order to have a balanced diet.
Key considerations for vegetarian food for children
As children are constantly growing, it is particularly important to ensure that they get the nutrients they need. Meat, for example, is an important source of iron, which children need in quite large quantities. As meat is removed from vegetarian meals, it is important to eat alternative foods that contain iron. Whole grains, beans, lentils, peas and tofu are examples of these. Remember to eat vegetables, root vegetables and fruit with every meal as these contain vitamin C which increases the absorption of iron. Another important nutrient is omega-3, a healthy fatty acid found mainly in fish. Alternative sources of omega-3 are rapeseed oil, margarine, walnuts and flaxseed oil, but these do not contain omega-3 fats in the same quantities as fish. Fish is an important part of children's diets and many argue that it should not be completely excluded from the weekly menu.
3 recipes for vegetarian food for children
Here are 3 simple recipes on classic children's favourites in a vegetarian way, which are also super easy!
1. spaghetti with vegetarian bolognese
Ingredients (4 portions):
- 2 yellow onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 300 g celeriac
- 250 g fresh mushrooms
- 4 tbsp oil
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 500 g crushed tomatoes
- 2 vegetable stock cubes
- 4 dl of water
- Salt and black pepper
- 4 portions of wholemeal spaghetti
Do this:
Peel the onion, garlic and celeriac. Cut them and the mushrooms into coarse pieces and blend everything in a food processor to a coarse paste. Sauté the mixture in a pan and stir in the tomato puree, thyme and rosemary. After a few minutes, add the crushed tomatoes, stock cubes and water.
Cook the bolognese slowly for 20 minutes and season with salt and pepper. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions. Serve the spaghetti with the veggie bolognese.
2. Halloumi burger with French fries
Ingredients (4 portions):
- 400 g halloumi
- 1 tbsp oil
- 4 hamburger buns
- 1 tomato, sliced
- Salad leaves
- 500 g sweet potato fries or regular fries
- Pickled onions
- Chilli mayonnaise
Do this:
Cook the fries according to the packet instructions. Cut the halloumi in half lengthwise and fry in oil until nicely coloured on both sides. Fill the burger buns with the halloumi, pickled onion, tomato, lettuce leaves and chilli mayonnaise. Serve the halloumi burgers with fries and the rest of the chilli mayonnaise.
3. Veggie buns with stewed macaroni
Ingredients (4 portions):
- 1 pack of veggie buns (preferably oumph)
- 5 dl wholemeal macaroni
- 1 litre of milk
- 250 g broccoli
- 1/2 tbsp oil
- Salt
Do this:
Bring the milk to the boil and add the macaroni and salt. Cook, stirring, over a low heat for 25 minutes until the macaroni is soft. Peel and cut the broccoli. Cook it in salted water for about 4 minutes. Fry the veggie balls in the oil according to the package instructions. Serve the veggie balls with the stewed macaroni and broccoli.
