“Woah, this looks amazing mum” - that was our 11yo sons reaction when I served him this for breakfast.
I ran a parent information session at a school this week, and couple of the mums were concerned about their kids not eating much for lunch because play was important.
I shared with them the idea of book ending. Preparing a great breakfast and a great afternoon tea so you take the pressure off the lunchbox.
Although savoury breakfasts like this are normal in our house these days, they haven’t always been. It’s taken years of consistently and persistently moving us to the direction of this being normal.
Have conversations (that’s one of the tools in my empowering kids framework) with your kids about how it’s your job to provide fuel to help their body grow and stay strong, and it’s their job to eat so they grow and stay strong.
Let them know you want to do a good job looking after them and ask would you prefer a great lunch to eat or a great breakfast. Allow them to take ownership of their choice and follow through on what they say.
From there that comes the basis for other conversations going forward.
Allowing kids to take ownership in their health is so important. It’s how we help them build a positive relationship with all kinds of food and their body. That’s our job.
This is also how you can stop the worries about their health that bubble away in middle of the night.
Bookending… Conversations… just two tools to empower your kids to become more involved in their health.
Although I made this for breakfast, Indrani also had it for lunch and it could be served as a side for dinner, or boosted as a main by adding more vegetables and protein.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. Let me know how it goes.
Salad Ingredients
4 serves
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1/2 red capsicum cut into small cubes
- 10-15 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- handful of black olives
- 1 cup chickpeas, drained
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- handful fresh basil and mint, shredded
- 1-2 cups of uncooked pasta of your choice
Salad Method
- cook the pasta as per instructions on packet, drain and allow to cool
- add all the other ingredients
- stir to combine
- serve with dressing on the side or stir through dressing - your preference.
Dressing Ingredients
- 3 tbs Olive Oil
- 1 tbs acid (e.g. lemon, ACV, Balsamic, any citrus or other vinegar)
- Seasoning or sweetener (e.g. Dijon or seeded mustard, lemon zest, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, sugar, honey, maple syrup).
Dressing Method
- Put in a jar with a lid & shake to mix
Ways To Boost This Salad
Add one or more of the following
- Pepitas, sunflower seeds, cashews, macadamias, crispy noodles, diced apple or celery
- Avocado
- Goats Cheese
- Broccolini
- Extra protein - tofu, additional beans, chicken, salmon chunks