Family Movie Nights & Vege Spaghetti and Meatballs

I love a family tradition.
There is something so wonderful and warm and loving about them.

We don't have all that many of them in our family so my girls and I started a few of our own and one of our absolute favourites in our Family Movie Nights

Every Friday night our little group of 3 get excited about our Friday night. We plan it all week.
We pick our movie, and a lot of thought goes into this. Sometimes it a beloved classic aka Disney, sometimes it's a family fave, sometimes its a recent release and sometimes it is blast from the past!
(these are the most fun for me - recently we watched The Aviator!!)

I always make a big batch of organic homemade popcorn seasoned with pink himilayan salt and a tiny dash of olive oil, usually something like Pink Lemonade or my kids favourite Coconut Water, coconutty water as my youngest calls it! (and mummy might have a nice wine - especially if it is say a Barbie movie!)

And my favourite part is the fun dinner we put together, to go with the movie we usually have our own version of a popular takeaway so it could be pizza's, fish and chips, nuggets and dipping sauces, kebab's, burgers, noodle boxes, sausage rolls, party pies, hot dogs or something that goes with the movie!

One of our latest was spaghetti and vege meatballs while watching, yep, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs! It was such a hit with the kids! I have since made it several times and the 'meatballs' themselves, also make stunning hors d'oeuvre's - make them much smaller with extra chili and serve on toothpicks YUM!

  Vege Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 cup breadcrumbs (I made my own with spelt, sour dough bread but you could make your own with any nice bread, I would just recommend not white bread)
• 1/2 cup Quinoa crumbs (most supermarkets have these now - or you could check your local health food store)
• 3 free range eggs
• 1 can sanitarium nutmeat - see NOTES for my alternative to make your own
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan (please not the icky stuff in the tin)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• extra basil leaves
• 4 cloves Australian garlic (you could also use Gourmet Garden)
• 1/2 fresh red chili, fineli chopped - optional (You could also use Gourmet Garden)
• 1 small onion

Method

• Fry the onion in a frying pan until lightly transparent, add in the garlic, chili and thyme, stir together 2-3 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Finely chop the baby spinach leaves.
• In a large bowl roughly mash up the nutmeat until pliable, add in the breadcrumbs, eggs, quinoa crumbs, spinach, walnuts and onion mix, mix well together. 
• Roughly tear up the basil ( I love doing this the smell is always so gorgeous!)
• Mix the basil and Parmesan through the mix.
• With your hands (yes I love my hand on cooking) roll mixture into balls until you have done all of it.
• Lightly fry a few of these at a time over a medium heat in a little olive oil or oil of choice..
• Remove from heat and drain on paper towel.
• Make your favourite tomato pasta sauce here is one of my really hearty ones you can make well ahead or you can make a lovely simple one by frying some onion and garlic, add in a tin of tomatoes,some fresh basil leaves, a little thyme and chili and some passata sauce.
• Cook your spaghetti noodles of choice (we are really loving CT Fine Foods Pasta at the moment)
• When your noodles are almost cooked add the meatballs into your still warm cooked tomato pasta sauce for a few minutes so they become plump, warm and delicious.
• Serve bowls of spaghetti, topped with tomato pasta sauce and delicious vege meatballs.
• You can serve topped with some fresh basil leaves and a sprinkling of fresh Parmesan.

Notes

• These vege meat balls make incredible hors d'oeuvre's, make them nice and small, with an extra hit of chili and serve warm or cold on toothpicks with a great dipping sauce.
• For an alternative version:
  1 & 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup quinoa crumbs,1 cup peanuts, 1/2 cup cashews, 1/4 cup macadamias, 1/4 cup walnuts, 1 cup spinach, 1/2 cup basil, 1 onion, 4 cloves garlic, 3 free range eggs, 2 teaspoon thyme, 2 tablespoons Parmesan,
  Bash the nuts in a morter and pestal until mostly crumby. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and follow directions above. 

Toddler Tips

• This is great for toddlers who love the tomato pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles.
• Make some of the meatballs nice and toddler bite sized.

(c)RebeccaMugridge2013

Vegelicious Muffins and Super Foods for Kids

These muffins have become a houshold favourite and school lunch box must for my two.

Vegeliscious muffins

Ingredients

• 125 grams butter
• 2 free range eggs
• 1/4 cup finely grated cauliflower
• 2 large tablespoons Super foods For Kids Vital Veggie Powder READ about this below!
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 1 cup quinoa, cooked with 1 teaspoon of curry powder
• 1/4 cup mashed, cooked pumpkin 
• 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
•  1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• cherry tomatoes extra
• peppita and sunflower seeds extra

Method

• Pre heat oven to 180 c.
• Line a muffin tray with muffin cases.
• Combine the butter and eggs together.
• Add in the quinoa, grated cauliflower, mashed pumpkin, grated cheese, vital veggie powder, herbs and salt. Combine well.
• Gently fold in the spelt flour combined with the baking powder.
• Pour muffin mixture into muffin cases.
• \Decorate tops with thinly sliced cherry tomatoes and/or peppita and sunflower seeds.

Notes

• These are so yummy and filling, the smell when they cook is just gorgeous too, something the kids will enjoy coming home too.
• Make them a bit more adult with some freshly chopped chili and even optionally a little feta cheese.
• Perfect with soup.
• Great for picnics.

Toddler Tips

• Use a mini muffin tray to make perfect toddler hand sized muffins.
• These are really tasty and very appealing to toddlers, especially when decorated with a tomato slice on top!

I believe one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a love and understanding of their own bodies and part of this is knowing how good we feel when we give our bodies, real, nourishing food.

If there is ever going to be one thing that I am happy to spend money on in regards to my kids, even when on a budget it is their health and nutrition.

This Winter I am delighted to share that we have not had any colds in our house! No flu's or runny noses, no tummy bugs. It has been GREAT!!

Do I have a secret tip? You bet I do!

We have combined lots of healthy, yummy food. Lots of home grown and organics, lots of exercise and sunshine with an extra boost of Superfoods for Kidz products.
My kids are not fussy eaters, they love their vegetables and fruit, their meals and snacks, in fact you could say they are both little foodies!! And I do SO love superfoods and anything that gets a big power boost of nutrition, antioxidants and all those great super food power ingredients into them so I was really excited to come across superfoods that were especially for kids!
What an exciting way to really boost your kids health and immunity, especially with all the things they do and places they play...
I was familiar with adult superfoods and I like using them a lot so I was thrilled to discover this range and could also really see how helpful they would be too if you had fussy eaters.

''Superfoods for Kidz are Australia’s first ever all natural, nutrient-dense super food formulations designed for kids’ tastebuds and parents’ peace of mind.
Superfoods for Kidz are combinations of wild harvested Superfoods,organic fruits and vegetables carefully selected by our nutrition team for their intense nutritional properties to support the wellbeing of kids and because they taste YUMMY!. Our products are also 100% organic and were also carefully developed with allergies in mind so they contain no Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Corn, Nuts or any artificial flavours, colours or additives.


Why do we need Superfoods for Kidz ? because our soils today are over harvested and have little or no nutrients left in the soil. Nutrients are vital to keep our immune system healthy, and our immune system is what fights off disease.


Superfoods for Kidz are a better source of nutrition than multivitamins for a number of reasons:
Superfoods for Kidz are natural, whole FOODS! They provide bioavailable vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Bioavailable means ‘naturally occurring’, so your body can recognize them, break them down, and use them for maximum health benefits. Multivitamins, on the other hand, bear no

resemblance to real food. They have NO enzymes, and they lack a lot of the whole food factors your body looks for when breaking down and utilizing nutrients. Multivitamins are synthetically produced and are often full of wax, binders and emulsifiers; some children’s vitamins even include artificial sweeteners. Superfood for Kidz are digested, absorbed and used by your body more easily than multivitamins because they are 100% NATURAL!"

I have to admit I have tasted a lot of superfoods and powders from health food shops in my life but I was shocked at how yummy these products were, and especially blown away at the fantastic organic and natural ingredient listings on the back of them all, you feel goosebumps of goodness all over as you read them and you are really that delighted to be giving these great products to your kids. 

You feel like, finally, someone really gets it that we want only the best for our kids.

And the kids verdict?

Well let me just say that these products are so moorish I wouldn't expect them to be around for long!
For me their coco biotics bars are, I kid you not, yes, I am going to say it, better than chocolate bars! Yes yes, I know, it is a big call and those that know me well know how much I love (a lot) my chocolate but I can honestly say I was blown away with these bars and I honestly would reach for one of these of a chocolate bar, I truly would they are YUMMY...! And no guilt afterwards...
And they also have a gorgeous, perfect portioned size kids version too, perfect bars for lunch boxes.

They have a fantastic range of products and I will be sharing some recipes with you on the blog and fb featuring the products so stay tuned for them all, they alos currently have a sale on with 15% off so go and have a look!!
You can find all the fabulous products online here>
https://www.nutraorganics.com.au/ and you can also find all their stockists on their website too.

Recipe and photography (c) Rebecca Mugridge

Spinach, Kale & Broccoli Cheesey Scrambled Eggs - Easy Dinners

Spinach, Kale and Broccoli Cheesey Scrambled Eggs

An exciting twist on a trusty family favourite. This is a really quick , easy, cheap and super healthy meal the whole family will enjoy! Serves 4. VERY easy. Budget Friendly. Healthy and the kids realy do like this one.

Ingredients
• 6 free range eggs
• ½ cup low fat milk or soya milk
• ½ cup raw broccoli, very finely chopped
• ¼ cup kale, very finally chopped
• ½ cup baby spinach leaves, very finely chopped
• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced (optional)
• ½ cup low fat cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
• salt and pepper to taste

Method
• Prepare all ingredients and heat a small amount of olive oil in a good sized frying pan to a medium heat.
• Lightly whisk eggs and milk.
• Lightly fry the broccoli, kale, spring onion and spinach for around 2 minutes.
• Add the egg mixture into the frying pan with the broccoli mix, keep on a medium heat stirring occasionally, do not leave.
• When nearly cooked add in the cheese, gently mixing through.
• Season to taste.
• Serve Immediately.

Notes
• Great served with wholegrain toast, sour dough or pita bread.
• Add fresh colour to the plate like sliced or cherry tomatoes, fresh cucumber and coriander and parsley leaves.
• For a more adult version add some fresh chilli, also great for the metabolism!
• Kale is a green leafy vegetable considered to be one of the highest in nutrients and anti cancer properties so it is well worth tracking down or even growing your own! It is very easy to grow.
• Make a different version with fresh, sliced mushrooms and even low fat free range cooked bacon or vegetarian not bacon.
• Allow to completely cool and use as a sandwich filling. Keep refrigerated.

Toddler Tips
• Many toddlers are not overly keen on onions so you could leave the spring onions out.
• Serve with toast soldiers or fun pita bread triangles and some easy to eat raw vege sticks like red capsicum slivers, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, raw snow peas and green beans.

Kale is one of my favourite vegetables to eat and to grow.

I have it nearly every day in beautiful healing and nourishing juices, salads and in cooking like my tasty Canneloni

(pictured)

This great recipe was published in HOLISTIC BLISS magazine
look out for more of recipes in the magazine.

You can read the online version of this fantastic, information filled healthy living magazine HERE
They are also on Facebook
And you can see and read many of my published recipes featured in magazines through their online versions at my stack here

Happy Cooking,

Rebecca XX

Kids and Healthy Food

Kids and healthy food are just meant to go together.

 Both my girls have grown up loving fresh fruit and vegetables and healthy homemade meals.
 They love healthy food and healthy snacks and while both have very different personalities and are 5 years apart in age both eat pretty much anything healthy food wise BUT I am the first to admit I myself was definately not always a healthy eating person and I was never a big fan of fruit and veges-instead I became one after having my first baby!
As I told in The Pram Diet book when I sarted on my healthy journey my daughter was my inspiration. My inspiration to find the healthy, energised version of me, to fall in love with healthy, real food.

Just like everyone, everwhere can too!

One of the greatest things we can pass on to our children is the tools to live a healthy, happy lifestyle and the best way of doing this is by actually living one ourselves!

So where do you start?

Start with you-be inspiration to your children.

As with a lot of things it is always important to start with changes you enjoy doing or feel the benefit from, changes that aren't overwhelming or extreme, changes you will keep doing. Start with small steps and let them become natural to you and then build on them and add more as it becomes a momentum that creates an exciting love of healthy living that flows through your whole life.  

For more ideas and easy to follw advice on starting a home edible garden, composting, finding motivation, creating a healthy kitchen and a healthier less stressful home environment, cooking healthy meals that the whole family will actually eat, getting healthy and losing weight on budget and lots of recipes check out my book 

 Becoming a healthier family doesn't have to be hard, expensive or UNFUN in fact it can be a great bonding experience and have fantastic long term health benefits.

One of the best ways that as a mother I know you can get children eating healthier is by actually involving them with food. Real food. Not a packet you open or something you zap or that is handed to you through a drive-through window.

Real exciting food experiences.

Things like:

• GROW some edibles at home. Kids just LOVE this! They get so much out of it; it provides you with beautiful fresh ingredients and kids can't wait to eat veges they themselves helped to grow-combine growing with some cooking together and they will never look back. Plus as a mum you will be far more inclined to cook with lots of vegetables and herbs when you have them right there, FREE in the garden. Beautiful as fresh as fresh can be, organic and so tasty.
  Both my girls have grown up with edible gardens and watching your toddler and kids eating fresh organic snow peas, tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon, beans, celery and other ingredients straight from the garden is just priceless.
• Take them to market. Take the kids and let them help pick the fresh fruit and vegetables. Let them smell, feel, experience. Even at the supermarket make your first stop the fruit and vegetable section. This should ideally be around 1/3 of your trolley. Get them involved and have a look around together at what looks good, whats on special, what meals could be made out what ingredients.
  If your a mum sometimes caught in that spot of an upset toddler where you might give them a little something to nibble on while you shop or once you get in the car to keep them occupied what about a stalk of celery? Leave the leafy top on to make it even more fun-or a punnet of tomatoes or strawberries that aren't sold by weight, much better than a biscuit.
• Find out what they like. There is not much joy to be had consistently putting fruit and vegetables in front of kids that they don't like or that is prepared or cooked in way they don't like. Why force apples if they love mandarins or pears? The same with veges is they hate boiled veg why not try them with a fresh, dressed salad, vegetable stir fry or raw crunchy finger food veges? 
• Appreciate quality ingredients and foods. Try not to be caught up in the too expensive fruit headspace and then turn a few isles and put chips, soft drink and party pies in the trolley-in the end what would you really prefer they were munching on?
• Get healthy takeaway. Think creatively. When heading to the beach or park on a hot day why not swap the icecreams with a fresh whole watermelon chopped up on the spot for the kids to tuck into? You could even but it in advance and chill it in the fridge.
  Make your own spinach and feta sausage rolls, pizza and party pies and use things like whole grain pastry.

Read my post on Healthy Lunch Box Ideas For Kids at SunnyCoastKids.com.au by

Clicking HERE


Rebecca xx