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Couscous Clash

Claire Wright

Effort:
Complexity:
Cost:

Serves: 4

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

1 red onion, diced

100g chicken (skinless, boneless thigh or breast), chopped into bite size pieces (or veggie alternative)

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp turmeric

1 red pepper, diced

1 courgette, diced

100g butternut squash (optional - frozen pre-chopped is fine)

1 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 400g tin chopped tomatoes

50g peas (frozen is fine)

50g sweetcorn (frozen is fine)

For the couscous:

1 mug of couscous

1 1/2 mugs boiling water

30g butter or plant-based alternative, diced

Handful of chives or fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Veg Portions / Serving: 2.5

Share:

The vegetables are taking over the deserts of North Africa and Arabia.

They have been spotted emerging from the great sand dunes of the desert and have now stormed the couscous.

Your mission is to find them, eat them to defeat them and raise loud the victory cry…

BRING IT ON VEGGIES!

Find out more about the Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign 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 get them to say “Bring it on veggies!”

 

Heat the oil in a large frying pan set over low-medium heat. Add the red onion and cook gently, stirring often until it starts to soften (usually about 5 mins).

Add the chicken and cook until it starts to colour and is cooked through, about 5 mins. (If using veggie alternative, check how long it will take to cook – most can be added with the veg later on as they cook in just a few mins).

Add the red pepper, courgette, butternut squash if using, and chickpeas. Continue to cook about 10 mins, until the vegetables begin to colour and soften, add the spices and cook for another minute, then finally add the chopped tomatoes, peas and sweetcorn (and veggie alternative, if using) and cook through for another 5-10 mins until everything is cooked and softened.

In a separate bowl, add the couscous and boiling water, then quickly cover with a lid, cling film or upturned plate. Allow to sit and steam for 5-10 mins, until the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is fluffy. Add the diced butter to the top of the couscous and stir through with a fork, fluffing the couscous as you go, then taste and add a little salt and pepper if you feel it needs it. Stir the couscous through the veg, or serve alongside the veg-packed tagine. Add the chopped herbs, if using, and serve immediately.

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

Older or more confident kids can help you with the chopping, but let younger ones help with weighing and measuring ingredients and adding them to the pan carefully with your supervision. Show them how to stir safely over heat, and let them chop the butter with a child’s (not sharp) knife, and let them fluff the couscous. 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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