Claire Wright
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Ingredients:
300g potatoes, peeled, cooked in boiling water until soft, and mashed (or use leftover mashed potato)
100g green cabbage, cooked and shredded
100g peas
50g grated Cheddar or mozzarella, optional
Veg Portions / Serving: 2
To make a roast a little more fun we have suggested these little twists on bubble & squeak, but any roast with a good helping of veg will work – just serve with a reminder to the children to Eat Them to Defeat Them and get them to say “This roast is mine!”
Method:
Preheat your oven to gas 4/350°F/180°C. In a bowl, mix together the cooked mashed potatoes, green cabbage, peas and cheese if using, make into 10 balls of equal amounts and place onto a greased baking sheet, making sure they are flattened to form a puck shape.
Place into the pre heated oven and cook until golden brown, about 15-20 mins. Alternatively, you could fry them in 1 tbsp oil for about 3-4 mins on each side, until golden brown. Serve as an accompaniment to a roast dinner.
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
Have the kids help you measure and weigh ingredients, mash the potatoes and shape the patties. For more tips on cooking with kids check out Kids in the Kitchen on Simply Veg.
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
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
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
Claire has been working with children, food and communications for over 15 years, and is our Editor at Veg Power, helping translate expert advice into small, practical steps for busy families, and creating recipes that are actually simple.
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