Thermomix Menu Plans - 9th April

Menu planning is a joy when you have access to so much fresh produce. Our meals often depend on what's in our local food box (which we get from the Realfood Network), as well as what's available in our small local supermarket and butchers. (As well as some herbs and passionfruit and things from mine and my mum's gardens. Okay, mostly mum's because I killed mine by neglect. Trying again though.) 

I love living in Far North Queensland - we are so blessed with a variety of amazing fruits and veges. This week's food box included custard apples, a pomelo, ruby red grapefruits, Shepherd avocadoes, mini local pineapples (the original type grown in this area), mushrooms, happy eggs, organic bananas, mandarins, chokos, potatoes, sweet potatoes, limes and a big, fat cucumber - all local, all organic or pesticide free. It came just in time - I'd forgotten it was a public holiday and hadn't gotten what I needed from the shops, and needed mushrooms and eggs desperately... And then comes a knock at the door and there's an angel in the form of the food box man. Ha ha! (Thanks Chris!)

My Realfood Network food box

Since it's school holidays, I had a houseful of kids today, so here's what I made for lunch: a tropical fruit platter, and mixed seafood, shallow fried. Very simple, very delicious. My youngest is a voracious seafood and fruit eater, so she was very happy pigging out on mussels and custard apples. :)

Fresh fruit for lunch - passionfruit, pomelo, custard apple, pineapple, bananas, limes for the seafood, and avocado.

You don't have to feed kids junk to keep them happy. Keep it simple, and just vary the way you present fresh fruit and veges, and you'll be amazed at how the fussiest of eaters will 'dig in!' We eat with our eyes first, and that seems to be especially important with kids. I've noticed if I just put out a basket of fruit, it hardly gets touched. But if I cut it up and arrange it on a plate, it goes in no time.

Kids digging in to fresh fruit and seafood

For those kids who only want to eat pizza and chips, try some healthier versions of pizza, using homemade spelt or gluten free or grain free bases, and topping with raw salads after cooking... And bake some sweet potato wedges in the oven with olive oil and herb salt - yum!

Wholemeal spelt pizza with avocado pizza topping, baby spinach, roasted red peppers, Kalamata olives and macadamia 'cheese'.

 

Another tip for getting kids to eat healthy food is to let them make it themselves. Teach your kids to cook! Let them experiment. Don't worry about the mess... They're not going to remember a messy kitchen when they grow up, they're going to remember the amazing things they created and how you loved them enough to let them learn to cook with you. Again, it doesn't have to be complicated - our kids love to make fruit salads or fruit plates and serve them up to each other. They get quite inventive!

A fruit plate made by Miss C (7 yrs old) - apple, cherries & honey

Here's my menu  plus a few lunch ideas which I'll decide on on the day - nothing flash, just simple family meals, using my Thermomix to save time and make life easier. If you need some ideas to help you with planning your weekly menu, read How to Menu Plan. If you have a menu plan on your blog, website or public Facebook page, how about linking it up here so we can all share ideas? Here's how: Thermomix Menu Plans.

Enjoy your holidays and have a great week!

Monday:

Mixed seafood, shallow fried (like this), with a fresh fruit platter.

Creamy chicken & brown rice soup, spinach and avocado salad.

Tuesday:

Brown rice risotto (tmx)

Beef & choko curry (tmx) with cauliflower 'rice' (tmx), cucumber & greens salad

Wednesday:

Lentil bolognese (tmx) on brown rice (tmx), leafy green salad

Thursday:

Sweet & sour beef (tmx) with raw spiralized veges instead of pasta

Friday:

Cooking class

Slow cooker meal for family - Corn & potato chowder with chorizo sausages (white sauce made in tmx & added to slow cooker; made with half sweet potatoes, half regular) & raw vege sticks

Saturday:

Sausage & sweet potato bake (homemade sausage meat, white sauce & crumb topping all prepared in tmx; baked in oven) & leafy green salad

Sunday:

Honey mustard chicken (baked), mashed potatoes (tmx) and salad

...and a Flourless Chocolate Espresso birthday cake for me! :D

Lunches...

- stir fries (tmx) with either cabbage 'noodles' steamed in varoma, or mung bean noodles cooked with veges in tmx

- quinoa salad

- baked sweet potatoes & raw veges sticks/salads

- devilled eggs & salad

- pasta fagioli with gf pasta

- grain free pizza

- leftovers

I'd love you to link your menu plan below! :)