Cooking for the whole family and reconciling everyone's tastes can quickly turn into a headache: the kids turn their noses up at green vegetables, the teenagers are mad for fast food, and dad wants a hearty meal, even in the evening. Good news: a few simple habits are enough to bring more balance to every plate, without spending hours in the kitchen.
A little moment of relaxation before you start: breathe in deeply, then breathe out. There, that's better. You're ready to try anything.
Add fruit to everything
It doesn't replace the vegetables the youngest ones refuse to eat, but it helps make up for it. Fruit is good for you — good for everyone! It stands in for sugary treats and can be eaten at every meal: cooked, raw, mashed, blended, whole. At breakfast, bananas are especially recommended.
Choose nuts for snack time
Nuts (walnuts, cashews, almonds) are one of the plant-based sources of omega-3, essential to the whole family's nervous balance. Easy to carry and pleasant to eat, they're rich in vitamins and magnesium.
Try a homemade pizza
Making a vegetarian-style homemade pizza with your children encourages them to eat vegetables. Tomato sauce, all kinds of sautéed vegetables, a touch of olive oil, and there you go! Don't forget the cheese, though: it's a small pleasure everyone deserves.
Rediscover pulses
They've always had a place in local cooking, and you'd do well to keep it that way: fava beans, chickpeas, lentils: very rich in vitamins and minerals. Draw on your mother's know-how — your little ones will love it.
Try savoury cakes, quiches and vegetable flans
Very easy and quick to make, they please everyone and buy you some peace. A pizza or a homemade quiche, in fact, share the same principle: how it's cooked matters as much as the ingredients you choose, to keep the pleasure in eating well.
Choose raw vegetables
Cherry tomatoes or regular tomatoes, cucumber rounds, julienned carrots, fennel, sweetcorn, served with a fromage blanc sauce or a drizzle of olive oil. Play with mixing colours: the youngest ones love it, and an appetising look will encourage them to try a bite.
Make crêpes or pancakes for breakfast
Crêpes and pancakes are very quick to make. Serve them not with sugar or chocolate, but with a little homemade jam, fromage blanc, honey or cut-up fruit.
Consider frozen vegetables
If you don't have fresh vegetables on hand, opt for frozen ones and skip canned vegetables as much as possible. Easy to use, they still retain plenty of vitamins and minerals.
Try steam cooking
Not very fashionable around here, steaming vegetables is nonetheless very healthy. Short on inspiration? Cuisines that make steam and fragrant broths central to their cooking are a great source of ideas.
Fruit stands in for sugary treats and can be eaten at every meal: cooked, raw, mashed, blended, whole.
