Running out of inspiration when it’s time for lunch or dinner? Do not panic, we give you some ideas of good menus to prepare for your family, so that young and old children will certainly enjoy themselves, while eating vegetables, fruits, but also dairy products. No more plates still full at the end of the meal, you will make everyone agree once at the table.
It is not always easy to force your child to eat healthy and especially to make him eat everything. For make balanced and tasty menus throughout the week, don't hesitate to "cover up" the veggies in recipes that appeal to everyone. In addition, there are many tips to help your child like new foods and eat more fruits, fish and dairy products. Let’s not forget that the presentation of the plates is very important. A varied and carefully presented menu will always make you want more than a vulgar piece of steak accompanied by green beans and it changes the eternal pasta shells with ham.
Be creative at mealtime. Now is the time to indulge yourself by cooking for those you love different menus every day, playing with colors, shapes and textures. The whole point is to take pleasure in eating a dish cooked with love and share a good meal with the family, because this is an important time to talk and everyone relax. We give you some ideas for menus, starters, main courses and desserts to prepare for lunch or dinner, which will delight your sweetheart as much as your children.
Well thought out starters
We start at the beginning with the starter, which should preferably be light, to have room for the rest of the meal. Why not try the mini-quiches. Visually, it's pretty and the smaller it is, the more it makes you want. As for the ingredients, it's up to you because there are endless possible combinations. Lorraine quiches with their bacon and fresh cream are must-haves, but it's not just that. The quiches with carrots and grated cheese are a good variation. It also exists the Provencal version, with tomatoes, tuna, green olives, the tuna or surimi version, very easy, the one with leeks and goat cheese, the one with salmon… In short, you will understand, alone or with a little green salad, the quiche is the ideal option to please gourmets.
In the same genre, there is mini-pizzas, which are always very popular during meals. With tomato, mushrooms, olives, zucchini, ham, or even ratatouille, there's no lack of choice of ingredients. This is also a good way to get your child to eat vegetables, by "hiding" them in the recipe.
As a starter, there are also the raw vegetables (for example tabbouleh, grated carrots, diced beets with vinaigrette, mushroom salad, radishes in butter, coleslaw …) which can be served hard-boiled, soft-boiled or soft-boiled eggs. Boiled eggs are also very popular with children, especially if the egg cup has a fun shape. Mealtime will become a game.
When winter arrives, it is again possible to prepare soups, velvety (or even gazpachos, which can be enjoyed in the middle of summer). Peas, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, pumpkin, spinach, chestnuts, carrots, broccoli… You have carte blanche for the vegetables to mix. If soups aren't your kid's favorite starter (or main course), don't hesitate to try it. add some vermicelli, a spoonful of crème fraîche or even Kiri.
Dishes do you want some here
We then go to the main course, which can be a little bigger than the starter. Why not opt for lasagna. Whether it's the traditional recipe with minced meat, tomato sauce and carrots or a revisited and vegetarian version, it's up to you. Once again, this is a great tip for your child to enjoy vegetables such as zucchini, lentils, spinach or even peppers that you have cooked inside.
An idea for a dish that will delight the whole family is the homemade meatball recipe (be it beef, chicken or pork) marinated in tomato onion sauce, with a little parsley or basil. Accompanied by white rice or saffron, mashed carrots or a little vegetables on the side, they will not stay long on your child's plate … Also know that it is possible to make fish balls with instead of red or white meat.
If you have some meatballs left at the end of the meal, why not use them to make one shepherd's pie ? All you need is potatoes, an onion, a few sprigs of parsley, and grated or raclette cheese.
The gratins also are a way to finish the leftovers of the day before. Gratin of pasta, zucchini, fish, cauliflower, eggplant or potatoes, anything is possible with almost any ingredient!
Aside from meat and vegetables, let's not forget the fish. Instead of buying breaded fish, which is often unhealthy with the industrial panelure, it is better to cook fish croquettes / nuggets (fish and chips type) with artisan breadcrumbs made from dry bread, rusks, cereals, fines, crackers or even unleavened bread. It's crisp, it's healthy and it allows you to eat trace elements, omega 3 fatty acids, but also vitamins D. You can use any white fish, whether it be dab, whiting, barn hake or cod.
Another way to get your children to eat fish is, for example, to make croque-monsieur, not with ham, but with tuna and laughing cow. You can't resist this simple, inexpensive and easy-to-eat recipe that takes just a few minutes to prepare.
Your child is reluctant to sit at the table and wants to eat at fast food at all costs? Prove to him that you can him cook a very healthy burger, which he will love just as much as a Happy meal. Based on chicken fillet, turkey or minced steak with 5% fat or vegetable content, it will awaken the taste buds of the whole family. Add fresh salad leaves, a few slices of tomatoes, feta-type cheese or even Babybel (less fatty than cheddar). For the sauce, you can make yourself a mayonnaise or a sauce made with 0% cottage cheese, lemon and fresh herbs …
To accompany a homemade burger, you can offer your child a bit of lamb's lettuce, iceberg or lettuce, or even vegetable, sweet potato, carrot or zucchini fries, better for the health than those of potatoes. Seasoned with a little curry, sesame seeds, paprika or even cumin, they are irresistible for young and old alike!
A variation of quiches is the pies. With tuna, leeks, tomato and mustard, zucchini, goat cheese and spinach, cheese, salmon or even bacon…. Everything is doable, and it's also an opportunity to finish off the leftover ingredients in your fridge, before they run out.
As an accompaniment to dishes and proteins, do not hesitate to bet on sweet potato, carrot, fennel, chestnut or split pea purees. Much healthier than mashed potatoes.
Finally, if your children swear by pasta, it is possible to choose Pasta For Vegetables (penne, farfalle, gnocchi, spaghetti, ravioli …) to mix with diced zucchini, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. The plate will be full of pretty colors and it will always be lighter than pasta with grated cheese. You can add a little salmon, crumbled tuna or even minced meat without too much fat in your pasta.
Desserts that can only please
This is the long awaited meal time, by the children. There is no shortage of dessert recipes on the Internet and in cookbooks. But the most important thing is to choose a dessert that will be as low in calories as possible, so that your child does not get too used to fat and sugar. For example, you can offer the whole family chocolate mousse without sugar. Everyone likes it and the sugar in chocolate is more than enough. A variant is the chocolate zucchini cake, which allows your child to eat vegetables, almost without him noticing (and usually wanting more).
Instead of making a chocolate cake, you can cook for the whole family soft apricots, for example, plain or even with apples …
Small shortbread are also a good idea for dessert, but also to taste. There are recipes low in fat, without sugar or butter. It is also a dessert that you can prepare as a family during a home cooking workshop. Children can have fun creating shapes, letters, adding color with natural dyes, on cookies… Christmas time is also a good time to make them.
The Cookies also very appealing to children. To make them a little healthier, you can make them without butter, with coconut oil, almonds, oatmeal and dark chocolate.
Return to childhood guaranteed for the whole family with the Madeleines, whose inimitable taste can be enhanced with a little honey.
To finish a good menu, you can decide to make waffles, simply dusted with icing sugar. A little jam (homemade if possible) added to the waffle will certainly delight your children too.
Instead of buying it ready-made, why not try to prepare rice pudding for dessert ? All you need is white rice, milk, a little powdered sugar and vanilla, and a little lemon, orange or clementine. In the same style, we also have the semolina pudding and egg cream, which are often enjoyed by children and the whole family.
We then go to compotes. Very easy to make, they allow your children to eat fruit, whether apples (with a sprig of cinnamon or vanilla), pears or even bananas, they are a great way to end a good meal, on a slightly light note.
Still based on fruit, there are crumbles (to be served with a little white cheese or a scoop of ice cream), but also the Apple pies…
We come back to pies, which can definitely be prepared in a savory version for starter and main course, but also sweet. The must-have apple pie isn't the only option for getting kids to eat fruit. With plums, rubarb, sugar, chocolate, lemon meringue, plums, strawberries, raspberries, pistachio, apricot, white chocolate, peaches, blueberries, blackberries, fruits dry, or even with figs, the hardest part is to make a choice and find the best combination of ingredients.
To change pies, there are blanks. You can't resist a good cherry, coconut or egg flan. A pastry flan generally appeals to everyone.
Otherwise there is cakes, with candied fruit (or with carrots and bananas, for example), which will be appreciated during dessert time. You can also, from time to time, prepare Carambar cakes, which are not necessarily very healthy, but which please the whole family!
Are you a little fed up with yoghurts industrial? You can decide to prepare it yourself, but also to offer the whole family frozen yogurts, without too much sugar, without preservatives or without lactose. You can then add some fresh fruit cut into pieces, honey or a spoonful of jam …
The tapioca can also be another technique for making your child eat dairy products, whether it is prepared with coconut milk, a little saffron and coulis of red or exotic fruits (mango, passion fruit, etc.)
With all these menu ideas that are sure to suit your kids, it's impossible to run out of inspiration at mealtime. Also forget the small crises during the dinner, because of dishes that do not make your little one want. At your stove to cook with the family and share a moment of complicity before everyone sits down to the table and feasting!