Meals can be tough when you’re dealing with picky selective eaters. As I mentioned in this post, I’ve been dealing with a selective eater for years and it’s taken everything in me not to throw food against wall in frustration.
But even as adults we’re always learning right? There will likely be many times that our kids don’t like the food we serve. It’s my mission however to always have nutritious food on the table so that when they do reach for it they’re training their tastebuds to like good quality ingredients.
The best kid-friendly meal I’ve had the most success with (beside pizza and pasta of course) is tacos or fajitas. There’s nothing easier (for the parent) than chopping a bunch of veggies, grating some good quality cheese and sautéing some peppers to stuff into a tortilla.
And guess what? Kids love it too.
Mind you they might not choose the veggies from the get-go. Mine certainly didn’t. Most days the kids would have a yogurt and cheese fajita. But as long as we keep the veggies in plain view, the kids are able see them and they know it’s available to them if they want it.
A couple of years later, Leo now adds peppers, avocado and lettuce to the yogurt and cheese and Mila loves black beans.
Having meals like this helps the kids develop their tastes and figure out what they love and don’t love.
Ok now onto the recipe!
The Best Kid-Friendly Meal (That is Also Nutritious!)
- 4-6 large sprouted or brown rice tortillas or 12 smaller soft corn tortillas (for tacos). I like Ezekiel Sprouted Whole Grain Tortillas.
If you’re making fajitas:
- 3 sweet bell peppers of various colours, sliced
- Half of a yellow onion, sliced
- 2-3 portobello mushrooms, or 1 organic chicken breast, sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1 tablespoon of chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1 tablespoon of avocado oil
Method:
- Pre-heat oven to 200°.
- Heat a wok or large sauté pan and add oil.
- If using chicken, add it to the pan and make sure it’s mostly cooked through (no pink visible). Skip this step if you’re not using chicken!
- Once the chicken is cooked, add onions, portobello mushrooms and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft.
- Add garlic and stir.
- Add lime juice and stir. Remove from heat.
- Wrap tortillas in parchment and warm in the oven on 200. Warm for 5 minutes or so–you don’t want them to harden.
- Keep them in the parchment until ready to serve.
If you’re making tacos:
- 2 cups of black beans (or one BPA-free can)
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 3 teaspoons of chilli powder
- 1 tsp of sea salt
- Half of a lime, juiced
- 1 tablespoon of avocado oil
Method:
- Heat oil over medium to low heat.
- Add the black beans and spices. Stir.
- Gently cook until warmed up, about five minutes.
Meanwhile heat the tortillas:
- Grab a medium pan (I use a 10 inch cast iron pan) and a wide shallow bowl of water.
- Increase heat of the pan to medium-high.
- Heat each corn tortilla by dipping the tortilla into the water making it a bit wet, but not sopping, then gently add it to the dry, hot pan.
- When you start to see it bubble slightly (1-2 mins), use a metal spatula to flip it to gently brown the other side.
- Once they’re done, store them wrapped in a tea towel (the moisture from the heat will help to keep them warm and soft.)
Accompaniments (for both options):
- 1 head of romaine lettuce, sliced or 2 cups of spinach or kale, chopped
- 2 carrots julienned
- 1 avocado, sliced thinly
- 1 zucchini, spiralled or julienned
- Thinly sliced sweet peppers (for the tacos)
- 1 cup of cilantro
- 1-2 cups of good quality plain yogurt. I like Rolling Meadow Grass-Fed Yogurt
- 1 cup of good quality organic raw cheddar. I like Fromagerie L’Ancêtre
- Salsa
That’s it really! Honestly, sometimes I make tacos with whatever I have left in the fridge on a Friday. For example, I added the zucchini noodles because I had them leftover from a salad that week. Sky is the limit with what you serve. The kids will have fun trying new things and they love putting food into a shell.
Try it sometime and let me know what you think!