Today's post is written by one of my best friends, Laura Willis. Lau, who has two gorgeous children, posted a seriously scrummy looking picture on Instagram of a soup that went down a storm with her little ones. I *needed* that recipe so I asked her if she wouldn't mind writing a blog post about it.
Let's face it, who doesn't need help getting those 5-a-day into their toddlers. Take it away Lau.
So, with a dream-eater first born, wolfer-downer of cabbage (and a marvel to most parent friends) I was perplexed to say the least when my daughter showed ‘picky’ tendencies when embarking on her food and eating journey. I weaned them both in the same way, I think.
How can she not like potatoes? I thought. I can’t exactly describe her as a ‘fussy’ eater as she will eat any fruit available and would quite happily pick a punnett of blueberries over a pack of chocolate buttons on most days.
The child is strawberry and pomegranate mad, it is just vegetables she has an aversion too and she is particularly grossed out by potatoes – mash, chips, jackets are mostly off of her menu.
She doesn’t mind a spoonful of peas or sweetcorn but meat is a complete no-no. She will manage some fish, adores eggs and is becoming fonder of cheese as she grows.
I still feed both of them the same meals in a hope she will progress and so she still has other vegetables on her plate but I do need to bump up her nutrition in other ways. She loves a jam sandwich and I fall into the trap of just making her one because I know she will eat it, sometimes. Danger territory.
I owe a lot to my Phillips Juicer and Morphy Richards Soup Maker both of which have been used a lot in my household.
We juice A LOT of oranges and blend a bunch of frozen blueberries, raspberries & blackberries. I sometimes add yoghurt but I always chuck in a handful of spinach. Full of goodness but completely undetected.
We have tried many combinations of vegetables in our soup maker and they mostly go down well – the machine is so easy to use and it is just a case of chopping the vege, adding stock and pressing a button. You can use the same ingredients and heat on a stove and blend after if you’re not as gadgeted-up as me!
Our winning Willis combo:
½ onion (chopped)
A handful of chopped carrot & broccoli florets (I often cheat and ready chopped bag)
A large handful of spinach
½ large sweet potato (chopped)
500ml chicken stock
This easily feeds us all for lunch (2 adults, 2 little ones) but if they have it for their tea there is more than enough for lunch the next day.
There is also the freeze option, of course and I’ve also used over pasta with some grated cheese on top.
And if all else fails there is always the happy meal - although she will only eat an empty bun from it. Could be worse!
A huge big thank you to Laura for taking the time to write this post - I am absolutely going to give the Willis soup a try!
In her (lack of) spare time and alongside work & various voluntary projects Laura is an advocate for Aloe Vera and it's health benefits - you can read more here.
I'm off to get cracking in the kitchen!
Love Emma
XOXO
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