I have discovered two awesome things that will get my kids to happily eat salad.

Salads are usually expensive garnishes when placed on my children’s plates. The moment my kids see green on their plates, the chorus of “Eww… I don’t like it,” begins. For the most part, I choose not to have battles over their greens. There are negotiations to have at least a bite, to try it, but most of their salad ends up in the bin.

These two awesome things, however, got my kids to not only eat their salad, but happily eat their salad. One of my Mr 5s (M) even declared, “This is the yummiest!” while gobbling down a green baby spinach salad leaf. Let me repeat that again; it was green, he happily gobbled it up and said it was the yummiest. I was probably smiling like the biggest goofball when that happened, but who cares?! I was one very happy mama.

Two awesome ways to get my kids to happily eat their salad:

First: add crunch to their salad. There’s something immensely satisfying about crunching down your food. My kids love crunchy food, (and truth be told, so do I!)

Second: get them to make their salad. In some weird, magical, wonderful way, when they become involved in the making of the salad, their emotional reactions to the salad (that they have made) become positive. Instead of reacting to it like poison and wanting to spit it out, they enjoy it and gobble up more. Weird, magical and wonderful stuff.

Here’s the salad recipe that got my kids to happily eat salad. Enjoy!

Maple Roasted Pumpkin and Crunchy Noodle Salad Recipe

2013-10-24 22:27:54

Serves 8

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

242 calories

21 g

5 g

16 g

6 g

3 g

70 g

84 g

4 g

0 g

13 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

70g

Servings

8

Amount Per Serving

Calories 242

Calories from Fat 136

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 16g

24%

Saturated Fat 3g

13%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 11g

Cholesterol 5mg

2%

Sodium 84mg

3%

Total Carbohydrates 21g

7%

Dietary Fiber 2g

7%

Sugars 4g

Protein 6g

Vitamin A

38%

Vitamin C

12%

Calcium

8%

Iron

7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

Maple Roasted Pumpkin

1. 1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeded and sliced
2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
3. pinch of salt and white pepper
4. 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
5. 1/2 teaspoon orange zest

Dressing

1. 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2. 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
3. 2 teaspoons honey
4. 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
5. 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
6. 1/4 cup olive oil
7. pinch of salt and white pepper

Salad

1. 3 individual packets of Mamee Monster Noodle Snacks (BBQ flavour)
2. 5 cups baby spinach salad leaves
3. 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts
4. 1/3 cup grated Gruyere cheese
5. 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 220C. Toss the pumpkin with olive oil, salt and white pepper, maple syrup and orange zest. Place pumpkin slices in a single flat layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper and roast for half an hour, until golden.
2. Make the dressing by popping all the dressing ingredients into a jar and shake the dickens out of it, until combined.
3. To make the salad, break up the Mamee noodles (in their individual packagings), then place the broken up noodles into a mixing bowl. Add the spinach leaves and hazelnuts, cheese, parsley and dressing and gently toss the salad.
4. Gobble up the salad, posthaste.

By Pauline, Lessons Learnt Journal

beta

calories

242

fat

16g

protein

6g

carbs

21g

more

Lessons Learnt Journal http://lessonslearntjournal.com/

Thanks to Mamee, one Australian Lessons Learnt Journal reader will win:

• 1 x 12pk Mamee Noodles (Chicken)
• 1 x 12pk Mamee Noodles (BBQ)
• 1 x 10pk Mamee Noodles Rice Sticks
• 1 x Mamee Rice Crisps BBQ
• 1 x Mamee Rice Crisps Sour Cream & Onion

Entry is simple. This is a game of skill and entries will be judged based on creativity and originality. Leave a comment on this post sharing:

What’s your favourite salad ingredient?

Open to Australian entries only. Entries close Monday 4th November, 5pm AEST 2013.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment; I’d love to hear from you. If you are new here, you might like to receive updates direct to your email. We have many fun ideas to share.

The post Salad Recipe: Maple Roasted Pumpkin with Crunchy Noodles by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

This post is sponsored by Mamee. Be sure to read on for a fabulous chance to win!

“You just gotta try this,” I say to my friend. I hand him a can of the Mamee Rice Chips. He sees the Mamee label and says, “I know why you like these. You’re Malaysian!”. I scoff, “Pfft!!! Just eat them”. In hindsight, maybe there is some truth to what he said. I spent the first part of my childhood in Malaysia and I drool at the thought of some Malaysian dishes. Mamee is made in Malaysia, and it is delicious. Whatever the reason, I love Mamee, especially the Rice Chips – so much so I had a whole tube to myself for dinner one night; (shhh… don’t tell my kids!)

I grew up with Mamee snacks and it’s pretty awesome that it’s still around for my kids. It’s the convenient, yummy snack that my kids look forward to at the park, preschool or during our long day trips. It’s Healthy School Canteen Strategy Amber Compliant, so I pack it for them every now and then – and they enjoy it every time I do.

Mamee have recently released a new range of Gluten free snacks. Miss K loves the little monster snacks. It comes in a little canister with a resealable lid, (great for portion control). Along with being gluten free, it has no added MSG, artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.

I decided as a special treat, to make Miss K’s favourite pasta, mac and cheese with the gluten free Mamee monster snacks.

Gluten Free Pasta: Mac and Cheese with Mamee

2013-09-06 00:36:11

Serves 12

A delicious gluten free pasta.

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

35 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

35 min

266 calories

28 g

42 g

10 g

16 g

6 g

156 g

250 g

4 g

0 g

4 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

156g

Servings

12

Amount Per Serving

Calories 266

Calories from Fat 89

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 10g

16%

Saturated Fat 6g

29%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 3g

Cholesterol 42mg

14%

Sodium 250mg

10%

Total Carbohydrates 28g

9%

Dietary Fiber 2g

6%

Sugars 4g

Protein 16g

Vitamin A

13%

Vitamin C

10%

Calcium

25%

Iron

5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

Ingredients

1. 350g gluten free macaroni
2. 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
3. 200g ham, shredded
4. 200g Gruyere, Cheddar or Parmesan cheese, grated
5. 30g Mamee little monster snacks, cheddar cheese flavour
6. For the Bechamel sauce: 30g butter, 30g potato flour, 500ml milk lukewarm, 1/4 onion skin removed, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of nutmeg, salt and white pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
3. To make the béchamel sauce: Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the flour and stir until it's a smooth paste. Remove from the heat and cool slightly then gradually add the lukewarm milk, whisking constantly. Put the pan back on the heat, add the onion, cinnamon, nutmeat and simmer for 10 minutes, whisking frequently. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more milk. Finish the sauce by removing the onion and adding the nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
4. When the pasta is cooked, drain and place in a large baking dish.
5. Saving some cheese to sprinkle on top of the pasta at the end, mix the rest of the cheese with the warm (not hot) béchamel sauce.
6. Combine the ham, tomato and béchamel sauce with the pasta and mix well. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese and the Mamee little monster snacks on top and bake for 20 minutes until golden.

By Pauline @ Lessons Learnt Journal

beta

calories

266

fat

10g

protein

16g

carbs

28g

more

Lessons Learnt Journal http://lessonslearntjournal.com/

Thanks to Mamee, one Australian reader will win:

• 6 canisters of the Mamee Little Monster Snacks (3 of each flavour) and
• 4 canisters of the Mamee Rice Chips (2 of each flavour).

Entry is simple. This is a game of skill and entries will be judged based on creativity and originality. Leave a comment on this post sharing:

What was your favourite snack as a child?

Open to Australian entries only. Entries close Tuesday 17th September, 2013.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment; I’d love to hear from you. If you are new here, you might like to receive updates direct to your email. We have many fun ideas to share.

The post Gluten Free Pasta: Mac and Cheese with Mamee by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.