Dinner continues to be my least favourite meal of the day…I'm still having to modify our family meal to entice the toddler twosome and their fussy eating habits and it's wearing thin!
Ruby's food aversions due to her sensory processing difficulties are slowly getting less and less but it still takes her a long time before trying something new and I continue to have to be creative to get vegetables and meat into both girls.
Yes, there are nights I just serve them whatever we are having because I don't have the energy to be creative…and sometimes they will even have a few bites or try something new but I know it has been far from a balanced meal so that approach very rarely works for us!
One thing I have learnt is that both girls are likely to eat a more substantial meal at lunchtime so I have been trying to keep the freezer stocked with a few finger foods that I can serve easily at lunch too. I'm also trying to pack the vegies in because I really worry about the girls immunity being low at the moment.
These Vegetable Risotto Balls have proven to be a winner with both girls and because the risotto is baked in the oven there is minimum fussing around in the kitchen as well….unless you have helpers with you like I did that is!
The toddler twosome love to help in the kitchen lately but it can be the cause of quite a few squabbles over who does what so I have been giving them a cutting board each and their own coloured crinkle cutter to help chop vegies. They really like to do this after we have been harvesting in the garden and I am blanching vegies for the freezer.
Takes a lot of concentration, problem solving skills and fine motor effort so it really is worth it to allow them this time…even though whatever I am doing takes longer!
Here the girls were doing a great job of cutting the carrots and pumpkin into small (ish)bits to add to our risotto pot….
Here's the recipe for you to try!
Bacon & 6 Vegetable Risotto
Here's what you need…
2 Cups Arborio Rice
4 Cups hot chicken or vegetable stock
1 Clove garlic crushed
1/2 Cup red capsicum diced finely
11/2 Cups button mushrooms diced finely
1/2 Leek chopped finely
11/2 Cups cubed pumpkin (I used Kent as that is what we have in the garden!)
1 Cup diced or grated carrot
3/4 Cup grated zucchini
1/4 Cup creamed corn (optional)
1/2 Cup grated tasty cheese
1/4 Cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)
1/2 Cup cream or light cooking cream
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 rashers shortcut bacon finely diced(optional)
Now you need to….
1. Heat the oven to 180 deg c or 355 deg f
2. Chop all vegetables first…I find this makes everything a lot quicker and if you want the kid's to participate you can give them the pumpkin and carrot while you finely dice and chop the other vegetables.
3. Fry the leek, garlic, mushrooms, capsicum, carrot, zucchini and bacon until they are softened and a golden colour…do not overcook as they will be going into the oven!
4. Grease a large casserole dish and pour in the bacon and vegetable mixture, add the chopped pumpkin, rice, creamed corn and stock…stir through well.
5. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes…take foil off, stir and back into the oven for another 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice cooked.
6. After taking out of the oven, mix through the cheeses and cream (I find the cream keeps it from being to gluggy for the girls) and you can serve it as is as a lovely side dish or main course with a salad.
To make it a little more toddler and sensory friendly though I like to roll some of the mix into little balls.
7. Roll into small balls and then coat in panko crumbs (optional but as regular readers will know, a crunchy panko coating will often entice Ruby to try something new!)
8. Lightly fry till golden on both sides and drain on a little paper towel. I served these with some chopped raw vegies and a little yoghurt dip (dipping is the new favourite trick here!) The rest of the family had the risotto with a little steak and salad.
If you are short on time in the afternoons, try making the risotto the day before and then just roll the balls when you need them. They seem to freeze well and will keep in the fridge for a few days too.
You can use any combination of vegetables or just start with a couple to test the waters first! The bacon is a ‘safe' smell, texture and taste for Ruby so I added it in but you can leave it out if you would prefer a vegetarian risotto.
Do let me know how you go if you give it a try with your family….have you had any fussy toddler food wins lately?
You might also be interested in my Pinterest board Toddler Friendly Food which has more ideas for those fussy eaters!
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Warm Wishes…
I really like those crinkle cutters. Where did you get them?
Hi Jodie, can you share with us please where abouts you purchased the cute child friendly crinkle cutters as I can not find them anywhere?
Hi Melanie, I got mine from our local $2 cheapie store. They were in the kitchen gadgets section with knives and things. I’ve seen them in quite a few stores now and they were only $2. Hope that helps!