Two kids ago I always wondered how the moms do it that with a number of 10 products at their disposal, they can pop-up with like n-delicious meals with low-stress level and minimum time possible. For grown-ups and for children. For those who tolerate all ingredients and for those with allergies. For whining picky eaters and for omnivores monsters who ask always for a ‘bis’.

Now, think about our current situation and…you will have a laugh! Before quarantine, social distancing and forced isolation we were able to have all ingredients whenever we wanted without running any safety or healthy risks. Our new normal thought makes us stay home, go around less possible, avoid any human contact….and store storable food and…toilet paper( 🙂 ).

Well, regarding the situation, and willing to share my experience about ‘difficult clients of my restaurant’ called a home kitchen, I have here below put you together with some delicious propositions for different meals of a day: morning breakfast, lunchtime, and snack/dinner. You actually could even switch them if you prefer a salty breakfast or your kids skip an afternoon snack. We will start with two.

All the recipes are set with the ingredients from my future post about COVID-19 storage 10 Easy-to-Store and Healthy Products in My Pantry for Quarantine Time. There you can find what we find useful to keep in our home pantry anyway, not only in case of pandemic situations.

The recipes are created to lower and reduce the possible negative side effects of some ingredients such as sugar, wheat flour, etc or completely avoid the allergy triggers from the food keeping away dairy for instance.

There are really few steps to fix those amazing and super healthy meals and you don’t have to be an expert among the pans. the only thing extra you will need is a blender or an electric grinder and a kitchen grater.

Today I will give you some easy tips how to combine and fix from healthy and storable ingredients for a nutritious and super tasty (and what’s more important for our little fussy eaters) looking and smelling really good food!

You will find there some nuts full of good fats and precious vitamins. As a substitutes – seeds if you have nut allergies. Some condiments, spices and herbs like cinnamon, oregano and garlic to strengthen your immune system. I’m happy to share with you those healthy solutions I frequently use in my kitchen to come up with a flavoursome and fast-to-prepare meal you can enjoy with your family.

PESTO ROSSO VEGAN

Ingredients:

500g fresh cherry tomatoes (or 200gr marinated dry tomatoes)

1 handfull cashew nuts

1 pinch oregano (amazing effect if fresh)

2tbs virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic

2tbs mineral water

1/3tbs salt (skip if using marinated dry tomatoes)

Preparation:

If you have some fresh little cherry tomatoes (you can also use Roma tomatoes or another type), cut them in two, sprinkle with a pinch of salt on top, and put a few drops of olive oil, and add garlic sliced long in two parts each. Mix all gently in a bowl without squashing (!).

Prepare a tray with baking paper and place the seasoned tomatoes inside the oven. Bake in 150-160C until they dry a bit where the cuts are (roughly 40min not more). Be careful to not overdue and not carbonize them!

While your tomatoes are in the over, take an electric grinder or a blender for seeds and nuts and grind the cashew nuts – the finer the better.

Once you tomatoes are ready, put them in a blender, add all other ingredients and just push the button – in a few seconds you will have the right consistency ready to be used for whatever you like more – pasta, gnocchi…even a piece of bread ot crisp!

This red pesto is amazing as a dip replacement. You can even have it with some tortillas or put it as a sauce in a burrito. Nice, quick, tasty and super healthy!

If your child is allergic to nuts, you can use another ingredient as a sub and it will be delicious anyway. You can grind some pumpkin and sunflower seeds, or granola – one-for-one swap.

If you have a jar with marinated dry tomatoes in your pantry, you just skim the first part with the oven and go straight to blend all ingredients together. Easy peasy!

CINNAMON-APPLE RICE PANCAKES

Ingredients:

2 medium apples

1/2tbs cinnamon

4tbs rice flour (or other gluten-free or regular wheat flour)

1tbs coconut blossom sugar (or other sugar sub like average syrup, honey or stevia)

1/2tbs baking soda

1 egg (optional)

Preparation:

Peel your apples and grate them on the kitchen grater. If you don’t have a grater use a knife and cut them in super small chunks. The effect will be the same, don’t worry. Put your grated apples inside a bowl and add all the rest of the ingredients. Mix. The dough should be moist but not runny. If it’s too dry and compact just add some vegetal milk to make it more liquid.

The best solution for a really healthy and nutritions outcome is to use a non-stick pan just to avoid frying your pancakes in butter or deep them in oil. Wait until the pan is super hot and place the dough on your pan using a tablespoon. turn them once it’s ready from one side. Make sure it’s well done inside before serving using a wooden stick or just fork.

If you are not allowed to use eggs just skip this ingredient putting for example 1tbs of rice/soja milk or 1tbs od vegetal natural yogurt. It will be fantastic as well!

In case you are forced to swap apples with some other fruit, I suggest a banana or blueberries. The results are also fine with canned fruits if you run out of the fresh ones.

You could be facing also food color preferences. What you can do is try to rely on some natural food dyes to make them more ‘inviting’. Let your kid choose the hue – I think it’s a good compromise!

Buon Appetite!