At this time of the year, mums all around Australia struggle to find new and inventive ideas on what food to send the kids to school with. The main aim is to have an empty lunch box when your little ones return home and an added bonus is to sneak healthy foods into their lunch so they’re not loading up on sugar. Donna Hay has suggested these two recipes which can be prepared ahead of time so you have one less thing to worry about in the mad morning rush.
Apricot and Coconut Balls
• 1 cup dried apricots
• 1 tblspn honey
• 1 cup shredded coconut
Place apricots, honey and ¼ of the coconut in a food processor, then blend until mixture is well combined. Using wet hands, roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls, and then in the remaining coconut to coat. Refrigerate until needed. Makes 10. For some extra fun the kids can help you roll the mixture – they are more likely to eat their lunch if they have helped prepare it.
Zucchini, Cheese & Pasta Slice
• 1 ½ cups small pasta
• 3 medium zucchini grated
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 cup grated cheese
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup SF flour
• Salt and pepper
• grated cheddar for sprinkling.
Preheat oven to 180C- cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 8 minutes. Drain.
Place the pasta, zucchini, ricotta, cheese, oil, eggs, flour and S & P in a bowl and mix well to combine. Spoon into a lightly greased 20 cm x 30 cm tin lined with non- stick baking paper. Sprinkle with extra cheddar, and bake for 30-45 minutes until golden. Cut into squares. Serves 8-10. This recipe keeps well in the freezer, making it a perfect last minute lunch! Don’t forget to add in some dairy and a water bottle for hydration, Lawrence’s IGA has poppers on specials at only $1.79 this week!
If you’re a kitchen whizz when it comes to kid’s food, please send your recipes into us and we will include them in next week’s issue.