Quick Weekend Dinners That Kids Will Actually Eat

Weekends should consciousness similar a gentle exhale , a clip to dilatory down, stock meals, and bask 1 another. But for galore parents, Saturday and Sunday evenings travel with a acquainted dilemma: What tin I navigator that the kids volition really eat?

After a week filled with schoolhouse runs, packed lunches, and back-to-back deadlines, the past happening immoderate household wants is simply a meal array standoff. The bully news? Feeding kids implicit the play doesn’t person to beryllium a struggle.

The information is, children’s palates are inactive developing. They thin to similar meals that are familiar, colourful, and simple. A play meal doesn’t person to beryllium fancy to beryllium nourishing, it conscionable needs to onslaught the close equilibrium betwixt comfortableness and nutrition. The extremity is to service nutrient that feels similar a dainty but inactive gives their increasing bodies what they need.

What Works For Kids

Research shows that children are much apt to bask meals that:

Offer colour and variety. Bright vegetables oregon sauces marque nutrient much appealing.

Come successful smaller portions. Bite-sized pieces are little intimidating.

Invite them In. Kids are much consenting to devour meals they helped prepare, adjacent if it’s conscionable stirring oregon sprinkling cheese.

Blend the acquainted with the new. A known favorite, similar atom oregon pasta, tin transportation a caller rootlike oregon spice much smoothly.

In Nigerian homes, this could mean turning mundane staples into quick, playful meals, grilled chickenhearted with plantain wedges, vegetable-filled jollof rice, oregon adjacent stir-fried noodles loaded with carrots, cabbage, and doorbell peppers.

Recipe; Veggie-Packed Jollof Rice with Grilled Chicken

This is simply a child-friendly twist connected a classical that saves clip without sacrificing nutrition.

Ingredients

2 cups parboiled rice

1 cupful chickenhearted stock

4 mean tomatoes

2 reddish doorbell peppers (tatashe)

1 onion

2 carrots, diced

1 cupful chopped cabbage

1 cupful greenish peas

4 chickenhearted thighs oregon drumsticks

2 tablespoons rootlike oregon groundnut oil

Salt and seasoning to taste

Instructions

Prepare the chicken: Season lightly with salt, garlic, and a compression of lemon. Grill oregon oven-bake until golden.

Make the sauce: Blend tomatoes, peppers, and fractional an onion. In a pot, vigor oil, adhd the blend, and navigator until reduced.

Cook the rice: Add chickenhearted banal to the sauce, past disturbance successful washed rice. Cover and navigator until astir done.

Add the vegetables: In the past 10 minutes, premix successful carrots, cabbage, peas, and remaining chopped onion. Cover and steam until tender but inactive colorful.

Serve: Pair the atom with grilled chicken, keeping portions tiny for children.

Why It Works

This look feels acquainted atom and chickenhearted but softly boosts nutrition with hidden vegetables. The grilling method keeps the chickenhearted lighter than frying, and the vegetables bring fiber, vitamins, and earthy sweetness that kids often enjoy.