The Best Go-to Vegan Meals for Kids

The Best Go-to Vegan Meals for Kids

This is a guest article by Louise Palmer-Masterton, founder of multiple award-winning, plant-based restaurants Stem & Glory.

My two kids (now teenagers) were weaned on a blend o pureed banana and avocado and loved it; I couldn’t recommend it enough. Simply take one banana, one avocado, blend with some water to make a thick cream and you have something the entire family will love –  my husband and I used to make extra and sneak some in!

From this point we transitioned to pureed lentil stews, mild curries, soups – essentially whatever my husband and I would eat, as long as it was whole food based, we pureed it for the babies.

I’ve always had a strong taste for cooking and both my kids have grown up around food preparation. Experienced parents will be well aware that fussy-eating is all to common as children grow older, so keeping things interesting is crucial and getting them to observe your cooking is a great way to do so.

Another vital tip is to get your children to diversify their palate as early as possible. A dish that soon became a household staple was ‘spinach and tato curry’. All it takes is one finely chopped sauteed leek, add one finely chopped tomato, a teaspoon of garam masala, cooked and drained spinach and diced, cooked potato. Simply cook for 5-10 mins with a little water and finally serve with rice and plant milk yogurt – delicious!

A sure-fire way to please our kids is Italian food and we have a huge archive of vegan Italian recipes. As a slightly older vegan, I’m a fan of the old-school TVP mince (texture soy protein; the basis of a large number of store-bough vegan mince) as it’s very nutritious and just as cheap. Just soak it in hot water with a little soy sauce and then proceed exactly how you would with meat mince! For 1 ½ cups of dried mince, fry a finely chopped onion, add the soaked mince, add a tin of chopped tomatoes, tablespoon of tomato puree, basil and oregano, and my magic ingredient, a heaped teaspoon of Marmite. Simmer for 20-30 mins with enough veg stock to keep it the right saucy consistency.

This is served with the perennial favourite ‘Sketty Naise’ (Spaghetti Bolognese) and also works in ‘an-ya’ (vegan lasagne) with either an oat milk or cashew béchamel topping. You can easily turn the base mince into a vegan chilli as well – fry another small finely chopped onion with a  teaspoon of cumin, add a small tin of drained kidney beans and a cup of frozen sweet corn. Add the cooked mince and simmer for another 20 mins; a perfect and warming addition to a jacket potato!

As the children have grown we have added vegan ‘alfredo’ to our repertoire which is a surprisingly faithful rendition to the original dairy cream recipe. I’ve always found that as long as the key flavours of a dish are replicable then it’s no hassle to veganise. With the alfredo we add a generous slug of olive oil, soy cream for a rich creaminess and finely chopped sweated shallots and garlic to provide sweetness. Other additions include onion powder, Engevita flakes (a must-have for any vegan store cupboard), veg stock powder, a touch of lemon juice and helpings of salt and pepper. We serve ours with tagliatelle and garlic bread.

As a family of Indian food lovers, traditional restaurant style tadka daal was an early favourite amongst my children from a young age. A simple, nutritious and easy dish ideal for diversifying the palette. Gently fry one finely chopped onion and one clove of garlic with half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of turmeric before adding one cup of rinsed split red lentils and two cups of waters. Bring to boil and simmer for 30 mins. When they were young we’d serve it like so with rice, they loved to squeeze fresh lemon juice on top. As they grew older we begun to add the traditional ‘tarka’ – this is where it’s at with the ‘art of dal’. Once the dal is cooked, fry 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds in a little oil until they start to ‘pop’. Add 8 curry leaves and 3 garlic cloves cut into slivers. Fry until the garlic just start to go golden. Add to the dal whilst still hot. Stir gently into the dal and serve immediately.

Anyone with millennials living in their house will know they’re often vocal on the matter of sustainability and global warming and I’ve managed to keep mine aligned with such a path through their eating habits with the sustainable credentials of vegan food and, in particular, locally sourced vegetables. My local farm shop now stocks lentils that are grown just a few miles from our house and we love cooking with them. I’d strongly urge any parent/parent to-be to grow to love lentils and pulses. They’re extremely cheap and have the ability to feed a whole family on just one cup!

My final tip for a simple, nutritious and creatively versatile dish is a warming vegan lentil ragu. We use this in lentil Shepherd’s pie, served with veggie and gravy, Italian style with al dente linguine (with some Engevita flakes for a parmesan hit, or chilli flakes or both!) and with extra veggie stock to make a lovely soup. This ragu essentially makes a perfect alternative for any meal that uses mince; incredible tasty and super healthy on its own!

Introduce your children to loving lentils and you open up a new world of easy, tasty and healthy recipes to transform your mealtimes!

Easy Lentil Ragu Recipe

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1 large celery stick, finely chopped
• 4 crushed garlic cloves (or less to taste)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 150g lentils, rinsed and drained (my favourite in this recipe are Puy lentils, but you can use any kind of whole lentil, or even red split lentils)
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 generous tsp Marmite
• 1 -2 tsp agave or maple syrup
• 400ml vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• Handful chopped fresh basil leaves, plus more to garnish.
• Salt and black pepper

Cook the onions, carrot, celery and garlic gently in the oil for 10 mins until soft. Add the lentils and stir around until coated in the onion mix. Add the rest of the ingredients and season well with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for 50 mins, stirring frequently (if you are using split lentils simmer for 30 mins). Add extra liquid if needed, and check the seasoning once cooked.

Guest Article.