Did you say Pudding?

Recently I have had a number of children who are “anti veg”, they refuse to eat vegetables. They may be otherwise good eaters, but the vegetables are despite persistence from the parents a deal breaker. I am not sure who thought that making faces with vegetables was either a) enticing for children b) practical for busy parents who are struggling to get a nutritious meal into their kids.

Hiding vegetables in meals I have personally never had to do with my children, they apart from a few offending veg, will eat most of them. For many parents this is the only way they can get any vegetables into their diet.

Vegetables are vital for children’s wellbeing and growth as they support their digestive function, immunity and improve their overall vitality. I don’t encourage force feeding vegetables this can reinforce a negative association with mealtime and healthy food. Finding inventive ways of using them which doesn’t involve carving them into a Disney characters, making them taste appealing and always using fresh vegetables is helpful in encouraging.

We don’t want to always indulge the sweet spot with children but with dreaded vegetables it can sometimes help to take a life of their own. Once they have associated that vegetable to be delicious in a pudding or brownie they may be more accepting of it in soup or a roast dinner.

PUMPKIN, PRUNE PUDDINGS

• 150 grams of butter

• 2 eggs

• 2/3 cup of coconut sugar

• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice (you can use mixed spice instead)

• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or extract

• 1 cup of cold mashed cooked pumpkin. (Don’t use Jap pumpkin as it makes it sloppy)

• 1 orange zested and juiced

• ½ cup of chopped prunes

• 2 cup of almond meal

• 1 cup of tapioca or brown rice flour

• 1 teaspoon of baking sodas

• 1 teaspoon of baking powder

Directions:

Cream butter with sugar in a mixer until smooth, then add eggs one by one until well combined. Add vanilla, mashed pumpkin, orange juice and zest then mix until well combined. Add almond meal, flour, baking soda, baking flour and mix well. Lastly add prunes and mix well.

Spoon mixture in to muffin cases and bake for about 30 minutes or until done. These little puddings are delicious with a dollop of pure cream.

Allergy alternatives;

Nuts: replace almond meal with spelt flour

Eggs: use egg replacer or a banana

Dairy: use coconut oil and serve with coconut cream