Cooking for the family Recipe: Vegetarian

There should be enough variety in a meal so that the genuine likes and dislikes of family members can be tolerated, but no-one should demand a meal of their own.

At any meal there is always a surplus of whole meal bread, brown rice or potatoes for anyone who is really hungry, and we try to ensure there is a surplus of vegetables. We don't allow younger members of the family to raid the food cupboard if they take a dislike to what has been served. If they don't like a meal they will stay hungry to the next.

The pressure of constant advertising of unhealthy foods can be difficult to resist, but we find that our children find much of those foods too sweet or too salt, and prefer our own cooking.

We make a lot of use of the pressure cooker to create stocks and soups and to reduce the time that we spend in the kitchen. But if a meal is needed and we are short of time, it will be bread and salad and a bowl of fruit.

Make sure that your kitchen is a safe environment for the family and start them helping to prepare family meals as soon as they are old enough to stand.

Copyright Peter Thomson 2012-February-5