By Christine Salins.
For many mums and dads, it can be a challenge to feel organized and inspired in putting a meal on the table every night.
The Family Meal Solution (Penguin Random House Australia, $39.99) aims to make the job easier by providing guidance on family meal planning.
Authors Allie Gaunt, Jessica Beaton and Sarah Buckle offer simple easy tips for making incremental but sustainable habit changes.
Their approach is flexible and achievable, with suggestions for making the most of the freezer and slow cooker, prepping multiple meals at a time, creating ‘grab boxes’ that can be easily accessed, being clever with leftovers, and embracing fast meals.
All three are adept at creating recipes that are perfect for busy lives. Allie and Jess are founders of the blog, One Handed Cooks, and have already published two cookbooks on healthy and nutritious meals for families.
Allie, a mother of three, is passionate about feeding kids nutritious homemade food and making mealtimes happy. Jess, also a mother of three, is a practising dietitian who wants families to enjoy a healthy love of food.
Sarah is a dedicated primary school teacher, photographer, recipe tester and food stylist with a passion for baking.
In Family Meal Solution, they give key behavioural and nutritional advice to help families navigate their kids’ developmental challenges around food.
Along with the recipes, there are specific suggestions for adapting the recipes to make them suitable for babies, toddlers, vegetarians, fussy eaters, and people with allergies and intolerances.
There’s a No-Bake Snickers Slice, a crowd-pleasing Pavlova Platter, simple dishes like Broccoli and Bacon Carbonara, Roasted Fish Parcels with Cous Cous, and Creamy Garlic Chicken done in the slow cooker.
The Ginger Beef Meatballs here are cooked as a tray-bake, a twist on the standard stir-fry. The dish takes 20 minutes to prepare – perfect for busy people.
You can save even more time and cut down the clean-up by prepping the meatballs, sauce and vegetables in advance. It’s a great way to offer vegetables that kids enjoy while also introducing and maintaining exposure to vegetables they often refuse.
Tray-bake Ginger Beef Meatballs With Vegetables
Serves 6
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
¼ cup (60 ml) sweet chilli sauce
¼ cup (60 ml) kecap manis
1⁄3 cup (80 ml) light soy sauce
500 g premium beef mince
1½ tablespoons finely grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 eggs
¾ cup (90 g) dried breadcrumbs
1 red capsicum (pepper), sliced
1 yellow capsicum (pepper), sliced
1 carrot, sliced
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
400 g packet hokkien noodles, prepared according to packet instructions
200 g snow peas or sugar snap peas, trimmed
Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Grease a large rimmed baking tray or roasting pan.
In a small bowl, combine the hoisin, sweet chilli, kecap manis and soy sauce. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the beef mince with the ginger, garlic, eggs and breadcrumbs. Add 2½ tablespoons of the sauce mixture. Mix well to combine and roll level tablespoons of mixture into meatballs.
Place the sliced capsicum and carrot onto the prepared tray or pan, lightly drizzle with a little oil and toss to coat. Top with the meatballs and drizzle over half the remaining sauce mixture. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked and golden.
Add the noodles, snow or sugar snap peas and the remaining sauce.
Toss gently to combine. Bake for a further 10 minutes, or until the peas are vibrant and tender. Serve in shallow bowls.
Vegetarian: use sliced firm tofu in place of the beef meatballs.
Recipe and image from The Family Meal Solution by Allie Gaunt, Jessica Beaton and Sarah Buckle, published by Penguin Random House Australia, RRP $39.99.
