The Department of Health recommends that all children between the age of six months to five years are given vitamin supplements containing vitamins A, C and D every day. I am always looking for ways to get vitamins and minerals into Lucas as he doesn’t like any of the liquid multivitamins, even if I mix them into his drinks, he can tell they are in and doesn’t drink them. The chewable vitamins that I think he would take are only available for three year olds so it’s another six months until I can give him those.
One way of ensuring he gets his vitamins is through healthy eating. He is very fussy with his vegetables at the moment, he loved them when weaning! He likes fruit so that is a good source for him. Another way to get those vital vitamins is through meat.
Red meat provides an abundance of important nutrients including zinc, iron, B vitamins, selenium and potassium. Dr Emma Derbyshire, a public health nutritionist and mother, says that ‘Including a small portion of red meat in the diet a few times a week after weaning can help to bridge nutrient gaps and so help to maintain good health through childhood and beyond.’
Lucas absolutely loves lasagne so that is an easy way to get red meat into him but I want to encourage him to eat a varied diet, one of my favourite ways to eat red meat is a proper roast lamb dinner (have a look at Faye’s here from Glossytots, it looks scrumptious!). I also really enjoy a roast beef dinner. One of my favourite things to cook last winter in the slow cooker was a fruity beef casserole.
For this challenge I decided to use one of our family favourites, pasta and meatballs. I browned the meatballs in a frying pan before adding a tin of chopped tomatoes, and a tin a ratatouille. I added a fresh courgette that I had in the fridge and some frozen veg too as well as some season all. The great thing about doing meatballs in a tomato sauce is that it goes really well with any veg that needs using up and any concoction of herbs you fancy using. I cooked for about 20 minutes and served with pasta. To make it healthier, you could use wholewheat pasta instead of white. As it is covered in a tomato sauce, even Lucas eats the vegetables in it so it’s definitely one meal to stay. So simple, quick and budget friendly.
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This post is an entry for the BritMums #HealthyRedMeat, sponsored by the Meat Advisory Panel