I am NOT a big fan of cooking! But I do it every single day because I have 2 little munchkins (naughty) that need to be fed. Therefore, I had to come up with easy and nutritious recipes that cover all my kids daily nutrients that are: Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats, Calcium, Iron and Folate in less than 30 min. Because I believe that a healthy child is a well-fed child. But that doesn’t mean you need to spend your day cooking.
PS: All my recipes are extremely easy and mainly one-pot recipes, that your kids will LOVE and that will take you between 20 to 30 min ⏱ to prepare! Today it’s healthy and nutritious penne Pomodoro day (Toufic’s favorite) with some secret boosting nutrients that are easy to find everywhere and stored!
First things first, I have 3 little secrets you have to know about that help me save time and energy.
1) Plan ahead your weekly meals. Don’t panic! The main ones are lunches, start by planning them and then add the breakfasts and dinners. (I always update it, make sure you come back later to re-check it) Also, planning ahead your weekly meals will let you shop all the ingredients you need for the coming week ONCE and ahead of time!
2) Invest in a pressure cooker that is also a multi-cook. It makes your life easier and faster, mine is Moulinex Instant Cook.
3) I always have bone broth or vegetable stock in my freezer that is cooked ahead of time and added to literally anything that requires water. I also have washed and frozen turmeric always ready to be grated over anything that already has a color (because turmeric turns everything yellow, including your hands 😳)
SO the basic recipe of my penne Pomodoro goes like that:
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Ingredients:
500g of buckwheat penne. Why buckwheat? Because it’s more nutritious and has 50% less calories and more fibers.
THE SAUCE
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 big chopped onion
-2 garlic cloves (or more to your liking)
-1 tsp Himalayan salt
-2 cup of whole cherry tomatoes 🍅
-2 tablespoon of Adonis Valley Tomato Purée
-1 whole can of Adonis Valley Diced Tomatoes (1 1/2 cup)
-2 cups water (or more depending on the tomatoes) 💦
For a boost of nutrients for your kids add the following
-1 teaspoon of ground flax seeds (flax seeds should be ground, its very easy just grind them in a grinder and store them in a container in the freezer)
-1 big diced or grated carrot 🥕
-Freshly grated turmeric or powder with a dash of ground black pepper
-Replace one cup of water with vegetable broth (so 1 cup of water and 1 cup of vegetable broth) 🥕
**You might need to add more water. In the video, the sauce is a bit thick! I should have added some more water 😬 💦
STEPS
-Cook your buckwheat penne in boiling water, salt and olive oil (they need less cooking time than white penne) ⏱ 10 min
MEANWHILE
-Fry onion until translucent [and carrots] ⏱ 3-4 min
-add garlic and fry it ⏱ 1 min
-add the salt
-add cherry tomatoes and fry them ⏱ 3-4
-add tomato purée, diced tomatoes and water [or 1 cup of vegetable broth instead of the second cup of water, ground flax seeds, grated turmeric, and black pepper] and let it simmer for approximately 10 minutes until tomatoes are well cooked. If the sauce is too watery, let it simmer for extra 2 min and if its a bit thick, add more water (depends on your tomatoes and your liking) ⏱ 10-12 min
Bon Appetit
Mira is a sleep-deprived mom. She is a full-time editor at thekoolmom and part time graphic designer. She loves yoga and morning runs. She’s fascinated by everything related to fashion and well-being. Her family is her top priority.