Category: Food

We all like to look for dishes that give us wholesome food for the family.

Lamb is meat from a young sheep and often available in different cuts to suit different methods of cooking.  It’s also possible to get lamb mince that we can use to make our own meatballs, burgers and patties.

In response to the question “I know that I should avoid fatty cuts of beef and pork, but what about lamb? Is it okay?” Oprahs resident doctor David L. Katz, MD responded that there is no good reason to avoid lamb.

He states:

“There’s no overriding health reason to stay away from lamb. Its nutritional value is influenced by the cut, and the leanest choices include loin, shank, and leg, all of which are often comparable to beef or pork in terms of calories and fat—about 150 to 170 calories per 3-ounce serving, and 2 to 3 grams of saturated fat. However, some cuts of lamb—blade as well as ground lamb—can be 20 to 30 calories per serving higher than their beef counterparts.”

While also mentioning knowing how the animal has been raised being important, he stresses that grass-fed animals have higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids than grain fed.

Health Benefits of Eating Lamb and Other Meat Include:

• A good source of high quality protein.
• A good source of heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
• A good source of iron.
• A good source of vitamin B12.
• A good source of zinc.
• Reduced fat with good cooking practices.

Cooking with Lamb

Almost any dishes we cook with beef can be replicated with lamb.

• Lamb has an almost gamey taste which is ideal for curry or for slow cooking.  Lamb shanks make ideal soup broths and do very well roasted but it’s important to know which cuts you are buying.   Lamb fillet and chops can be expensive to buy and your butcher can advise you on the best cut for the meal you plan to cook.
• Cheaper cuts of lamb are ideal for slow cooking as the process tenderises the meat.
• Shoulder cuts can be roasted as a joint with vegetables and is ideal for cooking in a roasting bag.  The juices will flavour the vegetables and with some herbs and spices it makes for a dish that can taste differently each time you prepare it.  As an alternative, shoulder is ideal for stews and casseroles and also does well in a slow cooker.
• Scrag and neck really need to be cooked slowly to get the best out of them.   The best option would be to dice the pieces before cooking to maximise the cooking process.
• Chump is a cut that can be treated like a steak and grilled, roasted or shallow fried.
• The breast of the lamb can be fairly inexpensive and needs cooked slowly.  It is quite fatty but the fat can be cut off or poured off after the cooking process.
• The most famous of lamb recipes has to be the lamb rack. It’s impressive and couldn’t fail to make a splash on the dinner table if you are entertaining in the holiday season this year.

What to do with leftovers is always something to think about.  Lamb curry is an idea way to use up leftover lamb and make a delicious and filling meal that will fill up the family.

This post was written in collaboration with Tesco

Adding vegetables to kids food is something that seems to present a massive challenge to a lot of parents of both young and slightly older children.  It’s not only my kids I have to persuade to eat more of the good stuff, as the man is known for avoiding much of it where he can.

With a child fussy eater emerging on my hands, it was getting to the point he was eating absolutely zero in the way of fruit or veg.  The only way to deal with it was to add it to foods that he’d not suspect.

It’s no mean feat to get veggies into a child that screws up their face and would rather do without them, but there are some fabulous cheats we can use to hoodwink our kiddies.  It’s normal for kids to go off and on their fruit and vegetables and the secret is not to make a big deal of it and let them come round in their own time.  I’ve found that if I make a huge deal out of it, the offending fruit or veg is looked upon with disdain forever more and mealtimes become a chore.

It really is worth experimenting to find things you can hide fruit and veges in.  It is easier to do fruit as it is naturally sweet and much more palatable but with a little work you could incorporate almost any vegetable that you could think of into something nutritious and healthy.

1. Bake It In

Carrot cake and beetroot brownies are among two types of cake I’ve made to tempt my kids into getting some of their five a day.   I’ve also made fruit into cake, eg peach and pear muffins and I’ve often added far more fruit and veg than recipes ask for.  It always gets chomped down in quick style by kids sure they are getting lots of not so good goodies into their bellies.  Why not try adding in other vegetables and fruits that can be chopped tiny.  There are endless options from banana bread to grated apple cookies, apple pancakes and much more.

2. Drink It Up With Smoothie

We make LOTS of smoothies and with good reason.  I keep mine fairly free-flowing where possible as they seem to prefer it like that and more like juice.  It’s amazing what you can make with fresh fruit and even better if you fizz it up with a sodastream to give it that fizzy effect.

 3.  Grate Them Up Small and Add Them To Stews And Casseroles

If you’re making a casserole and children won’t eat things like carrots, finely grate them in and they won’t notice them.

4. Sneak It Into A Burger

For a child who doesn’t want to eat fruit and veg, he’s happy enough to munch down a burger.  I often use mince to make up burger patties and just mix in finely chopped vegetables before forming the burger shape.

5. Hide It In A Pizza

The secret is always in how finely you grate them up.  If they’re the right colour, they can go in.   If I make cheese and tomato pizza, I add whizzed up fresh tomatoes just under the cheese and often just use passata instead of pizza sauce.  They can never tell the difference.  If I’m using dark cheese, I’ll finely grate carrots and pop that just under the cheese.

 6. Pop It In A Soup

Boyo loves chicken noodle soup but there isn’t much goodness in that so I make the stock for the soup with white coloured vegetables, mostly potatoes and a little cauliflower, blend it and then add the noodles.  Hey presto, some veggie goodness thrown in.

7.  Freeze It In

How easy is it to make frozen icicles.  Use the easily found icicle makers with popsicle sticks and just add pureed fruit to them.  They are delicious.   Make any flavour ice cream or sorbet you want with fresh vegetables and all the goodness is in the freezer for any time you need it.

8. Pasta With Veg

Macaroni is quite easy.  I add things like very finely chopped onions so that they disappear into the food if they are the same colour as the sauce.  Pasta with tomato sauce I usually make with passata as that can hide a multitude of fresh red coloured vegetables like tomatoes, red peppers, red onions and more.

9. Bash It All Together Like Bubble and Squeak (Rumpledethumps in Scotland)

The leftover dish is perfect for adding veges.  I even get away with greens in these.  A little light frying of left over vegetables mixed in with mashed potatoes and shaped into a general burger shape.  I’ve managed to add squash, turnip, seaweed, spinach and more into this fabulous dish.   These tattie, onions and cheese ones were really popular here.

10.  Dessert Veges

Yes, you really can add vegetables into desserts and get away with it.   Chocolate covers a multitude of things as the taste covers up almost everything it is cooked with.  How about a Chocolate and Cinnamon mousse with a  little avocado and sweet potato.  Pumpkin pies can be loaded with beautiful pumpkin and why not try bread and butter pudding with added courgette or cucumber, or ginger, or parsnips.