I THINK about what my kids like the most and, at the same time, I must make sure that it’s a balanced meal. I think about a protein as a must-have, and starch that won’t go bad quickly, and especially, vegetables, food packed with a lot of vitamins. I tried to avoid sweets as much as I can.
I like to prepare baon that has meat and sauce, and leafy greens because that is good as brain food, which is important since lunch is in the middle of the day, when students are prone to be sleepy after. I will give you tips that will help you prepare your kids’ food for one or two days, which you can then use for the rest of the school week. Things that are fried can be prepared ahead of time, and then you can freeze it. Base sauces can be made once a week, and then you make adjustments when you reheat it. Vegetables are easy to do as well, all you have to do is cut them, blanch them and freeze. You can mix and match as it suits your child.
Ingredients
Cream Sauce
1 L full cream milk, room temperature
250 ml all purpose cream, room temperature
1/2 cup flour
100g butter
to taste salt and pepper
Pasta Carbonara
30g bacon
10g onion
100g cream sauce
10g parmesan cheese
to taste salt and pepper
175g flat noodles
1. To make the cream sauce, make a roux by heating the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat, when the butter starts to melt, add the flour and stir until it becomes a thick paste. Add the milk in a slow stream and continuously stir to prevent the roux from clumping. Add the all-purpose cream and bring it up to a simmer. Turn off heat and set aside or store in chiller for three to five days.
2. To make the pasta carbonara, sauté the onion and bacon in a pan for 2 minutes or until the bacon is rendered. Add the cream sauce and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and add cheese. To assemble, pour the sauce on top of the pasta and serve on the side of your meat.
3. To make the chicken and mushroom, fry the chicken pieces until golden brown, around 12 minutes. Set aside. In a pan, sauté the onion and mushroom in a little oil for 1 minute. Add the cream sauce, bring it to a boil; once boiling, turn off the heat. Top chicken with cream sauce. Serve with rice or pasta.