{Family & vegetables} Macaroni with lentil bolognese. Or: No, I do not eat my soup!

Yesterday I happened to see one of these absolutely incompetent families eating again. Children hysterical, parents hysterical. No, I do not eat my soup. Ehhh, there's a pea in my food. Tipping glasses. Falling forks. Good persuasion. Strict words. Screaming children. Desperate parents. Tumult.

I have to admit, I was deeply shocked. Really. In the middle of the restaurant. This has never happened to us. Not at all in public. My son has always eaten everything - from the beginning. I believe it is solely due to the mother's inconsistency when children refuse certain foods. I have to make that clear here. If you always make sure to cook yourself and all the vegetables and other ingredients naturally integrated into the food, the children get used to it and of course eat everything with. However, you can not afford to slip and must work on it consistently. That's why my son was never grumpy and always ate everything that came on the table. For example, he has never queued up for sweets at the checkout. Or wanted to McDonalds. Even in his pre-school years, his taste had developed so much that he was able to differentiate home-cooked, valuable food from junk, right? Who does not reach that with his children, has simply done something wrong. Or did not make any effort. And as a mother, fail.

Hahaha, kidding, no. For all those who now have hot flashes on their computer and would prefer a long one for me:

IN TRUTH, EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING DIFFERENT.

The truth is, children have their own taste , And they live out this terrifyingly consistent. I had to learn this unsuspecting being also painful and that when my child was 9 months old. I had attended (care!) An expensive baby cooking class in which I learned how to properly hold a blender in cooked food to make baby food. Yes I know. Do not say anything now. But it was my first child and you just have this understandable but fateful need for "I want to do everything right".

So there I was at this cooking class, learning how to purée cooked carrots Homemade is much cheaper and organic meat is the measure of all things. And that my child will love my food. Enthusiastically, I hurried home and instructed man to procure the best blender from everyone. Then I went to the trusted organic meat shop and bought beef fillet a month's salary.

At home I cooked the filet and vegetables, mashed it, stroked it through a colander, froze a portion in small Portions in ice cubes and was happy. Until the time my son did not open his mouth.

I tried it again and again. I pureed. I heat up. I failed in front of the closed mouth. I threw away expensive food. I despaired. I consulted the popular literature. But my son wanted only one thing: fruit from the glass. And preferably in the flavors apricot and banana. And only in this sorting. It may be that every now and then, on a whim, he sometimes accepted pear. But actually, he was pretty committed.

This circumstance cost me tons of nerves and tears for months on end. I did not want to give son only sweet food (of course, without any added sugar). I wanted him to eat well. Fruit. and vegetables. And meat. What else would become of him later? I was terribly worried. Also that he might suffer deficiencies. Or an irreversible conditioning on 3-liter packs of plain ice cream. My son's closed lips became the waterloo of my motherhood.I failed.

The two people who brought me back to the bottom of the facts were 1. my pediatrician and 2. the man. The doctor said that everything was totally ok and that I would give it by myself at some point. After all, in the last 9 months my child would have had only one single food: milk. I was perplexed by so much pragmatism. The man saw the similar purpose-oriented and said after a particularly juicy desperation on my part (of course, on the street): "Well, then he just gets apricot/banana. What the hell? We're not stressing anymore. "

That's it. From that moment, we actually had no more stress. At least not for apricot/banana. Although I secretly prayed that the supplies of apricots and bananas on this planet would never run out. But a few months later, the whole thing had actually resolved on its own. The child was so curious about our food that it grabbed for anything that was on our plates. We also had him try everything and once he ate with pleasure a whole bowl of very spicy curry.

There are many things that can be lost in the parenting mind. Food is just one of them. Pacifiers and tooth positions are also a good example. Please do me a favor and give you a present: relax. And if somebody tells you everything, it's all up to you and your efforts alone, then you just laugh out loud. Because you have begotten and/or born a small individual with your own brain. And that may not be like bananas. Or much more likely: no vegetables. Especially not mixed.

For your own, never mumbling Mummy conscience you can occasionally help the sprout's vegetable consumption gently and secretly on the jumps. For example with Mamamarketing 2.0 and Viking feast, sausage strudel or this delicious lentil bolognese. The bestseller in our home.

And be nice to battered families in restaurants.

Everything will be alright, ne.

Here's the recipe for delicious and stress-free macaroni with lentil bolognese:

Ingredients for 3-4 people:

120 g red lentils
2-3 carrots (about 350 g)
1 piece of celeriac or celery (about 300 g)
2 red peppers
2 onions
1 clove garlic
1 cm fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons olive oil
100 ml water
2 cans of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons fresh chopped herbs (eg thyme, rosemary, oregano)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
salt & pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
400 g macaroni (500 g if you are really hungry)
Parmesan and/or top or fresh herbs to serve

Here's how it works:
Rinse red lentils in a colander under cold water and drain. Cover in a pot with water (without salt!), Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for about 5-7 minutes, until they are just bite. Drain and set aside.

Clean or peel carrots, celery, peppers and onions and cut into small cubes. (Alternatively, chase through the grater of the food processor.)

Peel garlic clove and ginger root and finely chop. Heat olive oil and sauté garlic and ginger gently for 1 minute. Add the diced vegetables, increase the heat and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add water and add the chopped tomatoes.

Stir in tomato paste, herbs and sugar. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes on a low heat. Then stir in the lentils and red wine vinegar and let it steep in the sauce. Possibly.