Preparing healthy, nutritious meals for children can be difficult when you’re trying to lose pregnancy weight.
Fussy toddlers and hard-to-please teens are notorious for turning their noses up at ‘healthy’ foods, making sticking to a healthy eating plan a difficult proposition.
Luckily there are plenty of menu options that children embrace, and pasta is a true favourite with most kids of all ages.
This simple recipe for a Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake is a great midweek meal option at it’s easy to prepare, uses budget-friendly ingredients and is packed with iron, fibre, calcium and folate.
With mild flavours, even fussy toddlers will love this one. If there’s leftovers this meal also tastes great heated up the next day for lunch!
Ingredients:
- 6 stalks of spinach, stalks removed, leaves trimmed and washed
- 500 gram packet of penne pasta
- 250 grams reduced-fat ricotta cheese
- 100 grams reduced-fat cheddar cheese
- Cracked pepper
- Sea salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Optional Extras:
- Add some chopped mushrooms to the pasta bake before baking
- Use frozen spinach instead of fresh
- Stir through some tuna chunks into the pasta bake before baking
Method:
- Preheat an oven to 180 degrees Celsius
- In a pot of salted, boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente (this should take 12-15 minutes).
- While the pasta is cooking, fill another saucepan with water and bring to the boil.
- Once boiling, add the spinach leaves and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
- Remove the spinach from the water, drain excess water from the spinach, chop into pieces and set aside.
- Place the pasta, spinach, ricotta, nutmeg, cracked pepper and sea salt (to taste) in a large mixing bowl or deep baking dish.
- Toss to combine all the ingredients, and top with the grated cheddar cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden brown on top.
- Serve immediately.
Serves: 4. Calories per serve: 308
