Lizzie Loves, the children’s natural remedies brand founded by cookbook author, nutritional health coach, and mother of three Lizzie King has launched a 7-day program designed to kickstart the school year with a boost of healthy and delicious goodness.
The 7-day Wellness Week plan will feature 28 full recipes FREE to download from lizzie-loves.com from 23rd August and will be packed with nutritious family-friendly recipes created and handpicked by Lizzie. Featuring healthy classics such as porridge, smoothies and soups, plus a healthy twist on treats like pancakes and burgers, the recipes are flavourful and enticing, but without the depleting sugars and empty foods that the holidays are often higher in.
Today, Lizzie shares her toddler and kid-friendly bean and lentil chilli. Three beans and Puy lentils for a fierce protein hit and fibre which is so key (constipation is serious for children and very painful) in a velvety bed of slow-roasted red peppers, carrots and onions with some flavours from cumin and chipotle. Red peppers are bursting with Vit C, a powerful antioxidant as well as an aid for iron absorption, much-needed in a vegetarian meal. Full of B6, Vit A and magnesium crucial for healthy cell development. It’s filling, delicious and exploding with goodness. Serve with some fluffy brown basmati rice or lots of mashed potato. This keeps in the fridge for up to a week and freezes really well too.
Ingredients for toddler friendly bean and lentil chili
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large Red onion
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 carrots
1 celery stick
1 red pepper, de-seeded and diced into ½” pieces
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
½ tsp chipotle paste
3 tins plum tomatoes
½ cup Puy Lentils
1 tin Red Kidney Beans (or 1 Cup dried, soaked for all the beans)
1 tin Black Beans
1 tin Pinto Beans
200 ml chicken or vegetable stock
Few sprigs coriander
Dollop of Coconut Yoghurt to garnish
Recipe:
In a large cast-iron pan, heat the oil on a medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes before adding the rest of the chopped vegetables. Carrots, celery and pepper should be stirred in, and the paprika and chipotle paste added as well, stirring now and again, let them soften for 10 minutes.
Tip in the tomatoes and break them up a bit with the back of your wooden spoon, adding in the stock once you’ve swirled it round the tins to get the last of the juices out. Turn the heat up to high and bring to the boil. Once it is all bubbling, turn the heat back down to low and let it simmer gently for 45 minutes.
Add in the lentils and all the rinsed beans, with the coriander stalks, and bring to the boil. Season with some sea salt and black pepper to taste and let it simmer gently for 30 minutes.
Add the tomato puree and another dash of stock if it is looking dry and continue bubbling for another 30 minutes, or until lentils and beans are soft.
Spoon into bowls either as is, or on rice, with a blob of yoghurt and a scattering of torn coriander.