School holidays sorted: Fuss-free and nutritious family dinner recipes

With the chaos that the school holiday brings, it can be difficult to get the family round the dinner table for a nutritious meal. These simple yet flavoursome recipes could be the trick, says Hannah Twiggs

With a range of cuisines to choose from and packed full of delicious vegetables, the whole family can enjoy sharing healthy meals together (Discover Great Veg)

We all know how important it is for the whole family to follow a nutritious diet and enjoy tasty meals together, but with the chaos that the school summer holidays bring, that can be no mean feat.

We are here to help with five simple yet flavoursome recipes from Discover Great Veg to keep everyone at the dinner table happy and well nourished. With a range of cuisines to choose from and packed full of delicious vegetables, the whole family can enjoy sharing healthy meals together.

For a fun family mealtime idea, the vegan Mexican bean, spinach and nacho crumble will have everyone coming back for seconds! One portion contains three of your five a day and costs just £1.25 to make. Containing vitamins K and A, low in fat, and a source of fibre, folate and protein, it can also be cooked in your slow cooker.

Introduce the kids to wonderfully leafy green kale in the family-friendlypork and kale meatballs with spaghetti. If you don’t have pork, try using chicken, turkey or beef to make the meatballs. And for a healthy twist on the classic chilli, try the chicken and kale chilli. Flavoursome and high in protein, yet low in fat it is also a source of vitamin C and high in vitamin K.

Everyone loves a pasta bake! Suitable for vegetarians, the spinach pasta bake is packed full of vegetables and contains 3 of your 5 a day. Or for another injection of spinach, try the cheesy baked eggs, which makes a stunning centrepiece and is also suitable for vegetarians. Both dishes are high in vitamin K and A, and a source of folate.

Mexican bean and spinach nacho crumble

This vegan nacho crumble will have everyone going back for seconds (Discover Great Veg)

Cost: £1.25 per portion

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 red onion, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chilli powder

400g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 corn on the cob, kernels removed

250g frozen diced butternut squash

400g can chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

260g bag spinach

100g tortilla chips, roughly crushed

Method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion for 3-4 minutes, add the spices and then add the beans, corn kernels and squash and fry for 1-2 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, with half a can of water and the ketchup. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Transfer to a heatproof serving dish, sprinkle with crushed tortilla chips and grill for 1-2 minutes.

Cooks tip: To cook in a slow cooker, prepare as above, stir in the tomatoes, water and ketchup and bring to the boil. Transfer to the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Stir in the spinach and finish as above.

Pork and kale meatballs with tomato spaghetti

Introduce the kids to wonderfully leafy green kale in the family-friendlypork and kale meatballs with spaghetti (Discover Great Veg)

Cost: £1.45 per portion

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

250g bag kale

2 tbsp oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

500g minced pork

1 tsp Italian seasoning

3 tbsp sun dried tomato pesto

250g spaghetti

400g can chopped tomatoes

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Method:

Cook the kale in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, drain well. Squeeze out the excess moisture from half the kale and finely chop.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and fry the onion for 4-5 minutes until golden, transfer half to a large bowl and mix in the pork, chopped kale, Italian seasoning and 1 tbsp pesto, season and mix well. Divide into 16 balls. Set aside the remaining onions.

Heat the remaining oi in the same frying pan and fry the meatballs for 10-15 minutes until cooked through Remove and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to pack instructions, drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. Return the reserved onions to the same frying pan, add the chopped tomatoes, vinegar, remaining pesto and kale and bring to the boil, stir in the spaghetti and a little of the cooking water and stir to evenly coat. Season.

Serve the tomato spaghetti topped with the meatballs.

Cooks tip: Try using minced turkey, chicken, lamb or beef instead of the pork.

Chicken and kale chilli

For a healthy twist on the classic chilli, try the chicken and kale chilli (Discover Great Veg)

Cost: £1.95 per portion

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

1 leek, sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

500g minced chicken or turkey

2 tbsp tomato puree

400g can chopped tomatoes

400g can black beans, drained and rinsed

250g bag kale

1 ripe avocado, diced

Soured cream and cooked rice to serve

Method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the leek and garlic for 1 minute. Add the spices and then the minced chicken and fry until browned.

Add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes along with ½ can of water and the beans. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the kale in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, drain well then stir into the chilli. Season to taste.

Serve topped with avocado, a spoonful of soured cream on a bed of rice.

Cooks tip: Try minced pork instead and serve on top of jacket potatoes.

Spinach and pasta bake

This spinach pasta bake is packed full of vegetables and contains 3 of your 5 a day (Discover Great Veg)

Cost: £1.44 per portion

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

75g cashews

1 carrot, sliced

1 sweet potato, diced

300ml almond milk

50g vegan hard cheese, grated

300g macaroni pasta

260g bag spinach

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 leek, sliced

100g cherry tomatoes, halved

50g homemade breadcrumbs

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C, gas mark 6.

Cook the cashews, carrot, and sweet potato in boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and puree in a food processor with the almond milk until smooth, season and add half the cheese alternative.

Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water for 10 minutes, add the spinach until wilted, drain well and return to the pan.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the leek and tomatoes for 3-4 minutes until softened.

Mix the sauce and leek mixture into the pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to an ovenproof serving dish, sprinkle with remaining cheese alternative and breadcrumbs and bake for 20 minutes until golden.

Cooks tip: Try new potatoes or butternut squash to replace the sweet potatoes.

Cheesy baked eggs

These cheesy baked eggs make a stunning centrepiece (Discover Great Veg)

Cost: £1.25 per portion

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

2 leeks, trimmed and sliced

2 cloves garlic sliced

10 cherry tomatoes sliced

200g spinach

4 large eggs

100g mature cheddar grated

Seasoning to taste

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Add the oil to a medium pan on a low to medium heat then add in the leeks. Fry for 8-10 minutes until soft and caramelising.

Now add the garlic and fry for a further minute.

Add the tomatoes and spinach to the pan and cook down for 1-2 minutes.

Turn off the heat and season well.

Transfer the mix to a medium high sided baking dish.

Crack the eggs on top of the veg mix.

Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top and pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Take out of the oven and serve with some crusty bread

For more recipes and inspiration, visit discovergreatveg.co.uk