We're Vegetarians, Right?, Today's School Lunches, & Kale Ratatouille Recipe

Good morning!

It looks like today is going to be a beautiful day!  

Here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

Organic pb apple ring sandwiches, grapes, tomatoes (1st grader), left over kale ratatouille over organic red quinoa (1st grader), preservative free prunes (K), organic red quinoa, organic cucumber slices (K), & 1/2 a slice of GH Dakota bread w/butter.

We had an interesting conversation at the dinner table last night.  My 7 year old, with a smile upon seeing a new dish put in front of him...

"We're vegetarians, aren't we mom?"

"Yes, we are.  How did you know that?"

"I hear you say it all the time, so I just knew."

"Well, do you like being a vegetarian?"

"Yeah, I love it.  I love who I am, and would never want to change who I am."

If that doesn't melt a mother's heart, make her so proud, and give her encouragement, I don't know what will.  I love my babies.  

Since this is the dish that prompted my son's proclamation of vegetarian love, I'd like share to share last night's dinner recipe with you. 

I got the recipe from Meatless Monday.  Meatless Monday is an organization that promotes eating less meat, for health reasons. This recipe for Kale Ratatouille showed up in my Facebook news feed yesterday, and just like that, I knew what we were having for dinner. 

:)

Kale Ratatouille

Serves 8

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
• or
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 2 springs fresh thyme
• or
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 1 small zucchini, quartered
• 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 4 cups shredded kale
• 1 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and sauté for 4-6 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Add the rosemary, thyme, tomatoes, zucchini, pepper, tomatoes, kale and salt to the pan. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. If using fresh herbs, take out the sprigs when the dish has simmered together and enjoy!

This dish is incredibly simple to make, once you have all of your vegetables prepped, and looks so beautiful while cooking.

Here are some pics...

Chopping up the kale.  I used a little over 1/2 a bunch.

2 different stages of cooking...look how beautiful all of those colors are together! 

I made a few changes and substitutions...

I used 1/2 an organic zucchini and 1/2 an organic yellow squash (organic is the only way to be certain that they aren't GM).  I was out of grape tomatoes, so I used a whole tomato, cut into a chunky dice.  I used 2 cans (BPA free lining) of Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes in place of the can of whole tomatoes, because they were the only organics that the store that I was at carried. I used 1/2 orange bell pepper & 1/2 red bell, and for the spices I used 1 Tbsp organic Italian Seasoning. 

Here is how it turned out!  

The recipe suggested serving it over rice, but I decided to use organic red quinoa.  Quinoa is a complete protein, and was perfect for this dish!  I can't stress enough, though, the need for a good quality quinoa.  I buy mine bulk, at WF, but that wasn't always the case.  The first bag of quinoa that we bought was from Sam's Club, and seemed like such a great deal...a big bag of organic for around $5.00!  Blech!  Every bite had crunchy sandy bits in it, like chomping on glass.  Disgusting.  That bag, sadly, went right in the garbage.

I made mine in the rice cooker, but the stove top works just as well.  Just use twice as much water as quinoa.  

About 20 minutes later, I had this...

A nice big bowl of fluffy organic quinoa!  I added some salt, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, a drizzle of nonGMO canola, & the juice from 1/2 a key lime, and tossed.  

We paired it with this pretty little side salad, which we have nearly every night, but last night I added strawberries, and some fresh sliced Mediterra farm loaf.  I talk a little about Mediterra here.  

We only use my homemade dressing, with the exception of my kindergartner, who prefers organic Caesar when we have it in the house, which isn't too often.  You can find the recipe in this post.

  

Here are a couple of the kids pigging out, and a lot of empty plates!  

No, we don't usually do shirtless meals (please ignore my laundry), but somehow he suffered a wardrobe malfunction, so my husband just left him exposed (Janet flashback anyone?) instead of dirtying a new one.  He seems o.k. with it! 

My kindergartner loved it, though she did pick out the red pepper strips, claiming she doesn't like them.  Shhh...don't tell her, but she ate all of the orange pepper strips! (Muahahahahaha!)  Yes, she is in her pjs...waste not, want not...time included! 

Now this is what a mama likes to see...a line of empty plates!  

The whole family loved this meal, and has requested that it be added to our regular meals.  

Request granted! 

:)

Have a great day!