Jacket Potato with Toppings
A jacket potato is such an easy, cheap and kid-friendly dinner, perfect for a weeknight. By adding veg on or alongside your jackets you create a balanced meal, so we’ve brought together some simple side ideas to increase the veg in your regular baked potatoes.
A jacket potato is such an easy, cheap and kid-friendly dinner, perfect for a weeknight. By adding veg on or alongside your jackets you create a balanced meal, so we’ve brought together some simple side ideas to increase the veg in your regular baked potatoes.
Why are jacket potatoes so great?
Whether you buy yours pre-cooked, chuck them in a microwave or leave them in the oven, there’s no denying the simplicity and ease of this dinner. But since white potatoes don’t count towards your 5-a-day, are there ways to add a little veg to this family favourite? Yes!
Eating the whole potato, including the skin, means you are getting all the best bits of a potato, including the most vitamins and fibre. So a jacket is perfect for getting the best out of the carbs on your plate.
If your kids have sweet palates and are willing to give it a go, swapping a baked potato for a baked sweet potato means your dinner has already turned into 1 of your 5-a-day while even saving you cooking time as sweet potatoes cook a little quicker. With sweet potatoes voted one of the world’s healthiest vegetables by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, there’s no denying this could be a great simple swap!
Kids not convinced by the sweetness of this swap? Time to try some simple topping swaps! We have pulled together some of our favourite simple toppings and sides for you to make that extra veg easy. But remember to take it at the pace your family is ready for – perhaps just a couple of spoonfuls of veg is the perfect start for now…
steps to better
There is nothing wrong with a tin of low sugar & salt baked beans to top a jacket – they even count as 1 of your 5-a-day! But if you need some inspiration beyond the go-to, try some of these to take your jacket potatoes from good to great.
Stick with a classic
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a tin of baked beans and a little cheese here – just try to choose low sugar and salt beans, and remember that while they count towards your 5-a-day, they can only ever count as 1 portion each day, no matter how many you eat.
Go sweet
Swap your white potato for a sweet one to get some veg that counts towards your 5-a-day in! They cook a little quicker, so allow 15 mins less in the oven and check with a knife to test it’s cooked all the way through.
Shrooms
Try frying some mushrooms in a little oil and garlic, then stir through some sour cream and a handful of fresh chopped herbs like parsley or basil.
Fishy
If you are a tuna mayo fan, trying stirring through some tinned sweetcorn or diced cucumber before you top your jacket.
Dahl-ing
Whether you make a dahl to top the potato with or simply use some leftover dahl you made an evening or two before, this is a tasty topping for baked potatoes. Try a lovely simple dahl like this one.
Simple slaw
Try making your own coleslaw by mixing grated cabbage, carrots and apple with some mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt and a squeeze of lemon juice to serve on or alongside a jacket. Or buy a pot of coleslaw if you don’t have time – just check ingredients and see if you can find one that isn’t too high in sugar, salt and fat.
Cauli cheese
Grab a bag of frozen cauliflower cheese and cook according to the packet instructions to serve in the potato. Or if you are feeling more ambitious, try making your own – we love this one!
Leftovers
Leftover veg – with or without sauce – can be great in or alongside jacket potatoes! Bolognese sauce, chilli and curry work particularly well here.
Salad veg
Don’t want to mess with the topping? Try snacky or salad veg to serve alongside the jacket potatoes. Salad leaves with some dressing (try iceberg for kids who like crunchy foods or baby spinach for those who prefer milder softer ones), ripe tomatoes (any kind), cucumber, sliced peppers or carrot sticks could all work well here!
engaging kids
Play is essential!
Think of children helping in the kitchen as a role play game with plenty of fun for maximum effect. One of the best ways to develop a love of veg in kids is to get them involved in the prep of the veg. Not only is cooking an essential life skill for kids to learn, but it’s a great, fun way to get them engaging with healthy foods!
Cooking with kids
One of the best ways to develop a love of veg in kids is to get them involved in the prep of the veg. Not only is cooking an essential life skill for kids to learn, but it’s a great, fun way to get them engaging with healthy foods! They don’t have to be involved in the whole process especially when they are very young (let’s keep the mess to a minimum!), just give them 1-2 smaller jobs they can own with some supervision.
If you are making jacket potatoes, why not get younger kids choosing and serving veg toppings, spooning over the jackets, or drizzling a little oil and salt over the potatoes before they go in the oven.
Older kids might be ready to learn how to prep the toppings, chopping veg or stirring beans as they heat on a stove!
See if they can tick off our Kitchen Ninja skills over time as you all get used to the recipe.
Arts & crafts
While getting kids to interact with veggies for real and using their senses to explore them is best, encouraging veg-based arts & crafts can be a great start, particularly for those who are fussier eaters or struggle with anything too sensory.
Use these arts & crafts as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. While you make your jackets, why not set them up with our chef veg crown?
Games & puzzles
Like arts & crafts, games & puzzles are a very safe way to get veggies to become more familiar and takes any pressure off eating or engaging their senses around veg for now.
A great place to start with jackets might be our Veg Selecta game!
Sensory
Sensory engagement with veg is possibly the best way to get children to slowly become more familiar with a veg. Take away the pressure to taste for now (and remember that ‘tasting’ could be expanded to include sniffing, licking and smelling) and instead encourage exploring a veg with a sense of smell, hearing, touch or sight.
Why not start with some sliced red cabbage for a slaw and get them to describe what they see. Perhaps it looks like a zombie brain, or a solar system! See if they are up for the challenge of putting a slice in their mouth and seeing if they can get their tongue to turn purple (it helps if you join in and see who can get their turn most purple here!). See if they want to chuck some into some mayonnaise and grated carrot or apple for a slaw topping after having engaged with it.
Serving
If your kids aren’t ready to be in the kitchen helping with part of the prep or cooking process, why not give them a job around the serving that could help them feel involved in the meal?
A crafty kid may like to design a beautiful menu, one who likes to help can lay the table. One may like to help you plate up the food, another may love to give the meal a theme! If you can (and we know it’s not always possible), try to eat with the kids, as they are much more likely to eat healthier food if they see it being eaten (and enjoyed!) by their families.
Why not let your child be in charge of toppings? Let them choose one from a list of suggested veg toppings. Make sure to praise them for their choices as you pile them on your own jacket potato, it may encourage them to try some on theirs!
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Use our step-by-step methods to slowly improve these favourites, too…
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