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Broccoli-Cheese Stuffed “Baked” Potatoes

Claire Wright

Featuring:
broccoli
Broccoli
Effort:
Complexity:
Cost:
In season now

Serves: 4

Prep time: 2 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

4 baking potatoes

1 head broccoli, chopped into bitesize chunks (smaller florets can be left whole, larger ones roughly chopped) or 500g frozen broccoli florets

2 handfuls grated cheese (Cheddar or similar hard cheese is best)

Salt & pepper, to taste

Veg Portions / Serving: 1

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If you need a veg-packed comfort food cold-day easy dinner the whole family will love, try these broccoli-cheese stuffed baked potatoes. Made in the microwave using only 3 ingredients. Swap the broccoli for cauliflower for a cauli-cheese version.

Method:

First, “bake” the potatoes in the microwave by piercing all over with a sharp knife or fork and placing 2 in a microwaveable bowl before cooking on High for 5-10 mins or until the potatoes feel soft in the middle when pierced with a knife. Repeat with the next 2 if using.

(To get the skin crisper and make for a truly great baked potato, drizzle with a little oil and pinch of salt and place in a hot (200c/gas 6) oven or under the grill for 5 mins to crisp up.)

For the broccoli, either simmer for 5 mins in a pan of water on the hob, or pop in a microwaveable bowl with 3 tablespoons water and cover with a microwave-safe plate, then cook in your microwave for 4-5 mins until the broccoli is bright green and softened with just a little bite to it. (For frozen broccoli, just follow the instructions on the packet.)

Halve and fluff the potatoes with a fork, then top with the broccoli and grated cheese. Add a little salt & pepper to help bring out the flavours.

Note: for a comfort food treat, using a couple of tablespoons of hot cheese sauce over the broccoli instead of grated cheese makes for a delicious and decadent dinner.

Engaging Kids

Engaging Kids

Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating.

Kids in the kitchen

Kids in the kitchen

The eventual aim, if possible, is to get kids in the kitchen. Don’t worry, this doesn’t have to mean they are with you from start-to-end creating mess and rising stress levels! It can be as simple as giving them one small job (stirring, measuring, pouring, grating, chopping…) ideally involving veg. They can come in to do their little bit, and have fun with you for a few minutes. Getting them involved, making it playful and praising them plenty for their involvement, perhaps even serving it as dinner they “made”, makes it much more likely they will eat the food offered, not to mention teaching them important life skills. Find ideas, safety tips, videos and even a free chart in our Kids in the Kitchen section here.

Activities

Activities

While getting kids to interact with veggies for real and using their senses to explore them is best, encouraging hands off activities like arts & crafts, puzzles & games or at-home science experiments can be a great start, particularly for those who are fussier eaters or struggle with anything too sensory. Use these veg-themed activities as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. We have loads of crafty downloads here, puzzles here, and quirky science with veg here.

Sensory

Sensory

Once you feel your child is ready to engage a little more, you can show them how to explore the veg you have on hand with their senses, coming up with playful silly descriptions of how a veg smells, feels, looks, sounds and perhaps even tastes. Find ideas, videos and some simple sensory education session ideas to get you started here.

Serving

Serving

The moments before food is offered can be a perfect opportunity for engagement that can help make it more likely a child will eat it! Giving children a sense of ownership in the meal can make a big difference to their feelings going into it and the pride they take in it. You know your child best, but if you aren’t sure where to start, we have some fun and simple ideas for easy roles you can give them in the serving process over here.

Claire Wright

Editor: After leaving Exeter University with a degree in English Literature, Claire worked in various fields ranging from youth work and charities to publishing, before starting up a food-focused website when her first child was born. After being asked to project manage the publication of Veg Power's Crowdfunder book, Claire came on board as a fully-fledged team member in 2018 to take on the role of Communications Manager, then Editor, looking after Veg Power's website, content, recipes and social media platforms.

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