pasta is not a dirty word

Poor old pasta. In these gluten-free, carbohydrate phobic times, eating a bowl of pasta has become problematic. I've never been an all or nothing kind of person so have never cut carbs completely out of my diet or my family's but I do think that our modern diets are too heavy on carbs and too light on vegetables. And there's one thing for certain, many kids love carbs and loathe vegetables!

What to do?

Well, when River was about 3 years old I talked to my Chinese doctor about this very situation and her response was to vary the grains that the pasta is made of.

The majority of pasta you see on the supermarket shelf is made from wheat which more and more people are finding that they have a sensitivity to or realise that their diets are too heavily based on wheat like for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Wheat is a whole topic in itself but for starters go here .

We eat pasta about once a week or every ten days and avoid eating wheat, I buy gluten-free rice or corn pasta, spelt, amaranth or kamut pasta. The health food aisle in your supermarket stocks pasta that is made from grains other than wheat and your local health food store will most likely have an even wider range.

Now for the vegetables. Well, the good news is pasta sauce is a wonderland for concealing vegetables. If it isn't already, the grater should be your best friend. Grated carrot and zucchini are two of my favorites to include. That said, I don't really believe in hiding vegetables at every meal to get children to eat them.

Raising happy, healthy eaters begins with us the parents. Our attitude to good food, the example we set and having clear, consistent expectations are the foundations in my book. Speaking of books, for more tips on curing fussy eaters read 'French Kids Eat Everything' by Karen Le Billon.

There's no force feeding at our table but what we serve for dinner is dinner, there are no other options. When it comes to veggies most children go in and out of liking carrots, pumpkin, broccoli - insert vegetable name - one day and screwing their face up at the sight of them the next. The key is not to make a big deal out of it and not to give up putting vegetables on their plate. Yes it gets a bit boring having the same old 'eat your veggies' talk but it is our work, laying solid nutritional foundations for our children is an important job. Don't give up!

Back to the pasta. The dish pictured above is corn spaghetti (500g) tossed with roasted veggies, a whole jar of Meredith Dairy goat cheese (including the olive oil and herbs from the jar thrown in), semi dried tomatoes, fresh peas and roasted pine nuts. Roasted veggie pasta is one of my favorites, quick and easy.

Now, tell me your favorites? Or have you given up grains? Tell me why and how that's going.