How to make fruit and veg fun for kids: omelette monsters

Laleh Mohmedi creates awesome food art as a way of getting her son Jacob excited about eating his fruit and veg. In this post, she shares how to add a special twist to a delicious kale, ricotta & squash omelette.

It’s Autumn here in Australia at the moment, a beautiful mixture of both summer days and winter nights. A season that offers a large variety of beautiful produce ranging from fruits such as watermelons, that need a long ripening time over the warmer months, to vegetables such as kale, that grow when the chilly nights set in.

Eating seasonally is not only the best way to get the most flavour out of your food, it is also the most affordable for your household. As a strong advocate for healthy, organic eating, this dish ties in perfectly with the seasonal produce available in Australia at the moment.

Top tip: get your kids involved with prep

Even the best eating toddler can still turn their nose up at green veg, so any recipe that involves blitzing them up is a winner in my book. Not only does this make food prep more exciting, but it allows the child to eat their nutritionally packed meals without having the drama that always seems to be associated with the texture of green vegetables.

Taking only a few minutes to prepare, Jacob was able to help with all elements of this dish, from squashing the roasted pumpkin, blending the kale (his favourite), to mixing all the ingredients and helping to make the monster.

Making food art really can be as simple as cutting out circles for eyes and triangles for noses. The most important thing to remember is that it’s not about creating a masterpiece, but about making healthy food fun. This meal was great fun to make and delicious to eat. It was a winner in our house and I’m sure it will be in yours, too!

How to make an omelette monster

First, make a kale, ricotta & squash omelette (any kind of omelette will do, but we love this one). For the monster, you’ll need:

wholemeal tortilla wrap

small cucumber

aubergine

dark leafy greens, such as kale, cavolo nero, dark cabbage

green beans

red pepper

First, make the monster’s eyes. Using a small circle cutter, cut two ovals out of the wholemeal wrap (bend your cutter ever so slightly to make an oval shape).

Next, use a sharp knife to slice a thin round off both ends of the cucumber. Place these on top of the wholemeal wrap.

Peel a thin slice of skin off the aubergine, then, using a pen lid, pierce the skin to make two pupils. Place these on top of the cucumber.

To add an extra element of shine, use a thin straw to cut another small circle out of the wholemeal wrap (or use a quinoa seed), then place this on the left top side of each pupil.

Using your small circle cutter again, cut an oval shape out of the veg leaf. Cut this in half and place each piece over the top half of each eye.

To make the monster’s mouth, trim the ends off a green bean, then for the teeth, cut two triangles out of the wholemeal wrap.

Using a knife, cut a long, thin triangle out of the red pepper. This will be used for the monster’s spike on top of its head.

To make the monster’s arms and legs, steam four green beans for a couple of minutes (this will make them more bendable and easier to work with).

Take the finished monster eyes and place them on top of your omelette, then place the raw green bean below the eyes, with the two teeth pointing out from underneath it.

Pop the red pepper spike on the top of the head in between the eyes, and finish by positioning the steamed green beans as the monster’s arms and legs!

Check out Laleh’s Instagram account to see more of her fantastic creations, and take a look at her super cute owl meatballs for more kid-friendly inspiration.