Vegetable Pasta Soup Recipe (Lunch Ideas For Kids)

Last night, I made vegetable pasta soup because I thought it would be nice to pack some healthy homemade soup for my munchkin’s school lunch. Pasta soup is satisfying, kid-friendly and super easy to make, and it keeps really well. I flavored the soup with fresh black eyed peas and added fun shaped pasta so it looked more playful.

In the morning, I warmed up the soup and placed it in a thermos container that would keep the black eyed pea soup hot all the way until lunchtime. I placed a little note suggesting she ask her teacher to open the thermos when it was lunchtime, so she didn't get splashed with the hot contents.

Indian Style Black Eyed Pea Rice (Pulao Recipe)

Feeding a vegetarian crowd isn't as difficult as it may seem. I usually pair a legume with rice, which is the perfect balance for a vegetarian diet. I've been getting fresh black-eyed peas (also known as "cow peas") at the local stand, and instead of serving them as a boring bean salad, I incorporated them in a rice dish, flavored with Indian spices. I've made this dish in the past; it's called "pulao". Our family loves the burnt rice at the bottom of the pot, called "kurchan".

First, I sautéed black-eyed peas in onions, garlic, cider vinegar and red chili powder. They're very firm, so they take slightly longer to cook then the parboiled dried variety. I let them simmer until tender, then finished cooking them with steamed basmati rice and baby spinach.

Pulao Recipe (Indian Vegetable Rice)

Pulao is an Indian rice dish filled with sabji ("vegetables" in Urdu). In this version, I flavored the rice with only three vegetables: lima beans, carrots and green peas. Lima beans are packed with protein and are very filling. The combination of lima beans and rice makes a perfectly balanced meal for a vegetarian diet.

I served this one-dish meal family style with raita or chutney on the side. This weekend, we prepared a large pot and everything was gone at the end of lunch time! My favorite is the fried "burnt" rice at the bottom of the pot, called kurchan.

Pissaladiere Nicoise Vegetarienne (Vegetarian Mediterranean-Style Onion Tarts)

In France, you can't start a proper meal without an appetizer. This recipe marks the start to my 4-course "French meal" in honor of the opening of the movie called "Julie and Julia".  I thought about making mini quiches, but I decided against it because of the vegetarians in the house who find them a bit eggy. I settled on making Pissaladière niçoise.

Pissala what, you say? Pissaladière niçoise is named after the city of Nice, located on the Mediterranean coast in southern France. The dish is composed of all the typical ingredients from the region such as black olives, onions, garlic and a bouquet garni (see tips). You can either use pizza dough or pastry dough. The only change I made is that I substituted nori for the anchovies. I know it's not traditional but none of the vegetarians in our house like anchovies. If you don't have a problem with them by all means, use them instead. They add additional flavor and complexity.

Vegetarian Thai Tofu Satay with Peanut Sauce

In my quest to "share" as many meals as possible with my husband, I always try to make a vegetarian equivalent for him. I've done this successfully several times, like when I made curry tofu pot pie. Today, I created a veggie meal inspired by chicken satay.

The texture is pretty similar to that of the original, and the sauce is just as flavorful. Unseasoned tofu is a very bland ingredient, but it acts as a sponge and absorbs all the strong flavors of the sauce. If you've been scared to try tofu, this is a great place to start.