Kids Vegie Sauce

Being a typical toddler, Oscar does not like eating vegies. Its even harder when his range of vegies is so small.  The idea for this recipe came from his dietitian who suggested that I make a thick vegetable sauce and stir it through pasta or rice for him.  I was a bit sceptical at first, as I thought it would be bland and I didn’t want to start making separate meals for Oscar.  He has always eaten the same food as us and quite often prefers to eat off our plates rather than his own, so the trick would be to find a way to do this in a meal that we would all enjoy.  I’ve called this post “Kids Vegie Sauce”, but it is quite adult friendly as well.
My husband calls this vegetable concentrate, but I prefer vegetable sauce as it makes a very good stir-through sauce for pasta and works well as a simmer sauce for cooking with chicken then mixing with rice.  Tonight we are having it as a pasta bake.

Vegetable Sauce

Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 30 minutes
Total time 40 minutes
Allergy / Intolerance Amines, Artificial Addititives, Artificial Colours, Glutamates, Preservatives, Salicylates
Suitable for RPAH Elimination Diet - Low Chemical / Failsafe, RPAH Elimination Diet - Moderate Chemical, Salicylate Challenge
Meal type Ingredient
Misc Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
A child-friendly sauce full of vegetables that can be used as a stir-through sauce with rice and pasta or as a base for casseroles, pies, etc.

Ingredients

  • 2 Potatoes (peeled and chopped)
  • 1 Swede (peeled and chopped)
  • 2 Sticks Celery (chopped)
  • 1 tin 3 or 4 Bean Mix (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 tin Chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
  • 1/2 cup Green beans
  • 1 cup Red or green cabbage (chopped)
  • 1 bunch Chives (chopped)
  • 1 Small bunch Parsley (chopped)

If moderate salicylates are tolerated, include: (Optional)

  • 2 Carrots (chopped)
  • 200g Sweet potato (peeled and chopped)

If moderate glutamates are tolerated, include: (Optional)

  • 1/2 cup Peas

Directions

1. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables, then bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes and swede are tender.
2. Allow to cool then transfer to a food processor and whiz until it is a puree (this usually needs to be done in batches).
3. Store the sauce in one or two cup lots in the freezer.

Note

Low Chemical/Failsafe, Moderate Salicylates, Moderate Glutamates

To make the sauce, prepare any allowed vegetables and place them in a saucepan (any amount or combination can be used), this recipe is what we typically use.

Before using the sauce in any recipe I add either ricotta, cream, evaporated milk or yogurt to vary the flavour and texture.  A little water is also used to adjust the consistency. I also sometimes stir through some leek or shallots fried in a bit of oil and some garlic.  It makes a very good stir-through sauce for pasta and works well as a simmer sauce for cooking with chicken then mixing with rice.  If the sauce tastes a bit bland, sweeten it up with some pear sauce, golden syrup or mashed pear.

A note on yogurt: "Fresh yogurt, natural, plain or vanilla" is listed in the 2011 version of the RPAH Elimination Diet Handbook as low chemical.  The previous 2009 version listed "Yogurt" as moderate in Amines.   The definition of "fresh yogurt" in the 2011 version is not clear.  All recipes on this site use the moderate amines rating for yogurt.  If you are using fresh yogurt then the amine level of that ingredient will be low.  There may, however, be other amine ingredients in the recipe.

 

 


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10 Responses to Kids Vegie Sauce

  1. lisa moore says:

    can I use plain soy yoghurt instead seeing my 8 month old has an allergy to all dairy.

    • Oscars Mum says:

      Hi Lisa, this is also something I haven’t tried but it should work.

  2. Tas says:

    There are lots to try out! Let you know how we go!

    • Oscars Mum says:

      Thanks. You could also try sweetening up the sauce with some pear sauce or just mashed pears.

      • Tas says:

        I put half a tin of pears and the syrup in and a punch of citric acid. Told hubby to get himself something and eat it before he came home just in case. It’s quite nice now, with extra spring onion, chicken and rice. So glad, I put a heap of containers in the freezer and was wondering what I was going to do with it! Now I willl just add this to it again! Miss 19 months is getting stuck into it too, she gave up on cutlery and is currently eating with her hands 🙂 thanks for your help! Love your site so much! 🙂

        • Oscars Mum says:

          I’m so glad you’ve found something that works for you. And thanks for your feedback, this is exactly why I started writing and sharing.

  3. Tas says:

    We are 2 weeks into the diet. Just used it as stir through pasta sauce. I added garlic and spring onion to it before cooking but was still quite bland. I’m pregnant and breastfeeding so I’m super sensitive with smells/ tastes etc. I put heaps of salt on mine! Was planning on using as a summer sauce with chicken and rice tomorrow, and know my husband will die if I serve that. We are nut free as hubby can’t eat those. Will use more garlic and spring onion and some rice milk. See how we go! Thanks heaps! Only found your site this morning, going to be trying lots in next few weeks!

    • Oscars Mum says:

      Good luck with the elimination diet, I hope you find a lot of recipes here.

  4. Tas says:

    I made this today, we are on strict elimination no dairy or soy, and I couldn’t even choke it down! Wasn’t nice. My toddler ate a little, but wasn’t too fond either. Have heaps leftover. Any suggestions of anything else I can add or do to it? Thanks for an awesome site too 🙂

    • Oscars Mum says:

      what did you have it with? If you are used to eating highly salted food you may need to add a salt to it,as your taste buds get a huge shock when you start the diet. You could also try mixing it with some rice milk and stirring it through pasta, or as a pasta bake with bread crumbs mixed with Nuttelex on top. You could also fry some spring onions and garlic in a bit of oil with a little bit of salt and stir that through the sauce. If you can have nuts you can also make a cashew and vegetable sauce by mixing some cashew paste through it. Hope this helps.