Keeping Mondays meat-free with soup! Lots of tips below of how to serve to even the cautious of eaters too. I’ll be preparing this over the weekend, so it’s a nice, easy lunch.

Soup has always seemed so elusive to me. Something so tasty, but I thought it involved a lot more technicality and time. Turns out you just need to roast some vegetables for 30-40 minutes, add stock (enough until it’s the consistency you want), blitz and done. I’ve made this recipe a couple of times now and it is beautiful! Hopefully it’s a taste familiar to children too if they are used to pasta sauce, pizza or ketchup! This recipe suggests garlic bread or waffles but I’ll be serving it with fresh rolls this time. I served it with waffles recently and went down very well!

Not sure the kids will like it? Scroll down to see how best to serve it to them!

Tip: freeze any leftover soup into small portions and bring out now and then and put into a little cup for your child to dunk bread/breadsticks into whilst they are waiting for their meal.

Recipe for James Martin’s roasted tomato soup

GET AHEAD: Roast the tomatoes and peppers over the weekend so you can just blitz on the day
TEATIME SUGGESTION: Pizza and shaker salad

Serving suggestion:
- A large dollop of long-term thinking (don’t focus on just one meal)
- A cup of cheerful conversation (no bribery, just connection)
- A pinch of salt (how you should take all food rejection!)
- Lashings of laissez-faire (the less you micro manage, the better)

How to serve this meal to your child

Beginner: ‘My child refuses any new meals’

Cook for yourself and reheat some of the soup and serve alongside your child’s usual meal the next day in a little cup to use for dunking some bread into or you could offer it as a small starter whilst they are waiting for their meal. The great thing about this approach is that you are not cooking specifically for your child, you are giving them leftovers from a meal that you would have cooked anyway, so straightaway there is LESS expectation and pressure. It’s about creating easy opportunities to widen your child’s food list.

Intermediate eater: ‘My child may try this new dish but I’m not sure’

Choose a day when you can eat together. Offer other components your child usually eats so there is no pressure. Serve the soup with some breadsticks or bread that they can experiment with for dipping and dunking! If all else fails, they have the bread or side dishes to eat instead!

Advanced eater: ‘My child eats most things I give them and is not phased by new food’.

Serve the new meal and if they unexpectedly do refuse it, the best advice is not to panic and don’t feel bad. It’s just one meal. Say non-confrontational words such as ‘you don’t have to eat anything you don’t want to’ and see if they can try a bit in their own time. If they don’t, it is best to move onto the next mealtime and write it off and try another time!