High Iron Pasta for the family, including the baby

I try to cook every meal for the family. Cooking nutritious meals for my child is probably one of the reasons I set up a school, ha. I am often asked how do I find time to cook when I am working? I don't know, I find eating out takes up more time. Slow cooker is my best helper for soups, stews, braised meals etc. But sometimes I prefer to cook certain ingredients only briefly to preserve as much nutrition as possible.

Anyway, here's a quick pasta I whipped up last night. My version of Beef Bolognaise with English parsley, lentils, millet, red capsicum, spinach, tomato and pasta of course. 

Do you know
- Spinach, lentils and beef are high in iron, but iron is best absorbed if taken with Vitamin C? Tomato and red capsicum contain Vitamin C and pairing these food together help the body utilise iron better.
- Red capsicum is a decongestant, thins mucus and phlegm and has anti-cancer properties.
- Lentils are legumes, packed with fiber and protein. My favourite thing about this is that it stabilises blood sugar and is awesome for young children. It evens their sugar level and prevents mood swings from sugar high sugar low effect.
- English Parsley has wonderful healing properties, and I love it so much I have it growing t home. It purportedly neutralises carcinogen, is packed with anti-oxidants nutrients and vitamins B, C.

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil and add in chopped garlic and onions. Boil pasta separately.

2. Add lentils, millets and ground beef. Season with salt if you wish. I don't add any salt.

3. Add canned tomato pomodoro, red capsicum and finely chopped English parsley. Add two cups of water.

4. When beef is cooked, add in chopped spinach. I turn off the flames as soon as the spinach wilt because I don't want the high heat to kill the nutrients. Actually the whole cooking process probably took me 20 mins or less.

5. Serve with pasta. 

Yes, this portion is for my 3 year old girl. She has a hearty appetite and is blessed with a high metabolism.

When I am prepping ingredients, I like to put aside those that is suitable for my baby. Food high in iron is added bonus for breastfed babies. In this case, I set aside the pasta (boiled a little longer so they are softer), spinach, red capsicum, onion, garlic and millet. I dropped them into the boiling water after I scooped out the cooked pasta, did a quick hand blend when cooked. My 9 month old baby has moved on to chunky food and loves this. He ate 8 tablespoon (4 ozs) easily and I am a happy mother. :)