Semolina Porridge (Mannaya Kasha)

Mannaya Kasha is one of foods associated for russian people with their childhood. When I was little I was always told it is rich on nutrients and required for healthy kid growth - every kid knew that to grow strong and healthy they need to finish up their plate with semolina porridge.

Just as a note: while researching for proper translation for this recipe, I stumbled on information that semolina porridge isn’t recommended for kids younger than 3 years (which was new to me) as it contains high amount of gluten and also phytin. But because it also has a lot of proteins and high content of vitamins E and B1 it is very good for kids after 3 year old who have no gluten intolerance.

While cooking it is important to stir mannaya kasha all the time (I use whisk for this and it helps a lot), or you will get clots and no kid likes them in their mannaya kasha.

Crepes with Boiled Meat and Rice Stuffing

A cup of beef broth with a couple of meat and rice stuffed crepes will always remind me of my childhood: mom used to cook these all the time.

There is always boiled meat left over from cooking broth, and stuffing crepes with it is easy way to prepare a nice meal to go with it.

Assembled meat and rice stuffed crepes can be stored in fridge for couple of days - you just need to warm them up by frying right before serving.

And if you cook a way too much (as I usually do) just seal some portion of stuffed crepes in a bag and freeze them up, this way you will always have some fresh stuffed crepes when you need to prepare some food fast.

Russian Zucchini Paste

This is recipe of zucchini paste from my mom: easy to cook, contains only vegetables (zucchini, tomatoes and onions) and is very-very tasty.

I usually eat this paste on bread toast, for breakfast or as a snack; however it is also a nice side dish to help increase vegetable servings in your daily diet.

Zucchini paste can be served warm or cooled down.

West Ukrainian Cheese Cake (Syrnyk)

This cake is similar to the cheese cakes so popular in west part of the globe. However this one is made from quark cheese (fresh farmers cheese), not from the cream cheese.

It is very popular dessert treat in West Ukraine. It is often being made with raisins, however I don’t like raisins, so I am doing it without any filling. Just add them if you like.

During the baking this cake will rise in the oven, and then it will fall down a bit while colling down. That i s ok, just important not to open oven while baking or cooling.

To make up for a bit uneven shape, you can cut uneven sides off before serving it.

Eggs Fried with Tomato in Bell Pepper Ring

Looking for bright colors for fresh and energetic start of the day? This is your recipe: easy nutritious breakfast eggs and very fun looking also, when prepared accurately. I bet your kids will love them as much as I do.

I usually pick green peppers, they look good in combination with yellow-white eggs and red tomatoes. But any color will work here, just make sure you select big and nice shaped pepper.

Don't worry if egg white spills around the bell pepper ring, you can easily remove it later on with spatula.

Russian Pancakes (Oladi) with Apple

This recipe is a step up for russian kefir based pancakes – oladi. My mom used to add slices of apple to oladi batter and that is the way how I prefer them – oladi with apple served warm with sour cream topping.

So the recipe is quite easy: prepare oladi batter, add slices of apple and fry pancakes.

This dish is a perfect choice for breakfast or brunch, or even fast prepared snack. I bet kids would love those pancakes as well. They taste good accompanied with a glass of kefir.

Omelette with Sour Cream and Cheese

Easy to do breakfast for two (or more, if needed) – omelette with sour cream seasoned with shredded cheese, chopped dill and green onions.

This omelette is good as it is, as well it can be used as a base for various stuffing.

This recipe doesn't require flour (is gluten free); amounts of sour cream, cheese and greens can be varied to taste.

Cauliflower Pancakes

This is my recipe in support of Faina's with Cucee Sprouts cauliholic addiction. I hope you will like it :)

Yet another vegetable pancakes recipe. These are usually healthier choice: they contain much less flour (comparing to usually flour-based pancakes) - batter mostly consist of vegetable goodness and, of course, a bit of eggs :)

I love cauliflower in any of its appearance, and I consider cauliflower pancakes to be one of the easiest and fun ways to cook it.

Chicken Liver Pate on Crackers

I find dishes from any kind of liver not very popular on this side of the globe. However I can't see anybody not liking this one: chicken liver pâté or “pashtet” like it is called in Russia.

Pate in russian cousine is prepared mostly from liver cooked, ground and mixed with butter and few additions to taste. For chicken liver pate I add onions, carrots, a dash of nutmeg and a spoon of cognac, see the instruction below.

Chicken liver pate can be served as appetizer or snack, on bread, toasts, crackers or flat breads. You can also exercise a pastry chief inner self and arrange pate flowers using pastry bag.

Russian Kefir Pancakes (Oladi)

Oladi, or thick pancakes prepared from kefir based batter, is traditional russian breakfast food. Batter is easy to assemble and whole dish doesn't take much time to cook.

Kefir gives a distinguishing taste to oladi, but it probably can be replaced with buttermilk in case you are having troubles finding kefir.

Oladi can be served plain or with some kind of a topping: jam, syrop or honey, as well as fresh fruits. I love oladi with sour cream.

French Toasts with Cheese

French toasts are easy to do and very tasty. They fit perfectly for breakfast or brunch, or as a quick to prepare snack.

It is good to use not so fresh, 2 or 3 days old bread for french toasts. However it you only have fresh bread – just dry slices of it in the toster for a bit, it will make preparation easier.

French toasts can be served plain or with various topping: honey, berry jams or syrups. I prefer them topped with shredded cheese or mix of cheeses.

Baked Egg Omelette

Egg omelette with ham or canadian bacon and vegetables is a nice breakfast dish. It takes more than an hour to prepare, but it totally worth it.

Unlike most of other omelettes which are usually fried eggs with some other ingredients, this one is prepared by baking them in the oven.

It is a bit hard to tell exact baking time for this dish - it depends a lot on the size of the baking pan you use and amount of ingredients: my advice would be to test omelette with wooden toothpick (pierce it through from top to bottom and remove it) – if it does come out clean - baked omelette is ready.

Crêpes Stuffed with Apple

For some reasons, I always cook a bit too much than we can eat at once, especially when it comes to crêpes.

So there are some times when I am wondering what to do with all those extra crêpes left from the yesterday.

Here is nice idea how else you can eat left over crêpes: stuff them with honey and apples - those will get you full fast, and because stuffing is pure apple – you will also eat good nutritious breakfast.

If you are interested to know how to cook thin crêpes - read here.

Boiled Buckwheat

I think buckwheat grain is one of the most nutritious and healthy foods one can ever eat: it is very rich on iron, zink, other minerals and vitamins which makes it perfect food for kids and women during pregnancy.

It is also low on carbohydrates comparing to other grains (and for those which it does have body needs long time to digest);for me that makes boiled buckwheat (straight or with a bit of milk) perfect food for days when I want to eat a bit less and exercise a bit more: it makes you feel full longer without eating too much.

Boiled buckwheat is a perfect side for any kind of beef dishes: I personally prefer to serve it with beef stroganoff or minced beef cutlets; however it can be served as a stand alone dish. Boiled buckwheat grain with milk is very popular breakfast food for children and adults in countries of East Europe.

Deruny (Potato Pancakes)

Potato pancakes, prepared from fresh chopped or grated potatoes, onions, eggs and flour, are commonly associated with various cuisines of Europe. In Ukraine they are called “deruny”, in Russia and Belarus “draniki”; similar recipes can be found in Polish, German, Austrian, Czech cuisines.

Potato pancakes are usually a main no meat dish for lunch or breakfast; it tastes good topped with sour cream or mushroom sauce.

Even though potato pancakes are good enough as a separate dish, they can be also served as a side dish for vegetable or meat main dish course.

Bacon and Eggs with Tomatoes

Fried eggs dishes are usually breakfast food, however they are also coming handy when you need to prepare and eat something fast.

Fried eggs with bacon and tomatoes is my favorite way of preparing eggs: easy, tasty and fast. The ingredients in recipe will make a portion for a breakfast for two, adjust amounts if you need more or less.

Cherry or campari tomatoes are perfect for this dish, but if you have any other kind – that will work as well. And if you don't like bacon for some reasons - replace it with half spoon of butter, however I advice to keep it in, for the perfect taste.

Zucchini Pancakes

I prepared pancakes from zucchini, but they are also good prepared of any other kind of summer squash or even mix of them.

Soft and tender vegetable pancakes, they are easy and very fast to do. Perfect dish for breakfast or lunch, or for any other “hunger feeding” quick food break.

Odds are your kids will love them (even though they consist of pure vegetables)!

Crepes with Fresh Cheese

If you've got some crepes left or thinking about how to make them more tasteful and nutritious then stuff them with fresh cheese. You can prepare stuffed crepes and store them for future in the freezer. After, all you have to do to get a fresh and tasty crepe with cheese is to get it out of freezer and warm it up.

The only hassle with this recipe can be to find (or prepare) good quark-kind fresh white cheese. Try Russian, Ukrainian or Polish shop if you can't locate it local supermarket.

Crepes with Fresh Cheese are good for breakfast or snack, also they make perfect food for kids.

Lazy Varenyky (Fresh Cheese Lazy Dumplings)

Lazy Varenyky (lazy vareniki, fresh cheese lazy dumplings) is a dish of Ukrainian cuisine. To prepare it you will need fresh white cheese (tvorog, quark) which can be hard to find in a local shop, so try Ukrainian / Russian / Polish shops for more luck.

The word “lazy” in the name reflects the fact how fast and easy this dish is to prepare. It takes less then 20 mins from putting simple ingredients together till Fresh Cheese Lazy Dumplings are ready to be served, and that includes boiling.

Lazy Varenyky dish is good choice for children breakfast: they include fresh cheese - a good source of the calcium for growing body. And of course they are tasty, your kids will love them!

Fresh Cheese Pancakes

Fresh Cheese Pancakes are good choice for the family breakfast or snack. Fresh cheese is a source of the calcium, therefore this is very good food for kids whose growing body needs a lot of calcium.

Cheese pancakes are very fast and very easy to do. The only hassle with this recipe can be to find good quark-kind fresh cheese. So try Russian, Ukrainian or Polish shop if you can't locate it local supermarket.

Crêpes (Thin Pancakes)

But in any case you will need to prepare crêpes first and that requires agility and some kind of training. Read how I prepare them in the step-by-step guide.

Green Tuna Salad

Good, nutritious and light salad with tuna and lettuce.

An easy good way to watch your weight without feeling hungry all the time.