Marinating is an age-old process to intensify the flavour of food before cooking.

Who doesn’t love a good lasagne? Even better, who doesn’t love a gluten-free vegie-loaded lasagne? The addition of frozen spinach is a great way to get a little extra iron boost to your dish. For a quick midweek meal, prepare the eggplant tomato sauce in advance and keep in the fridge, pop on pasta, grilled chicken, veg, or even on its own for a healthy dip!

You can snack on it, drink it and cook with it but did you know that fruit can be used as a natural beauty product? Find out how to feed your skin, naturally.

(No) meat, no worries! Iron, in the form of non-haem iron, can be found in plant-based foods too so don’t fret if you’re trying to reduce your meat intake in favour of a few more vegetables on your plate. You can absolutely tick all nutrient boxes in macro- and micronutrients on a vegetarian or plant-based diet — it just takes a little education and discovering delicious recipes like this one.

Carrots hold a special place in our hearts. They are great raw or cooked. Kids generally like them. They are great for your body and, perhaps most importantly, they are an excellent vehicle for hummus.

Try these delicious recipes from our sponsors at Coco Tribe

Try these delicious recipes from our sponsors Honeylife.

High on our home menu repertoire is Mexican. We try mixing and matching different ingredients with Mexican spice and flavours and they’re always a cracking success! This combination in particular is a great way to up the iron in your diet from simple plant-based ingredients. Both the tofu and the lentils deliver iron to the dish. The vitamin C rich citrus fruits squeezed over before serving help the body absorb the iron in food — all in a very delicious, wholesome meal. The whole family will love this delicious, nourishing and iron-rich bean salad with a special Mexican twist.

This broccoli rice is a midweek vegie wonder! It’s incredibly rich in minerals such as iron and magnesium, vitamins and fibre from green vegetables such as broccoli, kale, spinach and coriander, which balance beautifully with the protein, choline, vitamin B12, vitamin D and scrumptious flavour in free-range eggs. If kids are at the table and you’re not yet convinced they’ll go the whole broccoli rice meal then simply swap out half the broccoli for some cooked brown or jasmine rice.

When was the last time you did something creative? Sung a song? Danced? Painted or sketched? All these things help increase your creativity, work on your second and fourth chakra and release good energy to your environment. What is happening inside is a reflection of what is outside of you and vice-versa.

The common plant ivy has many effects when used medicinally but its prime action is as a respiratory anti-inflammatory — very useful in conditions such as bronchitis.

My 9-year-old boy requests this slow-cooked tofu sweet potato and vegie dish regularly. It’s the perfect introduction of more vegetarian-based dishes for youngsters because there are so many great flavours in each bite, and parents can rest assured that everyone is receiving a great balance of nutrition. Jump in the kitchen as a family, chop and cook this one together.