Mediterranean night aka stuff-your-own-pita night

Empowering your kids by letting them pick what they want to eat themselves, is what worked for mine to finally try new things. I am not talking about them choosing the meal, but getting them to choose from what is served on the table in separate small bowls and plates. Mediterranean night is the perfect meal to get kids to try new foods without any pressure put on them.

So, what is Mediterranean night exactly?

On Mediterranean night I fill a basket with pita bread and serve several different dishes to accompany it; the table is filled with falafel, hummus, harissa sauce, roasted peppers, tzatziki, grilled chicken and more. I serve everything on individual plates and bowls or I create one big mezze platter; it always looks so festive! Everyone gets to stuff their own pita bread picking from all the different dishes.

Getting the kids to try it out

When I first started serving this meal, I made sure there were enough different foods the kids 100% liked (for example cucumber, cherry tomatoes, yogurt dip) to put into their pita bread. By seeing us stuff ours with hummus and tzatziki, they asked us what it was we were eating. We got them intrigued! I explained that tzatziki is nothing more than yogurt and cucumber; two things they individually like a lot. I showed them to use it as a dip for chicken and carrots. And little by little they started trying new things out.

I wrote a blogpost called how to get kids to eat veggies that touches this subject. It has tons of information and handy tips & tricks (that work on my own kids) on how to get kids to eat everything you put on the table.

Now let me get back to this lovely family favorite. I love this meal as much as I love our Taco Tuesday, because I never get complaints (like ‘I don’t like this’ or ‘I don’t want to eat this!’), simply because they will always find something on the table they do like. And most of the dishes of this Mediterranean night they ended up really really liking!

So this Mediterranean night or stuff-your-own pita night as we call it, consists of:

homemade whole wheat pita bread or whole wheat flat bread
hummus or roasted pumpkin and garlic hummus
falafel or sometimes we switch it up and make vegan meatballs instead
tzatziki
roasted peppers
our take on harissa sauce (see recipe below)
usually some grilled chicken (skewers) rubbed with our Mediterranean spice mix*
and/or crispy chickpeas

Planning this meal..

It may seem intimidating and a lot of work but, if you plan it right, it is not too bad. I usually make big batches of pitas or flat breads and freeze whatever I don’t immediately use.

I do the same with falafel. When I make falafel for lunch one day, I keep the falafel mixture that I didn’t use in the fridge for later use. This way I don’t have to make it from scratch again on the day I plan to make this mezze platter; I only have to bake the falafel.

Hummus also keep really well in the fridge. I love it on toast or on the side of a salad. I usually make a big batch and store it in the fridge.

Now the meals doesn’t cost you many hours in the kitchen on a weekday! It is all about planning ahead of time. I wrote a blogpost about meal planning which will help you become a meal plan pro!

falafel platter with pita bread, tzatziki and grilled vegetables

This is a great family meal. I hope you and your family will enjoy it as much as we do. It is

colorful – diverse – packed with flavor – so festive – delicious – and our kids’ favorite now!

Harissa sauce

Our take on harissa sauce which compliments this Mediterranean night perfectly. The spice mix used to make this sauce can also be used to season chicken with.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 4 people

Calories 23 kcal

Equipment

Submersion blender

Ingredients

¼ cup homemade oven roasted tomato sauce* (or any store bought variety like sofrito)
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp Mediterranean spice mix**
1 chipotle in adobo (optional; leave it out if you want your kids to enjoy this as well!)

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
If you are adding a chipotle en adobo use a (submersion) blender to blend it all together into a smooth sauce.

Notes

*oven roasted tomato sauce

**Mediterranean spice mix:

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 ground cardamom

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander seeds (toasted and ground in a mortar and pestle)

2 tbsp of cumin seeds (toasted and ground in a mortar and pestle)

2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or even less to keep it mild (for kids) or sub black pepper)

Grind coriander and cumin seeds. Add all ground spices to a jar and shake well.

Nutritional information:

the information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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