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Edition 1 — Vegetables in plain sight
Kate opens the fridge, stares at it for a full ten seconds, and closes it again.
Friday night. Nobody has the energy for a long ingredient list.
“Tacos?” says Jack, who is ten and suspicious of anything green.
“Tacos,” says Kate. “Crispy fish. Reckon you can spot all the vegetables?”
Jack narrows his eyes. Mia, who is seven, is already counting on her fingers.
Welcome to Spot the Veg. We’re not hiding anything. The vegetables are right there on the table—crunchy, colourful and ready to tuck into a warm tortilla.
The challenge? Build your taco, enjoy your dinner, and see how many vegetables you can name.
Why this one works
Crispy fish, soft tortillas and crunchy slaw make a simple dinner with plenty of room for everyone to do it their way.
The slaw brings together cabbage and carrot with a creamy sweet chilli dressing. It adds crunch, a little sweetness and colour without another pan to wash.
Put everything in separate bowls and let everyone build their own. Some will pile on the slaw. Others might start with a few shreds of carrot beside their fish. Both are fine.
The game is an invitation to explore, with no pressure to finish everything.
What you need
Serves 4 · About 25 minutes, depending on your fish’s cooking time
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4 frozen crumbed fish fillets
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8 soft tortillas
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300 g coleslaw mix containing cabbage and carrot
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½ cup whole egg mayonnaise
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2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
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1 lime
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2 spring onions
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Rice bran oil spray, if needed
Choose fish fillets large enough to fill two tacos each. If yours are small, cook a couple of extras.
These are ordinary supermarket ingredients. Keep the fish in the freezer, the tortillas in the pantry according to their packet instructions, and the slaw ingredients and mayonnaise in the fridge.
Four steps to taco night
1. Get the fish cooking
Cook the crumbed fish according to the packet instructions, using a light spray of rice bran oil if needed.
2. Make the slaw
Mix ½ cup mayonnaise with 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce and a squeeze of lime. Toss through 300 g coleslaw mix, or keep some plain slaw aside for anyone who prefers it without dressing.
Thinly slice 2 spring onions and cut the remaining lime into wedges.
3. Warm the tortillas
Warm 8 tortillas according to the packet instructions. Cut the cooked fish into pieces suitable for filling the tacos.
4. Let everyone build
Bring the fish, tortillas, slaw, spring onions and lime wedges to the table.
Choose. Fill. Fold. Dinner’s ready.
The Spot the Veg game
During dinner, ask:
“How many different vegetables can you spot?”
In our version, there are three:
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Cabbage — the crunchy ribbons in the slaw.
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Carrot — those little orange shreds.
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Spring onion — the green and white topping.
Bonus question: Is lime a vegetable?
No—it’s a fruit! But it earns a place at taco night for that lovely squeeze of flavour.
Check your coleslaw packet, too. Some mixes contain more than one type of cabbage or an extra ingredient. Your family might have more to discover.
Count what’s on the table, what’s in each taco, or both. Nobody has to eat every ingredient to join in.
A SANE Tip for the wary eater
Keep the components separate and let your child choose where to start.
Try a little plain carrot or cabbage beside the taco, offer the dressing separately, or leave the spring onions as an optional topping.
There’s no need for a big reveal or a “gotcha”. We’re helping children recognise vegetables as part of an everyday dinner.
Did your kids spot the veg?
Did they count every ingredient? Try the slaw? Build a fish-only taco and investigate the rest?
We’d love to hear how taco night went in your house—including the bits that didn’t go to plan.
Email hello@sanesundays.com with the subject “Spot the Veg”. Tell us what your family tried and whether you’re happy for us to share your feedback in a future edition.
Real dinners. Real reactions. Useful ideas for the next family.
Get your free Taco Night Companion
Make Friday dinner a little easier with the Edition 1 Taco Night Companion, including:
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A one-page recipe card.
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A shopping list.
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A simple cooking timeline.
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A Spot the Veg count-up card.
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Easy options for wary eaters.
Join the Sane Sundays email list to receive your free companion.
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Kate, Jack and Mia are fictional characters in the Sane Sundays storytelling family. The recipes are real; any reader feedback we share will come from real families and be used with permission.