mamacook

Homemade Fish Fingers for Babies and Toddlers

2012-03-17T12:25:00.002Z

This had been something I'd been meaning to do for a while and never got round to. Ok, these are perhaps more "fish nuggets" than "fish fingers" or "fish sticks" but they were tasty.

Homemade Fish Nuggets for Babies and Toddlers - serves 1-2 depending on age and appetite. Ok for older babies on finger foods (the crust is a little crunchy)

Ingredients

100g Fillet of pollock or other white fish
50g Naan bread (or other bread of your choice, see method below)
1 tbsp coriander leaf (cilantro)
1 egg
Spray oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F

Defrost the white fish if frozen. I always use pollock for my son as it's a source of Omega 3 "good" fats which are essential for growth. It's not a huge source of them but better for your health and the environment than having cod or haddock and an easier sell for kids than mackerel.

Cut the fish into two pieces.

Take the naan bread or other bread and make into bread crumbs. The only reason I used naan bread was we'd run out of normal bread in the house but with the nigella seeds in it, naturally I immediately jumped to using some coriander as well. If you don't have naan bread in the house, just use another bread. As you're processing it into breadcrumbs, add in the coriander to get it all chopped up too.

Dip each piece of fish in beaten egg then dip into the breadcrumbs. Put onto a baking tray lined with non stick baking paper. Spray on the top with spray oil and put into the oven.

Cook for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Could be served with a sauce for dipping if liked.

Saute Potatoes for Babies and Toddlers

2012-03-14T17:13:00.003Z

Ideal finger food this. I think people forget that kids, especially babies and toddlers, need fat. Fat is essential in their diet, they're putting on fantastic amounts of weight in their first years and the odd bit of butter does no harm. I'd certainly always prefer to use proper butter rather than artificial margarines where I can. Artificially hydrogenation is one of the most unnatural processes in food.

So is this cheeky calling this a recipe? Well maybe but my toddler loved it. Admittedly ate all of the potatoes and ignored his beef stew but, well there you go. The world with a toddler. He has been a bit off colour recently though so the fact he's eating anything is a bonus.

Saute Potatoes - serves one toddler

Ingredients

A knob, approx 10-20g of unsalted butter
2 medium sized cooked new potatoes (I use left over potatoes)
1 garlic clove

Method

Slice the potatoes into slices 2-3mm thick, slightly thicker than a pound coin. Heat the butter in a frying pan on a moderate heat and put in the peeled garlic clove (whole). Add the potatoes to the melted butter and cook gently on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden to your liking. Remove the garlic clove as it will have done it's work.

Allow to cool enough until save to eat before serving to your child. Add a bit of salt if feeding to adults.

Can Babies and Toddlers Eat Spicy Food?

2012-03-13T13:41:00.003Z

Well can babies or toddlers eat spicy food?

You wouldn't think so if you looked at your average "baby food" aisle these are the choices:

Porridge
Pasta Bolognaise
Various Hot Pots and Stews
Simple vegetable and fruit purees
Fruit and custard mixes
Cottage or Shepherds Pie
Some kind of pasta

Now there's nothing wrong with all of that, it's all good filling food but why not make something more interesting? Why feed our kids such bland food?

It wasn't until talking with some friends in a singing group that I even considered feeding my child something more interesting. I started off with some dahl and was really surprised when my son went for it.

In later months I moved onto chicken curry, thai fishcakes, keema curry and even a thai green curry. So it does make me wonder why the 'traditional' foods are so bland.

I think more people are starting to challenge the kind of foods we feed our kids and this is where baby led weaning has had a really positive influence. The idea with baby led weaning is that you feed the foods you eat to your child (where safe to do so). I didn't do baby led weaning but I did take some ideas from it, quickly moving to self feeding and more "interesting" foods.

I remember once taking my son out to an Italian restaurant for lunch with my in laws. He must have been 10 months old. I had dutifully packed cream cheese sandwiches and cucumber for his food. He threw it all on the floor. When the pizza came he was happily chomping away on that. To be honest, who can blame him? Cream cheese sandwiches ming! What was I thinking?

So, in this vein, I fed him some kedgeree for lunch, he was so keen on it, my normally mess phobic son was scooping the last grains out with his hands!

I urge you, for one lunchtime this week, make something with a little more "oomf" and let me know how it goes. Your little one might surprise you!

Tomato and Bacon Soup

2012-03-11T19:53:00.001Z

Oh the cupboards are empty, the ideas bank is empty. I've just faced a huge audit at my work and received the most fantastic result. So home and blog has suffered a little as a result.

Faced with fairly empty cupboards, some bacon which needed eating and a hungry husband, this is what I came up with. Yes, there is a bit of salt in here, depending on the portion size you chose but it's tasty, it's cheap and it's probably just for adults!

Tomato and Bacon Soup - serves 2-4 adults

Ingredients

300g smoked bacon
Spray oil
500g pack passata
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
4 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp mild smoked paprika

Method

Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry in the spray oil with the garlic until the garlic is softened and the bacon is looking cooked. Add in the passata, tomatoes and paprika, bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes then puree. Add in a little water if it needs it and serve.

I served this with some sourdough from the freezer. It was yum...

There's nothing like eating something tasty from an unpromising list of ingredients to make you feel slightly smug.

A simple chickpea salad

2012-03-08T20:43:00.001Z

Another thrifty indian style salad recipe alongside my carrot salad a great accompaniment to chicken tikka.

Chickpea Salad - serves 2-3 adults depending on accompaniments

Ingredients

1 tin chickpeas (240g drained weight)
3-4 Fresh tomatoes, diced
half a small onion, finely diced
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp whole cumin
1/2 tsp whole mustard seeds

Method

I have no idea if they'd eat something like this in India. To be honest, I've taken Indian ingredients and made something I liked the taste of!

Open the tin of chickpeas and drain. Add the chopped onion, tomatoes, lime juice, sugar and salt. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin and mustard seeds warming until they start to pop. Pour over the salad and serve alongside a curry or chicken tikka.

Prawn Stir Fry

2012-03-03T16:54:00.000Z

I tried my son on noodles when he was much younger. It wasn't a 'hit', he just didn't get the idea, however, I decided to try again today. We were coming back from Mums and Tots and I needed to cook something quick for our lunch. I wanted to do something more interesting than a sandwich so I decided to cook this. Definitely a hit now!

Prawn Stir Fry - serves 1 Mummy and 1 Toddler (reduce soy content if feeding to under 1s)

Ingredients

A couple of slices of ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 spring onion, chopped into rings
1 red pepper, cut into sticks
4-5 mushrooms, cut into thick slices
Approx 8 large raw prawns (or could use more smaller cooked prawns if you like), thawed if frozen
1 'layer' of dried noodles - this weighed approx xxg from my pack or the "straight to wok" kind if you prefer.
2 tsp soy sauce
Spray oil or vegetable oil

Method

Follow pack instructions to cook the noodles (some need boiling, some can just be soaked in boiling water, some are "straight to wok".)

In the meantime, fry the garlic, ginger and spring onion in a wok in the spray oil or oil. Then add in the mushrooms and prawns (if raw, add a little later if cooked) then after 2 mins or so, add the soy and pepper and cook until everything is cooked through adding in the cooked noodles at the end.

It was very sweet seeing my toddler son finally get to grips with noodles. He's not the best at allowing his hands to get dirty but after trying with a spoon and a fork, he went hands in, the sauce all over his face in no time! Super cute!

Top 10 Egg Recipes for babies and children

2012-03-01T21:19:00.001Z

As I was saying the other day, eggs are a natural source of vitamin D. It's rare to get vitamin D in our diets, most of it comes from sunlight and, glorious wintery days like this aside, we don't get much of that at this time of year. Eggs are also a fantastic source of protein, cheap (even free range ones if you can stretch to that) and incredibly versatile. They can also act as an emulsifier (mayonnaise), glue (to coat in breadcrumbs) a means to hold air (pavlova) or as a structural agent (in cakes).

If you're anything like me, you may find that long after all the meat in your fridge has gone, there is a pack of eggs left. They're a great standby staple and can make a meal.

So in praise of the humble egg, here are some of my favourite recipes where they are either the star or they form a vital functional role.

1. Scrambled eggs. The fast food staple. Quick, easy. Tart it up for adults by stirring in smoked salmon trimmings and a knob of butter.

2. Omelette. Just crack 2-3 eggs into a bowl, add a splash of water and mix. Put a knob of butter into a non stick pan and pour in the eggs when it's warm. Draw the edges as they cook to the middle and swirl it around to cook evenly, you want the heat medium hot. For adults or older kids you can leave the centre soft but cook through for kids under 12 months. Add any filling if desired (only use cooked or ready to eat fillings). Turn out onto a plate, rolling as you go.

3. Chinese fried rice like my egg fried rice or mushroom fried rice recipes. The eggs are a bit hidden in here, good news if your kids not keen but it helps the rice become sticky and easy to scoop up for those new to spoon feeding themselves.

4. Muffins. It's very difficult to make a cake without sugar but it's even harder to make one without eggs. My favourite savoury muffin recipe is probably my spinach and feta ones, my favourite sweet (no added sugar) recipe is my oaty ones, surprisingly light considering all those oats.

5. Poached with bubble and squeak. I now use an adaptation of Heston Blumenthal's recipe for poached eggs. Use the freshest you can get, boil a kettle and pour into a saucepan on a low heat (no bubbling). Heston uses a temperature probe, I don't bother, the water has just boiled so I know it's not far off 100oC. It's important it's not bubbling though. Crack your egg onto a plate and slide in. Time for 4 mins exactly, take out and done!

6. Tortilla aka spanish omelette. My child friendly and easy to cook version.

7. Quiche frittata. Missing out the crust makes this recipe a doddle and more nutritionally interesting for babies or adults by taking away the refined carbohydrate and saturated fats.

8. Pancakes. I have three recipes on my blog, yoghurt pancakes, apple or banana and potato. My son loves them all and his father is pretty partial too.

9. Banana loaf. Currently my most popular blog recipe!

10. Chicken nuggets. This is where egg gets used as a 'glue' to keep on the lovely crispy coating.

Blog awards - well if you don't ask, you don't get!

2012-02-29T18:08:00.003Z

Britmums are running some blog awards and I would like to be considered in the "Tasty" category. If you like or are interested in my blog, I would be very grateful if you would consider nominating me (if not, don't worry!)

Thank you! The link to nominate is here, you can leave the other categories blank or nominate other blogs you like or follow.

Thai Green Fish Curry

2012-02-29T16:55:00.000Z

Well why not? Ok, I've toned down the chilli but seriously, why not give your child Thai food? After all in Thailand they just call it food...

Ok, so this is toned down version, it won't blow your head off but it is interesting and fragrant. Something creamy too but completely milk free.

Thai Green Fish Curry - serves 1 Mummy and 1 Toddler

Ingredients for the paste:

1-2 cloves garlic
2 spring onions, chopped
Approx 1 tsp worth ginger root, chopped
Half of a mildish green chilli (no seeds)
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of half a lime
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground coriander

Big handful of coriander leaf, finely shredded

1/2 tin of coconut milk

100g White fish fillet, thawed if frozen cut into chunks
4-5 Mushrooms, quartered if large

1/2 tsp cornflour mixed with a little water

Method

Crush and pound the paste ingredients in a pestle and mortar until it forms a rough paste (or you can chop them up in a mini food processor). Refrigerate in a sealed jar if you're going to cook with the paste the following day (it is easier to do that, using a pestle and mortar with a toddler around isn't all that practical.)

The next day, open the tin of coconut milk (don't shake the tin first) and take a dsp of the creamy top stuff and put into a pan (meanwhile put some rice on to cook). Heat until it starts to split. Add in the paste and cook for a couple of minutes. Then stir the coconut milk in the tin and add half of what's left to the saucepan, put the rest in the fridge in a plastic tub, maybe make my chicken curry recipe tomorrow? Bring up to a simmer then add the mushrooms, cook for approx 2 mins then add the fish.

When the mushrooms and fish are cooked (approx 3 minutes), add in the coriander and the cornflour / water mix, stir until thickened and take off the heat.

Serve with boiled rice.

My 21 month old loved this even though it did have a chilli kick to it. Be guided by your child and their likes and dislikes but I would be a bit more adventurous than your average parent. I'm shocked when I see the only kids options in some restaurants are sausage and chips; bolognaise if you're lucky. I was always so disappointed by the ready prepared baby food options too. My son was exposed to hot curries throughout his 9 months gestation and even more for the 13 months I breastfed him so I figure he's going to be an adventurous sort!

Pork Stew 'Afelia'

2012-02-28T07:18:00.002Z

This is based on a few recipes but probably the main source of inspiration was a recipe I found on Jamie Oliver's website.

I've adapted this though to be cooked in a slow cooker because I'm lazy and I also like how the slow cooker makes the meat so soft and tender. I took the tomato out of the recipe, it didn't seem to belong but then I'm sure cooking it in a slow cooker is inauthentic too.

Hmm. Big bowl of meat!

Afelia (Greek Pork Stew) - serves two adults, one toddler

Ingredients

1tbsp Olive oil
440g Cubed stewing pork or pork shoulder
1 small onion sliced into half rings
2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
2 tsp whole coriander crushed coarsely in a pestle and mortar
100ml red wine

Method

Brown the pork in the oil until well browned. Remove from the pan and put into the slow cooker. Fry the onions in the remaining oil slowly until softened and coloured adding in the garlic after a few minutes. Add to the slow cooker. Put the coriander seeds into the pan and heat until releasing fragrance. Add to the slow cooker then deglaze the pan with the wine. It shouldn't completely cover the meat but add some water if it looks a little dry remembering that very little water is lost from a slow cooker and you can always add more later. Pour into the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours then turn down to low and cook until tender.

I think I might make this with a slightly fattier piece of pork next time. Very tasty but some not too fatty pork belly pieces would be tastier I think as it was a little dry when reheated. Still a success and my toddler son liked it too!

Orange Flower Water Panna Cotta

2012-02-26T20:31:00.000Z

I did promise I'd return to the orange blossom water after making the fruity muffins. There's nothing more irritating than having an ingredient in the cupboard and thinking "I'll use that sometime..." If anything, I think this works better as a use for the orange blossom (or flower) water as it partners it with honey which seems to work so well.

Obviously with honey in the recipe, it's a no-no for kids under 12 months old. If you want an alternative, try my other pannacotta recipe I posted a while back.

Orange Flower Water Panna Cotta - makes 2 for 12 months plus only

Ingredients

90 ml full fat milk
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp orange flower water or orange blossom water
1 leaf of gelatine
125g full fat greek yogurt

Method

Soak the gelatine in cold water until it goes floppy. While that's soaking mix the honey with the milk and orange flower water and microwave until boiling (approx 1 minute).

Check the milk is boiling then add the gelatine and whisk in. Add in the yoghurt whisking in. Pour into small plastic tubs and refrigerate for a few hours or until set.

Either allow your little one to spoon from the tub or turn out (warming in a bowl of hot water to loosen the sides.)

A much more adult flavour than my other panna cotta recipe but still worth trying with your child. If they don't like it then you'll have something tasty to eat. Orange flower water flavour does sing out in this recipe, if you have no idea what it tastes like, imagine eating the fragrance of orange zest in a florist shop!

My blog 'award'

2012-02-25T07:14:00.001Z

Well award is probably overstating things if I'm totally honest. This is just a lovely personal referral from other small bloggers out there to point you in the direction of things you might like. My referral came from Overflowing Laundry Basket. Thank you!

Apparently I'm meant to post some kind of badge to say this is a Liebster blog award but in my ineptitude I couldn't find the code! Anyway, this is all about the spirit of loving and sharing so the point is what should you visit?

So, here are a few other blogs you might be interested in.

Bessies Veggie Food is someone I often have a look at. She's very generous with sharing links to my blog which I really appreciate but also she performs a really valuable service at testing out other people's recipes.

The undercover granny offers some interesting views on life. This post was very interesting, I found it funny but it caused some controversy!

The highly unlikely housewife offers some interesting posts, particularly her recent post on post natal depression.

Fun as a Gran gave me some huge help recently understanding more about food allergies so I could train people in my workplace. This is a really interesting post if you have kids with allergies.

Holly Bobbs also offers some insights as a stay at home mum used to being a career lady.

(There are meant to be some kind of rules about how they should link back to my blog and carry it on. Yeah, if you want to do that I would be very happy and I'd love it if the love was shared but don't feel obliged.)

Chinese Mushroom Fried Rice for Toddlers

2012-02-21T12:10:00.002Z

This is my take on a classic Chinese dish made friendly for toddlers and Mummies. This is great because by using egg it means the rice is stickier and easier for early spoon feeders to feed themselves. Also this is a great hidden vegetable (well fungi) dish because it hides the texture of mushrooms which is a common issue. Egg yolks are also one of the few foods to naturally contain vitamin D, mushrooms can also be a decent source depending on how they've been produced. At this time of year vitamin D is vital in our diets especially for kids.

Mushroom Fried Rice - serves 1 adult and 1 toddler, not huge portions though so you may want to make it bigger if you're hungry.

Ingredients

70g Long Grain Rice, inauthentic but I used basmati
90g Chopped Mushrooms, I used chestnut because that's what I had in
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 small onion, finely diced
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1 egg, beaten
Spray oil
Sesame seeds to serve (optional)

Method

Put the rice in to boil. Saute the onion in some spray oil until softened. Add in the garlic and mushroom and saute slowly until cooked. I found this whole process neatly took until the rice was ready. Drain the rice and add into the mushroom mixture. Add the sauces followed by the beaten egg and mix immediately so the egg coats the rice. Cook until no liquid egg remains.

Sprinkle the dish with sesame seeds if wanted. Allow to cool to a suitable temperature to serve to your child.

Both Mummy and toddler loved this.

I wouldn't suggest this for babies because the salt content is a bit on the high side from the soy but I am starting to ease up a little with my son, especially as he's not allowed cheese at the moment.

Sugar Free Double Apple Muffins for babies and toddlers; oh no, not another muffin recipe!

2012-02-19T08:58:00.000Z

Well yes but this is for a good reason. My son has been unwell recently and has become (hopefully) temporarily lactose intolerant. This has made me realise just how much milk, cheese, yoghurt etc I use in my cooking. For a while at least we're having to cut that out so all the meals I had planned have gone out of the window. Happily though since we started to cut out the dairy, things seem to have improved. On advice of my doctor, I'm going to leave it a week or so then gradually reintroduce dairy and see how it goes.

Anyway, this made me realise that all of the frozen sugar free baking contained milk so I had a go at making some milk free muffins. I'm not going to lie to you, the milk ones are better and there is room for improvement, perhaps a tsp of vanilla extract would help? Anyway, the important judge was my son who'd barely eaten for a week and he said "hmm" and "more" so I think they get the thumbs up!

This experience has given me a small window into the world of people who have to cope day to day with milk allergies and lactose intolerances or any other dietary restrictions. I take my hats off too you. It's a right pain and I have to be honest and say I hope it doesn't last.

Double Apple Muffins for babies and toddlers - makes approx 24 - 30

Ingredients

115g, 4oz Porridge Oats
170g, 6oz Self Raising Flour
1 and a half tsp Baking powder
2 Apples grated (including the skin but not the core)
2 Eggs
200 ml Apple juice
6 tbsp of a mild flavourless oil, e.g. sunflower oil, rapeseed oil
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Mixed spice (I think this is called "apple pie spice" in the US)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC, 350F (if you're not using a fan oven you might need it a touch higher).

Mix the flour, oats, baking powder and spices in a bowl. Put the remaining ingredients in a jug.

Grease two to three mini muffin tins with spray oil or brush with oil. The silicone ones are good. Then mix the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring until almost combined, don't stir too much.

Fill each hollow with the batter, it is quite wet but don't worry.

Bake for 13-15 mins approx (it took 14 in my oven but my old oven was a bit slower so just check by pressing the tops and seeing if they spring back easily.)

Put onto a wire rack to cool. Keep in a tin / box for 24 hours or do as I do and freeze defrosting either at room temperature or in a microwave (although allow to cool before giving to a child.)

If you're looking for more milk free, sugar free baking, give my flapjacks a go (substitute the butter for a non dairy spread) or make my jalousie, brush with egg rather than milk and make sure the pastry is dairy free. Otherwise for something completely different, I have been making my no sugar jelly for my son too.

Bean and Vegetable Burgers for Babies and Toddlers

2012-02-15T09:53:00.003Z

I've been meaning to try making some beanburgers for a while. I don't know what had put me off to be honest, perhaps that 'worthy' feeling of a beanburger kind of put me off and also previous attempts when I was a poor student came up short with them crumbling in the pan unless you fried them in loads of oil which kind of missed the point. Still, after my post on fussy eaters, it got me thinking about different ways to incorporate your 5 a day. This has onions, carrots, garlic and red kidney beans and is baked. All good stuff!

I might experiment with crumbing these too. It's a fact anything in breadcrumbs is instantly more appealing.

Bean and Vegetable Burgers Makes approx 6-10 burgers depending on size

Ingredients

1 Carrot

1 Small onion
1 Tsp olive oil

2 clove garlic

1 Tin red kidney beans

60g fresh breadcrumbs

1 egg

50g Grated cheddar

Ground pepper

Mild smoked paprika, the mild smokey sort rather than the one with lots of chilli kick (unless that's what you want)

Method

Grate the carrots and onions, saute in olive oil until softened. Add garlic and saute for a minute or so. Add the softened vegetables to a bowl with the breadcrumbs, cheddar, paprika, pepper and add the beans. Get your hands in and crush the beans as much as you can. Leaving some a bit whole is ok but the more you mash, the better they will stay together. You might want to use a food processor to do this if your child is very young and you're doing this as a baby led weaning style recipe. Add in the egg and mix to combine.

Allow to sit for a bit to allow the breadcrumbs to absorb a bit of the moisture then shape into patties or whatever you like and put them on some baking paper or greased greaseproof. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

Spray with some spray oil and cook in oven at 200oC for 25 mins or until browned and cooked through. Serve in a bun or with some vegetables. Potato wedges might be good here.

Unfortunately as soon as I came up with this recipe and as it was resting in the fridge waiting to cook, my son came down with a tummy bug (so it's unrelated before you worry). It's an inevitable part of growing up, especially as he attends nursery three days a week but still, the last thing he needs right now is something full of fibre.

I have frozen most of these raw and I'll try defrosting and cooking them to see how they go but I did cook one for my husband and I and both of us thought it was successful, even my meat loving husband!

Coping with Fussy Babies and Toddlers

2012-02-09T20:55:00.000Z

One of the most common things I read on forums is "my child won't eat fruit and vegetables". I've been really lucky with my son that he pretty much eats all of my creations but he does have days where he shuns the green stuff. On Tuesday he even decided he'd gone off carrots which is probably his favourite vegetable. But kids do this, it's normal. Teething, colds, tiredness, a bad mood; all of these can put a child off track. I am no expert but I suspect some problems start because parents stop offering.

I took part in a twitter discussion the other day hosted by @TheFoodCoachRD. I've got no idea whether my suggestions were seen as good ones by a qualified dietitian but one of the suggestions I had was to hide fruit and vegetables. Now, I don't mean "all the time". I think it's really important to offer fruit and vegetables in their natural forms to avoid them being shunned forever but I also see nothing wrong with sneaking in a few fruit and vegetables into meals as an insurance policy either. It's also not a bad idea as you get older. Meat is often more expensive than fruit and vegetables and you can often get a better overall nutritional balance in a dish by adding some fruit or veg.

So here are a few of my favourite 'hidden' fruit and vegetable recipes which have been a success with my son. Most of them are hugely adaptable too depending on what you have in your fridge or cupboard.

1. Mini meatloaves. I've made lots of variations of these. Beef and courgette, Beef and Pepper (capsicum), Beef, potato and apple or Turkey and courgette. I even made some with pork and grated mushroom ones the other day but it was pretty much the same idea so it seemed pointless to post. Basically they're pretty adaptable, take a look what's in your fridge and get going! Including some grated or chopped vegetables, they turn out to be a little softer than meat on their own would be which makes them more suitable for younger babies.

2. Pancakes. Traditionally not great on the nutritional front but if you include some banana, apple or pear, why not? If you think about it they're cooked in a smear of butter and I would serve them plain (no syrup for babies or toddlers). If you ate a slice of toast instead, not only would it have more fat on it but also no fruit so not the worst idea in the world. I also find they're great as a pudding option too which when you consider you're substituting it for a sugary treat, it makes it a pretty good idea.

3. Bolognaise. You can sneak some fantastically nutritious ingredients into a bolognaise. I normally include livers which are great for vitamin A and iron but courgettes, mushrooms and carrots can also bulk out the tomatoey sauce.

4. Mini muffins. There are sweet options like my sweet potato muffins which contain vegetables and dried fruit or why not try a savoury spinach and feta muffin?

5. Pastry tarts. There's a tomato and goat's cheese tart or why not an apple 'jam' tart without the jam? I don't think we should be afraid of stronger flavours like goat's cheese, after all, my 21 month old will happily eat Parmesan on it's own all day if I'd let him (which I don't.)

6. Pasta. Kids love pasta. Generally anyway. There are loads of things you could try but I find a bit of cream cheese and cheddar makes some vegetables a bit more interesting. One of the first recipes I posted was for mushroom pasta and spinach pasta but you could also do salmon pasta; great for omega 3.

7. Haricot bean and mushroom gratin. It's easy to forget that dried pulses (or their canned counterparts) can count towards your 5 a day (for one portion). Great for fibre content and the mushrooms in this dish mean you've ticked two of the 5 off before you even think about vegetable accompaniments.

8. Risottos. A delicious way to sneak in some vegetables and my slow cooker method for butternut squash risotto takes out the stirring.

9. Bubble and squeak; a great way to use up leftovers and my son spits out sprouts if I serve them any other way. He is of course wrong. Brussel sprouts rock!

10. Savoury welsh cakes a touch of slightly wacky inspiration but pretty successful I feel.

So I hope that's given you some inspiration if you're despairing of your baby or child's lack of love for the fruit or vegetable world. Keep with it, most kids go through their fussy stages at some point so I'm told.

In other news, I've been featured in a couple of blog carnivals; family budgeting have featured me in their blog carnival on thrift and Mid 30's life featured me in their blog carnival. It's cool to be featured on other people's sites and I really appreciate other people welcoming me into their internet 'space'! If you've stumbled over here by way of their sites, thank you for reading further and I hope you enjoy!

Fish Pie for Babies, Toddlers and the Whole Family

2012-02-06T20:40:00.003Z

There's something about fish pie which is great when it's so cold outside. It's a warming cuddle of a dish.

The observant reader may realise I've posted a fish pie recipe before but frankly it wasn't a great recipe. It was too vague. I have to apologise. You learn as you go on with blogging and it's always difficult to write a recipe for something you've always carried in your head.

So, I've finally got back round to writing this recipe and I've included some suggestions for babies too if you're going down the traditional weaning route but this is pretty good as a 'mashed' food for older babies too.

Fish Pie - Serves 2 adults and 1 toddler with quantities given

Ingredients

120g Fresh or frozen salmon
150g White fish, fresh or frozen (I use pollock)
3 Potatoes (approx 600 - 700g), peeled
350ml Full fat milk
40g Smoked salmon trimmings (omit for babies as it bumps up the salt)
1 Tbsp Cornflour
70g Vintage or extra mature cheddar
20g Parmesan or Grana padano (or more cheddar)

Method

Cut the potatoes into chunks and boil until soft, approx 22-24 mins.

If you're using frozen fish, look at the pack instructions, chances are you could poach from frozen, if not, defrost them first. Either way, heat the fish in the milk until it is cooked and flakes easily.

Scoop out the fish. Mix the cornflour with a dash of water then pour into the warm milk stirring all the time. Continue to heat until it thickens. Add in half of the cheddar and take off the heat.

Assemble by mixing the flaked fish, smoked fish and sauce together. Pour into a baking dish.

Mash the potato (I use a potato ricer as it guarantees it's lump free). Top the saucy fish with the mash and then put the remaining cheeses on top.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180oC for 20-30 minutes (my oven took nearer 20) or until the sauce is bubbling, everything is hot through and it's lovely and golden on top.

This is a dish for traditional vegetable accompaniments. I'm thinking boiled broccoli, sweetcorn, carrots, that kind of thing. Lovely when you're needing warming up after all that snowman building.

The reason I used smoked salmon trimmings is because they are ridiculously cheap from supermarkets. You can freeze them too and they add a lovely smokey flavour without much cost. Also it's great to have the mix of salmon and pollock because both are a source of Omega 3 'good fats'.

To make this baby friendly, miss out the smoked salmon. For young babies who are on pureed food, puree the fish with some potato, sauce, cheese and a floret of broccoli, maybe an extra splash of milk if it's too thick, there's no need to bake it because everything is cooked. For older babies on mashed food, puree the fish with the sauce then add in the mashed potato and mash up some broccoli. As they get even better with texture, you can finely flake the fish and do the same.

Yoghurt Pancakes for babies and toddlers

2012-02-04T19:56:00.000Z

...and parents.

A delicious impromptu variation on my previous pancake recipe. The yogurt adds a touch of sourness which is delicious against the syrup but they're also delicious on their own.

Yoghurt Pancakes for Babies and Toddlers - Makes loads

Ingredients

225g SR Flour
1 apple, grated (with skin) leaving the core and any stalk
1 pear, grated (with skin) leaving the core and stalk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g yoghurt
150ml milk
A lump of unsalted butter

Syrup (optional)
Light muscovado sugar (or other brown or white sugar as you prefer)
A sprinkling of ground cinnamon
Water
A knob of butter

Method

Add all the flour, fruit, vanilla, yoghurt and milk to a blender and puree until no floury lumps remain (use a knife to scrape up any lumps if there are any and reprocess).

Heat the pan, then scoop up the butter into a piece of greaseproof paper and rub it over the pan. Pour in some batter until it's the size you want and then cook until the bubbles are bursting on the top before flipping. It takes a bit of trial and error to get the right temperature but I tend to go a little lower than other cooks would as I find it makes the pancake set better.

While you're cooking the pancakes, you can make the syrup if you're using it. I have to apologise because I never measure quantities on this. I normally use white sugar but had none in the house so tried some light muscovado and it was lovely. I normally add some sugar and a splash of water then heat on the hob, add the cinnamon when the sugar has dissolved and then wait until it starts bubbling up in the pan then take off the heat and whisk in the butter.

It might sound a bit old fashioned but I tend to serve Mr and Toddler Mamacook with these (syrup for Mr, no syrup for toddler) then cook the rest and eat some at the end. I know my son likes pancakes because he says "ooh cakes" every time I give them to him. The good thing is they will probably freeze well (not tried them from the freezer yet but all other pancakes I've ever made have frozen well) so you only have to get stuck by the hob once and then have loads in the freezer for snacks, breakfasts and puddings.

I'm really impressed with this recipe. It's not just the overwhelming sweet, sticky, trashiness that pancakes can be, the inclusion of fruit and yoghurt alongside the sweet syrup brings that contrast. I loved it anyway and so did my son. My husband said "yeah it's all good but the syrup overpowers the pancakes".

He is of course wrong.

No Added Sugar Oaty Mini Muffins for Babies and Toddlers

2012-01-30T20:35:00.000Z

Another muffin recipe? Well yes. I went back to basics with this and although some of the flavouring ingredients are similar to other muffins I've made, the mix is much more liquid. I think this makes for a lighter muffin despite the oats. Although you can't really taste the pears, they do lend a lovely and surprising sweetness. It's important to use ripe pears though.

Oaty Mini Muffins for Babies and Toddlers - Makes approx 30

Ingredients

4oz Oats
6oz Self Raising Flour
4oz Sultanas
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
2 Ripe pears, grated
2 eggs
200 ml Milk
6 Tbsp mild tasting vegetable oil like sunflower oil or rape seed oil
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Spray oil or vegetable oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC (fan), 200oC (conventional), 400F.

Mix the oats, flour and baking powder together in one bowl or jug. Then mix together all of the other ingredients in the other jug. When grating the pears, I don't bother to peel, I grate it back skin and all until it's getting to the core, and do the same all the way round, then pull out the stalk and grate down the top.

Spray some mini muffin tins or cupcake tins with oil or brush with oil. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry but don't be too thorough, you don't want it to be fully mixed in. Fill up each cup of the tray (it is pretty liquid) then bake for 12-16 minutes (14 in my oven) or until risen, golden and springing back when pressed lightly.

Put on a wire rack to cool.

If you like this, you might like apple and sultana mini muffins.

Mediterranean Prawn Stew for Babies and Toddlers

2012-01-27T19:02:00.001Z

This was an improvised dish when 9 minutes before I knew I had to start cooking, I'd got no inspiration at all. Very easy, especially if you always have home made tomato based pasta sauce in the freezer as I do. Something a bit different too. It's easy to get into a cooking rut with kids I'm finding.

Mediterranean Prawn Stew for Babies and Toddlers - serves 1 todder, probably ok from when your baby is coping well with lumpy food or baby led weaners.

Ingredients

Approx 4 tbsp home made tomato sauce
3 large raw prawns or more smaller prawns (can use cooked ones), thawed if frozen
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 New or salad potatoes
A few sprigs of fresh thyme

Method

Cook the potatoes until cooked but not falling apart. Cut into pieces a suitable size for your child. Put into a saucepan with the sauce, bring to the boil adding a little water if necessary. Add the prawns, cook until cooked through (approx 3 mins for the prawns I was using) or warmed through if already fully cooked.

Add the lemon zest and thyme, allow to cool until a suitable temperature for your baby, serve.

Indian Carrot Salad for Mums and Dads

2012-01-26T16:53:00.001Z

A cunning recipe for my thrifty50 month! Who doesn't have carrots in the house? They're one of the few vegetables you can buy British on all year round which makes them super cheap and this recipe is super tasty. Result! No reason not to feed to kids, just be guided by how good they are with spices (this isn't hot though).

Indian Carrot Salad - serves 2-3 adults as a side dish

Ingredients

1-2 Carrots (depending on size)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Juice of half a lemon
Black pepper, a few grindings
1/2 tsp sugar

Method

Grate the carrots then heat the oil in a frying pan and heat the seeds in the pan until they start to pop. Take the pan off the heat and pour immediately, oil and all over the carrots. Add the sugar, pepper and lemon juice and serve! Great with chicken tikka as in the above picture (you can just see it in the arty out of focus fuzziness...)

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Lasagne for the whole family

2012-01-25T20:50:00.005Z

My husband proclaims "vegetarian lasagne" a waste of letters (as he sees a normal lasagne as needing no prefix), however, as it is thrifty 50 month (i.e. trying to spend less than £50 a month on grocery shopping and all eating out), it's a fantastically thrifty recipe and one which really counts on the 5 a day. I think I could really have convinced him with this too but unfortunately he ended up getting home at 8:30pm and wasn't hungry. I will convince him there is more to life than meat. Honestly...

Apologies for the photography. I am convinced food photographers only photograph chilled or frozen lasagne, perhaps blasting the top under a grill to get the colour. Lasagne does collapse a bit when you cut it whatever you do and I'm a cook who takes a photo if you're lucky then eats. I'm not going to be prinking for hours!

I think this is the best vegetarian lasagne recipe I've ever done. The lentils make it I think. You could easily substitute for other vegetables as you see fit but I'd keep the lentils. Roasted, peeled peppers would be nice.

Vegetarian Lasagne - Serves 2-4 Adults or Children depending on appetite and what you serve with it!

Ingredients

500ml approx of slow cooked tomato sauce either your own recipe or there's one here
Half a large courgette (or a whole small one) aka zucchini
4-5 medium sized mushrooms
1 small onion
Spray oil or a little olive oil
Some fresh thyme
60g Green lentils
1 small dried red chilli or a pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
1 tsp pesto (substitute for fresh basil if following a strict vegetarian diet)
250ml Milk (I used skimmed, i.e. low fat milk)
3 dsp Cornflour
60g Vintage or extra strong cheddar
30g Parmesan (substitute for more cheddar if following a strict vegetarian diet)
No pre cook dried lasagne sheets - approx 6-8

Method

Cook the lentils in water (I tend to find pack instructions are a little long for the lentils I buy so taste them towards the end of cooking). While they're cooking, saute the onion in the oil until it becomes translucent. Add the courgette and mushrooms and saute until water is released (they do tend to be watery vegetables.) Add the tomato sauce and the lentils. Cook until the sauce is rich and thick. Add the thyme and pesto and take off the heat.

Make the white sauce by heating the milk in a microwave till nearly at boiling point. Mix the cornflour with cold water, just a little until the cornflour makes a suspension. Then mix the cornflour / water mix into the hot milk stirring as you pour in. Put back in the microwave for 1-2 mins on high (do watch this though as if it starts to boil, it can boil over.) Stir.

Preheat your oven to 180oC.

Then layer up the lasagne. Start with the white sauce, then the tomato / vegetable sauce then pasta. Do as many layers as you want / have stuff for finishing with a layer of pasta then a layer of white sauce.

Top with the grated cheeses. Bake for 40 minutes or until the lasagne sheets are soft and the top is well browned.

I'm always unsure with reheating pasta as it's never as good but when you're having lunch at home or at work, some home made reheated lasagne is actually pretty good. Not as good as the original dish but not bad. I was having some of this for lunch today. As I'd made it with a bit too much chilli for my son (I thought), he was having some bolognaise but, typically, he wanted what I was having. He said "nice" and "more" so he's not inherited his daddy's taste buds!

Top 10 Rice Dishes

2012-01-22T19:12:00.000Z

New year, time for another look back at some of the lovely recipes we've been eating. Rice is fantastically cheap (great for my thrifty 50 challenge - i.e. trying to do all grocery shopping every week for £50) and great nutritionally for babies and kids, a great source of energy for all of that growing. It sustains half the world as the staple carbohydrate.

Well I'm sure you're wondering how my thrifty £50 is going? Today I did a small shop at Aldi to stock up on the fresh items and a few other bits and bobs, that came to £28. We also spent £4 on some fruit at the weekend which all looks pretty good. Offset the £2.50 I spent on a hot chocolate in a cafe to cheer myself up from the drizzle!

Even with that, it still leaves me £15.50 left if I need to spend it. I'm not going to go out of my way to do so though, especially as I sat down and wrote 10 dishes I could make this week from my fridge and store cupboard. It might be a bit more difficult at the end of the month mind.

So what are my favourite rice dishes or dishes to serve with rice to feed my son or to me?

1. Spicy 'Kedgeree' Style rice, my newest recipe on this list. A lovely surprisingly spicy mix of prawns, rice and spice to liven up the coldest winter.

2. Keema Curry. This is one of my son's favourite meals. Mixed in with some basmati, it's the one meal guaranteed to get devoured.

3. Egg Fried Rice. A great way to introduce prawns and egg to your child. Not too high in salt if you limit the amount of soy sauce you include.

4. Rice pudding. A great recipe which is quick, easy and with no added sugar.

5. Risi e Bisi. Risotto for lazy people.

6. Spanish Rice. Easy, vegetarian dish inspired by a hateful 1980's product(!)

7. Dahl and rice. Freezes and reheats brilliantly. Great with Chicken Tikka.

8. Slow cooker risotto. Risotto for even lazier people!

9. Chorizo rice. Like paella but want to make it cheaper and far too lazy to cook it? Try this. I've not tried this with my son yet, I've always been concerned with salt content but I've just bought some more chorizo so this week, unfortunately I think I'm out of paella rice though.

10. Chicken curry and rice (see photo at top)

Rice is fantastic for babies on the soft lump stage of weaning. Thicker recipes like risotto are great for kids just learning to use a spoon and it's a great alternative to that pasta rut we often get stuck in as parents! I hope some of the recipes above encourage you to think more creatively about this fantastic ingredient.

Turkey Mini Meatloaves for Babies and Toddlers

2012-01-20T16:32:00.000Z

Hmm. Am I stretching my brand extension too far? Well it's my blog and I will post mini meatloaves recipes if I want to! This is very different though in my defence.

Anyway, this is a cracking recipe, really popular with my son. He ate 6 of them! Success!

Turkey mince is also really reasonable price wise and much lower in fat than other meats, less of a problem for toddlers (and I'm adding some cheese anyway) but great if you're wanting to make other things with the rest of the pack.

Turkey Mini Meatloaves for Babies and Toddlers - makes 12

Ingredients

200g Turkey Mince
A small handful of fresh thyme; this was bought from a supermarket due to my current lack of herb garden, however, if I was using home grown I'd use less, maybe 1 tbsp because it would be a stronger flavour.
A few grinds of black pepper
100g Grated courgette (zucchini)
40g Strong cheddar (vintage or extra mature)
1 dsp Full fat cream cheese

Method

Mix all of the ingredients together, it's best to use your hands here and get stuck in.

Make the mixture into balls and press into a mini muffin tin or cupcake tin (grease it with a little oil or spray oil if you don't have a silicone one.)

Cover and chill if you're not going to bake them immediately. When you are ready to bake them, preheat the oven, then bake for 20-25 minutes at 200oC, 400F or until fully cooked through.

Flavourful and some hidden vegetables, gluten and egg free, awesome!

Thrifty Food Ideas

2012-01-18T20:57:00.000Z

I have been an idiot. Yesterday my son was falling asleep in the car on the way back from the GP. This is a constant battle because if he falls asleep then wakes up minutes later; that's it for the day.

So, like an idiot, I turned and bam, drove straight into and over a kerb. Got a flat and bent my wheel meaning I needed a new tire and rim. £230 down the drain. What an idiot. Unusually for me, I didn't spend (too long) beating myself up about it and figured my son and I were ok, I didn't hit a pedestrian and I didn't hit another car. It could have been a hell of a lot worse.

I don't know what it is but recently when I've faced adversity in my life, it's made be question how bad things really are and also consider whether there's someone who is a whole step worse off than me. Before Christmas, I was being messed around by a mortgage company which meant I was left in limbo for three weeks unable to work out if we could buy a new house. It drove me to despair until I considered that there would be plenty of families approaching Christmas with no home at all and no prospect of one. I donated some money to Shelter that afternoon.

So, in this vain, and by a somewhat circuitous route, I would like to pay off the overdraft for that new wheel but also I intend to donate some money to RoSPA out of any savings I make. I don't know if this life philosophy makes any sense at all to anyone else but it makes sense to me.

Now if I look at my weekly incomings and outgoings, the biggest expenditure after our mortgage is food. I think I'm a fairly thrifty shopper and I do make use of the leftovers but I'm not sure I always cook the thriftiest recipes. I mean it had never occurred to me until I had a keema curry (see above) which was a bit on the runny side to add a few red lentils to it. Not only was that a successful idea taste wise, it also meant I got two more servings from a batch.

I cooked my bolognaise sauce in the slow cooker yesterday, as usual with the chicken livers (which are cheap anyway) but added extra vegetables. I got two more adult servings out of it without a loss of flavour.

So what else am I missing? What are your top thrifty recipes, food ideas, top tips? Why not link them to this blog? This is my first ever linky driven by necessity! Help me not only make up for my stupid mistake but to do some good for someone else.So, please link up thrifty recipes, thrifty food tips or just leave a comment if you don't have a blog or don't feel in the mood. If you want to link, click on the comment which says "click here to enter" below!

Spicy Kedgeree Style Rice for Babies and Toddlers

2012-01-17T12:48:00.001Z

Ok, this is quite a long way from kedgeree but that's what it was inspired by. Kedgeree is a dish of spiced rice with smoked fish. In itself it was an invention and inspired by Khichri which is a dish of rice and lentils so if it's ok for the British to take an Indian dish and make it their own, it should be ok for me, right?

Thinking about adapting recipes, it got me thinking how old Kedgeree is as a dish. It must be in excess of 100 years. That makes it as old as the hamburger. I'm looking at wikipedia here, it might not be accurate.

Anyway, if people can adapt hamburgers to their own taste, well why not adapt this?

The result is still the traditional mix of fish and rice but no eggs. I figure if I'm going to the effort (ok, not considerable effort but effort nonetheless) of cooking a boiled egg, I would be inclined to give my son said boiled egg for lunch with some toast. I suppose you could be organised and do some at breakfast saving an extra one... Oh who am I kidding? Anyway, I don't feel it suffered for the lack of eggs nor the lack of smokiness. Just be warned, this does have a kick, my son is keen on spicy foods despite his 20 month age but you may want to tone it down for your child by using a milder curry paste or less of it.

Spicy kind of kedgeree style rice for babies, toddlers and mummies. Serves 1 adult, 1 toddler

Ingredients

100g Basmati rice
1tsp Curry paste, I used madras but I suggest you may want to use a milder one (see the note above)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small tomato, diced
70g approx of frozen cooked prawns (frozen weight) allowed to defrost
1tsp garam masala
a handful of frozen peas
Fresh coriander (optional)

Method

Saute the onion in a little oil or spray oil until softening. Add the paste and the tomato. Note, if you want to you can prepare up to this point and then leave the paste / onion mixture in the fridge until ready to cook.

Then reheat the paste if necessary and add in the rice. Stir around for a minute or so then add boiling water to cover plus approx 1.5cm (a generous half inch). Cover, put the timer on for 10 mins and simmer for that time.

Once 10 mins has passed, check the rice, if it's very nearly cooked add in the prawns, peas and garam masala. Cook for 1 minute more then take off the heat and allow to stand for 5 mins (covered).

Serve garnishing with coriander if liked. Allow to cool enough for your little one.

Sugar Free Welsh Cakes for Babies and Toddlers

2012-01-15T20:38:00.002Z

I blogged a while back about a savoury welsh cake recipe, this is something far more traditional, well ok, not totally traditional, as it's with no added sugar.

They were a hit with the little man. My husband and I liked them better with a touch of butter on top, melting over with a drizzle of honey... Yum! (Ok, we waited until he was in bed for that!)

Welsh Cakes for Babies and Toddlers - makes approx 20 depending on your cutter size

Ingredients

225g / 8oz SR flour
100g / 3.5oz Unsalted butter
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground mixed spice
125g / 4.5oz mixed fruit
1 egg, beaten
A small splash of milk

Method

I used a food processor for this with the plastic blade attached. This has the benefit of keeping most of the fruit whole but also processing some of it so the sweetness from the dried fruit is kind of 'released'. You could make this by hand but the result will be ever so slightly different (but more traditional).

Rub or process the butter into the flour and spices until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the fruit, mix then mix in the egg and enough milk to bring it together into a firm dough (like shortcrust pastry dough.)

Turn it out onto a clean surface and kneed until it comes together. Flour the surface and roll it out until it's the thickness of your little pinky finger. Cut out in the shape of your choice, I keep them quite small for my son. Any left over, bring together the dough again and cut out some more shapes.

Heat a non stick frying pan (or a traditional griddle if you have one and I don't mean a ridged griddle pan, I mean a flat, sideless cast iron pan) and put on the cakes. Cook on either side for 3-4 minutes or until well browned (traditionally these are made pretty dark).

Allow to cool until suitable to give to your child. They keep for a few days in an airtight tin or alternatively freeze and defrost as you want them.

Tortilla for babies and toddlers, aka Spanish Omelette

2012-01-14T19:12:00.000Z

I remember my Mum eating 'Spanish Omelette' when I was little. I never quite got it. It seemed to contain pretty much anything and everything and always had tomatoes in it. Even as a child, tomatoes and egg seemed like a pretty bad idea and I still can't quite compute that now.

Needless to say, despite being a fantastic cook, there was nothing Spanish about my Mum's omelettes.

I don't quite know where she got that idea from but she was of the generation substituting ingredients where she saw fit and never being all that bothered about authenticity. You also have to remember that peppers (capsicums) were exotic at one time to my Mum's generation. She had to order dried peppers in especially! Let alone being able to buy fresh ones!

Well in a similar vein, this is pretty inauthentic. Ok, the basic ingredients are similar to a Spanish tortilla but it's simplified a lot. The real version has slow cooked onions and potatoes in olive oil. If you do it that way, it is truly delicious but this isn't bad either. If serving to adults, still allow it to cool down; it should never be eaten hot and include a good amount of seasoning. Olive oil would be more authentic but I'm not convinced that some Spanish cooks don't use butter, the flavour is definitely good with butter.

I remember eating something similar with a nice cold beer in La Plaza de Santa Ana in Madrid a good 3 years BC (before children). Happy memories...

Anyway, this takes approx 10 mins from start to finish as long as you have some spare cooked potatoes and I always seem to cook too many vegetables so that happens more often than you'd think. Also eggs are a good source of vitamin D (there aren't many) which is a good idea at this time of year.

Spanish Tortilla (omelette) - Serves 1 toddler (possibly with leftovers) Ok for babies on finger foods, ideal for baby led weaners.

Ingredients

2 Cooked new or salad potatoes, cooled and sliced thickly (approx 1 pound coin thick)

1 egg

A splash of milk

A small knob of unsalted butter

Method

Melt the butter in a pan and add the potatoes. Cook until browning.

Remove from the pan and put in a bowl. Add the egg and milk and mix.

Now is the time to get poncy. If you don't have a small non stick frying pan, you can do as I did and use a cook's ring in the pan to pour the mixture into. This means you get little rounds without them being too thin. You might be able to make two depending on the size of the rings. Don't make them too thick though as otherwise they'll be difficult to cook through. Cook for a couple of minutes on a medium heat until the egg is starting to bubble but is still liquid on top then put under a hot grill for another couple of minutes checking occasionally until cooked through.

Using a fish slice and gloves (if cooked in a ring) remove to a plate and cut off the ring (protect your hand with an oven glove, the ring will be hot).

Cut into wedges and allow to cool enough for your baby. Serve with hot finger vegetables or finger salad vegetables.

Can be served completely cold.

If you like this, why not try my oven baked crustless 'quiche'? Or if you have any more cooked new potatoes left over, why not try my most recent meatloaf recipe which uses potato instead of breadcrumbs?

I've been contributing to Crumbs Feed Your Family's year of the vegetable recently if you want more vegetarian recipes, Mari's world has hosted a linky too recently and I've contributed my two cottage pie recipes to Reluctant House Dad. I must learn how to do linkys, they've introduced me to so many new blogs!

Easy Chicken Tikka for Babies and Toddlers

2012-01-11T08:53:00.002Z

This is easy, easy, easy. I worry about posting this because it's almost too easy to call a recipe. Anyway, apologies about the inauthenticity of this but it's taking a simple storecupboard ingredient and using it in a different way; even making a child friendly version of it.

I don't mean "chicken tikka masala" either. That's a British construct and, frankly, a bit minging. This is a dry baked dish of chicken cooked in yoghurt and spices. Once you've given this a go, you might be interested in making your own curry pastes; frankly, I'm happy to buy pastes as you can get some fantastic ones and it makes this dish a doddle but it might be the gateway to something more authentic for you!

Read down for variations for adults, children, toddlers and babies.

Chicken Tikka - Serves 2 adults and 1 toddler (see variations below)

Ingredients

Adult version

5 small chicken thighs, skinned and boned (or more if you're hungry)

Marinade

3 tbsp full fat greek style yoghurt
2 dsp curry paste or more if you like it hot (you can buy tikka curry pastes but I prefer to avoid the fake looking red colour and I like something stronger, so I use pataks madras.)

Toddler / Baby version

1 small chicken thigh, skinned and boned

Toddler Marinade

1 dsp full fat greek yoghurt
1/2 tsp curry paste (use the quantity and type to your child's liking)
1 tsp garam masala

Baby Marinade

1 dsp full fat greek yoghurt

1 tsp garam masala

Method

To make either of the marinades, simply mix the ingredients together.

Put the chicken into the appropriate marinade, cover and marinade in the fridge for as long as possible, preferably overnight if you could do so but for at least a couple of hours.

When you're ready to cook, put in the oven and cook for 30-40 mins at 200oC. Being slightly charred at the edges is a good thing and it's difficult to overcook thighs which is cool. I often prepare these then put them in the oven with the timer to come on as I'm doing my son's bath for us in the evening.

I often serve this with dahl, rice, or kachumbar (a simple salad made with small diced onions, cucumber and tomato dressed with lemon or lime juice, salt, sugar and chilli.) Alternatively some mango chutney and a regular salad goes down a treat with some chappatis or naan. Or why not serve these up with some Indian carrot salad? Super cheap and tasty.

They're also really good cold either with some dahl and rice for my son's lunch or in a sandwich with some mango chutney for mine. The baby version would be a hit I think for baby led weaners. I remember giving my son thin slices of cold tikka when he was getting good with finger foods. I didn't try him with some mild curry paste when he was younger but he's so keen on spicer foods nowadays, I would be tempted to try a little mild curry paste if your baby is the adventurous sort.

You can use lower fat yoghurt if you prefer, however, you might find the yoghurt splits a bit during cooking. It will do that anyway to some degree but it seems to be 'better behaved' with full fat. Even though chicken thighs are a bit higher in fat than other cuts of the bird, having the skin removed helps keep the calorie content down. Great for this time of year when everyone is wanting to cut back. Chicken thighs, rice, lentils, carrots etc are all great frugal food too. Brilliant after all of the excesses of the season!

Mini Meatloaves for Babies and Toddlers, mark 3

2012-01-08T12:16:00.000Z

Is it wrong to post variations on a recipe? Well I hope not and sometimes a variation could be useful for someone. This, for example, is a gluten and wheat free mini meatloaf recipe. Seeing as food allergies are becoming far more prevalent, it might be handy and it certainly is tasty!

Mini Meatloaves for Babies, Toddlers (and adults). Makes 12 mini meatloaves

Ingredients

200g Minced (ground) beef; try to get a lean version (the cheapest mince tends to be very fatty)
3 Cooked new or salad potatoes (the waxy kind)
40g Grated Parmesan
1 Small dessert apple, or half a large apple
Ground pepper to taste

Method

Grate the potatoes through a sharp grater (microplane 'style' graters work a treat on this kind of thing. A traditional grater might just mash them), add to the mince, parmesan and grate in the apple including the skin. Add in a little ground pepper, then get mushing with your hands!

Form little balls and press into a silicone mini muffin tin, or, if you don't have one, use a greased cupcake / fairycake tin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.

Leave to cool for a bit and ensure they're not too hot before feeding to your child.

Like these? Why not try my other meatloaf recipes; pepper meatloaf, courgette and herb meatloaf?

Sugar Free Flapjack for babies, toddlers and adults

2012-01-07T12:27:00.000Z

Well not strictly sugar free but there's no added sugar, no sweeteners and no cheating with honey or any syrup either. This is also full of lovely high fibre ingredients so incredibly filling and will keep you sated for a while.

Sugar Free Flapjacks - makes 16 small squares

Ingredients

150g stoned dates, chopped
5 tbsp apple juice
150g unsalted butter (or margarine if you prefer)
100g sultanas
225g porridge oats
1 tsp cinnamon

Method

Preheat the oven to 170oC (fan) slightly higher for non fan assisted.

Pour the apple juice over the dates and (try) to blend them together using a stick blender. I say 'try' because it's fairly hard work. Don't worry if they don't all blend in.

Melt the butter in a saucepan then add the date mixture and the sultanas. Heat gently until it's all combined as some sticky goo.

Add the oats and cinnamon then turn into a lined deep square or rectangular baking dish sprayed with spray oil or greased with butter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until browned on top. Cut into 16 squares and leave until fully cooled in the dish (they break apart otherwise).

These were a hit with my toddler and went down a treat with a cup of tea for mummy too! Apologies for the poor photography, I'm back to using my phone today. Boo hiss.

Got some oats left after making this? Why not try making some no added sugar mini muffins with oats? Or why not try making some bircher muesli? Fancy something else with dates? Give my date loaf a whirl, it has no added sugar either!

How to get an extra hour in the day

2012-01-06T22:03:00.000Z

Again another departure for this blog. New year, time to try out new things I say!

Now my son is nearly 20 months old, I find I have more 'me time' than I have had since he was born. This seems crazy. His naps have improved a little but that's not it. I think generally I've become more organised about how I approach things and realised the hour or so when he does nap during the day is time for me, not time for me to catch up on x, y and z...

So here are my tips to free that time up for you.

If your child is not the best sleeper in the world and takes a little time to go down, use that time wisely. My son is ok now but I still stay upstairs with him for at least 10 minutes, more like 20 every nap and bedtime. Generally he's ok, but sometimes he just wants an extra cuddle before giving into slumberland. So apart from a few seconds, this time is still usable even if you can't get started on something downstairs. You could use it to clean the bathroom, sort out some washing, put washing away, make the beds, write a blog post, etc, etc. Time saved 20 - 40 mins per day.

Make recipes which can work for your child and for you, make loads and then freeze extra in little pots for your child. Stews, dahl and bolognaise are great for this. It means you can make tea for your child in 10 minutes or even less (the time taken to cook pasta, rice or some vegetables). If you use a slow cooker, preparing a lot of these kind of dishes can take a matter of minutes (easily done as your child is eating their breakfast for example) so the preparation is less than 10 minutes too. Time saved 10 minutes per day.

Don't think that you have to play with your child 100% of the time. It's good for both of you for them to learn to play on their own a little. My son is the clingiest child I know but he will still play on his own with certain things as long as I'm around. Don't feel guilty about using this time to do a bit of housework. My son also loves joining in with dusting, especially as he likes playing with the fluffy duster! Time saved 10 minutes per day.

Putting toys away together not only saves you time but also helps teach a sense of responsibility in your child and can form part of a bedtime routine. Time saved 10 minutes per day.

When you're making food for tea or cutting up fruit for your child, do a little extra and save it for work lunches. Not only will this save time in the morning but it's more likely to mean you have something healthier to eat. Time saved 10 minutes per day

Don't worry. Let things lapse a little. It really won't make much difference if you change your beds every 10 days rather than every 7. Yes, it's nice to have a tidy house but it's even nicer to have some space to yourself. Allow yourself that space. Time saved; unquantifiable.

I find it so difficult to get washing done at the moment, even more so because our tumble dryer is bust but I find the best idea is to do a wash per day to keep on top of things. I put a load in the machine ready to put on once my son wakes in the morning (our washing machine is on it's last legs I fear. My son even says "noisy" when it's on!) This does mean though that it's all done ready to put out either when I get back from work or during the day when I get a minute. I used to wait until my son was asleep to hang it out before I realised there was really no point. When he was younger in the spring, I used to put him into his carrier to do it which he loved. He also loves pegs. Thinks they're the most exciting thing in the world. Time saved; 15 minutes.

Edit: I forgot completely! I used to wait until my son was asleep to have a bath. My son was such a terrible napper when he was younger that this was normally a pretty stressful experience to get him down. By the time he was asleep, I was too frazzled to even move and too worried the bath would wake him up again. He was a few months old before I finally realised there was no need for me to wait until he was asleep to have a bath, particularly as I wasn't getting one at any other time. I still do this now even though he's nearly 20 months old. I'm not pretending having a bath with a toddler in the room is the most relaxing experience but my son loves "bathing Mummy". He puts his toys in with me and plays with the bubbles. He has fun, I get my hair washed. Result! Time saved; 30 minutes per week.

Total time saved easily more than an hour! Time enough to feel absolutely no guilt if you do nothing when they are having a nap. Genius!

Lentil and Bacon Soup... never buy another tin

2012-01-05T20:24:00.000Z

I used to love lentil and bacon soup when I was younger. My parents went through a phase of buying it in tins but until recently I'd never made it myself. That's the strange thing about processed foods you like, I think it puts you off trying to make it yourself.

Anyway, I gave it a go and not only was it ridiculously easy and cheap but it was delicious.

I probably wouldn't suggest this for toddlers or babies; older children and adults only. Bacon is pretty salty and when you factor in you'd want some lovely crusty bread and some butter to go with it, you're soon exceeding a toddler's salt requirements for the day. In some ways, this is a fine example of why healthy adult food isn't always healthy child food (and vice versa). Yes, the salt content is a little high on this recipe but apart from that it will be low GI, fairly low in fat (if you skip the butter on the bread) and with lots of lovely fibre.

That said, I'm still including the recipe because it falls into the category of "easy adult food", I made it while my son was eating his tea and reheated it later. It reheated brilliantly. I'd love to say it freezes well and I'm sure it would but I have no idea as there was none left. Note to self; double the recipe next time to have some for my lunch.

Lentil and Bacon soup - serves 2 adults

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
1 glove of garlic, chopped
Spray oil (or a dash of vegetable oil if you prefer)
150g Smoked bacon, chopped (lean if you want to keep down the fat content)
120g red lentils
1.5 pts (approx 900ml) boiling water
1 very low salt stock cube (optional - don't use a normal one, it would be too salty or use home made vegetable stock in place of the water)

Method

Fry the onion and garlic in the spray oil until starting to soften. Add the bacon pieces and fry gently until the onion is translucent. Add the lentils and the boiling water, stock cube or stock. Bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. Then simmer until the lentils are cooked. This varies quite a lot in my experience. Mine cooked in an extra 5 minutes easily but I have had them take an extra 10-15. (Some packets suggest boiling them for 10 minutes then simmering for an extra 30 but I've never known them take that long.)

Puree the mixture in a blender then return to the pan and reheat until bubbling.

Serve with crusty bread. Yum!

If you think about it, apart from the nutritional benefits of lentils, they're also amazingly cheap and keep in your store cupboard for yonks. A great recipe for after the festive indulgences for both the waist and the pocket and a great one to have in your repertoire for when you need to do a food shop but just don't have the time.

If you like this recipe, why not try lentil and chorizo soup, if you have some lentils left, why not make some dahl?

Baked Thai Salmon Fishcakes for Toddlers and Adults

2012-01-03T12:40:00.001Z

Back to normality! It's strange when the festive period is over. Although I only took one day off work, it doesn't feel like that when you're part time and having my husband at home for nearly two weeks was really nice to share the workload with our son. All the more important when I had 11 people to cook for on Christmas day and 7 on New Year's Eve!

The new year brings a time of reflection though. For me it is the ever present thoughts about my weight and fitness. I'm not hugely overweight but I don't feel good when I look at new clothes to buy and I don't feel great when I look in the mirror nowadays. Also it's important to me to ensure I'm keeping fit not only for my own benefit but because I now have a really big responsibility and I want to do everything I can to ensure I'm there and I'm healthy to look after my son for as long as I can.

So in this vein, the recipes might get a little healthier, especially when they're recipes for the whole family. I always know when I'm looking to South East Asia for inspiration, I want to lose weight! Last night was Vietnamese Chicken Salad night for example!

These were inspired by the fried starters you can get in Thai takeaways but as they're baked, it means it is far less effort (you can prepare them in advance, put them in the fridge then bake them when ready), safer (I hate frying when my son is around) and also ensures your house does not smell like frying fish. Using salmon helps up the Omega 3 content which is great for heart health and some people think it's good for intelligence. I think the evidence is split but most experts agree eating oily fish is a good thing.

I've suggested this as a toddler recipe rather than a baby one due to the salt content. Note also that this recipe isn't sugar free. If you're happy with giving your baby sugar, you could cut down or leave out the fish sauce.

Baked Thai Salmon Fishcakes - Makes approx 8, serves 1 adult, 1 toddler or 2 adults as a starter

Ingredients

2 salmon fillets, approx 100g each (thawed if frozen)
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp fish sauce (Thai fish sauce is sometimes called Nam Pla). Most UK supermarkets sell this.
Approx 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves and stalks (cilantro)
Juice of half a lime

Method

Skin the salmon if it has a skin (just grab the tail or side of the fillet with the least meat and cut down towards the skin, don't worry, unless your knife is super sharp, you won't cut through the skin, then cut the fish off the skin by angling the knife towards the skin and moving back and forth cutting it away.)

Cut the salmon into approx 1cm (a scant half inch) cubes. Mix in the remaining ingredients in a jug with the salmon and then using a stick blender pulse it until some of the salmon is blended and some is still slightly chunky.

Spray a mini muffin tray or a cupcake tin with spray oil or brush with oil. Put the mix into the holes, cover and chill until ready to cook.

Preheat the oven to 200oC. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. (Err on the side of caution if cooking for a little one, cook for less time if just making for adults.)

I would suggest serving these with a salad but because it's such a miserable day outside we had some nice hot boiled rice, cucumber and extra chilli sauce for mummy. Older kids might like ketchup or some chilli sauce (or maybe even a mix of the two.)

My son ate three of these then said "more"! You can't get him to eat salmon on its own so this was a hit. That said, he was also eating a piece of chalk earlier without my noticing (it was only when he said "nice" I realised what he was doing) so he's perhaps not the little gourmand I thought he was. Ah whatever, at least he's getting some calcium!

So the diet is started. Maybe. Ok, perhaps one more slice of Christmas cake...

Top 10 ideas for getting the most out of Parent and Tots groups and heuristic play

2011-12-31T09:50:00.000Z

Many apologies for the lack of posts. I've only just got back broadband in my new home.

My son and I had a fantastic session at a mum and tots group recently. It got me thinking about how over the last 18 months I have found them a roller coaster ride and wanted to share my experience for newer mums who might be reading.

I realise this is a slight departure for my blog and in no way am I a play expert but I have learned some things which weren't immediately obvious to me.

1. Don't feel obliged to go to baby or toddler groups. Go to none at all if you like. It's not the law. No-one will think of you as a bad parent if you chose not to attend them. They aren't everyones cup of tea and sometimes it just doesn't work out with naps etc.

2. There are loads of different types of baby and toddler groups. Some will suit you both; some won't. Some groups may not work now but will later. Don't rule one out after a single try. Also the groups and the organisers frequently change. A group which didn't work 6 months ago, might be much better now (I will talk about personal experience of this later.)

3. Don't spend a fortune. Well you can if you want to but if you're on statutory maternity pay, it's a bit grim financially so saving money is important. Some groups exist which tie you into 10 sessions or more at £5+ a time. Also remember you don't have to pay to get the best (see point one about not being a bad parent on this). In the UK there are loads of government funded surestart centres in England and also library groups nationwide. These are under threat from government cuts but where I live at least, they are well attended and still going at the moment. Use them or lose them. They tend to be more focussed on learning about play or literacy as well which is great for Mums like me where I was completely clueless at what to do in that time between sleeping, eating and pooing!

4. Go when your child is well rested and fed (or take a snack, drink or your boobs if you're breastfeeding.) I say this because it is frustrating spending a session desperately trying to cheer up a child when all they want is food or sleep, it doesn't work but read on.

5. Don't discount groups which are further away; this can help if your child is tired. Why not arrive a little while earlier and use the car journey or pram / buggy ride as an excuse for your child to nap? Especially if you're still on more than one nap a day, I see no harm in this. Why not take a book and enjoy a nice quiet sit until they wake up? 15 minutes was about our limit but that included a good few more groups.

6. Make it a trip out for you too. I used to think the group was my time out, now I know better. You don't have to wait for other mums to invite you, make it a trip out for you and your child. I have no idea why I didn't think of this earlier but now my son and I often go to a local cafe before or after a group. He gets a snack (I take something suitable with us normally) and I get a cup of tea or a cocoa. I've found some fantastic little cafes like this including one in a local ecological centre with a wood burning stove. Snuggly.

7. Don't get involved in the oneupmanship. Motherhood is the most vicious non contact sport there is or that's how it feels sometimes. Some of it is self inflicted, some of it is a natural desire for other mothers to boast about their child's achievements. When I think of the time I spent listening to other mothers talking about how their child was rolling. Trying to get their baby to crawl in front of other people so they could see it! Seems crazy now. As my son was a late crawler and a late walker, it did make me feel bad. For all I know though they may have been looking at my son who has always smiled readily and been jealous of his nature? Anyway. It just makes everyone feel bad. So keep those comments about "Little Julian has been sleeping through since 3 days old" to yourself. It doesn't help anyone (and trust me, it all evens out in the end.)

8. Try and talk to some of the other parents. I'm terrible at this. I tend to get stuck in with the singing or the playing, then look around and realise I'm the only parent on the floor doing "row, row, row your boat" or with glue in my hair.

9. Take some of the ideas home with you. I have done this with a few ideas but a great one was 'Discovery or Heuristic Play' where you take a selection of safe objects from around the home and leave your child to find ways to play with them. I kid you not, my son was engrossed for at least 40 minutes. Another success was building a den (see the top photo made out of chairs, some cushions and lots of "peepo" fun!

10. Don't be too hard on yourself. There will be a day (or many days) when your child decides they don't want to join in. It doesn't matter. My son will regularly join in with song actions at home but put him in front of a group of women doing "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and he sits back for the entertainment! There will also be meltdown days. Also the rule is don't make other mummies feel bad when they have one of those days.

Ok... a magic number 11... Compile a list of Parents and Tot groups in your area by day and stick it on your fridge. There will be days you just have to get out of the house it's sometimes necessary just to say "Ah, there's reading group, let's get in the car honey!" as it doesn't always follow that a little monster at home stays a little monster at the group; a change of scene can work wonders.

Fruity Mini Muffins

2011-12-28T21:19:00.002Z

The lovely people at Baking Mad sent me abottle of orange flower water recently which is an ingredient I’d always been abit confused by. Well let a novice tellyou about it. It’s made from orangeblossom as the name would suggest but I have to admit I was expecting a floweryperfume flavour. Not a bit of it, theflavour is like the zesty fragrance when you peel an orange. I have to admit it wasn't an immediate hit and I think I need some more experimentation time.

So, if you happen to have a bottle in thecupboard, why not whip up a batch of these muffins? No added sugar but a touch of honey in them(so not suitable for under 1s) but I have found a natural affinity between theorange zestiness and honey.

I’ve used mixed dried fruit in this recipewhich I don’t use a lot but the candied peel with the orange flower water doenhance each other. Feel free toincrease the amount of orange flower water if you do really like it, I was alittle cautious to start with!

Fruity Muffins – Makes 18 or so

Ingredients

80g Grated Carrot

150g Mixed Fruit

2 Eggs

4 tbsp Milk

2 tbsp Vegetable oil

¼ tsp Orange flower water

1 tsp Cinnamon

150g SR flour

½ tsp Grated Nutmeg

A spritz of lemon juice

1 tsp Runny honey

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC (fan) and 200oC(conventional.)

Mix the carrot, eggs, milk, oil, orangeflower water, lemon juice and honey. Ina separate bowl, mix the flour, fruit, cinnamon and nutmeg. Then mix the wet and dry mixes together untiljust combined, no need to overmix.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until browned andspring back when lightly touched.

I’m going to continue to have a play withthis as an ingredient and I’ve already got an idea on adapting some other of myrecipes so keep your eyes peeled (if you’ll excuse the pun!)

In summary it's an ingredient I'm still a little confused by but I'm intrigued and I think there's more to come.

A Belated Merry Christmas to all of my readers! I hope it brought you everything you desirebut most of all, I hope it's been a time for fun and family and the warmth that onlybeing with the ones you love can bring.

Courgette and Pesto Pasta for Babies and Toddlers

2011-12-21T18:13:00.000Z

A recipe that was borne from a lack ofingredients; especially fresh herbs; there’s no point in my planting some atthis time of year in my new garden.

Ok, courgettes (zucchini) aren’t seasonalat this time of year but I do love them as a hidden vegetable and there’s noreason why you can’t substitute for something else, I’d imagine blanched mashedbroccoli might work.

I also love growing courgettes yet I’malways slightly disappointed with the results when I cook with them, especiallywhere they’re the star. This, along with the courgette chips recipe will be definitely something I make again when Ihave my pots and pots of golden yellow courgettes in the late summer.

The other great thing about this recipe isI always think I love pesto but I have to be honest that when I have it, Inever like it as much as I thought I did. Also I once tried my son with some pasta and pesto and, let’s just saythat even with his fondness for strong flavours, it was a fail. Well this is using pesto as a shortcut tosome herbal flavour without having the fresh herbs and a gentle introductionfor us both.

A word of caution; depending on where youlive, it would seem different health care professionals advise different thingson nuts in babies diets. Where I live,my health visitor advised they’re fine from 6 months, as there are no nutallergies in our family (plenty of nutters though), despite the fact my son haseczema. I know opinion varies though sodo check. The reason I raise this isbecause although pesto does not contain nuts (as pine nuts aren’t a nut in theallergenic sense), many commercial pestos replace all or part of the pine nutswith cashew nuts.

Likewise many commercial pestos use cheeseswhich are not vegetarian so if you are strict in not wanting to eat animalrennet, read the labels well or make your own.

Courgette and Pesto Pasta – serves oneadult and one child. Suitable for babiesfrom the soft lump stage onwards

Ingredients

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

Spray oil or olive oil

½ large courgette or 1 small courgette(zucchini)

40g Extra mature cheddar

1 tsp Pesto

2 dsp Full fat cream cheese

Pasta, to taste. I used approx. 90g for the two of us (I’malways surprised by packets recommending 100g per person but use more if you’rehungry!)

Method

Put the pasta in boiling water and cookuntil done to your liking.

As the pasta is cooking, saute the garlicin the oil or spray. In the meantime,grate the courgette and add to the pan with the garlic on a low heat. Stir until softened and so it has lost someof the water. In the meantime, grate thecheddar. Once the courgette is softened,add the cheddar, pesto, soft cheese and a little bit of cooking water from thepasta. Mix into a sauce adding morewater if needed.

Mix in the pasta and leave to cool until atthe right temperature for your child (I find leaving the adult portion coveredkeeps it warm enough for me.)

Serve!

My son has been a little unsettled sinceour move. New house, new nursery. It’s all change. For one of the first times in his life he gotreally fussy with food. He ate all ofthis! Definitely a result!

If you like this, why not try my creamy salmon pasta recipe?

Pepper and Cheese Muffins for Babies and Toddlers

2011-12-19T10:34:00.002Z

First of all, my sincere apologies for thelack of blog posts. I’m writing this onword (which will explain any differences in formatting) and hoping I will getthe chance to post it to the blog soon.

Well I have a good excuse; I’ve just movedhouse. I hadn’t really talked about itfor fear of it all falling through. Things were very touch and go in the end. While we were packing up the truck, we stilldidn’t know if we were going to get the keys at the other end. Delaying the move was going to mean moving in5 days before Christmas. I pride myselfon my resilience but that was a step too far, so we took the risk and it paidoff.

So, generally I’ve been unpacking boxes,sleeping, spending far too long in Ikea, not sleeping (new house, new smells, strangeboiler), etc, etc.

So accompanied by the general feelings oftiredness, a monster cold after weeks of stress, we also have no broadband andwon’t have for a few days yet but I will keep popping to the library as I get the chance.

It’s nice to be somewhere new but it’s alsodisconcerting for the whole Mamacook family. My 19 month old is still settling in with the new room, new nursery andI’m still settling in with the new cooker. It would seem my previous ‘fan’ oven was a fan in name only. This cooks super efficiently. They say the best test for an oven is to cooka sponge cake; well I did yesterday and it’s no exaggeration to call it adisaster! It takes some getting usedto but I did cut 10 minutes off jacket potatoesat 20 degrees lower earlier.

So anyway, please bear this in mind whenfollowing my recipes from now on. If youfound previous recipes worked well in your oven with the timings I gave, youmay now need to increase the temperature slightly or give it a little longer. Still, better than having a burned coffeesponge disc like I did yesterday!

Inspiration has been a little thin on theground but on hunting through my fridge, I came up with this. Nothing like a muffin recipe to make thingsfeel homely. I have a gut feel thiswould go pretty well with some baby chilli or some home made soup and like allmuffins they’re bound to freeze well.

Pepper and Cheese Muffins – Makes 18 - 24

Ingredients

1 red Pepper (capsicum), chopped into smalldice

Small splash of olive oil

Further 3 tbsp olive oil

100g Full fat yoghurt

160 ml Full fat milk

½ tsp White Wine Vinegar

1 egg

85g Grated strong cheddar

250g SR flour

¼ tsp paprika (the mild kind)

Method

Fry the pepper in the splash of oil untilsoftened and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180oC (fan oven). Grease a non stick cupcake or mini muffin tinwith spray oil or brush on some oil.

Put the flour and paprika in a bowl.

Mix the yoghurt, milk, vinegar, cheese,egg, cheddar and 3 tbsp oil in a jug.

Mix the wet mix into the dry being carefulto stir until only just combined. Ifsome small bits of flour remain, don’t worry.

Spoon into the tin and bake for approx. 15mins or until well risen and springing back when pressed. They freeze well; either defrost at room temperature or in the microwave (allowing to cool before serving to your child.)

If you like this, why not give the spinach and feta muffins a try?

Top 10 Potato Recipes for Babies and Kids - in praise of the humble spud!

2011-12-04T12:56:00.000Z

Sometimes it's time for a review and a catch up.

Let's face it, if you're anything like me, there are times where you need to go to the supermarket but you just don't have the time or energy. Chances are you will have at least one potato in the house. Read on because that potato might just become a meal...

Things are tough in the world right now. I don't know of anyone who isn't feeling squeezed by rising living costs and stagnant wages. The really sad thing is that so many people are even worse off than this. So, in the spirit of frugality and realising it is an expensive time of year I thought I will do a few reviews of recipes containing the ultimate cheap ingredients. So, where to start? Well potatoes are about as cheap a food as you can get. For a big family, buying in bulk can also really make sense. Just store somewhere cool out of sunlight.

When I was a student, I remember we used to get a sack of potatoes from a local farmer at the start of term. This meant that even if my money ran out I would have the option of potato wedges or jacket potato to keep me going.

It's strange with the influx of Atkins type diets, in recent years I'd cut back on my potato consumption. Since I've had my son, I'm back eating them and I can genuinely say I've seen no impact (positive or negative) on my weight but I have seen a positive impact on my wallet.

So, now for the top 10

1. Jacket Potato. Yes I know this is easy but you probably don't realise how easy. Never bother making a jacket spud in the microwave, it's worse than disgusting, oven is the only way. Yes, your oven will be on for a long time but why not make extra? You can use any leftovers for some of the recipes below or just mash the centre and reheat in the microwave, with a little butter and covered for a couple of minutes.

So, how easy is a jacket potato?

Very.

Am I going to write a recipe?

Oh go on then!

Jacket Potato - serves 1, easily scaled up(!)

Ingredients

1 potato, you want an old potato which is the right kind of size to bake. If it's enormous it might not cook through. If it's tiny, it will need a shorter cooking time.

Method

Heat your oven to 200oC, 400oF.

Clean off any mud from the outside of your potato and prick the skin going approx 0.5-1cm into the flesh. This avoids the potato bursting. If you want to speed up cooking time, put a metal skewer into the potato all the way to the centre.

Put into the oven and bake for 1hour 15mins or until soft when squeezed. Be careful if you've used a skewer as it will be very hot.

I recommend you investigate your cooker. Most electric ovens I have ever used have an option to put in a cook time which will then switch off the oven when the time is up. If your oven has this option, you probably also have the option to delay the start of cooking too. Well why is this important? If you're out in the morning or afternoon at a toddler group, you might not be at home an hour and a half before your child wants to eat. Well set it all up before you go out and bingo! Hot jacket spud when you walk in.

2. Keema Curry. Too many people feed their babies and toddlers bland food. There is really no need! Potatoes are lovely in a curry too and this dish is so economical as it's made with mince.

3. Cottage Pie. A simple recipe here using bolognaise ragu or one using slow cooked pot roast (which is absolutely delicious). Fantastic to use up spare jacket potatoes and leftovers.

4. Bubble and Squeak. No nothing to do with mice. Again a great leftovers recipe, fantastic for Boxing Day breakfast!

5. Potato Pancakes. Another use for that extra jacket spud you cooked. Lovely breakfast fare.

6. Fish cakes. Made with spinach and salmon this gives an extra 'superfood' dimension and great for hiding vegetables for fussy toddlers. Brilliant for baby led weaners.

7. Fish pie. The classic. I've made this since my son was a baby and still make it now. Creamy, nursery food.

8. Chowder. An interesting dish to feed a baby or toddler who is starting to feed themselves with a spoon. Lots of lovely lumps too if they want to switch to using their hands.

9. Potato salad for babies. I remember when I first made this. We were away for a long weekend and my son wasn't all that consistent at self feeding yet. We took this out with us and what does he do? He happily tries our food! He had a go with it though and seemed to like it. An important lesson for me on being a bit braver with the things I offered. He was 9 months old at the time and it was a reminder that he didn't have to eat flavourless mush.

10. Potato cakes. Great as an accompaniment to other dishes or as a meal in their own right. Far more interesting and tasty than a frozen potato waffle or 'smiley face' and loads of options to change the flavours, add in vegetables etc.

As is always the case, inevitably you come up with other recipes for potato after posting. Here are a couple more recipes if the cupboards seem bare and you fancy something tasty:

Mini Meatloaves (gluten free)
Tortilla (Spanish Omelette)

Haricot Bean and Mushroom Gratin for Babies, Toddlers and Adults

2011-11-30T13:28:00.000Z

This is a yummy meal in itself or could be a great side dish for Christmas dinner (with the handy benefit of having something which feels like a main dish should a vegetarian arrive.)

I would think it would scale up pretty well but I would keep it fairly shallow in the baking dish to avoid it being too runny.

Haricot Bean and Mushroom Gratin - serves 1 toddler and 1 adult with vegetables on the side

Ingredients

6 medium sized mushrooms, cut into a thick slice
Spray oil
3/4 tin of haricot beans, drained (in retrospect I should have scaled this up to use a whole tin so feel free to do so, that would make more sense!)
1 very low salt chicken stock cube, e.g. Kallo low salt or Heinz baby
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
1 tsp Fresh Rosemary, chopped
3 tbsp Double Cream
25g Grana Padano, Parmesan (or use vintage vegetarian cheddar if you're a non meat eater)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F.

Fry the mushrooms in the spray oil until colouring up well. Add the garlic and soften slightly. Take off the heat. Mix the stock cube with 1-2 tbsp boiling water (enough to dissolve it, use a whisk if you need to), add the cream to the stock and then add to the mushrooms with the rosemary and thyme. Tip in the haricot beans then pour into a baking dish in a shallow layer.

Grate the cheese on top and bake in a preheated oven for approx 30 mins or until bubbling throughout and golden on top.

Allow to cool until at a safe temperature for your baby before serving. Would be great for babies who have a pincer grip, just check the beans are soft enough. Needs a touch of salt for adults.

Falafels for Babies, Toddlers and the Whole Family

2011-11-28T12:56:00.000Z

This is genuinely a whole family recipe. If I don't say so myself, I'm really impressed with myself for these and it's all completely my invention.

Falafels - makes approx 8-10 (more if you make them smaller)

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
Spray oil
1 small courgette (zucchini), grated
1 tin of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained (240g drained weight)
Small handful of coriander (cilantro)
1/4 tsp hot chilli sauce (I used Encona West Indian Hot Pepper sauce, not authentic but my favourite) - optional if making for babies
1/2 tsp sweet paprika (ie not the spicy kind)
2 dsp cornflour
Olive oil for brushing

Method

Saute the onion and garlic in some spray oil or a little olive oil until softened. Add the grated courgette and cook until it's shrunk back a bit (driving off the moisture.) Allow to cool.

Add the drained chickpeas, coriander, sauce if using (I did and my 18 month old loved them), paprika and two thirds of the onion mixture to a food processor. Process well, it won't go completely smooth. Tip out into a bowl and add in the remainder of the onions and the cornflour. Shape into patties and put onto a lined baking tray slightly oiled and chill until ready to cook.

Preheat an oven to 200-220 oC. Brush the tops of the falafel with oil and bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve for babies or toddlers broken up slightly with strips of pitta bread or for adults serve in a pitta bread with tomato, cucumber or salad, mayo and extra chilli sauce. Yum!

This would be great with babies doing baby led weaning. You know your child better than I do so use your judgement with the spicing. I know my son would have been fine with the garlic and paprika, I probably would have tried him with the chilli sauce because he's an adventurous sort.

Come to think of it, I'm planning to give him some keema curry from the freezer for tea. This could be an interesting nappy day!!!

Sugar Free Cheesecake for babies, toddlers and the whole family

2011-11-27T12:25:00.000Z

Cheesecake with no added sugar? Really? Yep. Bang on! I've done it! So this is a cheesecake which you can feel comfortable giving to your baby (if on textured food), toddler and the whole family without feeling (too) guilty. There are variations below for very young babies too.

The cunning idea is to use wheatgerm rather than biscuits which saves a lot of sugar. Surprisingly if you've never used wheatgerm it is subtly sweet anyway. Definitely an adequate substitute in my mind. My husband (used to my white chocolate cheesecake) was slightly less convinced.
Cheesecake for Babies and Toddlers - serves 4 adults / 6-8 toddlers

Ingredients

2 Dessert / Eating apples
80g Dried Apricots
Splash of boiling water
40g Unsalted butter
60g Wheatgerm
200g Full fat soft cheese

Method

Peel and core the apples and cut into chunks. Put into a saucepan. Chop the apricots into quarters and add to the pan with the water. Boil for 5-10 minutes or until the apple is softened. Puree in a blender with as little of the water as you can get away with until really smooth.

If your baby is just weaning, this is a great puree to give either on it's own or mixed with yoghurt; alternatively mix with soft cheese as below. The puree (on its own) freezes well too.

Allow the puree to cool.

Melt the butter and add the wheatgerm and mix well. Put into individual flan cases or ramekins or press into a ring on a plate. Chill until ready to continue.

Mix approx 150-200g of the puree with the soft cheese (to your taste). Whisk well to get rid of lumps. Pour onto the chilled wheatgerm 'biscuit' base and chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Keeps for 24 hours in the fridge.

Sugar free wheatgerm and oat biscuits for babies and toddlers

2011-11-26T20:15:00.001Z

I've been struggling for a sugar free biscuit for some time. This almost gets there. It's not really sweet but passed the test with my son. He's already eaten all of his tea and his pudding and saw these on the cooling rack. He pointed to them so I gave him one. 3 biscuits later...

My only reservation is they are really crumbly so I will experiment with reducing the amount of wheatgerm and increasing the amount of flour which should improve the structure. That said, they hold together a little better when cool and my son coped with them. They'd be pretty awesome with cheese actually.

Wheatgerm and oat biscuits for babies and toddlers makes 20-30

Ingredients

50g Plain Flour
150g Wheatgerm
50g Porridge Oats
100g Unsalted butter
1 Egg yolk

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC. Prepare two baking trays by lining them with non stick baking paper.

Mix the flour, wheatgerm and oats in a bowl. Add the butter and rub in until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the yolk and knead in the bowl until it comes together.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface (it will crack a little). Cut out the biscuits in the shape of your choice. I used a hexagon to avoid waste!

Put onto the baking trays and bake in the oven for 12-15 mins or until browning at the edges. Allow to cool a little on the trays then put onto a cooling rack.

Poached Pears for Babies and Toddlers

2011-11-24T07:43:00.000Z

You know how it is, you've not had time to go to the shop, the fruitbowl is looking a little unexciting, there are virtually no grapes left, there is no yoghurt in the fridge and the pears are hard as bullets.

Well, here's an idea for something different to feed your little one for pudding. It comes out beautifully soft for babies just starting on lumps but with the spice there's a lovely flavour to it too. Any leftovers are great served as below with the syrup or would be tasty put into a crumble.

Poached Pears for Babies and Toddlers - serves 2 toddlers if they have an appetite like mine(!)

Ingredients

2 unripe pears
300ml unsweetened grape juice
half - 1 tsp cinnamon (I used 1 tsp which was fine for my little one but might be a bit much if you're not a cinnamon fan) or use a cinnamon stick
Cream to serve (optional)

Method

Peel the pears, using a potato peeler works well for this, halve them along the length and scoop out the cores.

Put the pears into the base of a slow cooker, pour over the grape juice and spice.

Cook on high for 2-3 hours or until softened to your liking.

For toddlers, just cut up the pieces and allow to feed with a spoon. For babies, cut up into smaller pieces or mash depending on your baby's developmental stage.

For adults you could take out the pears and then boil the juice hard in a saucepan until it goes syrupy (it will thicken as it cools). Serve with the syrup and cream.

Rum and Apple Bread and Butter Pudding (Just for Adults!)

2011-11-23T16:32:00.000Z

I came up with this recipe when we had some staling bread. It made me think; why don't we value bread anymore? It used to be that every household would have a left over bread recipe. We have bread and butter pudding, bread pudding, stuffing, rarebit, Italy has panzanella and ribollita the French have croutons and pan perdu.

We seem to have forgotten this thrift though! Why? Bread and butter pudding is probably more often consumed from a ready meal packet than made from scratch. How strange a dish to use up old bread is now specifically bought in a plastic dish from a factory miles away. Somewhat ironic!

Anyway, the point is it's easy and tasty to make yourself. I've suggested a slightly whacky combination of dried apple and rum which might not be to your taste but if you want something more conventional, switch it for brandy and raisins.

Rum and Apple Bread and Butter Pudding - serves 2 adults

Ingredients

50g Dried Apple
1 tbsp Dark rum
80ml Full fat milk
2 tbsp Double cream
1 Large egg
40g Light brown sugar, I used light muscovado
a few pinches of cinnamon (see method)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
100g Staling bread
25g Approx of softened, salted butter
A couple of pinches of demerara sugar

Method

You will need two small ramekins (not tiny ones though, you want some pudding!!!)

Put the apple in a bowl with the rum and soak for a couple of hours.

Cut the bread into small triangles or squares to fit your ramekins and butter on one side. Lightly butter the inside of each ramekin then put a layer of bread in, butter side up, followed by one quarter of the apple, a pinch of cinnamon, then the bread, then apple and cinnamon, finishing with a layer of bread. Repeat with the other ramekin.

Make the custard by heating the cream and milk together in a jug in the microwave for 60-90 seconds until starting to boil. While it's heating crack the egg into another jug and whisk with the sugar and vanilla. Allow a few seconds for the bubbling to stop then slowly whisk in the milk and cream into the egg / sugar mixture whisking all of the time until it's all added.

Pour the custard into each ramekin. If the custard doesn't all fit in, wait a few seconds as you may find it does once some of it has been absorbed into the bread.

Leave for 30 mins for the custard to soak a bit more into the bread and preheat the oven to 180oC. Sprinkle with demerara and bake in a bain marie (a baking dish with boiling water added) for 20 minutes at 180oC or until crusty on top and set underneath.

Serve with cream. It's a warming cuddle of a pudding.

Slow Cooker Risotto for Babies, Toddlers and Adults

2011-11-22T16:08:00.001Z

It may have been a few days since I've posted but don't think I've not been busy!

I've been meaning to cook risotto for my son since he was on soft lumps but had never got round to it. I tried risi e bisi which was nice but lacked some creaminess. Part of it is all that standing and stirring; completely impractical for a toddler. Anyway, I'd heard it was possible to cook risotto in a slow cooker and seeing as I have a kitchen crush for mine, I thought I'd give it a go (but I might need a new slow cooker for Christmas Santa.... hint, hint.)

Anyway, the results were good. A little too soft on the rice; I'm sure you can see from the photo it's overcooked but it was so almost there. I'm definitely doing it again. If you think about it, the timings would work out pretty well for a meal to prepare while you're doing bedtime too. I'd heat up the stock before bath then just stick the rice in just as I'm going upstairs to do milk and story time and by the time I'm back downstairs, there's the chance to whip up a salad and do some washing up and it would be ready. Genius!

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash for Babies, Toddlers and Adults. Suitable for babies from the soft lump stage onwards and sticky so baby led weaners would like it too. Makes plenty enough for one adult and one toddler.

Ingredients

300-350ml hot stock - see below tips on how to make your own or use a very low salt stock cube if you must (but read on)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 onion, chopped finely
1 dsp approx of olive oil
200g butternut squash (peeled weight), chopped into a fine dice
100g arborio rice
35g parmesan, grana padano or vintage cheddar (if vegetarian)

Method

Update: I have corrected the cooking time below and reduced the stock quantity because on cooking it again and not wanting to overcook it, I found it was a little wet. There are some tips on saving it though further down.

Gently fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until softened. Add the stock, onion, garlic and butternut squash into the slow cooker and heat on high for approx 30 mins until simmering.

Add in the rice and cook for 25-30 mins, stirring once or until the rice is cooked but still has a small amount of resistance without being chalky. Add more stock or water during the cooking time if it needs it.

Add in the cheese and stir.

Serve in bowls topped with parsley if liked. You could change it up a bit with different vegetables or shredded cooked chicken etc.

If the risotto is a bit too wet, scoop it out using a slotted spoon, add a little extra cheese to each bowl and season (for adults only).

Yum!

Anyway, my comments on stock. I do think chicken stock works best here and home made chicken stock especially. This is because gelatine cooks out into the liquid which is part of the mouthfeel of a good risotto or a good chicken soup. This cannot be replicated by stock cubes and unfortunately not by vegetable stock either. That said, a good home made vegetable stock will still be better than a stock cube for this.

Regular readers will now I'm not a person who is afraid of a stock cube or two either but a risotto is a celebration of stock, so it's worth the effort.

Incidentally, if you have a slow cooker, and presumably you have if you've read this far, you can make stock in one very easily. I just took a load of bones from chicken thighs after making the vietnamese chicken salad and wing tips from chicken wings, bunged them in the slow cooker with some boiling water and simmered for approx 3 hours. Sieve. Minimal effort from me and made from things which would have gone in the bin anyway.

If you like this recipe, give my risi e bisi recipe a go. Similar to risotto but much less effort.

On a different subject, I'm pretty excited, my blog has been chosen to be part of a blog carnival! This is something new to me as an inexperienced blogger! Yay!

Cottage Pie for Babies and Toddlers - VERY easy!

2011-11-19T19:08:00.001Z

I proudly proclaimed the BEST COTTAGE PIE EVER the other day. Well this comes close and is a bit of a cheat because it's more assembly than cooking. Apologies for the photo; potato topped pies seem incredibly difficult to look pretty and I refuse to top them with a face made out of peas and carrots. Ah what the hey! It tastes nice!

The reason why recipes have been a little thin on the ground this weekend is my son's not well and he's off his food. He had a temperature of 39.2 yesterday which was frightening. Fortunately things seem to be getting better. Unfortunately as he's now a toddler and he's been feeling rotten he seems to have discovered the "No" word when it comes to food.

So, as ever and as with the nursing strike, my theory is you tempt rather than force. I know eating would make him feel better but he doesn't and I don't want to upset him more than he is upset. Likewise, having a very upset boy who wants to be cuddled (whether you're walking around cooking or not) does not make for complicated recipe preparation, so I grabbed a small pot of bolognaise from the freezer and an extra jacket potato I cooked at lunchtime and this is what I came up with. Yes, simple but blimey it was tasty! He loved it! It was his best meal he'd had for two days and that my friends is a very valuable recipe indeed!

Why on earth did I not think of this before?

If you would like my bolognaise recipe, just click on the link in the ingredients.

Cottage Pie for Older Babies and Toddlers - Serves 1 toddler

Ingredients

1 Toddler sized portion of Bolognaise, defrosted if frozen
1 small jacket potato (cooked) or the equivalent amount of mashed potato
A small splash of full cream milk
Approx 1 tbsp grated cheddar

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F.

Scoop out the flesh from the jacket potato and mash using a ricer or a potato masher (but I've said it before, ricers are fab and cheap. Buy one!) Mix the mash with a little milk.

Get a smallish ramekin and put the bolognaise sauce in the bottom of the dish.

Top with the mashed potato and then the cheese, bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 mins.

Done! Serve with finger vegetables of your choice.

I keep thinking this is such a good idea! I mean, my son goes to bed at 7 so I often eat after he's in bed. This can mean teatimes are a little 'same-y', (he eats a lot of pasta.) This was moments in preparation, the result seemed like more effort than it was and he really appreciated it.

If you have a potato left over and don't fancy this recipe, why not try bubble and squeak, salmon and spinach fish cakes or potato pancakes?

Banana and coconut mini muffins for babies and toddlers

2011-11-17T16:58:00.001Z

Hmm. What do you do when you come up with a recipe which is 'ok' not perfection? Well, in the spirit of nothing being perfect in Mummy World, I've posted it anyway.

I am not saying this does not have room for improvement; it does, it's just a little on the savoury side for what was intended to be a sweet muffin. The texture is great though. So if you wanted to sneak on a little icing, I don't think that would be unreasonable! Perhaps as well if you use a proper turning black kind of banana that might up the sweetness a little. Anyway, pumpkin likes which either says he's ok with a more 'savoury' tasting sweet thing or he has to put up with my cooking a lot!

Well, perhaps I open up this recipe to you good people? I'm reluctant to go down the dried fruit route this time for some reason but I'd be interested in your ideas.

Banana and Coconut Mini Muffins for Babies and Toddlers - makes 24 small muffins

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter or margarine, melted and allowed to cool a little
130g (approx) ripe banana, mashed
2 eggs
75g desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
150g SR flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC.

Mix the butter, eggs and banana using an electric whisk until well combined.

Add all of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. This forms quite a wet batter (hence the trails on my pan). Probably best to pour from a jug into a greased muffin tray.

Bake for 15 mins approx or until springing back when given a poke.

If you like this, you might like some of my other muffin recipes like Cheese and Onion or Apple and Sultana.

Bubble and Squeak for Babies and Toddlers

2011-11-16T07:38:00.001Z

Readers outside the UK will no doubt have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. Bubble and squeak is a traditional English recipe for using up leftover vegetables. Potatoes must be included and cabbage or brussel sprouts are traditional but from then on it's up to you. Use any left over or freshly cooked vegetables you like!

This would be great for baby led weaners I reckon.

My mum always cooks this 'loose' so not in a cake like I've done so a bit more like a hash. Cooking it that way means you can include new potatoes rather than mash. She also always includes bacon. I haven't here so the dish would be suitable for vegetarians and also so I wouldn't be concerned about salt content but a little bacon or ham does taste nice. Just cook bacon until fully cooked and crisp before adding to the mix; use the bacon-y fat to cook the cakes in! Yum!

Bubble and Squeak for Babies, Toddlers and Adults - Serves 1 toddler, 1 adult, (change quantities to meet your needs!)

Ingredients

Two jacket potatoes, cooked and cooled (or use the equivalent of boiled potatoes)
7 or 8 Cooked Brussel Sprouts (or use a similar amount of cooked cabbage, kale or whatever you like)
A good knob of unsalted butter
A couple of tbsp plain flour
Eggs (optional)

Method

Scoop out the soft inside from the potatoes (or use boiled potatoes). Chop one of them up into smallish cubes and pass the other through a ricer (or mash it well).

Slice the sprouts into thin slices. combine the potatoes and sprouts in a bowl and form into two 'cakes'. The thicker you make them, the longer they will take to cook and you'll probably have to finish them in the oven. Dust the outside with flour and chill until ready to cook them.

If your cakes are quite thick, preheat the oven to 200oC. Heat the butter in a frying pan and then fry gently for 5 mins or so on each side or until lovely and brown. If they're still not hot in the middle, put them into the oven for 10-20 minutes or until hot through.

If you prefer you can skip making these into cakes and fry the mix like a hash, allowing it to brown and then stirring the browned portions back in. This would be a good way to serve it for babies on soft lumps and more textured foods.

Serve on their own or poach an egg by putting some boiling water into a saucepan. Put it on a low heat (barely a bubble). Crack the egg into a bowl. Swirl the water and then add the egg into the centre. Cook for 3 mins or so until the white is fully cooked and the yolk is just starting to cook around the outside. Serve on top of the bubble and squeak (for 12 months plus only as the yolk will still be runny!)

Allow to cool until cool enough for your child to eat. Add seasoning at the table for adults. Yum!

Variations: Add bacon, ham, cheese, substitute some of the chopped potato for chopped cooked parsnip. Add herbs if you're feeling particularly fancy!

This would be ideal Boxing day breakfast fare.

Sugar Free Banana Bread for Babies

2011-11-13T09:31:00.000Z

This is a tasty yet sweet treat without any added sugar. Great for using up bananas which are getting a bit black in the fruit bowl; in fact it's better to use them as they will be sweeter. I'm quite pleased with this. Although it doesn't use as many bananas as some banana loaf recipes, it's a much lighter recipe for it.

Banana Bread for Babies, Toddlers and Adults - makes one large loaf

Ingredients

160g Banana, mashed (approx 1 and a half large, or two small)
75ml Oil
100ml Milk
2 eggs
250g SR flour
1/2 tsp Mixed spice
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
150g Sultanas
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 175oC. Grease a silicone loaf tin or line and grease a regular loaf tin.

Whisk with an electric or manual whisk the banana, oil, milk and eggs until they are combined and creamy. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until cooked.

Allow to cool slightly before slicing.

If you like this, you'll love the no added sugar date cake recipe. If anything it's sweeter but there's still no added sugar and you'd never guess from the taste!

If you've read this far and you like what you read, please can you nominate me for a Brilliance in Blogging award? I've been put forward for the "Tasty" category but you can nominate any other blogs you like in any category. Thank you for reading!

Creamy Mustard Chicken for Babies and Toddlers

2011-11-12T11:56:00.000Z

I'm thinking older babies here, the ones on finger foods and larger lumps. I'm tempted to suggest an adventurous palate to cope with the garlic and mustard but my son was eating some very surprising things at that age. I remember him eating some porchetta style pork belly stuffed with garlic and herbs which my sister had made at his first birthday party and loving it. Perhaps sometimes we're not adventurous enough with our kids?

Creamy Mustard Chicken for Babies and Toddlers - serves 2 toddler portions with side dishes (see below)

Ingredients

1 large chicken breast
1 dsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
Approx 50 ml boiling water (a big splash, plus more if needed)
2 tbsp double cream
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Chop up the chicken into small pieces and put in the pan with the garlic. Cook until releasing the aromas. Add in the mustard, cream and water and cook gently until the chicken is cooked through. Add extra water if needed to loosen during the cooking process.

Take off the heat and mix through the parsley.

Serve with rice, potatoes, noodles or vegetables (one carbohydrate and at least one other vegetable would be a good idea nutritionally.)

This freezes ok, just add a splash of milk or cream before reheating in the microwave as otherwise it can be a little dry.

Baked Glazed Gammon

2011-11-10T07:56:00.002Z

I'm not suggesting this for little kids (although without the glaze you could use a little bit of the ham in recipes if you are careful about the day's salt content) but this falls into the category of "bung in the oven while you're sorting out bedtime" and it's a 3 ingredient recipe which tastes like so much more.

It's great for Christmas and also great cold (a lifesaver when you have a very little baby and never eat hot food!)

Glazed Gammon - serves 4 adults (or 2 adults with plenty of leftovers)

Ingredients

1 boneless gammon / ham joint, approx 750g
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp soft brown sugar (I used molasses sugar)

Method

Preheat your oven to 190oC.

Check when buying your gammon that the butcher or packaging does not say to soak it. Take their advice if needed.

Remove any string / netting etc holding the gammon together. Use a sharp knife to remove the rind leaving some of the fat. Score the fat into diamond shapes.

Mix the mustard and sugar in a bowl.

Put the mustard mix onto the gammon.

Wrap loosely in foil tenting over the glaze.

When ready to cook, bake for 30 mins per 500g plus 30 mins (or check the packaging / ask your butcher for advice) so mine took 1 hour 15 mins.

For the last 15 minutes, open the foil slightly at the top to allow it to crisp slightly.

Rest for 10-15 minutes and carve. You can serve with the juices in the foil (although they are very sweet and salty) or with mustard.

Swede and Carrot Puree for Babies, Toddlers and Adults

2011-11-09T13:56:00.004Z

Puree? For adults? Toddlers too? Are you mad?!

Well possibly but this puree recipe is neither the cause nor the symptom.

It might sound strange to make a puree for adult or toddler food but if you look at Michelin star cooking, they use purees all the time. Why I hear you ask? (Ok, well I didn't hear you, I really am quite sane, honest, I'm imagining you asking.) Well the reason is pureeing gives you a different experience; it combines the flavours within the puree, intensifies them somehow and also acts as a 'sauce' for other foods on the plate. Trust me, if you just boiled some swede and put it in front of me there had better be a lot of other exciting things in there to make it taste a bit nicer; pureed with carrot? Well it just kind of works. I've tried it mashed. Nope. Pureed all the way for me but if you prefer you could mash it; if you really must.

If it feels too much like babyfood, well then either just feed it to your baby or be poncy and put a blob on the plate and drag a spoon through it. Maybe balance a seared scallop on top? Or get out a squeezy bottle or something! Face it, you eat mashed potato and don't feel like it's babyfood and this is much better.

Carrot and Swede Puree - serves 2 adults or will make a lot of portions for a baby depending on age. Freezes well. For babies, freeze in a silicone ice cube tray then empty into freezer bags when frozen solid.)

Ingredients

1 largeish carrot (approx 120g)
Approx 160g swede
Approx 25g butter (unsalted for babies)

Method

Boil the carrots and swede for 20 minutes. Sounds like a long time but it does make for a smoother puree. Use a slotted spoon to put into a jug and then add the butter. Use a stick blender to puree adding some of the cooking water as needed (I used about 1dsp). I suggest using a stick blender because it's easier to make a thicker puree using this than a traditional blender.

Serve! Can make in advance and reheat in the microwave. Great with drier foods which don't already have a sauce, for example, sausages, grilled or roasted meats etc.

Roasted Courgette Chips for Babies and Toddlers

2011-11-07T07:19:00.000Z

Courgette (Zucchini) is one of those vegetables which sneaks into my cooking more as a bulking and 'secret vegetable' rather than a star in its own right. I'm not sure how this situation came about and it's even more annoying because I love growing courgettes and generally have had some real success with them. There is something so beautiful about them, especially the yellow and 'ball' varieties.

So, here is an attempt to make courgette the star. I think this is something I will cook in future for adults too. The little one thought it was ok, gave it a go, had a couple and then moved onto something else. I can only imagine his little unimpressed face had I given him a boiled courgette! Bleurgh!

Courgette (Zucchini) Chips (Fries) for Babies and Toddlers - serves 2

Ingredients

Half a large or one small courgette (zucchini)
20-25g grated parmesan, grana padano or vegetarian alternative
1 egg
1 tbsp plain flour
Salt and pepper (omit for babies and toddlers)
Spray oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 220oC, 430oF

Cut the courgette into 5cm (2 inch) lengths. Cut again into sticks no more than 1cm (1/4 inch) wide so they look like fries.

Break the egg and whisk it a little to break up the yolk.

Grate the cheese and put into a plastic food bag with the flour; mix well.

Line a baking tin with non stick baking paper.

This is where it gets messy. Dip the sticks into the egg then into the cheese mixture giving them a good shake. Put onto the baking tray and season if not using for babies or toddlers.

Spray with some spray oil and bake for 12-15 mins or until browned and soft in the middle.

Pa Amb Tomaquet for Toddlers and Adults

2011-11-06T07:11:00.000Z

If you're not familiar with the name, let me explain. This would be lofty to call this a 'dish' but it's kind of a way of serving bread in Catalonia (Spain) which is absolutely delicious and fantastic with good Spanish ham or cured meats.

This is typical of Spanish cooking. Take good bread, good tomatoes, good olive oil and make something which elevates all of them.

There's no reason not to give this to your toddler, just leave the salt out and it's fairly similar to a garlic / tomato bread which is the kind of stuff my toddler loves. Oh and you must have good bread. I'm lucky that I have a friend who made some sourdough bread yesterday and this is the kind of dish for using up slightly stale bread and sourdough has that fantastically chewy crust. Before the days of using enzymes, preservatives and improvers in bread, there were hundreds of recipes around the world for using stale bread because bread would stale quickly. These thrifty dishes are generally pretty good in their own right.

If I have any bread left over, I think this one is getting frozen as breadcrumbs. Imagine chicken nuggets made with sourdough bread! Or is that just taking the 'junk recipe made with good ingredients' just a bit too far?

I wish I had the time to devote to a sour. Maybe as my son grows up a little I will but treating a pot of yeasty goodness like an additional child feels a bit wrong when my son is still so little!

Pa Amb Tomaquet (tomato bread) - serves 1 adult, easily increased

Ingredients

Some good bread
1 ripe tomato
2 tsp of good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
Coarse sea salt (miss out for toddlers or babies)

Method

Slice two slices of bread per adult.

Take the garlic and gently rub over the bread slices. It might seem strange but it does give a subtle garlic flavour.

You can serve this completely cold but I like to take the slices of bread and put them into a dry pan and toast quickly either side over a high heat.

Take off the heat, slice the tomato in half and squeeze and rub over the bread slices. Pour a tsp of olive oil over each slice and top with a sprinkling of salt (if using).

Eat on its own (ideal with some good Estrella Dam if you're an adult) or you could even use to make possibly the best sandwich in the world with some Spanish Serrano ham. Delicious.

Savoury Welsh Cakes for Babies and Toddlers

2011-11-05T06:27:00.000Z

Why on earth did I not think of this before? A welsh cake is a bit like a scone but cooked on a frying pan (well traditionally it would have been cooked on a griddle but that confuses people because I don't mean a ridged griddle pan, a griddle is flat without sides. My mum is the only person I know who has one.) I suspect they could be cooked directly onto an Aga plate but I don't have one and I suspect very few of my readers have an Aga either.

Welsh cakes are normally made with sultanas and sugar but there's no real reason why not to use the inspiration for a savoury snack. Also they're quick to make and as in this case, I've used an ingredient which would normally be discarded so they can be pretty thrifty too, especially as you're cooking on a hob and so not using all that energy to heat up an oven.

If you use a small cutter, you can get loads. I used a diamond shaped cutter which was probably approx 3 cm (1.25 inches) long which also has the benefit of being able to cut closer together without waste (unlike a round cutter).

Anyone who is offended at my use of the term 'welsh cake' for something which is clearly a way removed from the traditional recipe; I do apologise and I would also like to point out the use of red, white and green in the ingredients ;o)

I think this has potential for more savoury and sweet options. I will experiment and let you know...

Savoury Broccoli and Red Onion Welsh Cakes for Babies and Toddlers makes 30+ depending on the size of your cutter

Ingredients

1 small red onion, finely chopped
60g broccoli stalk, grated
Spray oil or additional oil or butter
225g (8oz) SR flour
75g (3oz) unsalted butter
75g (3oz) mature cheddar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp full fat greek yoghurt
1 egg
A few sprigs of parsley

Method

Fry the onion and grated broccoli in the spray oil or butter until softened. Allow to cool.

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the onion and broccoli, cheese and chopped parsley and mix. Add in the mustard, yoghurt and egg and bring together into a dough. Roll out on a floured surface until just over half a cm thick (quarter of an inch). Heat a non stick pan on a hob and then cut the dough into pieces. For babies just getting used to finger foods, it might be a good idea to cut into sticks.

Cook a few 'cakes' in the pan at a time at a medium to low heat until they have formed a good crust on one side (takes a couple of minutes) and turn over. You'll find they will puff up a little when they cook, check they're fully cooked. Turn out onto a plate and continue cooking the remainder.

Serve the same day (allow to cool a little until safe but great when still warm) or freeze then defrost from frozen in a microwave.

Obviously keep an eye on salt content if giving to a young baby but if you consider that I made 36 I think and still had a little dough left over, the amount of sodium from the raising agent in the flour and the cheese will be pretty low per 'cake'.

I'm definitely going to have a go at sugar free sweet welsh cakes so I'll keep you posted.

The Best Cottage Pie EVER!

2011-11-04T06:38:00.000Z

I'm not generally prone to overstatement but this is certainly the best cottage pie I've ever eaten even if my presentation is a bit rubbish. I mean it's almost worth making yesterday's pot roast just to have the ingredients!

I suppose Italians do that though. If you look at their slow cooked hare or boar ragus, they are bubbled away for hours before being chopped up and served with pasta (and I heartily thank them for it). So I like to think some traditional English establishment might stumble across my blog one day and realise what a fantastic idea this is! I mean, ok, it's a leftover recipe now but sometimes thrift and hunger are the best inspirations. Perhaps you might need to work on my presentation, I know, it's a bit ropey.

So, yesterday's recipe for Pot Roast will have had some left over if you weren't too hungry and I also encouraged you to cook a few extra potatoes. Well here we go:

Amazing Cottage Pie for all the Family - serves 2 adults with quantities below, but easily increased.

Ingredients

Approx 300-400g Cooked Pot Roast Beef
Gravy (approx half from the pot roast)
Left over Mashed Potato from 2-3 potatoes (or 2-3 cooked jacket potatoes scooped out and passed through a ricer.)
30g Grated grana padano, parmesan or strong cheddar

Method

Cut up the pot roast into delicious little meaty shards. Use a sharp chef knife for this. Mix with the remaining gravy and put into an ovenproof baking dish.

Top with mashed potato. I use a ricer which practically guarantees it to be lump free.

Then add the cheese and chill until ready to bake.

Bake for 30 mins approx or until browned on top and thoroughly hot throughout. Serve with green vegetables.

Absolutely fantastic. One of my favourite meals and frankly cottage and shepherds pies normally leave me cold. Great for kids. If you don't have enough ingredients for a full family version, it's worth making a kid sized one to stick in the freezer (uncooked) for when you're eating that chicken madras that might be a stretch too far...

Oh there are some seconds. I'll be back in a mo... nom, nom, nom...

Beef Pot Roast for Babies, Toddlers and Adults

2011-11-03T09:56:00.001Z

Sorry to all US readers if this is inauthentic. This is based upon a recipe I found in "Making the Most of your Slow Cooker" by Catherine Atkinson.

It's amazing that I've been cooking with slow cookers (crock pots) since I was a student in *ahem* 1996. So that makes it 15 years. If I type small it won't seem that long. Anyway It's taken me that long to come up with a pot roast recipe. Surely slow cookers are made for pot roasting right?

Well there are loads of great things about this recipe; it's a cheap cut of meat, it's tasty, it makes it's own gravy, needs very little attention and there is a great leftovers recipe... see tomorrow. What's more because the beef is so tender, it's great for whizzing up for traditional weaners or giving in small pieces to baby led weaning babies and I think even babies and toddlers will love the leftovers too. If you think about it, it's often the texture which puts kids off meat. It must be hard if you think about it; most kids only get their first molars over the age of 12 months, maybe their second set by 2 years old but that's still only 8 'chewing teeth' until their much older!

I would imagine you could make this without a slow cooker but it would be much more faff and more inclined to be a bit dry I would imagine. Just buy a slow cooker! They're really cheap to buy and cheap to run!

Pot Roast Beef For the Whole Family - Makes 2 adult portions plus enough for 2 further adult portions as leftovers (see tomorrow's recipe).

Ingredients

850g Rolled Brisket of Beef (sometimes called a 'pot roast' joint in UK supermarkets. You can use a bigger piece of beef to serve more, just make sure it fits into your slow cooker and don't go bigger than 1.2kg; 2.5lb.)
2 small red onions cut into small wedges
2 carrots cut into thick slices
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1 small wine glass of red wine (optional, substitute for more stock for babies)
200ml stock (use homemade salt free stock or very low salt stock cube if serving to babies or toddlers)
2 dried bay leaves
A few sprigs of thyme
A few sprigs of parsley
2 dsp cornflour

Method

Put your slow cooker on high.

Put the onions and carrots into a frying pan with half of the oil. Fry on a medium heat until getting softened and slightly browned, add the garlic and fry a little longer. Put into the slow cooker.

Heat up the remaining oil in the frying pan and brown the joint all over. Put on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker.

Deglaze the pan using the wine (or use the stock if not using wine), i.e. scrape up any tasty bits from the bottom and, if using wine, boil for a few minutes to drive off the alcohol. Add to the slow cooker with the hot stock. Add in the herbs.

As you can see, my slow cooker is getting a bit worn out and it's a bit on the small side if Santa is reading...

Cook for 3.5 - 4 hours on high, then lower the heat to low and cook for a further 2-3 hours or until it's very tender. I found 3.5 hours on high and 3 hours on low in my slow cooker was perfect.

Lift out the meat carefully (it might start to fall apart so use a big spoon, don't just skewer it with a fork!) Cover the meat to keep it warm and leave to rest for 10-15 mins.

Strain the gravy into a sauce pan and discard the vegetables (if serving to a traditionally weaned baby on early stages of weaning you could puree some of the soft carrots, onions and beef together but probably best not to include the garlic in the puree!)

Bring the gravy to the boil. Mix the cornflour with some cold water until it makes a paste and gradually add to the boiling gravy, stirring constantly until it's thickened to your liking.

Cut up the beef into chunks, it won't carve neatly however sharp your knife is. Serve with vegetables. I like to serve with jacket or mashed potatoes. If you do too, cook two or three extra and stick them in the fridge... because the next recipe is cottage pie with the leftovers!

Roasted Vegetables for Babies and Toddlers

2011-11-01T15:19:00.003Z

Well probably more for toddlers but baby led weaners would find this a useful recipe I think. I've included meat and vegetarian options to the recipe. Just keep an eye on the day's salt intake if feeding to babies younger than 12 months or miss out the feta.

Roasted Vegetables with Chicken or Feta for Babies, Toddlers and Adults - Serves 1 adult, 1 toddler

Ingredients

1 red, orange or yellow pepper, cut into thick strips
1 small or half large onion cut into thin wedges (I used red onion)
Half a courgette (zucchini) cut into thick diagonal slices then into thick sticks
1 clove of garlic crushed or very finely chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Herbs, e.g. thyme, oregano, parsley chopped
1 Cooked chicken breast (optional)
40g Feta Cheese, finely crumbled (optional)

Method

Once your veg is all cut up and you've added the garlic, cover and put into the fridge until you're ready to cook. Once you are, add the oil and herbs and mix.

Then either cook in a hot griddle pan or frying pan or use a boxer endorsed electrical grill(!) It took 4 minutes in a preheated electrical grill for us.

Mix with the feta cheese and the chicken breast and serve. This is handy for babies because it cools down fairly quickly. If you are wanting to serve cold, leave the vegetables until they are cold before adding the chicken to avoid heating it up again (but if you're eating fairly quickly there should be no issue.)

This was a bit of a revelation. They're vegetables my son isn't especially bothered about on their own normally but he seemed to particularly like the onion and peppers and had a go with the courgettes. It also made me feel like I'd eaten something which had done me good rather than slowed me down. I did follow it up with a carb heavy rice pudding for him though made with dried apricots and sultanas (added to the cooking rice at the start) which went down a treat and helped make the meal more balanced for him and some healthier pineapple for both of us.

Beef Stew for Babies, Toddlers and the Whole Family

2011-10-30T07:43:00.001Z

I like to think I am the kind of person who doesn't need meat for every meal and I like to think the vegetarian section of this site has the odd recipe or two but at this time of year, slow cooked beef just feels right.

There are adaptations in here for adults, toddlers and babies (baby led weaning or traditional approach) so read on!

What's more important though is, although it's possible to have a vegetarian diet for a toddler, iron is really important in a toddlers and babies diet and beef is a great and easily absorbed source of it. Also by using a cheap cut of meat not only do you get flavour, you're using a less used part of the animal (which is important to use every part of an animal in my opinion) and you're saving money.

I did post a sketchy outline of a stew recipe a few months back but again, rather than going back and revising, it made more sense to post it with proper quantities. That said, stews are a piece of cake. I'd keep the veg / meat ratio similar (unless you're serving to a baby, see notes later) and you can pretty much do what you like within reason. Keep the vegetables the 'root' kind, e.g. carrots, butternut squash, parsnip, swede, sweet potato, potato and you're onto a winner. Each type of root vegetable will give it's own character; the sweeter ones balance out the earthy meaty flavours of the beef, the potato would thicken, if you chose new potatoes they'd hold their shape and be an extra vegetable. It's all good.

Beef Stew for Babies, Toddlers and Adults (see adaptations). Made 3 adult portions as a pie (see below) and 4-5 toddler portions.

Ingredients

1 Onion in a fine dice
1 Carrot cut into a fine dice
Approx the same amount of butternut squash, peeled and finely diced
650g (approx) stewing steak (you could use braising steak but honestly, stewing steak gives the best flavour and it's cheaper)
Small knob of unsalted butter
2 Cloves of garlic, finely chopped
200ml of ale (also known as 'bitter', basically British Real Ale. You could also use a stout or red wine. If cooking for babies, probably wise to replace it with a very low salt vegetable or beef stock.)
200g Mushrooms, thickly sliced
An additional small knob of unsalted butter
Rounded tbsp of cornflour
1 'normal' beef stock cube (I use oxo) - optional (not for babies or toddlers)

Adaptions for babies

Add in additional root vegetables, for example an extra carrot and chunk of swede, finely chopped. This will ensure there's a good mixture of nutrients and it's not all meat!

Method

In a non stick pan, dry fry the steak until browned on each side. If it's in big bits, I don't cut it up because it will break a little on cooking and if you start with small pieces it will end up very small.

Put into a slow cooker. (You could also cook this in a low oven or on a low hob but it needs more attention. A slow cooker is great for stews and they're pretty cheap and very cheap to run.)

Heat the butter in the frying pan and put the onions and root vegetables in. Saute until starting to brown slightly and soften, add the garlic, soften a bit more, then put into the slow cooker. Deglaze the pan (i.e. use the ale, wine or stock to get any browned bits off the bottom.) Bring this to the boil; this will help the slow cooking get started and drive off the alcohol. Pour this into the slow cooker.

Cook for around 4 hours on high, or if you prefer, you can bring to the boil then turn down to low and cook for longer. Slow cookers do vary slightly but what you're looking for is meat that's falling apart and vegetables which are lovely and soft.

If serving to a baby on pureed food, puree all of the meat and vegetables together with enough of the stock to form a puree of the texture your child likes. The reason I suggest using more vegetables for babies is because they're less likely to have vegetables on the side, if they are having some then you can cut back a little. If you want to serve some for yourself and some for your baby, just add a few more vegetables at the start then fish more of them out to puree.

As your baby gets older, you can adapt this recipe to make it suitable for kids on 'soft lumps'. Do this by pureeing the beef with some of the vegetables but leaving the other vegetables whole.

Baby led weaners could also just serve this as is. The soft meat will be particularly easy for gums to work on and the vegetables will be very easy to eat.

If serving to older kids or adults, fry the mushrooms then add into the slow cooker on a high heat and cook for approx 15 mins or until the mushrooms are cooked. Add the beef stock cube if you would like (keep an eye on salt in your toddler's diet though) and mix the cornflour with a little cold water and add to the hot gravy to thicken. Make sure the stew comes back to a simmer as the cornflour won't thicken without it. Add a bit more cornflour mixed with water if it's a bit thin.

Serve.

Adaptations

Steak and Ale Pie for Toddlers and Adults - serves 2 Adults and 1 Toddler

This is excellent made into a pie:

Shortcrust pastry

70g, 2.5 oz unsalted butter (can use salted if giving to adults)

100g, 3.5 oz plain flour

15g, 0.5 oz cornflour

2 dsp cold water

Method

Take two adult portions of the beef mixture and put into a pie dish. Preferably allow to cool prior to topping with pastry.

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400oF.

Rub the butter into the plain flour and cornflour until it resembles breadcrumbs. A food processor makes this a piece of cake. Add the water in gradually until it starts to come together. Bring the pastry together with your hands and at this point you can chill it until you're ready to use it.

Roll out with a floured rolling pin until approx 2-3mm thick.

Cover the top of the pie dish with the pastry and brush with a little full fat milk. Decorate with some pastry shapes and bake for approx 50 minutes or until browned and the pastry is crisp.

Sorry, forgot to take a photo before we ate most of it.... Oooops!

Breaded Mushrooms with Garlic Mayo for Toddlers and Adults

2011-10-28T21:06:00.002+01:00

I seem to be getting onto some kind of "healthy trashy" vibe at the moment. Nothing deliberate, that's not my thing but we all fancy something a bit tacky sometimes. I have to admit to a sneaky love of the breaded mushroom but I always want to wipe my face afterwards to remove the grease. Yuck.

So, it got me thinking... Why not try oven baking them? Must be possible right?

Well it turns out that not only is it possible but it's blooming lovely. Much crunchier and obviously not oily at all. I've not tried this recipe on the pumpkin (my son) yet, partly because he's not much of a fan of dipping foods and the mayo is part of the whole deal. He loves mushrooms though so I'm definitely going to try him on them.

Breaded Mushrooms with Garlic Mayo - serves 2 toddlers or 2 adult sized starter portions (or one hungry adult who would eat breaded mushrooms as a main course.... *blush*)

Ingredients

5 reasonable sized mushrooms, approx 4-5 cm (1.5-2 inch) across (see below)
1-1.5 slices of white bread (I used a lovely slow fermented sponge based bread)
1 egg
25g (1oz) of grated grana padano (or parmesan)
Spray oil

To serve
0.5 - 1 clove of garlic, chopped and crushed (or to your taste)
2 tbsp of bought mayonnaise

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400oF.

Cut the mushrooms in half, or if they are very small, leave whole (I see no reason if they are larger not to quarter them). The idea is that they are of a consistent size so they cook evenly in the oven.

Crack your egg into a bowl and whisk slightly.

Process the bread into crumbs and add the grated cheese.

Now take each mushroom, dip into the egg and then the crumbs and put onto a baking tray, flat side down lined with non-stick baking paper. I found the breadcrumbs don't stick tremendously well to the curved side so I did press a few more on top where they were a little bald!

Spray with spray oil and bake for 20-25 mins or until the coating is crisp and the mushroom is fully cooked inside.

I feel quite proud of myself for this. I mean, it might be quite a cool diet dish too if you use extra light mayo. Definitely one I'm making again...

Popcorn for Toddlers (and Adults)

2011-10-26T11:49:00.002+01:00

This has been something going through my head for a while. The Mamacook household is a fairly thrifty place, partly due to necessity (currently buying a house with more than one loo, yay) and partly due to hating waste. Anyway, Mr MC said he fancied some (popcorn) last night so I gave an idea I adapted from something I saw in yourhome Christmas made easy. I'm a sucker for a Christmas food and craft mag.

It got be thinking about snack foods. There is no reason per se why Popcorn should be "bad", it's not the corn, it's what you flavour it with; so, why not give some as a snack unflavoured?

Well it turned out to be a brainwave. He happily munched away for his afternoon snack and Mummy and Daddy had the taste sensation of cinnamon popcorn while watching some trash on TV the night before.

Popcorn for Toddlers and Adults (see adaptations and cautions)

Ingredients

1 large handful of popcorn kernels (unpopped)
Spray oil or a little vegetable oil

To flavour:

A large knob of butter

Salted

Salt (well duh...)

Sweet Cinnamon

2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar (I used golden caster sugar)
change the proportions if you like according to how much you like cinnamon!

Method

Heat a pan on the hob. Add the corn and put on a preferably clear lid (it's so much easier when you can see what's going on.) If you've never seen corn popping before, it's soooo cool!

Heat on a medium to high heat, keep shaking the pan, if there are signs of dark spots appearing on the grains, lower the heat slightly. Eventually (seems like it takes ages) the popping will start. Keep shaking the pan with the lid on until the popping starts to subside, then take off the heat. Leave the pan covered until the popping completely stops.

It makes an amazing amount!

Remove some corn WARNING: WATCH OUT FOR UNPOPPED KERNELS. They aren't nice for adults and for a toddler could be a choking hazard. Leave to cool then put in an airtight container and serve within 24 hours.

Spoon the rest of the popcorn into a serving bowl (doing it this way will make it easier to leave any unpopped kernels in the bottom.) Melt the butter and pour over the rest of the popcorn (you might want to do this in two halves so it's evenly coated) and add the salt or cinnamon sugar mix in desired quantities. Mix and serve.

I suppose there is no need to serve it plain to your child either, you can still avoid added salt and sugar by using spices (paprika might be good), or why not cheese popcorn? Hmm, perhaps worth a try. I'll keep you posted.

Lamb Kofta Recipe for Babies and Toddlers with homemade naan (flatbread)

2011-10-25T18:15:00.002+01:00

I'm always wary about posting things which are 'okay' rather than great but I figure there is a good dish in here somewhere, it just needs a little work. My gut feel is some breadcrumbs in the mix would help because this was a little firm and shrank a bit. Still, perhaps I should open this up to you lovely people? Any ideas? Anyway, I couldn't resist putting them in partly because they looked so sweet before baking.

That said, pumpkin ate some along with some homemade flatbread (naan) and salad (see below). The hummus was a resounding failure though, so I won't inflict that recipe on you. It's a tough critic who makes a face, pulls out his tongue and sticks it out so the food falls out. Can't imagine AA Gill pulling that stunt!

Lamb Koftas - makes 8-10
Ingredients

1/2 an onion, grated
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
oil or spray oil
1 tsp ground coriander
Small handful of fresh coriander leaves and stalks, finely chopped
250g lamb mince
Small pinch of chilli powder (optional)

Method

Saute the grated onion and the garlic until starting to brown, put in a bowl and allow to cool.

Mix with the lamb, corianders and chilli then shape into short sausage shapes and put onto baking paper on a baking tray. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Preheat an oven to 200 degrees C (400F) and bake for 25 minutes.

Probably best not frozen (unless you freeze raw and defrost fully before cooking.) My attempt at freezing and reheated ended up with something pretty dry.

Onto the bread!

The great thing about making your own bread is that you can include what you want to and exclude what you want to. That said, don't miss out salt entirely, it is necessary to have some, I once missed it out completely and had the nastiest tasting bread ever.

It is a myth that bread is difficult to make or even time consuming. Realistically there's an initial workload then probably 20 mins in total of additional work, the rest it does without you. All you need is a nice warm place to prove but even if it's not all that warm and just takes longer, it doesn't really matter. Bread is generally pretty forgiving and although if you do it perfectly, you might get a perfect loaf, unlike if you were baking a cake, you can make the odd mistake and get away with it.

Naan breads (can also be used as flatbreads) - makes 3-4

Ingredients

1 tsp dried 'easy blend' yeast

1 tsp sugar

200g bread flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp yoghurt

2 tbsp milk plus a little extra if needed

1 tbsp melted unsalted butter

Method

Mix the flour, sugar and yeast together. Add the butter, milk, yoghurt and salt and mix together. If it seems a bit to dry, add some more milk, you need a sticky dough.

Bring it all together and kneed for 10 minutes then leave to rest. I put an opened out plastic sandwich bag over it oiled with oil or melted butter.

Leave to prove for at least one hour. Herein lies some variations. You can knock it back, reshape and leave again and do this 2-3 times, it's up to you but will help with flavour. When you're ready to cook, heat the oven to 230oC and put in a baking tray or a baking stone, take a ball, stretch it out ready to cook on some non stick baking paper and leave for 30 mins or so to puff up again slightly. The traditional shape for a naan bread is teardrop shaped, thinner in the middle and fatter at the edges (don't make it too thin though). Bear in mind these would be cooked on the side of a tandoor which is a fiercely hot oven so you want the tray hot.

When ready to put in, put the baking sheet with the naan(s) on the hot baking tray and return to the oven; bake for approx 6-10 minutes. It should still be bendy. 8 minutes was perfect in my oven. Serve with curries, e.g. chicken curry, prawn curry or keema aloo or with middle eastern dishes like the kofta I made the other day.Now I can't pretend they are the fluffiest, bubbled naan gorgeousness you can pick up for pence from a Birmingham curry house but they were pretty good. Did you know you can buy 'family naans' in Birmingham? They're like a duvet! Mix in some kalonji seeds into the recipe (Nigella or black onion seeds) and we might just be onto a winner.

Keema and Potato curry for babies and toddlers (Keema Aloo)

2011-10-24T07:23:00.000+01:00

Well no claims to authenticity. I'm not Indian, I once spent 5 weeks in India variably eating some of the best, worst and most food poisoning inducing food possible. I did have some fantastic food too though and I've also lived in some of the cities in the UK with the biggest Indian, Pakastani and Bangladeshi communities. A lot of people wouldn't think of making a curry with mince though which is quite traditional, it also gives you the opportunity to bulk out as well with lots of vegetables. I've chosen potatoes here which again is pretty traditional (I think.)

I've not made my own curry paste; although we eat a fair amount of curries, I've rarely been able to make one totally from scratch which tastes as good as using a paste. I use Pataks pastes generally because I love the flavours of them. In my defence, allegedly there are a significant number of UK curry houses using them too.

I see no reason not to give this to a baby who is ok with lumps. You could tone down the amount of curry paste or even just use garam masala (which is very mild but flavoursome) and mash the potato a bit with a fork. Probably 10 months plus but you know your baby better than I do!

Keema and Potato Curry for Babies and Toddlers - serves 6 (for toddlers) with rice.

Ingredients

250g Lamb mince
Half an onion, finely diced
Oil or spray oil
4-5 New potatoes in a fine dice (I weighed mine and they came to 240g)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp mild curry paste (could use less for younger children)
Half a tin of chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp garam masala

Method

Soften the onion in a little oil, add the garlic, soften a little more and put into a saucepan or slow cooker. Add the lamb and fry for a couple of minutes, add the turmeric, stir a few times then put into the saucepan or slow cooker along with the curry paste, tomatoes and potatoes. Add some water to loosen up (but not too much) and bring to the boil (or put on high in a slow cooker). Cook until the potatoes are cooked through (approx 2 hours on high in a slow cooker, will take less time in a saucepan) adding more water if necessary. Add the garam masala and serve with rice or naan bread.

I think this will freeze well, I'll let you know.

I was a naughty mummy and left my son to eat while I was in the same room doing the dishes. Looked round after 5 minutes and it was gone! Definitely a hit!

If you like this, why not try the prawn curry, chicken curry or dahl?

Apple 'jam' tarts for babies and toddlers adaptations from 6 months

2011-10-23T07:54:00.000+01:00

These aren't really jam tarts as there isn't anything quite so sweet in them as jam but it is a cunning (if I say so myself) and tasty way to have a nice pudding without adding sugar to it. My son and I had two each at lunchtime with a bit of cream (oops!)

There is an adaptation for younger babies so read on...

Yesterday I shared my cheese straws recipe and this recipe also uses short crust pastry. There would be half a batch of the pastry left if you do as I have suggested and only make 4 (they don't keep that well) but you could easily whip up a batch of the cheese straws to use up the rest and any scraps. If you would like to make more than this, just increase the quantity of filling.

Apple and cinnamon 'Jam' tarts for babies and toddlers - makes 4 with extra pastry left

Ingredients

Shortcrust pastry (you will use half for this recipe or alternatively double the remaining ingredients)

70g, 2.5 oz unsalted butter

100g, 3.5 oz plain flour

15g, 0.5 oz cornflour

2 dsp cold water

Remaining ingredients

1 large or 2 small dessert apples

Sprinkle of cinnamon

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400oF.

Grate the apples (including the skin) on a medium to fine grater. I grate them whole and stop as I get to the core. Add the cinnamon and microwave, uncovered for two minutes.

At this point you could stop as this would be a great and simple 'pudding' for a baby 6 months plus. Just allow to cool until at a suitable temperature for your child.

If continuing with the recipe, allow the filling to cool.

Roll out with a floured rolling pin until approx 2-3mm thick. Cut rounds using a large pastry cutter and press into a fairy cake / cupcake tin.

Add 1 rounded tsp of the apple and cinnamon mix into each pastry round and bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the pastry is cooked.

Allow to cool before serving, best served the same day. As you can see I used red skinned apples for these which gave the most fantastic colour.

Cheese Straws for Babies and Toddlers

2011-10-22T06:39:00.001+01:00

This recipe goes hand in hand with another I will post tomorrow. They both use a shortcrust pastry as a 'base'. I wish I thought of this when my son was younger. They're really crumbly so useful for babies with no teeth but as they do crumble, keep an eye on choking (however they do melt in the mouth). The only salt is from the cheddar and unlike cheese straws where you put all the cheese on top and you end up with it burning and forming a skin, these are so tasty. Piece of cake to make too and of course sugar free. I'm definitely making these again and can already think of some flavour variations...

I use all butter in my pastry, I like it better than butter and lard. I would rather not use margarine for my son's food as well. Hydrogenated fats (ie fats which have been made solid, this is often the case with margarines made from oil) have to undergo a change which can result in trans fatty acids being formed. Although margarine is often lower fat than butter and lower in saturated fat, it is more likely to contain these 'trans fats' which have been linked to higher cholesterol. Trans fats are where during the hydrogenation the double bond has been changed from 'cis' (both groups on the same side) to 'trans' (groups on the other side). That probably means nothing to you but whether things are solid, liquid or gas at room temperature is a lot to do with chemical structure. Trans fatty acids are like little zig zags, they lie alongside each other well so they are often solid (desirable for a margarine). Trans fatty acids will start off zig zagging, then there will be a big right angle kink in the middle so they will not easily lie alongside each other being all kinky as they are and so they tend to be liquid (not desirable in a margarine). As with everything, moderation is the key. A small amount of butter though is definitely a good (and tasty) thing.

The purpose of the cornflour is to give a 'short' texture as cornflour is gluten free it makes the pastry more crumbly. Add slightly more if you like but it will make the pastry harder to work with.

Cheese Straws - makes 16-24 (depending on size)

Ingredients

Shortcrust pastry
70g, 2.5 oz unsalted butter
100g, 3.5 oz plain flour
15g, 0.5 oz cornflour
2 dsp cold water

Remaining ingredients
85g, 3 oz strong cheddar, grated (or your choice of cheese)
Very small amount of mild mustard (think around quarter of a tsp - optional)
Milk for brushing

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400oF.

Rub the butter into the plain flour and cornflour until it resembles breadcrumbs. A food processor makes this a piece of cake. Add the water in gradually until it starts to come together. Bring the pastry together with your hands and at this point you can chill it until you're ready to use it.

Roll out with a floured rolling pin until approx 2-3mm thick.

Once you've rolled out the pastry, spread on the mustard on one half (if using) then brush lightly with milk on that same half. Sprinkle on most of the cheese on that half then fold over to make a 'sandwich'. Roll the 'sandwich' out again till it's approx 3mm thick, trim off the edges then cut into straws. Put on non stick baking paper on a tray, brush with more milk and the little bits of cheese left.

Bake in the oven for approx 10 - 14 minutes or until done.

I've experimented by putting some of these (unbaked) in the freezer... I'll let you know how it goes at cooking from frozen.

Update: they cook fine from frozen! Give a couple of extra minutes if needed.

Garlic and Herb Chicken Nugget Recipe for babies and toddlers

2011-10-20T18:01:00.003+01:00

It's been a few weeks of tweaking and varying but as it's my blog, I reserve the right to post variations on a recipe; think of it as a brand extension! If you would like to see the original recipe, just click on this link.

Chicken Nuggets (aka inside out mini chicken kievs) - serves 1 Mummy and 1 Toddler

Ingredients

1 skinless chicken breast
1 slice of bread
A few herbs, I used parsley and garlic chives
Approx 20g grana padano, grated (or you could use parmesan)
Half a clove of garlic, chopped finely and crushed with the flat of a knife
1 egg
Spray oil

Method

Cut the chicken breast into approx 1 inch (2.5cm) cubes. Break the bread into pieces and put into a food processor with the herbs. Process until in crumbs. Add to the garlic and grated cheese.

Crack and whisk the egg slightly. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg then the breadcrumbs, put on a baking tray lined with baking paper. If not cooking immediately, cover and chill until ready to cook.

Preheat the oven to 200oC (400oF) spray the nuggets with a little spray oil or drizzle a little oil over them and bake the nuggets for 20 minutes in the preheated oven or until cooked through.

Leave to cool until they're at the right temperature for your little one.

Maybe I ought to play around with a real chicken kiev recipe for babies and toddlers... watch this space...

Sugar free fruit crumble for babies and toddlers adaptations from 6 months plus

2011-10-18T16:51:00.000+01:00

I bought some dried apricots the other day while we were out shopping. I should explain. I don't do the food shopping with my son anymore. He is a little tinker for falling asleep in the car even on short journeys which messes up his day and my two weekdays at home with him a week are too precious to waste in a supermarket so normally he stays at home with Daddy on a weekend and I brave the supermarket around 6:30am on a Saturday which has the bonus of being really quiet. I have to admit listening to "The News Quiz" podcast from Radio 4 on a Saturday morning is a guilty pleasure.

We decided at the weekend though to buy a nice thick winter coat for pumpkin and, if you know UK supermarkets, you'll know they are some of the better (and cheaper) places for kids clothes. I'd been umming and ahhing though when seeing the coats, wondering if they'd fit him. So, family outing to Asda, not the most fun way to spend a Sunday.

We found a really cute duffel coat for him in size 2-3 years (he's 17 months, he'll grow into it...) This, however, was his opportunity. He had a busy aisle in a superstore and he was not going to miss the chance to have a tantrum. What happened was he saw this hideous Hallowe'en decoration which was a fake headstone with skeleton attached who danced with lights flashing to Gloria Estefan "Do the Conga". Irritating. So he raced across the aisle, refusing to be carried, refusing to hold my hand (in my head it was like him running across a road as he darted in front of the trolleys) and then he refused, point blank to move. He even worked out how to make this blooming thing work.

So, I warned him I needed to take him away and then I just had to pick him up. So he goes poker straight, then floppy so I can't carry him, I gently put him down in a quieter aisle and before I know it, it's happened, I have a toddler flat on his back in the middle of a supermarket screaming at me, full on horizontal strop. I was surprised at myself to be honest, I thought I'd feel embarrassed or worried about other peoples reactions, in the end I didn't even notice them. I figure every parent has been there. So in the end I carried all 2 stone plus of him to the other end of the supermarket and was browsing the dried fruits for future snack times, by which time he'd calmed down. He then spent the rest of the shopping trip on Daddy's shoulders slapping his head (my husband is bald and this is one of pumpkin's favourite activities). I remember respecting and being slightly scared of my parents. Hmm.

Anyway, dried apricots. Jury is out on whether to go for sulphured or unsulphured. In the UK, most dried fruit is sulphured and so many foods use it as a preserving agent so just deciding to use unsulphured apricots will not completely exclude it in your child's diet unless you're very careful but it's up to you. I didn't bother, I have to be honest but if you have a sensitive child or one who is prone to asthma, use the unsulphured kind.

So, yes, you can just give your child the dried fruit as it is but also it's worth thinking about making something else as it includes different fruits (and so different micronutrients), reduces the overall proportions of suphites and is lovely and warming to have a crumble on a chilly autumn day like it's been recently. Perhaps preceding it with jacket potato was a mistake. I feel like I need a snooze now and Aidan fell asleep straight after lunch, no story, just wanted bed.

No Added Sugar Apple and Apricot Crumble - Serves 1 mummy and 1 toddler (see baby adaptations below)

Ingredients

2 Dessert apples, peeled, cored and chopped
10 Dried Apricots, cut into quarters
15g (half oz) Unsalted butter
30g (1 oz) Plain flour
Pinch of mixed spice (I think this might be called 'apple pie spice' in the US?)
Half tsp cinnamon

Method

Simmer the apples and apricots in enough water to cover for approx 10 mins.

For a young baby (e.g. 6-8 months): Put the apples and apricots in a blender with as much of the water needed to make a smooth puree. Serve as it is or mix with yoghurt, tastes a lot like apricot custard! The apple and apricot puree freezes really well.

For older babies and toddlers: Either puree the fruit as above or for a toddler, puree two thirds of it and then mix the rest of the fruit back in. Put into two ramekins.

Rub the butter and flour together with the spices to resemble breadcrumbs. Sprinkle on the top of the fruit, if your child is older and you want to, sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar (I didn't and he still loved it). Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 mins or until the crumble topping is browned.

Allow to cool well before serving, crumbles are hotter than lava from the oven! Serve with some single cream. I'm no nutritionist but most kids need fat and some butter and cream is going to do no harm.

Mini Meatloaf Recipe for Babies and Toddlers - Mark 2

2011-10-17T07:18:00.003+01:00

The new, the improved mini meatloaf! Coming to an oven near you!

This is a variation on the other meatloaf recipe I posted some months back but it's a tasty, tasty dish and I think an improvement. This is fine for toddlers and I would think ok for babies on finger foods as long as they're at the soft lump stage or later, probably 10 months plus but you know your baby best.

Beef and Pepper Mini Meatloaf - makes 12

Ingredients

1 slice of bread
4 Tbsp Full Fat Milk
1 Red pepper (capsicum)
Half a garlic clove, chopped finely then crushed into a paste with the side of the knife
200g Lean minced beef
40g Grated Vintage or Extra Mature Cheddar
1 tsp Paprika (mild not hot)
4 Sprigs thyme, chopped

Method

Preheat your oven to 200oC (400oF) (if you only have one oven like I do which includes a grill, preheat the oven after preparing the pepper.)

Heat a grill and grill (broil) the pepper until the skin chars and blackens. Keep turning it then once it's fully charred, put in a deep bowl and cover with cling film (plastic wrap) or a plate.

Break the bread into approx 1cm (less than half an inch) cubes and soak in the milk. Allow the pepper to cool a bit and once cool enough to handle, take off the outer skin, take out the core and chop finely.

Mix all of the ingredients together and press balls of the mix into a silicone mini muffin tin or a greased metal mini muffin or cupcake tin. I would imagine you could also bake balls of the mix on a baking tray but the surface would be a little firmer which might be harder for little babies to eat.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until fully cooked and hot throughout (please check as muffin tin sizes will differ!)

Allow to cool enough for your child and serve with vegetables. My hungry horace 17 month old ate 3, I ate 4 and his Daddy who was eating something else, decided they looked good so he ate one too. Only 4 have made it into the freezer!

If any are going spare, they'd be good as an impromptu kinda meatball dish with some home made tomato sauce either with pasta or in a sub!

Update: They were a hit reheated for a couple of minutes from frozen in the microwave (check the centre is piping hot then allow to cool before giving to your child.)

Prawn Pasta Recipe for Toddlers

2011-10-16T08:04:00.001+01:00

Well sleep has improved after my last post. Straight down for a nap and straight down at bedtime and not a peep from him until 5:45am (then chatting to himself for a good 15 minutes before getting us up.) It's hard to explain to non parents that this is good!

He's really into his prawns right now, if I give him anything with prawns in, he goes straight for those and then only when they're done will he move on to something else. Unfortunately this led to him shoving four king prawns in his mouth and almost choking with his enthusiasm!

Anyway, I may scale back the size of prawns or perhaps chop them up a little but I'm definitely giving them to him again, it's a hit through and through!

Creamy Prawn Pasta - serves one toddler

Ingredients

Heaped dsp full fat cream cheese
Approx 20g grana padano (or parmesan or vintage cheddar)
8-10 Cooked prawns (or more depending on size) thawed if frozen
A large floret of broccoli
A few fresh chives, chopped (I used garlic chives)
Fresh parsley, chopped
Pasta (as much as your little one likes, I never weigh it but a full handful does the job)

Method

Cook the pasta as per pack instructions. Heat a frying pan and gently melt the cream cheese with a couple of tbsp water from the cooking pasta, add the grana padano and melt in. Keep an eye on it as it can catch on the side of the pan. Add more water from the cooking pasta if it needs thinning. As the cheese is melting, cut up the broccoli into very small pieces and add to the cooking pasta when there's 5 mins left on the timer. Add the prawns into the melted cheeses and warm through for approx 2 minutes or until heated through. Add the herbs and take off the heat until the pasta is cooked. When the pasta and broccoli is cooked, drain it and pour it into the sauce and mix in.

Leave to cool until at a safe temperature for your child.

Prawn Curry Recipe for Toddlers, Adults, everyone!

2011-10-12T13:42:00.005+01:00

Oh I'm feeling a bit wrung out. My son was happily falling asleep after a fantastic lunch, almost gone and what happens? A blooming sales call and worst of all, they did the whole silent treatment so I didn't even get the joy of telling them how annoyed I am and how we're on the TPS and shouldn't be getting these calls...!

So then, nap is screwed. Pumpkin is stood up in his cot saying "phone!" and when I don't give him the phone it leads to 10 minutes of screaming finally Mummy gives in and cuddles him to sleep.
He's still asleep now nearly 50 mins later but it doesn't stop me feeling like a bad Mum. You know all those books which tell you you shouldn't let them fall asleep in your arms? Well now I've obviously ruined him for life. Seriously though, being a mummy involves so much (often self induced) criticism. It's exhausting.

Anyway, he's eating well! Yo big myself up on something!!!

Sometimes you have to take a leap into the unknown and not play it safe. This is a curry which even I as someone who generally likes it hot found tasty. Pumpkin wolfed it down! He even nicked an extra mushroom out of my bowl! Now that's a ringing endorsement!

I know advice varies from country to country and even within the UK on potentially allergenic foods and this contains plenty. My son has eczema and so until recently I had avoided many of them but after talking to my health visitor, I'm now being a bit more bold. If you're worried, talk to a health care professional about the latest advice and how it fits in with your family. If you're concerned particularly about the nuts, miss them out. If the prawns worry you, make it a mushroom curry.

No claims to authenticity here but it's probably along the lines of a south Indian dish with the ingredients.

Prawn and Mushroom Curry (or Mushroom curry) - serves 1 adult and 1 toddler

Ingredients

Pinch of mustard seeds
A small knob of unsalted butter or vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 tsp mild curry paste - I used pataks mild curry paste which is mild without being flavourless
Pinch of powdered dried coriander (cilantro)
Half a tin of coconut milk
3 mushrooms cut into sixths or eighths (use more if you only have very small mushrooms)
2 tsp ground almonds (optional)
12 large peeled, cooked prawns (defrosted if frozen) or more if you want to use smaller prawns
A few leaves of fresh coriander (cilantro)
A squeeze of lime

Method

Heat the oil or butter in a pan and add the mustard seeds. Warm until they start to pop. Take off the heat and add the tomato, garlic, curry paste and powdered coriander. Heat through for 1-2 minutes until the coriander is combined. Add the coconut milk and almonds if using and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Add in the mushrooms and bring to the boil. Simmer for around 4 minutes then add in the prawns and simmer until the mushrooms are fully cooked and the prawns heated through. Add the lime and leaf coriander and serve with freshly cooked basmati rice.

If your child is younger, you may want to tone down the quantity of curry paste and either cut up the prawns or use smaller prawns. As ever, you know your child best and what foods they might like and can cope with texturally. As ever don't leave your child to eat alone!

Quadruple Chocolate Cookies NOT a baby recipe!

2011-10-08T19:29:00.001+01:00

I don't want you to think I'm some kind of 'no sugar' joyless monk. We all need a bit of fun and this recipe was a reason my husband asked me to marry him I reckon. Well that and crumble maybe.

My other half has been nagging me for a good couple of years to make these again but after one bad batch (yes I know, kind of ridiculous to give up on a favourite recipe), it put me off. I think I used real butter rather than margarine from memory and they just ran all over the tray. Don't let that put you off though, I've been making this recipe for about 10 years and it was the only time they went wrong.

Sorry about the ounces, this was a recipe from my mum which I adapted (I added the stupid amounts of chocolate) and she works in ounces. I can see her point, it does work better for baking I think.

Quadruple Chocolate Cookies - for serious cookie fan adults only!

Ingredients

4oz Margarine
4oz SR flour
4oz Caster Sugar
1oz Cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 rounded tbsp Cornflour
2oz each (approx) of milk, plain and white chocolate (my favourites are green and blacks milk, Lindt 70% plain and milkybar)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC

Soften the margarine slightly (can do this on a low or defrost setting in the microwave) and cream with the sugar. Add in the remaining ingredients apart from the chocolate and mix well. I use some twirly mixing beaters on a hand mixer but you could use a food processor, just empty out before adding the chocolate.

Add in the chopped chocolate and mix well. Now get your hands in to form it all together into a soft dough. Form into balls the size of a walnut, put some non stick baking paper on trays. Put the balls on the tray and flatten slightly. Space them well as they will spread.

Bake for 10-12 minutes (up to 15 if you like a firmer cookie) and leave to cool slightly on the trays before removing to a cooling rack. They will stay slightly softer if you cook for the shorter cooking time and be firmer the longer you cook them.

I have no idea how long they last, I think 48 hours without all being eaten is the record in our house!

Sausages and Lentils (or just Lentils) for babies, toddlers and adults

2011-10-05T12:16:00.001+01:00

When my son was first weaning, I used to make a meal which was very loosely based on Annabel Karmel's lovely lentils recipe. My son always used to love it and so I thought about making something similar for all of us to serve with sausages.

There are variations below if you're wanting to serve it to a baby. The vegetarian baby version is suitable from 6 months. I would include the garlic even for babies, you'd be surprised how adventurous they can be!

Quantities will vary depending on what version you make but with sausages and without the sweet potato, this amount made enough for two adults and one toddler with broccoli on the side.

Lentils (and Sausages for older ones)

Ingredients

1 Onion, diced small
1 Carrot, diced small
(For baby version, 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced small)
1-2 Garlic cloves chopped finely
A splash of olive oil
75g Green Lentils (e.g. Puy)
1 Bay leaf
A couple of thyme sprigs, chopped
Very low salt stock cube (optional), e.g. Kallo or Heinz
Parsley and Garlic Chives, chopped to serve (optional)
Sausages (for toddler and adult version only) I used some finest lincolnshire chipolatas

Method

Saute the onion, carrot and garlic in the oil until softened. Add some boiling water and the stock cube if using then add the lentils and sweet potato if using. Add in the bay and thyme and boil for 10 minutes. Then simmer until cooked; this takes varying amount of time according to your lentils but mine took a further 35 mins simmering.

While the lentils are simmering or if you're ready to reheat them later, cook some sausages. I bake sausages in the oven as it's the least amount of hassle! Sausages will take 30-40 mins at 200 degrees and chipolatas will take around 30 mins.

Once the lentils are cooked, remove the bay leaf and stir in the parsley and garlic chives if using and serve with the sausages for older children and adults. Note, sausages are a common food for young kids to choke on so do make sure you cut them up well and sit with your child as they eat.

If serving for babies, just take the lentils, remove the bay leaf and add the other herbs if desired and puree (if traditionally weaned). For older babies once they reach the 'soft lump' stage you may find you can serve it as it is.

My son loved this as a baby and still loved it now. He was spooning it into his mouth grinning away! Definitely a hit!

The lentils freeze and reheat well.

Can I encourage you to buy decent sausages? You can get some very good and reasonable sausages in supermarkets nowadays if you don't get time to visit a butcher but I cannot stand a value sausage. All snout, fat and rusk, no flavour! I'm all for a value meal but when you can get a pack of finest sausages for around £2 - £2.50, it's still a cheap meal. Some things just aren't worth scrimping on!

Goulash for Babies and Toddlers

2011-10-03T21:32:00.001+01:00

I've said this before but there is a tendency to feed kids bland food and there is really no reason. During their time in the womb they're 'tasting' the amniotic fluid, if you breastfeed, they get flavour changes through that. Ok, perhaps don't go for chilli as the first step but at the weekend my son was eating some barbecued lamb marinated in garlic and chilli! Spices are also a great way to make family meals with flavour but without using salt and sugar which I prefer to avoid.

So, here's a recipe adapted from Stephen Midgley's. The original recipe is here. My husband isn't over keen but I love this recipe, it's like a tomatoey beef stew. Lovely. My son ate a decent amount of his big portion and fed me some too. I tend to feed him bigger amounts now as so much goes on his face, trousers, bib, floor...

There's something great about serving lovely soft stewed meat to kids too because simple roasted meat can be a bit much. My son might have 4 molars now but they're not terribly effective, slow cooked beef though just falls apart and it's obviously full of iron which is really important after 6 months. Anyway, pumpkin loved it!

Goulash for Babies and Toddlers (and Mummies too but not fussy Daddies) 4 big portions or 8 smaller ones. Serve with vegetables, rice, potatoes, whatever you like.

Ingredients

400g Stewing or braising beef
Spray oil
Half a tin of chopped tomatoes
1 red, orange or yellow pepper, sliced (I used frozen peppers, sounds strange but when you're stewing something it works and it saves waste. I always seem to have a pepper in my fridge on the turn.)
1 onion, chopped finely
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp Smoked Paprika (use sweet or mild unless you have a very adventurous child)
1 bay leaf

Method

Fry the beef in some spray oil then put into a slow cooker. Deglaze the pan with a little water and pour into the slow cooker. Saute the onions, garlic and peppers until softened. Add the rest of the ingredients, hold back a little on the juice with the tomatoes.

Cook for approx 4 hours or until meltingly tender.

If you're a bit unsure, just do loads of veggies and try something new like this at lunchtime. For babies on soft lumps it would probably be a great idea to puree it then cook up some rice from fresh and mix it in, that will also tone down the flavours if they're a little full on.

The Creative Process and Carrot Muffins

2011-10-01T19:32:00.002+01:00

I'm a scientist through and through. In some ways it's because of my upbringing; science and maths results were praised; arts, English, languages etc., well I could come top of my class every week and it would barely pass comment. That kind of thing rubs off on you but also, sadly, follows you in life through the hang ups and self criticisms we all have.

I don't blame my parents for this I should add. You do what you think is best for your children and sometimes that's difficult. Sometimes it's going to have consequences beyond your control on their whole lives; their choices of GCSEs, A Levels, Degree, Job, life partner. It's daunting. You can't think about it in that way, you just have to cope from day to day and hope that your influence gives them the opportunities in life to do what they want.

So, yes, I have a few hang ups about my creativity (or lack of) and about my abilities to write due to having a lot of criticism from a school English teacher and not much support at home. So, here I am, taking a bit of control of my life and doing something which requires me to communicate in the written form and use some creativity.

Anyway, a combination of availability (only 1 egg in my fridge and no sweet potatoes) and urgency (said egg was going out of date today), I've done a bit of baking. If you like and are happy with the sweet potato muffin recipe, feel free to stick to it. Although I slightly prefer these, they are a similar flavour to that recipe and so wouldn't really expand your repertoire. I may experiment further though... The joy with these though is they are a touch lighter than my other muffin recipes, they only use 1 egg and contain a lot of dairy which is useful if your child is going through a "I don't like milk" stage which they all seem to at one point or another. Again, I've called these sugar free as there's no sugar in the recipe but there are natural sugars in carrots, dried fruits, milk, ya-de-ya-de-ya. Yep, I know, I've said it before. You know what I mean. Still, it's another muffin recipe and one done in a slightly different way. Perhaps this recipe will be the jumping off point for a touch of creativity for someone else?

Sugar Free Carrot Muffins for Babies (BLW and finger foods) and Toddlers Makes approx 24.

Ingredients

Dry mix:

85 g Carrots, finely grated
250g SR Flour
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg (freshly ground or grated has way more flavour)
110g Sultanas

Wet mix:

50g Oil (sorry about the grams thing, I've got some funky new scales so small quantities of oil are easier to weigh than measure. I used olive oil as that's all I had but any vegetable oil will do.)
1 Egg
190g Full Fat Yoghurt
4 Tbsp Full Fat Milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC. Spray oil / butter or oil some silicone or regular non stick cupcake or mini muffin tins. Weigh out and mix the dry mix, measure out the wet mix then add the two together. Mix quickly together, don't totally mix, leave some hints / streaks of flour.

Spoon into the tins and bake for 15 minutes or until golden and springing back lightly when touched.

Vegetarian Spanish Rice for Babies and Toddlers

2011-10-01T07:49:00.000+01:00

Well for parents too really. I had some and liked it; probably needed more seasoning for my taste but I'm trying to get used to less salt in my diet so pumpkin can have more foods that we eat every day.

Is it wrong to be inspired by processed foods? Well this was an idea which started with Savoury Rice. A packet thing which used to be on sale in the UK in the 80s. I have no idea why I thought of this, I don't remember liking it, at all. But your mind wanders and inspiration can sometimes come from the strangest places.

So this is made up by me so any credentials as being genuinely Spanish are, well as Spanish as a straw donkey and a bottle of Estrella Damm drunk in Epping but there you go. They're Spanish-y ingredients and it's my blog! Full of lovely vegetables but they're kind of hidden which could be good for some kids. Add prawns, fish or chicken if desired to make it more substantial.

Spanish Rice - ok for babies on soft lumps / BLW and Toddlers (parents too). Serves 1 adult and 1 baby / toddler.

Ingredients

1/2 onion, diced finely
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
A splash of olive oil
1 red, orange or yellow pepper, finely sliced
1 tsp smoked paprika (the mild kind, sometimes it's labelled with 'dulce' but it's very difficult to tell and in the UK they often don't. For UK readers, I find the Asda one is mild but the Tesco Ingredients one is like chilli powder.)
A couple of fresh thyme sprigs, finely chopped
50g paella rice
2-3 Cherry tomatoes, finely diced
A small handful of frozen peas
Boiling water to cover (or water mixed with a low salt stock cube or home made stock)

Method

Saute the onions, garlic and peppers in the olive oil until softened. Add the rice and the paprika. Stir for a minute or so. Add the thyme, the tomatoes and water to cover plus about 3cm in the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 12 minutes. Add the peas and simmer for around 5 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked.

Serve.

Add a bit of parsley if you're feeling fancy(!)

I have one phrase for you. Tropical fruit savoury rice... Oh my word. There is a recipe which will never grace my blog.

Cod and Prawn Chowder for Babies on soft lumps and finger foods, Toddlers and Adults

2011-09-28T12:20:00.001+01:00

They say necessity is the mother of invention. My son normally goes to nursery three days a week but this week he's at home with me due to having a bout of hand, foot and mouth (no, not the disease cows get before you ask, it's a mild virus). Now there is a double frustration here; there is no way he picked it up from anywhere else but nursery so that's annoying as obviously their exclusion policies don't work but secondly, he's not ill! He has been a bit funny about food but that's it.

Nursery policies are nursery policies and even forwarding them the guidance from the health protection agency has had no impact on them so, here we are. Still, there are worse things than being stuck at home with your child who isn't ill and grouchy! The one problem is that his diet has been affected. I had a think today and came up with a chowder recipe. Now this is completely off the top of my head so I'm not saying it can't be improved upon. Something saltier in there like smoked fish or bacon would also go down a treat, especially with older kids or adults where you're not worrying so much about the sodium content.

That all said, with a mixture of spoon feeding himself and fingers, he wolfed it down. Best meal he's had all week so I'd say that was a hearty endorsement!

Cod and Prawn Chowder - serves 1 adult and 1 child with large portions!

Ingredients

I large potato, peeled and cut into approx half inch (1.5cm) dice
Half an onion finely diced
1 clove garlic, chopped finely or crushed
1/2 oz (15g) unsalted butter
1 pint (550ml) full fat milk
1 cod fillet, approx 4oz / 100g (or another white fish or even smoked fish)
Large handful of sweetcorn
A few small brocolli florets
A few cooked prawns
1 bayleaf
A sprig of thyme, chopped
A handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Method

Sweat the onion and garlic slowly in the butter until softened. Do this on a low heat. Add the milk bay and thyme, turn up the heat and bring to the boil (keep an eye on it, it will boil over if you're not careful). Add the potatoes, return to the boil, cover and put on a low heat to simmer for 20 mins. Remove the bay leaf.

Add the broccoli and simmer for 3 mins. Meanwhile, chop the cod into small pieces. Add the cod and sweetcorn, simmer for a further 2 minutes then add the prawns and parsley.

Crush a couple of the potatoes against the side to thicken. Serve when cool enough for your child (keep your portion covered to keep warm).

He followed this up with some halved grapes and a hearty portion of homemade sugar free date cake. I think he might be on the mend.

Risi e Bisi for babies and toddlers (and adults)

2011-09-26T08:15:00.002+01:00

I made this for my husband and son this lunchtime. I'd been meaning to make a risotto for some time but you know, all that standing and stirring isn't really practical. Risi e bisi is a good compromise, you get a lot of that risotto unctuousness but without all the stirring. The finished texture is somewhat up to you. Look at the instructions towards the end for variations.

Risi e Bisi - serves one husband and one little toddler (ok for babies on soft lumps, just keep an eye on salt intake through the day as it contains cheese.)

Ingredients

100g risotto rice (I used arborio)
Half an onion
600ml Chicken or vegetable stock (preferably home made or use a low salt stock cube)
Approx 25g unsalted butter
1 tsp olive oil
Two small handfuls of frozen peas
Approx 40g grated grana padano (or parmesan)

Method

Heat half the butter and oil in a pan. Finely dice the onion and sweat in the oil and butter slowly until softened and translucent (approx 5-10 mins). In the meantime, heat up the stock. Add the rice to the onion and stir around for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Now rices vary on how long they cook so I suggest simmering for 10 minutes and then testing until it's the texture you prefer. My rice took 16 minutes to cook in total which I boiled hard for the last 5 minutes to drive off the excess liquid, however, it's up to you. Risi e Bisi can be served as a soup or thicker like risotto. If you want the former, just simmer and add more water if it's too thick for you.

When the rice is cooked to your liking, take off the heat and beat in the remaining butter and cheese. Put a child size portion into a small bowl uncovered to cool and leave the remainder covered for you. This helps the texture as it gets slightly thicker as it stands.

Serve!

If you're following a vegetarian diet for your child or yourself, use vegetable stock and substitute the grana padano for another cheese. There are 'parmesan like' cheeses for sale, or alternatively use a very well aged vegetarian cheddar, e.g. 20 months plus.

Pea and Ham Soup for Toddlers and Adults

2011-09-19T12:23:00.000+01:00

Pumpkin is a little off colour at the moment. He has a cold and he's been a bit off his food. I suspect his throat is hurting. I've never given him soup at home and it's comforting, 'ill person' food so I thought I'd give it a go.

This makes a thick soup which is useful for toddlers still getting to grips with using a spoon. I wouldn't give this to babies. Ham is high in salt, and not something you should eat every day, however, it's also very tasty so I'm not giving it up anytime soon.

The ham was left over from a basic gammon joint I bought in a supermarket. It was a smoked ham and you can pick these up for around £3-£4. I cooked it in the oven (follow pack instructions) after taking off the rind, scoring and covering with 1dsp dijon mustard and 1dsp muscovado sugar. I then wrapped it in foil (loosely), baked for 55 mins at 190oC, then opened the foil for a further 20 mins. Easy and very little intervention from me meaning I could get on with bathing junior and getting him in bed.

The joy with ham is that leftovers aren't really leftovers somehow, the leftovers are kind of the point with ham and are truly a joy. A homecooked ham sandwich is elevated from the typical humble value bread with shiny presliced ham when you use proper, slow fermented bread, real salted butter and homecooked ham.

That joy however, will have to wait. Today was soup day and despite his general grumpiness, it went down ok. He ate most of his portion and half a slice of bread with unsalted butter. Considering his lack of appetite recently, that's a huge amount of food. Now if he would just go down for his nap... (he's currently talking to himself in his cot!)

Pea and Ham Soup - ok for toddlers and adults, serves 1 toddler and 1 mummy

Ingredients

65g Ham
250g frozen peas
Boiling water to cover
1 very low salt stock cube, e.g. Heinz or Kallo; I used chicken

Method

Hmm, how to make this sound like a 'proper' recipe. Put everything in pan with enough water to cover. Boil. Blimey, my writing just gets better and better.

Scoop the solid bits into a liquidiser (blender) and a bit of stock, blend. Add more stock if it's too thick.

Done!

You could add more ham if this is just for adults or use some cooked bacon instead.

When he's older, would it be wrong to call this spooky-ooky soup?

Chicken Nuggets for Babies and Toddlers with Parsnip Chips

2011-09-12T12:31:00.006+01:00

I suddenly realised that meat recipes have been a bit thin on the ground of late. It's not as if pumpkin doesn't eat meat; far from it, just perhaps I've been sticking to old favourites.

Anyway, after cooking some chicken breasts with soft cheese for my husband and I, I had a breast left so decided to prepare some chicken nuggets for the little one and me to have for lunch. I'd never found a recipe for chicken nuggets for babies I liked the look of so I came up with one myself.

Chicken Nuggets and Parsnip Chips - serves 1 Mummy and 1 Toddler

I've been told that baby led weaners give home made chicken nuggets to their babies so I'm making the assumption that babies on finger foods who are starting to chew would be ok with these (they don't need their molars to chew) so probably 10 months or so plus.

Ingredients

1 skinless chicken breast
1 slice of bread
A few herbs, I used parsley and thyme
1/4 tsp smoked paprika (the not too spicy smokey, sweet kind or use normal sweet paprika or another spice of your choice, a pinch of chilli might be nice for older kids.)
1 egg
Spray oil
1 parsnip (optional) - see end of recipe for instructions for parsnip chips.
Olive oil (optional)

Method

Cut the chicken breast into approx 1 inch (2.5cm) cubes. Break the bread into pieces and put into a food processor with the chopped herbs and paprika. Process until in crumbs.

Crack and whisk the egg slightly. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg then the breadcrumbs then chill until ready to cook.

Preheat the oven to 200oC (or if it's on already for the parsnips) spray the nuggets with a little spray oil or drizzle a little oil over them and bake the nuggets for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

If cooking the parsnips, peel, cut into small wedges cutting out the centre if it's hard. Toss with olive oil and put into an oven at 200oC for 30-35 minutes (I put them in as the oven is heating for the chicken nuggets). Cook until softened and starting to crisp at the edges but not too crisp as it doesn't go down well with delicate teeth and sore gums.

Leave to cool until cool enough for little hands and mouths.

Unlike my turkey nugget recipe, this contains no cheese so will be slightly lower in salt. No added sugar either and although I'm not totally anti any kind of processed food, having a look at some chicken nuggets available commercially this is what was in them:

Chicken (31%), Water, Breadcrumbs (17%) (Wheat Flour, Salt, Wheat Gluten, Yeast, Sunflower Oil, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid)), Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil, Textured Soya Protein (5%), Modified Wheat and Potato Starch, Salt, Soya Protein Concentrate, Garlic Powder, Dextrose, Stabilisers (Guar Gum, Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose), Flavouring, Mustard Flour, White Pepper, Black Pepper, Garlic Extract.

Mine contain chicken, breadcrumbs, egg, paprika and herbs, sprayed with a little oil. I think I prefer mine...

Why not try the garlic and herb version?