Chicken Pasta Bake for Babies, Toddlers and the Whole Family

It's always a good idea to have some hidden vegetable recipes up your sleeve.  This is a simple pasta bake recipe with not only hidden vegetables but also hidden meat.  Some kids get very picky when they are toddlers about eating fruits and vegetables and some even get picky with their protein.  I posted about this a while back.

This is completely adaptable, change it as you see fit.  You could use bacon or chorizo instead of some of the chicken, however, this will increase the salt content so it won't be as healthy.  You could also leave out the meat and add mushrooms, peppers, whatever you like.  Whatever is in the fridge and needs eating up.

Pink Milk for Toddlers and Older Kids

The unseasonably warm weather recently turned my mind to milkshakes.  Normally laden with sugar I thought I'd have a go at something without.

This was pretty good if I do say so myself and as there is no way strawberries are in season yet (I can never wait for them) this will only be better when British strawberries do come in.  Some kids who have issues with texture might not like the seeds.  I have left them in but there would be nothing stopping you sieving them out if you or your child prefers.  I also think you could make something similar with other fruits.  Banana might be good but then it obviously won't be pink...

Little Snack Biscuits for Babies and Toddlers

These were originally intended to be sweet biscuits but they didn't turn out to be as sweet as I expected, that said, they were surprisingly tasty and looked cute.  My son had three for a snack, asked for more, had three more, asked for more which is when Mummy said "maybe later..."

If you like these would be nice adult biscuits to serve with cheese, although perhaps the little man cutter I've used might not go down well with the Jones', a plain circular cutter would be more dinner party friendly!

Cinnamon French Toast for Babies, Toddlers and Adults

I'm not sure this is at all French.  It's not toast either.  "French Toast" sounds so much more impressive though than "Eggy Bread".  Something nice to rustle up in the slow emergence from slumber with an hour's less sleep...

Please vote for me!

What a good blogging day!  Not only have I just found out the queen of kids food Annabel Karmel has promoted one of my posts on twitter and is now following me (eek), I've also been shortlisted for the Brilliance in Blogging awards in the "Tasty" category!

Well, this is a big deal.  I've never had any real recognition for this blog and it wasn't all that long ago I almost gave it up.  Blimey.

So, if you like what you're reading, please give me a boost by voting for Mamacook in the Tasty category.  There are some very big blogs up for the same award so my chances aren't high but I'm trying to stay positive!

The shortlist is here (and there's a link to vote from that page) and if this works correctly, the link to vote is here.  While you're visiting, why not take the chance to read some other interesting parent blogs?

No added sugar scones for babies and toddlers (and grown ups)

On such a lovely sunny day, the clocks going forward at the weekend, spring is in the air, what could be better than a scone? If you like you can serve them with fresh fruit and cream (strawberries are traditional but not in season yet in the UK) but my son loved these as they were.

Pad Thai for Toddlers

Oodles of noodles for your little one.  Toned down so not super hot and using peanut butter rather than peanuts to avoid choking hazards.

Fajitas for Toddlers

This is really simple.  Most of what I'm suggesting here is available to buy pre-prepared.  You can even buy fajita kits in UK supermarkets, however, you might be wary about the level of salt and sugar in the spice mix and depending on your child's tolerance to chilli, you might want to calm down the heat a little.

Well this is a sneaky tip to get the flavour of fajitas without so much of the chilli and without added sugar and salt.

Homemade Fish Fingers for Babies and Toddlers

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.

Saute Potatoes for Babies and Toddlers

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.

Can Babies and Toddlers Eat Spicy Food?

Well can babies or toddlers eat spicy food?

Tomato and Bacon Soup

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!

A simple chickpea salad

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

Prawn Stir Fry

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!

Top 10 Egg Recipes for babies and children

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.