Beef Stew for Babies, Toddlers and the Whole Family

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

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)

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)

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)

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?

It's worth mentioning I've since included a few red lentils into this recipe (make sure they're boiled for 10 mins before adding to the slow cooker) and you barely notice.  I good way of making the recipe cheaper and widening the range of nutrients!

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

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.

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.  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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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.