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

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, you could make one out of chairs, some cushions and have 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 or daddies 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

The lovely people at Baking Mad sent me a bottle of orange flower water recently which is an ingredient I’d always been a bit confused by.  Well let a novice tell you about it.  It’s made from orange blossom as the name would suggest but I have to admit I was expecting a flowery perfume flavour.  Not a bit of it, the flavour 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 the cupboard, 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 the orange zestiness and honey.

I’ve used mixed dried fruit in this recipe which I don’t use a lot but the candied peel with the orange flower water do enhance each other.  Feel free to increase the amount of orange flower water if you do really like it, I was a little 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, orange flower water, lemon juice and honey.  In a separate bowl, mix the flour, fruit, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Then mix the wet and dry mixes together until just combined, no need to overmix.

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

I’m going to continue to have a play with this as an ingredient and I’ve already got an idea on adapting some other of my recipes 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 desire but most of all, I hope it's been a time for fun and family and the warmth that only being with the ones you love can bring.

Courgette and Pesto Pasta for Babies and Toddlers

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

Ok, courgettes (zucchini) aren’t seasonal at this time of year but I do love them as a hidden vegetable and there’s no reason why you can’t substitute for something else, I’d imagine blanched mashed broccoli might work.

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

The other great thing about this recipe is I always think I love pesto but I have to be honest that when I have it, I never like it as much as I thought I did.  Also I once tried my son with some pasta and pesto and, let’s just say that even with his fondness for strong flavours, it was a fail.  Well this is using pesto as a shortcut to some herbal flavour without having the fresh herbs and a gentle introduction for us both.

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

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

Courgette and Pesto Pasta – serves one adult and one child.  Suitable for babies from 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’m always surprised by packets recommending 100g per person but use more if you’re hungry!)

Method

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

As the pasta is cooking, saute the garlic in 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 some of the water.  In the meantime, grate the cheddar.  Once the courgette is softened, add the cheddar, pesto, soft cheese and a little bit of cooking water from the pasta.  Mix into a sauce adding more water if needed.

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

Serve!

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


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

Pepper and Cheese Muffins for Babies and Toddlers

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

Well I have a good excuse; I’ve just moved house.  I hadn’t really talked about it for fear of it all falling through.  Things were very touch and go in the end.  While we were packing up the truck, we still didn’t know if we were going to get the keys at the other end.  Delaying the move was going to mean moving in 5 days before Christmas.  I pride myself on my resilience but that was a step too far, so we took the risk and it paid off.

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

So accompanied by the general feelings of tiredness, a monster cold after weeks of stress, we also have no broadband and won’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 also disconcerting for the whole Mamacook family.  My 19 month old is still settling in with the new room, new nursery and I’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 cook a sponge cake; well I did yesterday and it’s no exaggeration to call it a disaster!  It takes some getting used to but I did cut 10 minutes off jacket potatoes at 20 degrees lower earlier.

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

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

Pepper and Cheese Muffins – Makes 18 - 24

Ingredients

1 red Pepper (capsicum), chopped into small dice

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 until softened and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180oC (fan oven).  Grease a non stick cupcake or mini muffin tin with 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 careful to stir until only just combined.  If some small bits of flour remain, don’t worry.

Spoon into the tin and bake for approx. 15 mins 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!

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)