No Added Sugar Oaty Mini Muffins for Babies and Toddlers

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

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

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

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 week 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 passata or home made slow cooked tomato sauce or there's a recipe for 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Or if you would like a full on buttery flapjack for grown ups, try this recipe;

If you like this, why not try my other recipe for no added sugar flapjack, see the photo below, which, dare I say it...  I think is better!

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

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!

I've submitted this to a blog carnival on how people cope with kids hosted by herecomethegirls.

Lentil and Bacon Soup... never buy another tin

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

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...