Mini Pea and Feta Frittatas for Babies and Toddlers

My little one has had a recent aversion to peas.  Used to love them, perhaps he had them too often.  Anyway, my view is always fussiness gets reinforced by parents.  Stop offering and you're guaranteed your child won't eat that item, keep offering and there's a chance they will.  But there's no reason not to mix it up, offer the item as part of a food like this, cut it up differently (which worked with strawberries here) or cook it differently (a great idea is roasting rather than boiling root vegetables.)

So this was the result.  Mummy liked a lot.  Wee man was ok about it all, perhaps he's getting wise to my ways but still he polished off a couple with some green beans.

Pea and Feta Mini Frittatas - Makes Approx 12, easily serves an adult and toddler

Ingredients

85g Frozen small (petit pois) peas
85g Feta, cubed / crumbled
4 eggs
Oil for greasing the pan

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F.

Mix the peas, feta and eggs together.  Use a brush to oil the wells of a mini muffin tin, make sure you also grease the sides.

Put the mix in each well.  Bake for approx 15 minutes or until no longer wobbly.  Serve with vegetables.

If you like this, why not try:

Baked 'Quiche' Frittatas






or:

Broccoli Nuggets?

I've linked up to Britmums #eggmainsinminutes linky sponsored by British Lion Eggs, check it out on eggrecipes.

Low Sugar Parsnip Cake, Great for the Whole Family

I'd been thinking about making a parsnip cake for a while.  After all parsnips aren't a million miles away from carrots so why not?

I looked around on the internet and the recipe I liked the look of here was far too full of sugar and syrup.  Whole nuts too aren't the best idea for young kids so I needed to start from scratch.

Here's what I came up with.  Not sugar free but bearing in mind you can cut this into 20-24 squares, you're looking at less than two tsp added sugar per serving.  Not bad and certainly better than most commercial baking and even some products aimed at babies.   Not that I'd count any cake as part of your five a day but this has a good boost of fibre too.

Parsnip Cake - makes 20 - 24 squares

Ingredients

200g, 7oz Sultanas (Golden Raisins)
125ml, 4.25fl oz Apple juice
150g, 5.25oz Soft brown unrefined sugar (I used molasses sugar)
300g, 10.5oz Self Raising flour (I used half and half white and wholemeal)
2 tsp Cinnamon
4 eggs
250g 9oz Grated parsnip
1 tsp vanilla extract
125ml, 4.25fl oz Mild flavourless oil (I used sunflower oil)
1/2 tsp Baking powder

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC / 350F.

I made this a bit like a muffin recipe, so with a dry mix and a wet mix.  Still did the job.

So pour the apple juice over the sultanas and add the eggs, vanilla and oil.

Line a baking dish with baking paper.  Mine was 23cm by 33cm (9 inch by 13 inch).  If you don't have one the same size I'd go slighly smaller rather than bigger.

Add the sugar to the flours and break up any lumps.  Molasses sugar especially can be quite lumpy.  Add the baking powder and cinnamon.

Add the parsnip to the wet mix then mix it all into the dry mix.  Pour into the prepared dish, spread it out and bake for approx 35 minutes or until it springs back when pressed and a knife comes out pretty clean.

Leave to cool in the baking dish then cut into squares.  Eat either on the same day or the next day.  If you're keeping it for longer, it freezes brilliantly and a piece defrosts in only a couple of hours.

VERY enthusiastically enjoyed by my toddler.

I've entered this into the Bangers and Mash spice trail on cinnamon:

Mushroom Pasta Bake for Babies and Toddlers

A slight variation on a previous recipe but something I'd been meaning to try for a while, including eggs in a milk based sauce for a pasta bake.  I felt it made the dish seem more substantial.  Eggs are no bad thing nutrition wise either, a bit more protein and one of the rare sources of vitamin D in food.  A big hit with the wee man this.  Certainly older babies could have a go at it and it would be a great baby led weaning dish, just let it cool a bit before serving.

Mushroom Pasta Bake - Serves 1 adult and 1 toddler (with vegetables on the side)

Ingredients

75g, 2.6oz, Wholewheat pasta (or use normal pasta if you prefer)
150g, 5.3 oz, Mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp Olive oil
250ml, 8.5 fl oz, 1 cup Whole or semi skimmed milk
2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
60-80g 2-2.8oz Extra mature / vintage cheddar, grated
1 Egg yolk
1 tsp mild mustard

Method

Cook the pasta following pack instructions.  Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F.

Fry the mushrooms in the oil until fully cooked.  In the meantime, make the sauce by heating the milk in a microwave until very hot.  Mix the cornflour (cornstarch) with some cold water until it's a paste and then whisk into the hot milk.  Heat for a bit longer in the microwave until thickened but keep an eye on it as it can boil over.

Add the mustard and 2/3rds of the grated cheese to the sauce and whisk in, then whisk in the egg yolk.

Mix the cooked pasta, mushrooms and sauce together, put into a dish and top with the grated cheese.  (Use a bit less if cooking for babies).

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling and browned on top.  It is very hot from the oven so allow to cool before serving with vegetables of your choice.

Moroccan Lamb Stew for Toddlers and the Whole Family

I fancied trying out a recipe with Ras el Hanout and wanted to cook something where the flavour would be out front and clear.  I always associate North African food with lamb so it seemed an obvious choice.

If you've not come across it, Ras el Hanout means "head of the shop" or "top of the shop" and that's because it contains lots of the best and most fragrant spices.  Depending on where you source it from will depend on how many different spices are in the mix.  To me it reminds me of an even more fragrant version of garam masala, it often contains sweet spices and even roses.

My son had some of this, not a complete success but he loved the spicy chickpeas.  This does build in flavour so if your child isn't one for spices maybe tone it down a bit or be careful not to serve too much of the spicy sauce.  Only one for over 1s though, honey isn't suitable for babies even if it's cooked.

Lamb Stew - serves 2 adults and 1 toddler with seconds of leftovers

Ingredients

1 tsp Olive oil
700g, 1 lb, 9oz Stewing Lamb (bone in, see below)
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp Ras el Hanout
1-2 tsp Honey
1 tin (240g drained weight) chickpeas
150ml, 5 fl oz vegetable stock (see below for tips)

Method

Brown the lamb in the oil and then transfer to a slow cooker.  Fry the onion in the pan until softened and slightly brown, add the garlic for a minute or so and then transfer to the slow cooker.

Add the spice, honey, chickpeas and hot vegetable stock.  Bring to the bubble on high and then reduce to low for 4-5 hours or until falling off the bone.  This varies by slow cooker so be guided by it's normal performance.

Take the meat off the bones and discard the bones.  Serve with cous cous or bread.

I bought a stew pack of lamb in my internet shopping and got a mix of a small lamb shank and neck.  If I'd seen the pack beforehand, I probably wouldn't have chosen the pack, it was pretty bony but by I always think a stew cooked with bones is way tastier.

To make a quick vegetable stock, use onion trimmings, grated carrot and grated broccoli stalk, boil away for 10 minutes or so, sieve out the vegetables and done!  Salt free vegetable stock.






If you've got some ras-el-hanout left, try this Moroccan Chicken Soup recipe