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Preventing Mealtime Battles has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/preventing-mealtime-battles/

Preventing Mealtime Battles

I have something to admit to you all.

Little Lady isn’t as great an eater as she used to be – (cue sad Mummy and lots of wasted food).

Well, let me rephrase that. She is a much better eater than The Boy (who aged nearly 8 still considers his main enemies to be Darth Vader, The Joker in Batman and broccoli) but only on her terms and only what she wants, when she wants and how she wants. As you can imagine this is not pleasing me in the slightest as I have been so smug about what a great eater she is that this has thrown me for a loop.

After yet another battle at the table with her eating a total of 8 kernels of sweetcorn then deciding to throw the whole of her plate (full of yummy homemade MMM food) onto the floor I contacted the lovely Vikki Rose from AllAboutbabies (www.allaboutbabies.org.uk) to help me deal with this. Vikki gave me some great advice that is already working on my demanding little madam (she ate half of her dinner tonight and barely any of it went on the floor!) so I asked her if she would write down her advice for how to deal with this kind of issue. I hope you find it as helpful as I have.

(As for me – I’m off to clean up dessert which was thrown at me.)

Preventing Mealtime Battles – the Do’s and Don’ts!

Don’t feed your child. Take away the control issue – if you aren’t trying to feed them they can’t clamp their mouth closed and refuse to eat.

Do offer a choice of foods.  Making a decision is empowering, even for children. However, offer a limited, ‘A or B’ type choice.

Don’t pressure your child to eat. We don’t want our children to associate eating with stress. Stress slows the digestive system and suppresses appetite.

Do eat meals together. Eating is a social, enjoyable activity and we want our children to learn to associate eating with pleasure instead of being ignored or left alone.

Don’t trick your child. Hiding vegetables in a cheese sauce or promising pudding with one more bite have far-reaching consequences and are not teaching your child to make healthy choices.

Do get your friends round and eat together. Seeing other children eating will encourage your child to copy – their drive to be socially involved in a group is greater than their need to not eat broccoli.

Don’t distract. Distracting your child by allowing them to watch TV whilst they eat will not help you improve their food habits in the long-term. Actually eating whilst distracted with an iPad or TV can cause us to overeat and not learn the feelings of being full – this can lead to health problems later on in life.

Do cook real food for your child (most of the time). The more varied textures/flavours your child encounters, the wider range of food they will accept. Resisting a texture means they need more, not less, exposure to it. “I don’t like it” often simply means: “I don’t know it.”

Don’t expect change without consistency. Changing behaviours takes time, stay consistent and you will see a positive change.

Do allow your child to decide how much to eat. It’s important your child begins to understand that if he under-eats, he will be hungry later. Make him aware of the consequence of his action and let him decide, then reinforce accountability for these choices – do not offer alternatives or give snacks/milk in between set meal and snack times. Instead, help him regulate his emotions if he becomes upset – e.g. lots of cuddles, comfort, talking, understanding.

Don’t panic about what they have eaten that day. Analyse a food-log of every mouthful over 7 days. For those with children who are small-eaters it can be reassuring or determine whether a visit to a health professional is needed.

Do make mealtime fun! Food games like “give the broccoli a haircut” or “who can crunch the carrot the loudest” can help encourage children to try new foods. Presenting the food in imaginative ways for example little self serving bowls can also encourage this. Get them involved too – a trip to the supermarket, fruit/vegetable picking or even make the food together.

Written in partnership with Yummy Discoveries

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A few of your favourite things has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/favourite-things/

A few of your favourite things

Incredibly this site has been running now for 18 months and I am amazed by how popular it has become. I wanted to thank everyone so much for their support and I wouldn’t be able to keep coming up with new ideas if I didn’t get such lovely feedback and comments from all my MMM friends. We now have over 7,000 Facebook followers and lots of others who follow the site through email which is astounding. The site now has over 150 recipes and I know that sometimes some of the older ones get a bit lost so I thought today I would go a bit retro and re-post some of the most popular and asked about recipes. Hopefully it will inspire lots of you to keep on enjoying some of the old favourites. 

1) Baby flapjacks

This was my first ever recipe on this site and on my Facebook group. It is without doubt the most discussed recipe and I get so many people sending me photos of their flapjacks and comments about how much their kids love them. I make a batch every other day as Little Lady has a slight obsession with them!

2) Tuna Melt couscous muffins

This is my second most popular recipe. I get asked about it ALL THE TIME! I created it when I had some leftover couscous and didn’t want to waste it. Since I created it I have added in all different kinds of ingredients like salmon, cod, tomatoes, broccoli etc but I always like the original best. One thing I have to say though is – COOK THE COUSCOUS FIRST!!! I have had numerous people asking why their muffins are crunchy and on further investigation it seems they haven’t cooked the couscous first.

3) Yummy Chewy “Biscuits”

As I mentioned when I posted this recipe this was amended from another recipe for a Weetabix cake I found online but no matter how many times I attempted it I just couldn’t make it work. So I came up with the idea to make some sort of a biscuit instead and the Yummy Chewy Biscuit was born. The only problem with this recipe is that I love the biscuits so much I hardly have any left after numerous ones accidentally fall into my mouth!

4) Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies

This was one of the first recipes where I saw the original on TV and amended it to make it sugar free. I really wasn’t sure if it was going to work as it contains no flour at all but somehow they turned out great and I have made them lots of times since and each time they taste delicious.

5) Salmon and Broccoli Fishcakes / Mash

This recipe is so great as it can be served in two ways – as a fishcake or as a mash so works for spoon fed babies or those who use cutlery (not my child!) or those who prefer to eat finger food. Since coming up with the original recipe I have also used tuna and other veg too and these also work nicely.

6) Banana and Raisin Muffins

I found the original of this recipe online but as usual made some changes to it to “Myminimeal” it up. I always have a stash of these in the freezer as they are so great for a snack or breakfast. If we go out for the day I take a couple of frozen ones in my bag and by the time my kids want a snack they have defrosted. I have also added in chocolate chips, cranberries and chopped nuts too since the original recipe.

7) Any Mince Burgers

I have my lovely friend Debbie to thank for this recipe. She made delicious burgers for my kids and I stole her recipe but I just couldn’t make it as well as she did so I amended it slightly and they turned out great. Mr MMM even asks me to make them for him now as he likes them so much and we have decided that turkey mince “Any Mince Burgers” are definitely our favourite but The Boy likes the beef version best. Little Lady isn’t fussed which version she gets as long as she gets whatever her big brother is eating!

8) Quick Chicken Coconut Curry

I make this ALL the time as it’s so easy and quick and we all love it. I have even managed to persuade The Boy to try it and he did so without gagging or looking like I had poisoned him although he refused to eat more than one spoonful. I have also made it with beef and turkey and it works well too. I also once added in potatoes and Mr MMM declared it “as good as one he had in a restaurant once” (big praise from him!) so that was a success. Yum!

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Little Lady Makes.......(Very) Chocolatey Yummy Chewy Biscuits has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/little-lady-makes-chocolatey-yummy-chewy-biscuits/

Little Lady Makes.......(Very) Chocolatey Yummy Chewy Biscuits

Little Lady and I have been doing more baking this week and I thought I would again share some photos of our fun together. We decided to make my delicious “Yummy Chewy Biscuits” but we thought we would add in some cocoa powder to make them chocolatey. We had so much fun making these and, as you can see from the photos, baking with a nearly 3 year old requires lots of patience and lots of cleaning products after!

2 Weetabix

100 ml milk

1 well mashed banana

Handful of raisins

2 tsp cocoa powder

Crumble Weetabix and mash the banana.

         Add the milk and mix well. The consistency will be of squidgy cement.

Add the cocoa powder.

TOP TIP – don’t trust a nearly 3 year old with measuring out the cocoa powder as they will ultimately tip out half the box and the adult will need to spoon most of it out resulting in the nearly 3 year old having a huge tantrum about this.

Mix together well.

Put spoonfuls onto a non-stick baking sheet (or VERY well greased foil / baking paper) and flatten with a spoon.

     OPTIONAL – Let nearly 3 year old eat any remaining mixture which is left in bowl and on spoon but not what was spilled on work surface, floor, dishwasher, Mummy’s top, chair and sink.

Cook at 190 degrees C for 25/30 mins turning halfway until outside is dark brown and looks crispy.

Leave to cool then enjoy!

I store them in a Tupperware container or a freezer bag. They last a few days but are so yummy that they probably will be eaten within a few hours!

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Super Simple Soups has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/soup/

Super Simple Soups

I love this time of year! I love the weather getting colder and I especially love making delicious, filling and healthy soups. We often have soup as a meal and both my kids like dipping chunks of bread or scones into their bowls. Soup  is a great and filling way of getting lots of goodness into your kids without them actually realising what is in it. Even The Boy likes soup and his favourite is his Mummy’s Chicken Soup who’s recipe I am afraid I won’t be sharing with any of you lovely people as it’s a well guarded secret! But I hope you enjoy these delicious soup recipes.

Baked Potato soup:

2 baking / jacket potatoes (about 1/2 kg) 40g plain flour 750ml milk 50g grated cheddar cheese (the stronger the better) A small handful of chopped spring onions / scallions 125g sour cream

Pierce the potatoes a few times with a fork then cook either in the oven at 200 degrees C for about an hour or in the microwave until soft. Once cooked scoop out the flesh and mash. Put the flour in a saucepan on a medium heat then gradually add the milk and stir it with a whisk or fork until mixed well with no lumps. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thick. Then add the mashed potatoes, the cheese and some black pepper and keep stirring until the cheese has melted. Stir in the sour cream and the onions and cook on a low heat for about 8-10 minutes until the soup is hot but not boiling. You can add some toppings if you like such as more cheese, some more onions, some croutons or some crumbled bacon.

  Pumpkin soup:

This soup just sums up winter for me and is really delicious. I made it for Halloween but it was so popular I have since made it a few more times and it’s just as yummy.

  Simple Fish and Potato Soup:

This soup is a soup version of one of my kids’ favourite dishes –  cod mixed in with mashed potato and cheese. It can be pureed for little babies and you can add in some baby pasta to make it even more filling.

  Carrot and sweet potato soup:

I hate wasting food so I found some sweet potatoes and carrots in my kitchen that really needed using up so I made up this recipe and the result was really delicious.

1 medium onion

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

6 small sweet potatoes

4 medium carrots

half a vegetable or chicken stock cube,  low salt cube or baby stock cube

2 tbsp honey

Chop the onion finely then fry in some olive oil until translucent. Add in the cinnamon and fry for a couple more minutes until it is very fragrant. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and carrots into cubes and add them to the pan. Fry it all for a few more minutes then add the stock cube and enough boiling water to cover it all. Then add some seasoning if you wish. Bring it all to the boil then simmer until all the vegetables are soft. With a hand blender blitz it up until it is smooth then add in the honey (leave out for under 1’s) and season again if you wish before serving.

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Little Lady Makes.......Chocolate Biscuits has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/little-lady-makes-biscuits/

Little Lady Makes.......Chocolate Biscuits

Little Lady has been getting really interested recently on helping me in the kitchen and we have been doing lots of baking these last few weeks. Obviously I have been using MMM recipes and thought I would show you some photos of our most recent baking experience using one of our favourite MMM recipes – “Biscuits For The Boy”. We had so much fun together and I hope you and your little ones enjoy making these as much as we did! Watch this space for more recipes that you can make with your little ones. 

30g butter

60ml honey

75g plain flour

40g self raising flour

Pinch of bicarbonate soda

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2tsp cocoa powder (leave out if you want plain biscuits)

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl with your hands until you form a dough. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Roll the dough on a floured surface until it is about 4mm thick.

Or if you are nearly 3 years old bash it first a few times with your hands……

…… then kind of squish it a bit with your rolling pin!

Using your cookie cutters cut out shapes and place onto a lined baking tray or a non stick baking liner.

Remember to poke each and every biscuit with your fingers while counting (wrongly) and singing “Twinkle Twinkle”……

Bake in the oven on 180 degrees C for 5-7 minutes until slightly golden and firm to touch. Leave to cool and crisp up then enjoy! It is optional to then have a tantrum about which shape you want to eat and scream and shout about how mean Mummy is because she insists that you have to share the biscuits with your big brother……

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What Little Lady ate this week has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/half-term-food-little-lady/

What Little Lady ate this week

It’s been half term for my kids this past week and so I have made a conscious effort to give them both more varied food as we have got into a bit of a rut recently. As you know The Boy is a very fussy eater and recently he has incredibly become even fussier but at the moment I am burying my head in the sand and will deal with it at a later stage! But luckily my Little Lady is still a relatively unfussy eater and will mainly try anything I give her (though she often will then say “Me no like it thanks Mummy”). Here are some things I have made her this week (while The Boy invariably ate much much much plainer versions of these meals!). They are all really simple meals that took no time at all to prepare.

Animal shaped pasta with poached salmon, peas and cheese sauce

Cauliflower and Cheese Omelette with steamed garlicky courgettes and toast 

Peanut Butter sandwiches with pretzels and veg (steamed courgettes and carrots for Little Lady and cucumber for The Boy)

Penne Pasta with “Tuna Mornay” (tinned tuna, broccoli, sweetcorn and béchamel sauce)

Smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches with steamed courgette and baby sweetcorn

Mashed Carrot, Swede and Sweet Potato with minced chicken, sweetcorn, broccoli, peas and chicken gravy

  Animal shaped pasta with smoked salmon, peas, sweetcorn and mayonnaise

Tomato and Lentil Pasta Sauce with couscous and hidden cauliflower

Egg, spinach and cheese “muffins” with steamed mixed veg

Beef and Lamb “Any Mince Burgers” with wholemeal penne pasta and sweetcorn / cucumber 

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Super Veggie Quinoa Mini Muffins has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/super-veggie-quinoa-mini-muffins/

Super Veggie Quinoa Mini Muffins

I am wheat free so use quinoa a lot in my own cooking but I thought it would be interesting to see what I could use quinoa for when making my kids’ meals. I came across this recipe online but as usual I made my own amendments to it as I didn’t have all the ingredients in my kitchen! They came out so well and Little Lady wolfed them down. You can change the vegetables depending on what you have in your house so if you do let me know how they turn out!

50g cooked broccoli

50g cooked cauliflower

50g tinned or frozen sweetcorn

50g cooked spinach

50g uncooked quinoa (200g cooked)

1 egg

30g grated cheese

Pinch of pepper and salt (if baby is over 1)

Cook all the vegetables (except the sweetcorn) and chop them very finely. Cook the quinoa then mix all the ingredients together.

Spoon into mini muffin cases and cook for 15 minutes at 180 C until they are brown and starting to crisp on top.

(Remember if you want to increase this recipe that Quinoa increases 4 times in size when cooked)

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Easy Sausage Hotpot has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/easy-sausage-hotpot/

Easy Sausage Hotpot

Now autumn is here it’s definitely getting chillier so I love to make stews and soups in this weather. I have to hold my hands up here and admit that this recipe goes against my whole cooking criteria as it takes (a tad) longer than an hour from start to finish – sorry! But as its as easy as all my other recipes I feel its allowed to be on here! This delicious sausage hotpot is ideal for older children or babies who can eat large lumps – its also perfect for adults too with a bit more seasoning and a slug of vin rouge. This is actually one of a very few dishes that all of the MMM family like so I make it quite often and use a variety of sausages. 

1 pack of sausages (Any meat works)

A glug of Olive Oil

1 large onion

400 tin of chopped tomatoes

200 g tin of baked beans (I use a reduced sugar and salt when I cook this for my kids)

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 cloves chopped garlic

6-8 mushrooms chopped

Stock made up with 1 cube (made in the empty tomato tin) – for my kids I use baby stock cubes or low salt ones.

Cup uncooked red lentils

  Chop sausages into small pieces (really small for babies used to lumps and bigger pieces for older children) and brown in the olive oil. Roughly chop the onion then add to the pan and cook until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, baked beans, garlic, mushrooms and stock and simmer for about 30 mins. Add the red lentils and simmer until lentils are cooked and the sauce nice and thick ( this takes about 30 minutes but it can be left much longer if you forget!).

I serve this with rice or mashed potato for my kids but if my husband and I are having it we just eat as is as its so filling It freezes beautifully and even Mr Fussy The Boy eats it!

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No sugar banana and blueberry porridge muffins has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/no-sugar-banana-blueberry-porridge-muffins/

No sugar banana and blueberry porridge muffins

I have been really busy recently training for a half marathon in a few weeks for a charity that is very close to my heart – https://www.tommys.org

In my quest to get fit I have been eating lots of carbs and protein and am constantly looking for filling and healthy snacks and breakfast ideas that I can eat before and after a run. I came across these oat muffins in a running magazine i subscribe to but changed the recipe slightly as I didn’t have all the ingredients. They turned out absolutely delicious and I now have a couple every day that I run and Little Lady joins me as she now loves them too. The bonus is they are refined sugar free and really filling so perfect for you or your little one’s breakfast or snack. They are also so easy to make and freeze beautifully and I have a large stash of them in my freezer.

180g uncooked porridge oats

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 large eggs

100g honey

2 very ripe / brown bananas

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup milk (any kind will do and I have used coconut and almond milk before and they work beautifully)

50-100g blueberries

In a medium bowl mix the oats, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder.

In another bowl mash the bananas well then add the eggs, honey and vanilla extract and milk and mix well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until all mixed well then add in the blueberries.

Grease a muffin pan with cooking spray / oil / butter then spoon the mixture into the tins. Press the mixture down with a spoon.

Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees C or until the tops are slightly brown.

Let cool for 5 minutes in the tin then turn out and enjoy!

These cam be frozen then either defrosted in a microwave or left out on the side for a few hours.

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Sweetcorn Cake has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/sweetcorn-cake/

Sweetcorn Cake

I have an admission. I am terrible at online food shopping. In the past I have ordered 5 bags of courgettes when I meant to order 5 courgettes. I have bought 4 kilos of carrots when I wanted 4 carrots. I am still working through the 25 onions I bought a few weeks ago! This week’s mistake was ordering a few tins of creamed style corn instead of my usual sweetcorn kernels. When I make these mistakes my immediate thought is “what can I make using 4,000 peppers / courgettes/ tins of creamed corn (delete as appropriate)”. And this is how my sweetcorn cake was born! As a made up dish it turned out really well and Little Lady had some for lunch with some vegetables and it’s also a great snack too. I hope you enjoy! 

1 can of creamed corn (mine was 400g)

200 g self raising flour

150 g grated cheese

1 egg

Mix all the ingredients together and spoon into a well greased cake tin (mine was a spring form one).

Bake in the oven on 190 degrees C for 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean (ish).

Leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin then turn out onto a wire rack to cool some more.

Cut into slices and serve as a meal or a snack.

Can be frozen wrapped individually in cling film or kept in a tupperware box for a couple of days in the fridge.

  You can also add any grated or chopped up veg to this if you wanted and you could leave the cheese out too.

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Feeding Your Fussy Eater has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/feeding-your-fussy-eater/

Feeding Your Fussy Eater

As you all know I am the proud owner of my very own fussy eater and I am constantly thinking of ways to get him to eat a wider variety of food than he currently eats. Therefore I turned to an expert, Kerry Secker, for her thoughts. Kerry has 18 years experience helping parents feed their children and overcoming their fads and fussiness and she gave me some great advice so I asked her to share her wisdom with all my lovely MyMiniMeals friends. I hope you find this as useful as I did so Kerry – it’s over to you!

“Kerry Secker – Kerry Cares Parenting”

Nothing is guaranteed to get a parent more stressed out and frustrated than dealing with a “fussy eater”. I know only too well from experience the frustration, anger and hair pulling that comes from having spent time preparing a delicious meal, only for them to look at it with distain, pick at it or worse, refuse even a mouthful!

Here are my tips to get even the most reluctant of eaters chowing down and enjoying their food!

1)  Meal Preparation

Food Phases

Most children will go through a fussy or refusal stage at some point. Teething, illness or even a change in their routine can have an effect on their appetite. If this is the case keep offering foods and don’t force it, it too shall pass once they are through it.

Fussy Or Full?

You would be surprised how many parents think they have a fussy eater because they aren’t eating what they feel is a big enough portion for them. Children have very small tummies and get full quickly. They may not be fussy they just may be full! Trust your child’s appetite – our portion sizes today are way out of proportion for our children.

Keep A Diet Diary

The first thing I always get parents to do is write down all the separate foods they will eat and the meals plus quantity they have eaten over a week period. This way you can clearly see what the child is taking in and you may be surprised just how varied it is!

Show Them How To Eat

Children do as they see and that starts with you! Let them see you eating a varied and healthy diet and really enjoying it. Eating should be a pleasure and something to look forward to, so eat try and eat with them when you can and talk about your day and the food you are eating.

Get Them Involved

Let them pick a recipe from a book, write the shopping list and then enjoy the supermarket together. If you are feeling brave you could let them pick a food of their choice and then cook it together.

Menu Plan

For older ones you could give them some control over it and plan a menu for the week together, then stick to it! For some fabulous and delicious recipe ideas that are great for fussy eaters look no further than this site!

New With Old

Introduce new flavours and foods with food you know they like. It can take 20 appearances before it is accepted so don’t give up if refused at first but keep on putting a small portion on the plate. With older ones you could have them make a chart of all the new foods they are going to try and have them put a smiley face when they have tried it and a tick when they like it!

2) Eating Etiquette

After the preparation comes the actual eating:

Try to keep meals to regular times. A baby or child that is tired will be less likely to eat well.

Keep meal time calm and low key.

Eat and chat with them.

Present food well and keep portions smaller than you think. For a real fuss pot I would just offer little bits so as not to overwhelm them.

Don’t watch them like a hawk to see if they eat.

If they don’t eat or don’t eat as much as you think they should, don’t force, bribe or cajole them. Respect their appetite.

Keep negative talk away from the table.

Keep all of your emotions away from the table. If it is bothering you it is best not to let them see it does.

Encourage and praise when they do eat but don’t go over the top. Saying how lovely does the food taste is better than telling them how good they are for eating.

When they have clearly had enough and start to push it around or play with it, wrap it up. Don’t wait for them to get distressed. Don’t comment on how little, badly they have eaten.

One Last Very Important Thing

If your baby or child is bright eyed and bushy tailed they are likely to be getting enough nutrients and eating enough. If your child starts to lose weight or lacking energy please get in touch with your GP.

  For more information or to get in touch for a friendly chat with Kerry please visit:

www.kerrycaresparenting.com

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A summer of food has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/a-summer-of-food/

A summer of food

Today is the last day of the summer holidays as both The Boy and Little Lady go back to school and nursery on Monday. Although I will obviously be sad to see them go (said with a slight tongue in cheek tone!) I am looking forward to not having to make them 3 meals a day! I have managed to photograph some of their meals over this summer so I thought you may want to see what I have been feeding them. I have to admit as they have been with me pretty much 24/7 I haven’t had much time on my own to do lots of cooking and it’s been really warm most days so none of us have felt like eating big heavy meals.

Homemade 2 Ingredient Dough Pizza with TVS Sauce:

Cheese, Cauliflower and Egg Omelette with toast and steamed carrots and courgettes

Tuna and Cucumber Sandwiches with crisps, cucumber and apple

Any mince turkey burgers with burger bun and waffles

Penne Pasta with Lentil TVS sauce and cheese

Peanut Butter Sandwiches with apple and “snack size” cucumbers

Egg, pea and cheese “muffins” with toast and cream cheese

Sweet potato biscones with cream cheese sandwiches, apple and veg

Cheesey couscous with roasted veg

Hummus sandwiches with crisps, carrots and cucumber

Lamb any mince burgers with pasta, steamed carrots and sliced pear

Penne Pasta with Bolognaise sauce

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My 10 favourite "Spoonable" meals has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/ten-favourite-spoonable-meals/

My 10 favourite "Spoonable" meals

Little Lady is now 2.5 years old and is quite good at using a spoon and fork and hardly anything …….well ok not hardly anything but not much…..gets on the floor. This got me thinking that many people think all the recipes I have on MMM are finger food but actually I have loads of meals that are for spoon fed babies or older babies / children who can feed themselves with cutlery. So I thought today’s post would be a shout out to all those clever little ones who can use cutlery and those littler ones who need some help. Here are my 10 favourite MMM “spoonable” recipes.

Colourful Fried Rice: This recipe stemmed from my children’s love of a certain famous noodle restaurant. As its name suggests it’s full of colour from all the veg in it and is a great way to get lots of nutrition in one yummy meal.

Simple Fish and Potato Soup : Perfect for the chilly weather this yummy soup is so easy to make and it’s delicious with bread dipped in it. You can also add couscous or pasta to it to bulk it up even more.

Quick Chicken Coconut Curry: This is a lovely mild dish that’s a great introduction to curry for your little ones. Perfect also for adults – just cut the chicken into adult or little one sizes!

Easy Butternut Risotto: Risotto is quite frankly a pain to make but this one takes no time at all and is stupidly easy. And the bonus is it tastes delicious too!

Quick Chicken and Pesto Stew: This recipe came from my sister and it’s become a firm favourite on our house.

Easy Sausage Hotpot:  I make this ALL the time as it’s actually something The Boy likes (incredibly!) and we eat it a lot as a family. For Little Lady I cut the sausages up into really small bits.

Lentil Curry: Another great introduction to curry but in a veggie form. High in protein and packed with goodness this really is yummy.

Lentil Bolognaise: This is a delicious veggie alternative to beef bolognaise and Little Lady has it a lot as The Boy won’t touch it so she gets it for lunch once a week when he is at school. A few people have told me this is their little one’s favourite dish!

Beef and Barley Stew: Like many of my recipes this came from a dish I make for me and Mr MMM. I just reduced the salt content and made it more kiddy friendly. It can also be pureed so perfect for very little ones.

Quick and Easy Bolognaise:  This is The Boy’s favourite thing that I make for him which, bearing in mind his terrible fussiness, is a big compliment! So easy to make and can be made with different meats too.

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Healthy Homemade Ice Lollies has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/healthy-homemade-ice-lollies/

Healthy Homemade Ice Lollies

I have been on holiday for the last couple of weeks but while I was away I have to admit both kids ate their fair share of ice cream and lollies. Now we are back it’s a return to limited sugar and healthier meals so I thought I would revisit a post I wrote last summer when we were having hot weather in the UK. I hope you enjoy these sugar free homemade ice lollies!

3rd July 2015

Here in the UK we are currently experiencing a heatwave. We get hot weather but nothing like this so lots of people are trying to find ways to keep their kids (and themselves!) cool. What better way to stay cool than eat an ice lolly? My kids have been having them this last week but I was shocked to see how much sugar they have in them so wanted to try making my own ones. I bought simple ice lolly moulds from IKEA but I have seen them in most supermarkets and budget shops. I had fun making up different versions so I hope you enjoy these healthy ice lollies!!

Clockwise from the top:

Milk Ice Lolly:

This lolly is just purely frozen milk. Nothing added at all. I thought this could be good for both my kids as they both love cups of milk so this idea is a refreshing way to get calcium into them. I used full fat milk but you can use any kind of milk or milk alternative and for those of you with breast fed babies I have heard breast milk lollies are also great.

Fruit Puree (Applesauce) Lolly:

I still buy lots of ready made pots of fruit puree (applesauce for my American friends!) as I use them in my “Baby flapjacks” and “Fruit puree and raisin muffins”. Last summer when Little Lady was smaller I put them in the fridge in the summer to cool her down so I tried freezing some in my moulds and they work out brilliantly!

Peanut Butter Layered Milkshake Lolly:

For this lolly I thought I would be clever and try to make a layered one as The Boy likes ones from the shops that have lots of layers. I mixed some peanut butter with some milk and poured it into the mould 1/3 the way then froze it. Then once frozen I added in some plain milk up to 2/3 the way then froze it. Then once frozen I did the same as stage 1 and filled it up to the top and froze it. It took a while to complete but tasted yummy and as it has peanut butter and milk it’s full of calcium and protein! And my peanut butter is sugar free so even more healthy!

Fruit And Yoghurt Smoothie Lolly:

My fruit puree lolly was made with shop bought puree but for this one I made a smoothie myself in my trusty hand blender. I blended some banana, apple, pear and a bit of greek yoghurt then added to the mould and froze. They are really delicious and the addition of yoghurt makes them taste creamy.

This one is a Chocolate Milk Lolly. The Boy loves Mini Milks but they do have sugar in them so I tried to make my own and he actually said he liked it! I just mixed some milk with some cocoa powder and froze in the moulds. I also made a couple with coconut milk for me which were really good.

I am now slightly addicted to making my own lollies and currently have freezing in my freezer the following types:

Chocolate Frozen Yoghurt Lollies: Mix Greek Yoghurt with cocoa powder and freeze

Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt Lolly: As easy as it sounds! Empty out a strawberry yoghurt pot into a lolly mould and freeze.

Banana and Peanut Butter Lolly: Mash a banana with some peanut butter and freeze in the mould.

I hope you enjoy these ideas and, IF the heatwave continues here (unlikely!) then I will experiment some more but please let me know if you find any great combinations.

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Fish Pie-ish 2 Ways has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/fish-pie-ish-2-ways/

Fish Pie-ish 2 Ways

I love fish pie. It’s such a comforting dish and when made from scratch tastes completely delicious. The Boy (unsurprisingly) is not a huge fish fan. His fish repertoire extends to tuna sandwiches and, like every other 7 year old in the world, processed fish fingers. So when I decided to make fish pie for him and his fish loving sister I didn’t have the patience or time to make it properly from scratch, just in case he refused it and I had wasted hours slaving over a hot stove! So I came up with a speedy version that can be eaten with a spoon or, with the addition of egg, made into fishcakes. Mr MyMiniMeals (believing himself to be a Michelin food critic) describes this as  “Deconstructed Fish Pies” but I just like to call it “Fish Pie-ish – Two Ways”.

I buy packets of fish pie mix in the supermarket which contain smoked haddock, cod and salmon. You can obviously make your own with these or different fish or just use one fish for this recipe but I like the fact that it contains a variety of different flavoured and coloured fish and the smoked haddock really gives a strong flavour.

2 large baking potatos

1 pack fish pie mix (mine was a 340g pack) or same amount of your chosen fish

100g grated cheese

Handful of frozen peas

Handful of frozen / fresh sweetcorn

100ml milk

FOR FISHCAKES ONLY 

1 egg

——

Cook the fish in a bowl with the milk in the microwave for 4 minutes.

Flake the fish. Cook the potatoes in the microwave with skin on until they are soft OR peel, cut into chunks and cook in a pan of water until soft. Mash the potato (scoop it out of its skin if using the microwave method) and mix with the fish and some of the milk until you get a nice creamy mash. (It won’t be smooth though because of the texture of the fish.) Cook the peas and sweetcorn and mix with the mash then add the cheese and mix all together. This is now ready to serve for spoon fed babies or kids who can feed themselves. You can even puree this down for babies who aren’t yet used to lumps. .

For the fishcakes add in the egg and mix everything together. With wet hands pick up small portions and make into small balls then place on a well greased baking tray or non stick baking sheet and flatten so they are burger / cake like.

Cook in the oven on 190 degrees C for 30-35 minutes turning half way.

This recipe makes about 20 mini fishcakes or about 12-15 small portions of mash or 8-10 larger portions of mash. Obviously you can halve the quantities if you want to make less.

The fishcakes can be served warm and I also freeze them individually in clingfilm so they can be easily defrosted as and when you need them. The mash can also be frozen in individual portions / pots.

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No Eggs? No Problem! (Part 1) has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/no-eggs-no-problem/

No Eggs? No Problem! (Part 1)

A lot of my friends have children who have egg allergies and I am often asked for egg free recipes. A while ago I posted my 3 favourite eggless recipes and they were really popular. Here I am combining some of my most popular egg free recipes for you in one easy to read page so for any of you who can’t include eggs in your cooking I hope this is helpful.

Easy Egg Free Recipes: – this post as mentioned above was from a while ago but I created it in response to one of my lovely friends asking me for some baking style recipes for her little boy who is allergic to eggs.

Spinach and Cheese Scones:   – These scones are so easy to make and are egg free so perfect for a snack for those little ones who can’t eat eggs.

Carrot & Apple Stars Biscuits: – These are one of the simplest recipes on my site and taste completely delicious. They are a great way of including fruit and veg into one egg-free biscuit.

3 Ingredient Sweet Potato Biscones:  – These still remain one of my most popular and commented on recipes. I make them ALL the time and both my kids love them and with only 3 ingredients (or 4 if you add in some cheese which I frequently do) they are incredibly easy to make.

Yummy Chewy Biscuits:  – I make these all the time as Little Lady adores them and in all honesty I eat them a lot too!

3 Ingredient Fruitcake: – Another 3 ingredient recipe this cake is totally yummy and perfect for those of you who are egg free. Adults love it too so I make it a lot when I have friends over for a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

  Watch this space for Part 2 of this egg free series! 

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Apple Three Ways has been published on My Mini Meals

Post: http://www.myminimeals.com/easy-apple-recipes/

Apple Three Ways

I always have lots of apples in the house as we all love them (yes even The Boy !) so I wanted to find some different ways of using them than just plain raw apple. I found these 3 great recipes online and as usual I have made my own alterations to them as they all contained sugar and I really prefer, wherever I can, to avoid giving the kids uneccessary sugar. The first two can be used for desserts or breakfast and all three make great snacks. I hope you enjoy as much as we do! 

Apple crispy crumble

2 Apples (I have used Red Delicious, Gala and Pink Lady before and find the sweeter ones work better)

2 tpsp plain flour

4 tbsp porridge oats (uncooked)

1 Pinch of cinnamon

1 Pinch of nutmeg

4 tbsp butter

Optional:

1 tbsp raisins

2 tbsp sugar

NB: I love using pots of fruit puree as you can all tell by now and I have made this recipe using them. It does work but to be honest its a bit too smooth and liquidy for my liking but does save you making your own puree (although as you will see it only takes a couple minutes in the microwave to make your own).

Peel and and cut the apples into little pieces and put into a bowl with some water then cook on high for 2 minutes in the microwave or until the apple is soft enough to mash. Mash the apple (don’t liquidise or blend the apple as it will make it far too runny) and add raisins if using them. I tend to leave lumps in mine as I think it makes a better base for the crumble topping but make it as lumpy or smooth as you like! Mix the flour, spices and butter (and sugar if you are using) with your fingers until you get a crumble like texture. Put the apple mixture into an oven proof dish then sprinkle the crumble mix on top and bake at 180 degrees C for 20 minutes until the crumble has browned on top. Alternatively place under a medium grill for 5-10 minutes again until the crumble is browned. Let it cool a bit and eat warm or cold. Its great with some yoghurt on top.

  Sugar and Egg Free Cinnamon Apple Cake

Here’s one for my many egg-free friends. Its totally yummy and so easy to make. I personally enjoy it with a cup of tea but Little Lady and The Boy like it for breakfast or as a tasty snack. As its sugar free I’m more than happy for them to have as much as they like!

300g Apple puree (homemade or from a pot)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

250g plain flour

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and then pour into a well greased cake tin. Cook at 180 degrees C for 30-45 minutes or when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire tray and then cut into slices. Can be eaten warm or cold and can be frozen. I freeze mine in slices wrapped in clingfilm and then just take out as and when needed and either defrost in microwave or leave on the side for a couple hours.

  No fry Apple Crisps

These are so yummy and so easy to make. Admittedly they take a lot longer than my usual 30-45 minute recipes but you really don’t need to do much with them once they are in the oven. And they are as nice or even nicer than shop bought apple crisps. The Boy even chooses them over normal potato crisps which is a huge result for me!

As many apples as you wish to use.

Ground Cinnamon

Core the apples and then slice as thinly as you can. I peeled mine too as I find Little Lady eats them better as she has’t got many teeth but for older or more “toothier” kids you can leave the skin on. If you are brave use a mandolin but I used a knife. Place the slices on a well greased baking sheet / foil / baking paper or baking sheets. Sprinkle the slices with as much cinnamon as you like. Cook at 110 degrees C for 2 hours. Half way through turn the slices over and sprinkle with some more cinnamon. Cool them on a wire rack and eat once cool. I keep mine in a tupperware container although they don’t last very long in my house!