Category Archives: baby

Super quick avocado pasta sauce

Posted on June 18, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Another fast pasta sauce you can whip up really quickly for your little one. The creamy texture of avocado lends itself perfectly to coat pasta, and not just for babies. Add some more seasoning and a dash of chilli sauce and it’s a yummy dish for you.

I use a mini food processor to blend the avocado, simply to get a bit more creaminess by making it super smooth. However, whizzing up such a small amount can be a bit annoying (you have to keep scraping down the sides of the bowl to get the mixture back under the blades). You can mash the avocado up by hand and either use a bit of muscle to mash it up to a paste or leave the sauce a bit chunkier. The chunks anyway will be soft enough even for babies to easily munch through.

We incorporated some sensory play into our meal. Long cooked pasta like spaghetti isn’t just yummy, but also so much fun to play with!

SUPER QUICK AVOCADO PASTA SAUCE

Prep time: 5-10 mins
Cook time: 0 mins 🙂
Makes 1 toddler serving

1/2 avocado
1 large (or 2 medium) basil leaf, roughly chopped
Squeeze of lime (or lemon)

Scoop the flesh of the avocado into a mini food processor. Add the basil and lime. Blend until smooth.

Spoon over cooked pasta and mix to evenly coat.

Variations:

to make it even faster, omit the basil and lime
use coriander instead of basil
for adults add more seasoning and a dash of chilli sauce

Other uses:

spread on toast
use as a crepe filling
spoon over cooked chicken

Creamy lentils

Posted on June 15, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Lentils are a great food. Full of protein and fibre, cheap and easy to cook. Puree them for your baby, keep them whole for your toddler, feed them to your whole family. They’re also low in calories so a great meal to fill a mummy up if she’s trying to lose her baby weight.

Red lentils break down more than other types when they cook, so they’re perfect for our little ones. They’re great too if you want to make a thick soup. The following recipe would also work really well as a soup. If after pureeing it’s too thick, add a little stock. And it’s easy to add some chopped vegetables like carrots, leeks, celery, etc.

A little while ago I came across a mummy blogger who freezes cooked lentils. Her favourite thing to do is add the frozen lentils to cooking rice. I haven’t tried this, but it’s a good way to add some extra protein to a meal.

My creamy lentils uses the tomato pasta sauce I often make for Nicholas and always have in the freezer. You could use some chopped tomatoes or some tomato puree instead. Add chopped tomato (chopped as small as you can) after you’ve drained the cooked lentils and cook them over a low heat for a couple of minutes to break the tomatoes down.

CREAMY LENTILS

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15-20 mins
Makes about 4 toddler servings
Freezable

1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
1 shallot, finely diced
7 tbsp homemade tomato sauce
1/4 tsp dried oregano
Drizzle of olive oil (optional)

Put the lentils in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and then drop the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are soft. Drain off the excess liquid.

While the lentils are cooking, put the shallot in a small microwave-safe bowl, add 1 tablespoon of water and cook on medium in the microwave for 2 minutes. Drain.

When the lentils are cooked and drained, add the shallot, tomato sauce and oregano and mix well.

If serving to a baby or as soup, puree the mixture until smooth.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil over the top if desired.

Variations:

use onion intead of shallot
add a little garlic
add chopped vegetables to cook with the lentils (such as carrots, leeks, celery)
use tomato puree or chopped tomatoes instead of the homemade tomato sauce

Other uses:

add to other soups or stews
add to cooked rice
serve as a side dish to meat or fish

Double-baked banana teething biscuits

Posted on June 13, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Biscuits are my favourite thing to bake. They’re probably my favourite thing to eat as well. For a quick sugar fix with less guilt than a piece of cake, they can’t be beaten. I like them chewy, crumbly, crisp or gooey – I’m not picky! Usually the perfect accompaniment is a glass of milk, but for the famous Italian cantuccini that are rock hard you have to, just have to, dip them in a sweet dessert wine.

Cantuccini are extra hard from being baked twice. This technique is perfect to make teething rusks or biscuits for your dribbling munchkin to gnaw on.

I came across a recipe for twice-baked banana teething biscuits by Jennifer Cheung. This is my first try and it needs some adjusting. The second baking was too long in my oven and it coincided with Nicholas needing more attention so I didn’t check them. Although in the photo of the original recipe the biscuits look very dark, mine came out looking more burnt :(. Oh well, not everything works all the time. Next time I would bake them the second time for 20-30 minutes. However, Nicholas hasn’t minded them being overcooked.

I made half the mixture. First because the recipe looked as if it would make a large amount of biscuits (although you can freeze the biscuits) and second because I had one and a half very ripe bananas that needed using and they mashed up into exactly half of what the original recipe needed. I used a loaf pan rather than the slice tin suggested because of the smaller amount of mixture, but it rose a lot so next time I’d use a wider tin.

BANANA TEETHING BISCUITS

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 1hr 30 mins
Makes about 20
Freezable

1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 1/2 bananas)
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to 180C and line a slice tin with baking paper.

Mix all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl until well combined.

Pour into prepared tin and bake for one hour.

Leave the oven door open to cool and drop the temperature to 150C.

Remove what now looks like a banana cake from the pan and cool a little. Slice into sticks (I found it easier to use a bread knife as my loaf was quite high) and lay the slices on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Using a bread knife makes it easier to slice

After I took this photo I sliced some of the fatter biscuits in half

Bake for another 20-30 minutes.

What do you do when your little one is teething to help soothe their sore gums?

Update: my next attempt at these biscuits was much more successful… and also sugar-free!

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Posted in baby, recipe, snack, toddler and tagged baby, banana, biscuit, cantuccini, finger food, freezable, freeze, Jennifer Cheung, recipe, snack, teething, teething biscuit, teething biscuits, toddler, wholemeal flour. Bookmark the permalink.

Dairy-free banana ice cream

Posted on May 27, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I can’t believe Nicholas has spent the afternoon in board shorts. It’s May. It’s the UK. I could get used to this weather!

What’s the perfect thing to eat when it’s hot? Ice cream of course! And I can’t get over how simple this recipe is. You don’t need an ice cream machine and you only need one ingredient. Yes, I said one. It takes very little effort and it tastes great. It’s great for all the family and it’s dairy-free. It couldn’t be more perfect.

I caught a bit of a cooking show recently where two contestants cooked dinner in their homes for a group of strangers who then paid what they thought the dinner was worth. One was serving ice cream for dessert, but I was confused as she hadn’t done any preparation. Where was her ice cream maker and how could she be making it while her guests were eating their mains? She used a food processor but it still wasn’t clear how she made it. Her guests loved it and I started searching online for recipes.

So what I discovered was that frozen berries blended together in a food processor become a wonderful creamy ‘ice cream’. It sounded too easy. Why didn’t I already know about this? Before I got the chance to buy some berries to try it out, I stumbled across a very popular recipe on Pinterest using bananas rather than berries. Even better!

The bananas I used weren’t overly ripe. However, the riper and browner they are, the sweeter your ice cream will be.

DAIRY-FREE BANANA ICE CREAM

Prep time is cutting up the bananas, waiting for them to freeze and then blending them.
2 bananas make about 2 adult servings.

Cut your bananas into slices about 1cm thick and lay them on a tray covered with baking paper. Put in the freezer for a few hours until frozen. If you’re not going to use them immediately, put them in a bag and keep in the freezer.

Put your frozen banana slices into a food processor. For the small amount I made I used my mini food processor.

Blend and blend, scraping down the sides, until it becomes creamy (about 5 mins). Don’t worry if you think it’s not going to get creamy, don’t be tempted to add anything, just keep blending.

That’s it, you’re done. Now all you have to do is grab a spoon and try it, and I’m sure you’re going to be impressed with your effort. Just make sure to leave some for your munchkin to enjoy!

When hubby tried this he kept asking questions even though I’d told him how I’d made it. ‘But does it have any dairy in it?’ ‘No, it’s just banana.’ ‘There’s no sugar?’ ‘NO, it’s just banana!’

It’s definitely creamier if you eat it immediately. Freezing it again makes it icy and colder to eat, although you could blend it another time.

Variations:

add tahini paste before blending for a richer flavour
add chopped nuts
swirl through caramel or Nutella
add chocolate chips
use berries instead of the bananas

Other uses:

sandwich between two biscuits and roll in chopped nuts

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Posted in baby, dessert, family, recipe, toddler and tagged baby, banana, banana ice cream, dairy-free, dessert, family, gluton-free, ice cream, recipe, sugar-free, toddler, vegan, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink.

Leek and potato pasta sauce

Posted on May 23, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I love French food. I really love French food. I love eating French food and I love cooking French food.

I have a well-worn French cookbook I bought in Australia and one of my favourite recipes from it (hubby’s too) is leek and potato soup. I adapted the recipe to make a soup for Nicholas (my adaptation was mainly omitting the large quantity of cream!) but he wasn’t very keen on it. I spooned it over pasta and he loved it. Leek and potato soup became leek and potato sauce.

You could cook the onion, celery and leek in the microwave to be quicker and/or to avoid the butter. 2-3 minutes on medium with a couple tablespoons of water should be fine. Try to dice the potato into the smallest cubes you can as it will cook quicker. If your finished soup is a bit too thick, add a dash of milk or cream.

LEEK AND POTATO PASTA SAUCE

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15-20 mins
Makes about 400ml
Freezable

1 leek, sliced and rinsed
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1/2 stick celery, cut lengthwise then sliced finely
1 tsp butter
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 cup water

Put the butter, onion, celery and leek in a medium-sized saucepan. Cook them gently over a med-low heat until the onion is opaque, and the celery and leek are softened (about 5 mins).

Add potato and the water and turn the heat up slightly to bring it to a light boil. Keep lightly boiling until the potatoes are cooked (about 10 mins depending on the size of your potatos).

Take off the heat and, if you have time, cool for a few minutes. Puree, and season if you wish.

Serve over cooked pasta.

Variations:

use stock (chicken or vegetable) instead of the water
cook some finely chopped garlic with the onion, celery and leek
garnish with fresh chives
add a dash of cream at the end for a richer sauce

Other uses:

add milk or cream to make a soup
add milk or formula and serve without the pasta for younger babies
serve over fish

Tip: leeks can have dirt stuck between their many layers which can sometimes be difficult to wash away. It’s more effective (and easier) to rinse them after you slice them. Put the slices in a colander or sieve and rinse under running water. Leave the leek to drain while you prepare the other vegetables.

Have you successfully adapted any of your favourite recipes for your baby?

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