Tag Archives: finger food

Sugar-free flapjacks (oat bars)

Posted on November 23, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I’ve been looking at flapjack recipes for a while, trying to find a variation that isn’t full of sugar or dripping with butter. They’re a lovely filling snack and you can easily add nutritious ingredients such as seeds or dried fruit, but also adding heaps of sugar cancels out the goodness for me.

I couldn’t find a recipe I liked, so I thought I’d experiment with one of my favourite natural sugar substitutes – ripe bananas. Those horrid looking brown, maybe even black, bananas that often lurk in our fruit bowls are super sweet. I actually have quite a few in my freezer as I always seem to have them at the end of the week and don’t always have the time to use them in something. So instead, I peel them, break them in half, shove them into ziploc bags and throw them in the freezer.

The sweetness in my flapjacks comes not only from ripe bananas, but also from some honey and dates. If you want to experiment with different flavoured sugar-free flapjacks, make sure you include some sweet dried fruit. Flapjacks are great as they can be very simple or full of different flavours and textures. You can experiment with different seeds or different nuts, and you can also add some spice like cinnamon or ground ginger. For me, next time I make these I’ll leave out the walnuts, as the seeds were enough for me with the fruit and coconut.

Flapjacks are a filling snack, especially if they’re soft inside like these are. Hubby, who’s not familiar with flapjacks and their dense texture, suggested having them as a dessert with custard to lighten the taste. And why not?!

Nicholas had a great time helping me make these. He seemed to be excited by how many little bowls of ingredients there were to be mixed into the oats. He’s getting better at stirring (not a lot went on the floor) and is also understanding the importance of tasting as you go 🙂

SUGAR-FREE FLAPJACKS (OAT BARS)

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15-20 mins
Makes 16 squares

200g porridge oats
100g dried stoned dates, chopped
30g desiccated coconut
50g walnuts, chopped
30g pumpkin seeds, plus extra for sprinkling on the top
30g sunflower seeds, plus extra for sprinkling on the top
100g butter
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 175C and grease a 20cm square baking tin.

Gently melt the butter and honey either in a saucepan or in the microwave. Leave to cool.

In a large bowl, mix the oats, dates, coconut, walnuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds together.

Add the vanilla and mashed bananas to the melted butter and honey, and then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

Press the mixture firmly into your tin and sprinkle over the extra seeds.

Bake for 15-20 mins until golden on top and it’s coming away from the sides of the tin.

Take out of the oven and, while it’s still warm, use a knife to score where you will cut. Leave in the tin to cool before cutting.

Variations:

For simpler flapjacks, leave out the seeds, coconut and walnuts
Add some warming spice like cinnamon or ground ginger
Substitute the dates with another sweet dried fruit such as apricots or cherries
Make dairy-free flapjacks by replacing the butter with a dairy-free margarine

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Spiced apple sugar-free flapjacks

9 Comments

Posted in cooking with toddlers, family, recipe, snack, toddler and tagged finger food, flapjack, oats, recipe, ripe banana, snack, sugar-free, sugar-free flapjack, toddler, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink.

Cheesy courgette muffins

Posted on November 21, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Nicholas loves being in his kitchen pod, up where all the action is happening, and today as soon as he was in it he started chanting ‘Cook! Cook! Cook!’ Mummy couldn’t have been happier!

Up until now, we’ve just made biscuits together, either my chewy oaty biscuits or a variation of them. I thought it was time to try something savoury, something Nicholas could have as a proper meal rather than a treat. Looking through one of my favourite mummy foodie blogs for inspiration, Gourmet Mum, I knew Filipa’s muffin recipe would be perfect.

I made very few changes to Filipa’s recipe as it’s fantastic as it is. She uses dried as well as fresh herbs, but I just used fresh, and I sprinkled some grated parmesan over the tops of the muffins before baking for an extra crispy cheesy top (What makes cheesy muffins taste better? More cheese!).

If you’re making these with little ones, prepare everything beforehand so they’re just pouring and mixing. Older children can do more of the preparation, especially weighing and measuring the ingredients.

The muffins are wonderful for lunch (you can serve them with some raw vegetables) and would be great for brunch or packed in a picnic basket. And if you’re not a vegetarian, they’d be delicious with some pieces of cooked ham or bacon in the mixture.

CHEESY COURGETTE MUFFINS

Prep time: 10-15 mins
Cook time: 20-30 mins
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins
Freezable

200g self-raising white flour
100g self raising wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
80g cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1 small courgette / zucchini (about 120g), coarsely grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
210ml milk
90ml vegetable oil
1 tbsp fresh chives or parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
4 tbsp grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 200C. Either lightly spray a 12-hole muffin tray with cooking spray or line with paper cases.

Mix the white and wholemeal flours, baking powder and grated cheese in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl or jug, combine the courgette, eggs, milk, oil, herbs and salt (if using). Add this to the flour mixture, mixing until just combined (mixing as little as possible keeps your muffins light in texture).

Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 muffin holes. Sprinkle the grated parmesan over the tops of the muffins.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden and cooked through when tested with a skewer.

Tip out onto a wire cooling rack.

Variations:

Add a handful of chopped cooked ham or bacon to the muffin mixture.

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Posted in cooking with toddlers, family, lunch, recipe, snack, toddler and tagged cheddar cheese, cooking with kids, courgette, family, finger food, Gourmet Mum, lunch, picnic food, recipe, savoury muffins, snack, toddler, vegetarian, zucchini. Bookmark the permalink.

Baby oat cakes

Posted on November 12, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

My regular readers will know by now that I always need inspiration for breakfast. So when I came across Laura’s microwave raspberry oat cakes, I woke up the next morning with a spring in my step, eager to try them.

I’m a big fan of porridge for little ones as there are so many variations you can do, and this is a brilliant different way to use porridge oats. It’s also super quick and open to variations.

These mini oat cakes would be perfect for baby-led weaning, ideal finger food for a toddler snack, and I even made another for my afternoon tea!

Laura makes hers with frozen raspberries. I first tried frozen strawberries and then some raisins I’d soaked in warm water (if giving to a baby, it’s important to first soak any dry fruit to avoid any possible choking hazard). Try to use a banana that’s as ripe as possible as it will be sweeter (actually this is another great recipe for using up overripe bananas).

They were a great success with Nicholas who called them biscuits and dunked them in milk. He said ‘yum’ in English and Italian as well as signing it, interspersed with requests for ‘more!’. I couldn’t have been happier 🙂

Check out more of Laura’s budget-friendly family recipes on her blog Small Wallet Big Appetite.

BABY OAT CAKES

Prep time: 3 mins
Cook time: 4 mins
Makes 1 oat cake

1/2 medium banana
1/4 cup (20g) raw porridge oats
A pinch of cinnamon
4-5 pieces of chopped frozen strawberry

Mash the banana in a small microwave-safe bowl (I used one that was about 10cm across at the bottom).

Add the cinnamon and oats, mixing well so all the oats are covered in banana.

Gently mix through the frozen pieces of strawberry.

Press the mixture down firmly into the bottom of the bowl and cook in the microwave on high for 3-4 minutes until it turns into a firm little cake.

Tip the mini cake out. Once cooled, cut it into wedges.

Variations:

use other frozen berries instead of strawberries
use dried fruit (raisins, chopped apricots, etc) instead of strawberry, but soak them beforehand if giving to a baby

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Posted in baby, breakfast, family, recipe, snack, toddler and tagged baby, baby-led weaning, breakfast, dairy-free, finger food, oats, porridge, recipe, Small Wallet Big Appetite, snack, toddler, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink.

Mini vegetable pakoras

Posted on November 9, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Pakoras were my inspiration for these golden vegetable nuggets. You can use almost any vegetable you like and make them as mild or as spicy as you like. See if you or your little ones can resist them!

My recipe is over at Mindful Mum.

Mini lamb and mint burgers with cheesy polenta

Posted on November 3, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I love a lamb burger. Moist and still a little pink, it needs little else to flavour it. But just like the perfect pairing of roast lamb and mint sauce, throwing some fresh mint into the lamb mince adds a sweet zing.

I love the colour of polenta, but personally I don’t like it. Never have and don’t understand why people make such a big deal about it. HOWEVER, I mustn’t push my preferences onto Nicholas! I do think though, that cheese makes pretty much everything taste better (honestly I could live off cheese and bread, with the odd steak and potato thrown in every now and then). And with “cheeeeese” being one of Nicholas’ favourite foods (or “maggio” if he’s talking to Papà), I just had to add it to the polenta.

These are mini lamb burgers for little pudgy fingers to pick up and devour, but just make them bigger and cook them a little longer for bigger people.

Polenta, cheesy or plain, is a great meal for babies. You can leave out the salt and oil at the start of the recipe, and not add the butter after it’s cooked. They can have the polenta on its own while the rest of the family also have the burgers, so you just have to cook one meal.

Put any leftover polenta into a cake or loaf baking tin and leave it in the fridge. Once it’s cold, cut it into fingers, brush or spray with a little oil and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until crisp on the outside. Eat on their own or dip into a homemade tomato sauce.

MINI LAMB AND MINT BURGERS

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Makes about 18 mini burgers
Freezable

250g minced lamb
1 shallot, finely diced
1 egg yolk
1-2 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
salt and pepper (optional)
Drizzle of olive oil

Mix the lamb, shallot, egg yolk and mint in a bowl with 1 tbsp of breadcrumbs. Season if using. Add another tablespoon of breadcrumbs if the mixture is too wet to mould into small balls.

Heat the olive oil over a med-low heat in a large frying pan.

Shape the mixture into small balls, flattening them when you place them in the pan. Cook for a few minutes both sides until just cooked through.

CHEESY POLENTA

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Makes 2 adult and 1 toddler serving

500ml (2 cups) water
125ml (1/2 cup) milk
Pinch of salt (optional)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup polenta or cornmeal
1/3 cup cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
30g unsalted butter, chopped

Put the water and milk (and salt, if using) into a saucepan and bring it to a light boil. Turn down the heat to low and add the oil.

With a whisk, start stirring as you very slowly add the polenta. Be careful not to add too much at a time as it easily creates lumps which are then very difficult to get rid of.

Continue cooking, stirring with a wooden spoon every so often until it thickens and starts to come away from the side of the saucepan (about 20 mins).

Remove from heat. Add the cheese and butter and stir until melted. If the polenta is too thick, add a dash of milk. Add more seasoning to the adult servings.

Other uses:

Serve the cheesy polenta with a chunky tomato or vegetable sauce, or sautéed mushrooms instead of the lamb burgers.
Chill the polenta in a baking tin and cut into fingers; lightly oil and fry until crispy.

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Posted in baby, dinner, family, lunch, recipe, toddler and tagged baby, cheesy polenta, cornmeal, dinner, finger food, lamb burgers, lunch, polenta, recipe, toddler. Bookmark the permalink.

Sweet potato jack-o-lantern pancakes

Posted on October 26, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Their faces are quite mean, but Nicholas loves growling at them!

These jack-o-lantern pancakes are full of sweet potato goodness with chocolate drop features, however you could use raisins to make the faces and then they’d be completely sugar-free. Head over to Mindful Mum to see how you can make them.

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Posted in breakfast, family, recipe, snack, toddler and tagged finger food, Halloween, Mindful Mum, pancakes, recipe, snack, sugar-free, sweet potato, toddler. Bookmark the permalink.

Chewy oaty biscuits

Posted on October 22, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

So Nicholas’ first go at cooking went really well. He particularly enjoyed spooning the ingredients into the various bowls. I had laid out a number of different sized spoons and he tried all of them, preferring the smaller ones (it makes sense when his chubby hands are so small).

I found Michelle’s advice over at What’s Cooking With Kids really useful. She suggests using a large bowl with a non-skid bottom, putting the mixing bowl inside a larger bowl to avoid spills, and setting up everything ahead of time so your little one doesn’t get bored waiting for you to prepare. One of her readers also recommends using a funnel which I think would work really well. Nicholas definitely enjoyed using a jug, especially while we were waiting for the biscuits to cook.

It’s important to choose something that’s easy to cook. A recipe that involves mainly pouring ingredients into a bowl and mixing them is perfect. Biscuits or slices that have melted butter are great; you can melt the butter beforehand and let it cool so little hands are safe when mixing. Also try to make something that doesn’t take very long to cook so you can both sample your munchkin’s efforts as soon as possible.

These chewy oaty biscuits are a simple recipe you can find all over the place with the same basic ingredients. They’re simple, perfect for kids to make and easy to vary. I used this recipe from NetMums and added some raisins, but the possible variations are almost limitless.

The texture is similar to flapjacks (firm on the outside with a chewy centre), in fact you could press the mixture into a square tin and then cut into pieces rather than rolling it into biscuits.

We didn’t get any where near the 24 biscuits the original recipe says and our biscuits were small. Even with some mixture going on the floor and into a little mouth, it was closer to 18 small biscuits

CHEWY OATY BISCUITS

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10-15 mins
Makes about 18 small biscuits or 12 medium-sized biscuits
They keep well for several days in an airtight container

75g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
75g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g demerara sugar
75g porridge oats
25g raisins

Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease or line an oven tray with baking paper.

Gently melt the butter and golden syrup either in the microwave or in a small saucepan. Leave to cool.

Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl.

Add the sugar, oats and raisins and stir together.

Pour in the cooled melted butter and golden syrup and mix until combined.

Roll the mixture into small balls and place well apart on the prepared tray. Press down with the back of an oiled spoon to make flatter biscuits or leave for more rounded biscuits.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Variations:

Use a dairy-free margarine instead of the butter to make dairy-free biscuits
Use honey instead of golden syrup
Add other dried fruit such as chopped dried apricot, dried apple or dried strawberries
Add chocolate chips
Drizzle with melted chocolate or dip half of each biscuit into melted chocolate
Add some spice such as cinnamon or ground ginger
Add flaked almonds
Add desiccated coconut

Have you tried cooking with your kids? What advice would you give to make it as stress free as possible?

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