Tag Archives: vegetarian

Spiced carrot muffins

Posted on January 28, 2013 by TheGingerbreadMum

Nicholas loves making and eating ‘muffles’ (that’s muffins to you and I!). I’m not sure he understands that what he’s stuffing into his mouth are the fruits of his zealous stirring and pouring, but that doesn’t matter; we both like eating them.

While these muffins aren’t sugar-free, I have reduced the sugar a lot. With the healthy carrot, seeds and sweet raisins inside, as well as some wholemeal flour, I think the amount of sugar is ok. And adding a pinch of extra sugar on the top makes them seem much sweeter than they are 😉

You can easily leave out the seeds, but I like the different texture they add to the muffins. I also like sprinking a few more over the tops before baking.

SPICED CARROT MUFFINS

Prep time: 10-15 mins
Cook time: 18-20 mins
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins
Freezable

150g white self-raising flour
100g wholemeal self-raising flour
75g golden caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
30g raisins
20g pumpkin seeds
20g sunflower seeds
125ml vegetable oil
125ml milk
1 egg
1 large carrot, grated
Extra golden caster sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease your muffin tin with a little oil or cooking spray (or line your tin with paper cases to avoid washing the tin).

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the white and wholemeal flours, the caster sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Stir in the raisins, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, until evenly distributed.

In a jug or another bowl, whisk the oil, milk and egg together. Squeeze the excess liquid from the grated carrot and stir it through the milk mixture.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (mixing too much will make your muffins heavy and dense).

Pour into prepared tin and bake for 18-20 mins until golden on top and cooked through when tested with a skewer.

Variations:

add chopped walnuts or pecans instead of the pumpkin and sunflower seeds

Tip: soak the raisins in hot water for about 10 minutes beforehand to become plumper and avoid them drying out while cooking.

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Posted in breakfast, cooking with toddlers, family, recipe, snack, toddler and tagged breakfast, carrot, carrot muffins, cooking with kids, family, finger food, low-sugar, muffins, pumpkin seeds, recipe, snack, sunflower seeds, toddler, vegetarian, wholemeal flour. Bookmark the permalink.

Sweet potato and lentil soup

Posted on January 23, 2013 by TheGingerbreadMum

Being away from home for a month meant I needed to be much more relaxed about Nicholas’ diet. Predictably he happily ate lots of meat (including kangaroo and a taste of crocodile), but very few vegetables.

Now, at home, we’re back to having a bowl of vegetable soup at the start of dinner before our meat course (I sometimes use the soup as a quick pasta sauce at lunchtime too). And a steaming bowl of thick soup is a great winter warmer for the whole family.

SWEET POTATO AND LENTIL SOUP

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Makes 4 servings

1 tbsp olive oil (or a knob of butter)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped (optional)
2 medium sweet potatoes (approx. 900g), peeled and cubed
1 litre hot vegetable or chicken stock
100g red lentils
200ml milk
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil (or butter) in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion, garlic, sweet potato and a little salt and pepper, and sauté for about 5 mins.

Add the hot stock, lentils and milk. Bring almost to the boil then drop the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the lentils and sweet potato are cooked.

Puree the soup until smooth and check if you need to add more seasoning.

Variations:

substitute one sweet potato with a white potato
for some extra spicy warmth, add a teaspoon or two of curry powder when sautéing the vegetables
add a dollop of yoghurt to each bowl

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Posted in baby, dinner, family, lunch, recipe, toddler and tagged baby, lentils, recipe, soup, sweet potato, toddler, vegetable soup, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink.

Homemade baked beans

Posted on January 16, 2013 by TheGingerbreadMum

Baked beans are a common side dish on children’s menus when eating out, and I’d definitely prefer then over the even more common chips, but they can be very high in salt and sugar, even the low-salt/low-sugar varieties. Making your own isn’t difficult. You’ll know exactly what your little one is eating, and they also freeze well so you can cook up a big batch.

Check your tinned tomatoes for other ingredients as some brands do have added salt and/or sugar. For babies under a year old, omit the golden syrup/honey and the Worcestershire sauce; you could also mash or puree the beans after cooking to make it easier for them to eat.

I added some diced yellow pepper for colour as well as to add another vegetable. You could add other finely chopped vegetables like carrot or celery.

HOMEMADE BAKED BEANS

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Makes 4 – 6 toddler servings
Freezable

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin (about 400g) cannolini beans
1 tin (about 400g) harricot beans
1 tbsp golden syrup or honey
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
a pinch of salt

Heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and pepper, and cook for about 5 mins until the onion and peppers are soft.

Add the tomatoes, beans, golden syrup and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and cook for another 10 mins until the sauce has reduced and thickened a little. Taste and add a pinch of salt if desired.

Variations:

for older little ones, add some chopped bacon or pieces of sausage to the onion, garlic and pepper
add other vegetables such as carrots or celery

Other uses:

have as a baked potato filling
puree and use as a sauce over pasta or rice

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Posted in baby, dinner, family, lunch, recipe, toddler and tagged baby, baked beans, dinner, lunch, recipe, toddler, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink.

Pesto sauce

Posted on December 12, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

While it’s one of my favourite pasta sauces, I hadn’t yet made pesto for Nicholas. I generally have it out of a jar, but I’m still rather anal about giving Nicholas ready-made food of any description, so I needed to make it from scratch.

It’s really not that difficult (it’s just blending the ingredients) and by making it, you can adjust the amount of cheese, the amount of oil and so on to your munchkin’s and your taste.

pesto sauce

Traditionally you should use a mortar and pestle to gently crush and mix the ingredients together, not rip the delicate basil leaves apart with the sharp metallic blades of a food processor. I use a mini food processor (don’t tell anyone).

I’ve read tips including to use a plastic blade in your food processor, and putting the bowl and blade in the fridge beforehand to cool down (you don’t want the blades to be heating up the sauce as you’re making it). The only tip I do follow is to blend on a slow speed and to use the pulse button rather than let the blades continuously spin (again it’s trying to avoid heating up the sauce).

Many traditional Italian recipes for pesto use some grated pecorino as well as parmesan. If I was making this just for adults, I’d substitute 2 tablespoons of the parmesan with pecorino, but as pecorino is a much saltier cheese, I’ve left it out altogether. I also haven’t used any salt in this child-friendly version; you could add a pinch with the garlic if you wanted.

PESTO SAUCE

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 0 mins
Makes 4 adult servings
Keeps in the fridge for a couple of days (cover with a layer of olive oil)

1 clove of garlic
50g fresh basil leaves, washed and completely dry
1 tbsp pine nuts
6 tbsp grated parmesan
100ml extra virgin olive oil

In a small food processor, blend the clove of garlic until it’s creamy.

Add the basil leaves and process until the leaves are fairly evenly broken up.

Add the pine nuts then the parmesan, 1 spoonful at a time.

Slowly pour in the oil and blend until completely combined and creamy.

Variations:

walnuts are a traditional substitute for pine nuts, but you do need to skin them otherwise the sauce will be very bitter
substitute 2 tablespoons of the parmesan with grated pecorino if serving to adults

Other uses:

serve over a baked potato
use as a dip for vegetables

Seeing the pesto-covered farfalle pasta has given me an idea for another Christmas-inspired cute lunch, but you’re going to have to wait till tomorrow to see that!

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Posted in dinner, family, lunch, recipe, toddler and tagged basil, dinner, lunch, parmesan, pasta sauce, pecorino, pesto, pesto pasta sauce, recipe, toddler, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink.

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

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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.

Butternut squash soup

Posted on November 19, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I got this recipe a few years ago from the Irish mum of a dear friend and it’s become the soup I make the most often. It’s lovely and thick, and perfect for warming you up on cold nights. It’s also easy to make (chop, simmer, puree and eat!).

If making this for the younger munchkins in your family, use a low-sodium stock. I usually use a stock I’ve made using a leftover roast chicken carcass as I can decide how much salt to add to it, if at all, but a low-sodium stock cube works just as well.

Add a swirl of cream or yogurt to each bowl just before serving. Please excuse my ‘artistic’ swirls in the photo. I was trying to be too clever and it didn’t work at all (you should have seen the efforts I didn’t photograph!).

Nicholas is mostly enjoying having a vegetable soup starter before dinner. I’m definitely finding it the best way at the moment to get more vegetables into him, even though he’s going through a period of fussiness which means he’s sometimes eating very little for dinner. I spent a lot of time last week searching for advice for fussy eaters and asking people for tips, then trying them out. There’s definitely a post on tips for fussy eaters in the pipeline.

In the meantime, enjoy the soup.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Prep time: 10-15 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Makes 6 adult servings

1 large butternut squash, peeled and roughly diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and roughly diced
1 litre chicken stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper

Melt the olive oil and butter in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the vegetables and saute for about 5 mins.

Add the stock, bring to the boil and then simmer over a low heat until the vegetables are soft.

Remove from the heat and puree until smooth. Check for seasoning, and add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with a drizzle of cream or yogurt.

Does your family have a favourite soup?

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