Very simply made and even easier to eat, this would be great for adults or first weaners.
Check out the recipe for Parsnip Mash by clicking on the link!
Happy Friday!
Welcome back some people and new face tonight in my class. Everyone love all the food and fun to work with.What a happy Friday and great tea...
Showing posts with label Vegetarian Recipes for Babies or Toddlers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegetarian Recipes for Babies or Toddlers. Show all posts
Parsnip Mash
I came up with this recipe for Parsnip Mash on my new blog but thought I'd would share it here as well because it would be absolutely fantastic for babies too.
Very simply made and even easier to eat, this would be great for adults or first weaners.
Check out the recipe for Parsnip Mash by clicking on the link!
Very simply made and even easier to eat, this would be great for adults or first weaners.
Check out the recipe for Parsnip Mash by clicking on the link!
Stuffed Mushrooms
Stuffed mushrooms are one of those foods people think are difficult to make. "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom" a phrase apparently coined by Shirley Conran. Stuffing a mushroom does sound difficult, or fiddly but I promise it's not.
This super simple stuffing also makes it easy (and delicious). I just had this as an adult meal for one but my son, a fan of both mushrooms and cheese would love these. Do include the herbs, after all, without them they'd be a two ingredient recipe and that feels a little bit lame!
Stuffed Mushrooms - Serves 1 Adult or 1-2 Children
Ingredients
5 White Mushrooms (I didn't use large open capped ones, just ones around 2-4 cm across. The bigger they are, the fewer you'll need.)
A few sprigs of fresh herbs, I used parsley, thyme and chives
60g, 2oz Feta cheese, crumbled
Method
Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, gas mark 7.
Take the stalks out of the mushrooms just leaving the caps. If you like the stalks can be chopped up and used in another dish, like Bolognese or vegetarian lasagne.
Chop up the herbs and mix with the feta.
Put the mushrooms in a baking dish and fill the caps with spoonfuls of feta.
Bake for 20 minutes or until browned on top and the mushrooms are cooked through. Great served with a simply dressed tomato salad.
Make it thrifty
It is possible to buy "Greek Style Salad Cheese" which is often less than half the price of feta which I sometimes do when short of money. The quality of it is very variable though. Certainly if having in a salad I would always buy authentic feta but in this recipe the alternative is fine for stuffed mushrooms.
This super simple stuffing also makes it easy (and delicious). I just had this as an adult meal for one but my son, a fan of both mushrooms and cheese would love these. Do include the herbs, after all, without them they'd be a two ingredient recipe and that feels a little bit lame!
Stuffed Mushrooms - Serves 1 Adult or 1-2 Children
Ingredients
5 White Mushrooms (I didn't use large open capped ones, just ones around 2-4 cm across. The bigger they are, the fewer you'll need.)
A few sprigs of fresh herbs, I used parsley, thyme and chives
60g, 2oz Feta cheese, crumbled
Method
Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, gas mark 7.
Take the stalks out of the mushrooms just leaving the caps. If you like the stalks can be chopped up and used in another dish, like Bolognese or vegetarian lasagne.
Chop up the herbs and mix with the feta.
Put the mushrooms in a baking dish and fill the caps with spoonfuls of feta.
Bake for 20 minutes or until browned on top and the mushrooms are cooked through. Great served with a simply dressed tomato salad.
Make it thrifty
It is possible to buy "Greek Style Salad Cheese" which is often less than half the price of feta which I sometimes do when short of money. The quality of it is very variable though. Certainly if having in a salad I would always buy authentic feta but in this recipe the alternative is fine for stuffed mushrooms.
Cauliflower Pakoras; great finger food for kids
Cauliflower pakoras are something I'd never made before until recently, but as part of my 7 a day challenge I made some vegetable pakoras using peas and loved them. When I moved house a few days back and restocked my cupboards (including buying some gram flour), the helpful assistant in the shop suggested cauliflower was pretty good and, in fact her favourite. She also said that fresh spinach was, in her opinion much better in Indian food than frozen.
I always like a bit of advice when it comes to cooking so I gave it a go. The jury is out in the spinach. In my opinion frozen is just as good but the great thing about baby spinach is you can use it as a salad vegetable or cook with it and it just so happened I had some in my fridge so I went with it.
Traditionally I don't think the cauliflower is precooked but although I don't like soggy cauliflower, I'm not overly keen on cauliflower which bites back either so I partially precooked mine.
Heat up approx 1 inch of vegetable oil in a deep saucepan. Never leave hot oil unattended.
Traditionally I don't think the cauliflower is precooked but although I don't like soggy cauliflower, I'm not overly keen on cauliflower which bites back either so I partially precooked mine.
Caulflower pakoras - serves 2-3
Ingredients
7 Small cauliflower florets
30g, 1oz Fresh spinach, finely shredded
100g, 3.5oz Gram flour (chickpea flour, garbanzo bean flour, besan)
2 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp Madras curry paste (or more if cooking for adults if liked)
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp Baking powder (use gluten free if avoiding gluten)
75 - 150ml Cold water
Oil for frying
30g, 1oz Fresh spinach, finely shredded
100g, 3.5oz Gram flour (chickpea flour, garbanzo bean flour, besan)
2 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp Madras curry paste (or more if cooking for adults if liked)
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp Baking powder (use gluten free if avoiding gluten)
75 - 150ml Cold water
Oil for frying
Method
Part cook the cauliflower by boiling for approx 4 minutes so still firm but almost cooked. Cut into halves.
Part cook the cauliflower by boiling for approx 4 minutes so still firm but almost cooked. Cut into halves.
Heat up approx 1 inch of vegetable oil in a deep saucepan. Never leave hot oil unattended.
Mix the flour, curry paste, lime and baking powder with enough water to make a batter like consistency.
Add in the spinach then add in the cauliflower. Try a drop of batter in the oil, if it sizzles immediately, put a coated piece of cauliflower and see how it cooks. If it browns too quickly but the batter is still runny inside, lower the heat. If it takes a long time and seems greasy, increase the heat.
Cook in batches of 3-4. Leave to drain on kitchen roll then serve as a starter, a side dish or as I did for my son with some rice cooked with peas and some mango chutney mixed with plain yogurt to dip.
Add in the spinach then add in the cauliflower. Try a drop of batter in the oil, if it sizzles immediately, put a coated piece of cauliflower and see how it cooks. If it browns too quickly but the batter is still runny inside, lower the heat. If it takes a long time and seems greasy, increase the heat.
Cook in batches of 3-4. Leave to drain on kitchen roll then serve as a starter, a side dish or as I did for my son with some rice cooked with peas and some mango chutney mixed with plain yogurt to dip.
Reheating: Once cooked, keep in the fridge and either eat cold (although they do go a bit soft) or much better, reheat in a preheated 180oC / 350F oven for approx 6-10 minutes or until warmed through and crisp. It's almost worth making extra to have the leftovers with no effort the next day!
Quesadillas for the Whole Family
Quesadillas was something I used to make for my son when he was very little. This is a slightly updated version with plenty of sneaky hidden vegetables!
Quesadillas - Serves 2 adults and a toddler
Ingredients
1 tomato, diced
1 tbsp fresh coriander, cilantro chopped
1/4 Green pepper (capsicum), finely chopped
Approx 1-2 inches courgette (zucchini) finely chopped
1/2 tin (drained, 120g, 4oz drained weight) red kidney beans
1 Clove garlic
1/2 tsp mild smoked paprika
45g, 1 1/2 oz Extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar
4 tortillas
Salsa or chilli sauce, to serve
Method
Mix the ingredients apart form the cheese tortillas and salsa and heat in a saucepan for 5-10 minutes or until hot through and combined.
Spread half the mix on a tortilla, top with half of the cheese then put a second tortilla on top. Don't be tempted to overfill them as they'll fall apart.
Dry fry in a non stick frying pan.
When browned on one side, flip by putting a plate on top then turning out and sliding back into the pan.
Brown on the other side then slide out, cut up and serve. Grown ups might want some salsa for dunking.
Make it Thrifty
Use up leftovers in quesadillas. Leftover cooked chicken might be nice. You can use pretty much anything you want. I keep meaning to put some cooked sweetcorn in sometime. The only thing you must include is cheese as it holds it all together.
If you have any tortillas left over, either freeze them or spray with oil, bake for about 6 or 7 minutes at 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6 or until browned and crisp. Serve with dips.
Quesadillas - Serves 2 adults and a toddler
Ingredients
1 tomato, diced
1 tbsp fresh coriander, cilantro chopped
1/4 Green pepper (capsicum), finely chopped
Approx 1-2 inches courgette (zucchini) finely chopped
1/2 tin (drained, 120g, 4oz drained weight) red kidney beans
1 Clove garlic
1/2 tsp mild smoked paprika
45g, 1 1/2 oz Extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar
4 tortillas
Salsa or chilli sauce, to serve
Method
Mix the ingredients apart form the cheese tortillas and salsa and heat in a saucepan for 5-10 minutes or until hot through and combined.
Spread half the mix on a tortilla, top with half of the cheese then put a second tortilla on top. Don't be tempted to overfill them as they'll fall apart.
Dry fry in a non stick frying pan.
When browned on one side, flip by putting a plate on top then turning out and sliding back into the pan.
Brown on the other side then slide out, cut up and serve. Grown ups might want some salsa for dunking.
Make it Thrifty
Use up leftovers in quesadillas. Leftover cooked chicken might be nice. You can use pretty much anything you want. I keep meaning to put some cooked sweetcorn in sometime. The only thing you must include is cheese as it holds it all together.
If you have any tortillas left over, either freeze them or spray with oil, bake for about 6 or 7 minutes at 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6 or until browned and crisp. Serve with dips.
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Spinach and Carrot Cannelloni
Cannelloni is a surprisingly easy dish to cook for one. I had made some tomato and pesto soup the other day and the leftovers were in the fridge. It occurred to me that it would also make a really good pasta sauce.
But I had no cream cheese, no goats cheese, no mince, nothing traditional for a cannelloni filling in the house. So why not vegetables. Why not? You know what, it didn't just work, it was delicious!
A great idea for fussy kids not keen on vegetables (or even adults!)
Spinach and Carrot Cannelloni - Serves 1 adult or 2 children
Ingredients
1/2 a carrot, peeled and grated
20g, 2/3oz Fresh spinach, finely shredded
2 tbsp Single cream (light cream) but any cream could be used
30g, 1oz Extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar
200-250g 7-9oz of homemade tomato and pesto soup
4 tubes cannelloni. Mine were quite small, weighing 45g, 1.5oz. Make sure you choose the dried kind which can be cooked without precooking
Method
Mix the grated carrot, spinach, cream and grate in a third of the cheese.
Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F. With your fingers (the messy bit), shove the filling inside the tubes.
Pour a spoonful of the soup into the base of the baking dish, put the cannelloni on top, finish with more soup and then the rest of the cheese grated on top.
Check pack instructions but it should take about 30-40 minutes to cook until bubbling, browned and the cannelloni are cooked through.
Make it Thrifty
A completely different dish from leftovers. What could be thriftier than that?
A great idea for fussy kids not keen on vegetables (or even adults!)
Spinach and Carrot Cannelloni - Serves 1 adult or 2 children
Ingredients
1/2 a carrot, peeled and grated
20g, 2/3oz Fresh spinach, finely shredded
2 tbsp Single cream (light cream) but any cream could be used
30g, 1oz Extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar
200-250g 7-9oz of homemade tomato and pesto soup
4 tubes cannelloni. Mine were quite small, weighing 45g, 1.5oz. Make sure you choose the dried kind which can be cooked without precooking
Method
Mix the grated carrot, spinach, cream and grate in a third of the cheese.
Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F. With your fingers (the messy bit), shove the filling inside the tubes.
Pour a spoonful of the soup into the base of the baking dish, put the cannelloni on top, finish with more soup and then the rest of the cheese grated on top.
Check pack instructions but it should take about 30-40 minutes to cook until bubbling, browned and the cannelloni are cooked through.
Make it Thrifty
A completely different dish from leftovers. What could be thriftier than that?
Only a few days to vote for the Brilliance in Blogging awards. Making it to the finals depends on a vote from people like you! Please click on this image below and a survey will open. It will ask for your email address but they don't spam you, don't worry! It takes seconds!
Gluten Free Pancakes
Chickpea pancakes might sound like an odd proposition for breakfast but bear with me. Chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour or 'Besan' has a distinctive, savoury taste but there is something delicious about that served with syrup, just like that salty sweet combo of bacon and syrup is something fantastic, so was this.
The amazing thing about chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour is it has over double the amount of protein compared with wheat flour which makes them amazingly filling so a great start for the day, and, handily for coeliacs (or people choosing to avoid gluten), it's naturally gluten and wheat free.
The verdict was "nice but not quite as good as the normal ones" from the household, I disagreed. I really liked them and I felt seriously full until lunch.
Gluten Free Pancakes - Makes enough for 3-4
Ingredients
Batter
225g, 8oz Chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour (besan)
2 tsp Gluten free baking powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 Apples, grated (including skin but excluding the core)
300ml, a generous half pint Milk
2 Eggs
Butter or spray oil
Butter, honey (over 1s only), golden syrup or maple syrup to serve.
Method
Blend all of the batter ingredients together including the grated apples. I normally take them and crate them back to the core.
Heat a non stick frying pan and either rub butter over it or spray with spray oil (see my original pancake post for more instructions).
Pour or spoon on a little batter. Keep on a medium heat and turn when the bubbles start to burst. It might take a little trial and error to get the perfect heat.
Once ready, put on a plate and top with your choice of toppings.
Make it Thrifty
Look out for big bags of Besan or Chickpea flour in the Indian / South Asian section of your supermarket. They're also great for making pakoras!
The amazing thing about chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour is it has over double the amount of protein compared with wheat flour which makes them amazingly filling so a great start for the day, and, handily for coeliacs (or people choosing to avoid gluten), it's naturally gluten and wheat free.
The verdict was "nice but not quite as good as the normal ones" from the household, I disagreed. I really liked them and I felt seriously full until lunch.
Gluten Free Pancakes - Makes enough for 3-4
Ingredients
Batter
225g, 8oz Chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour (besan)
2 tsp Gluten free baking powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 Apples, grated (including skin but excluding the core)
300ml, a generous half pint Milk
2 Eggs
Butter or spray oil
Butter, honey (over 1s only), golden syrup or maple syrup to serve.
Method
Blend all of the batter ingredients together including the grated apples. I normally take them and crate them back to the core.
Heat a non stick frying pan and either rub butter over it or spray with spray oil (see my original pancake post for more instructions).
Pour or spoon on a little batter. Keep on a medium heat and turn when the bubbles start to burst. It might take a little trial and error to get the perfect heat.
Once ready, put on a plate and top with your choice of toppings.
Make it Thrifty
Look out for big bags of Besan or Chickpea flour in the Indian / South Asian section of your supermarket. They're also great for making pakoras!
Amazingly I've been shortlisted for the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging awards for the third year running but I've never won and only once made it to the finals. Making it to the finals depends on a vote from people like you. Please click on this image below and a survey will open. It will ask for your email address but they don't spam you, don't worry! It takes minutes and at the same time, you can vote for other blogs you like the look of or not if you don't read many other blogs (or choose not to!) I'm listed as "Mama Cook" in the food category.
Baked Onion Rings
Onion rings, love them but don't love the oiliness. I'm not some health freak but I can feel my arteries hardening as I eat! These are cunningly baked so much less fatty!
Baked Onion Rings
Ingredients
1 Small onion cut into 2mm rings
2 tbsp Mayo
1 tbsp Milk
20g, Just over 1/2oz Rice Krispies
15g, 1/2 oz Plain (all purpose) flour
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Spray Oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6. Line a tray with non stick baking paper.
Crush the rice krispies and put in a bowl with the flour and garlic powder.
Mix the mayo and milk together. Dip the rings in the mayo mix then into the dry mix. Put on the tray.
Once you've done them all, wash off all the gunk from your hands then spray with spray oil.
Bake for approx 10-15 minutes (12 in my oven, keep an eye on them so they don't burn).
Make it Thrifty
Use the oven for other things to maximise the use of the power while you're cooking these. Also keep your eyes peeled (excuse the pun) for value or smart price packs of onions. Often they're much cheaper because they're slightly smaller onions than the premium packs but still make delicious onion rings.
Baked Onion Rings
Ingredients
1 Small onion cut into 2mm rings
2 tbsp Mayo
1 tbsp Milk
20g, Just over 1/2oz Rice Krispies
15g, 1/2 oz Plain (all purpose) flour
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Spray Oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6. Line a tray with non stick baking paper.
Crush the rice krispies and put in a bowl with the flour and garlic powder.
Mix the mayo and milk together. Dip the rings in the mayo mix then into the dry mix. Put on the tray.
Once you've done them all, wash off all the gunk from your hands then spray with spray oil.
Bake for approx 10-15 minutes (12 in my oven, keep an eye on them so they don't burn).
Make it Thrifty
Use the oven for other things to maximise the use of the power while you're cooking these. Also keep your eyes peeled (excuse the pun) for value or smart price packs of onions. Often they're much cheaper because they're slightly smaller onions than the premium packs but still make delicious onion rings.
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