I'm always on the look out for new and interesting foods to introduce Billy to. I love batch-cooking recipes and storing some of the portions in the freezer. It feels really good knowing what he is eating and knowing exactly what ingredients have gone in to the dish. I'm going to be sharing as many of my recipes as possible with you all, and I hope you will give some of them a try.
Today's recipe is for a handy little lunch idea. Finger foods are a really important part of your baby's development both in terms of their fine motor skills and their nutrition. Billy puts everything in his mouth and generally won't tolerate me spoon feeding him for very long. For that reason we are including as many fingers foods as possible in his diet these days. It gives him a sense of independence too, which is always a a lovely thing to observe in your baby.
I'm a huge vegetable fan. I could quite happily be a vegetarian six days a week. I love meat, but vegetables are my real favourite. There is pretty much no vegetable that I don't enjoy. I love them all. My favourites would be courgette (zucchini), peppers, mushrooms, Aubergine (egg plant) butternut squash and tomatoes. OK so tomatoes are technically a fruit, but you know what I mean.
That being said, we really want Billy to have a healthy and varied diet. For this reason it is of paramount importance that he enjoys vegetables. Gone are the days that children need to be confronted with soggy tasteless over-cooked vegetables. With interesting and fun recipes at your disposal you can include a plethora of different tastes and textures in to your child's diet and make it a fun experience for everyone.
This recipe is an excellent way of shovelling loads of vegetables in to your baby or child in a compact and DELICIOUS way. These are so delicious that you could (and will) eat them yourself. They also freeze well and can be enjoyed hot or cold, so perfect for lunch-boxes or on the go.
RECIPE
You Will Need
half a courgette
one carrot
handful of sweetcorn
handful of Spinach
2 large eggs
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
3/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese (or any grated cheese. Mozzerella would work well too)
black pepper and any herbs and seasoning you want to include. Hold off on the salt though, they don't need it and the cheese contains some.
Directions
1. Grate the courgette and carrot. Chop up the spinach and sweetcorn.
2. Add the prepared vegetables to a mixing bowl with the grated cheese.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and add them to the mixture.
4. Sift in the flour to the bowl and combine everything. Add your pepper and or herbs.
5. If these are for toddlers you can leave them as they are. I blitzed the mixture for a few seconds to make it that bit more palatable for a baby. It will still have a nice texture, just slightly smoother. This is also a good tip if you want to "hide" the vegetables in these for toddlers or children.
6. This mixture should make about 10 fritters. Spoon the mixture in to muffin cases, ensuring not to over-fill too much as they will rise. I only filled my cases with one spoonful as I wanted the fritters to have a flatter coin-shaped appearance. I knew Billy would like this and they would be easier for him to handle and feed to himself.
BUY A PROPER BAKING TRAY THAT HOLDS THE MUFFIN CASES. I had to improvise and make them all cuddle each other to keep them upright. Not ideal, but it did the job.
7. Place in to a pre-heated oven at 200'C or Gas Mark 5/6. Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes or until they have set and are a little bit golden on top.
8. Allow to cool, remove from muffin cases and either serve immediately, store in the fridge or store in freezer bags for future use. I gave Billy two for his lunch (plus a yoghurt and some fruit) and froze the other seven. One may or may not have disappeared in to my own mouth for research purposes.
The Taste Test - I am delighted to report that there was some serious "nom nomming" occurring while I took these photos. Billy absolutely LOVED them. He loves most foods but his reaction to these were hilarious. He just kept looking at me saying "mmm". He loved squishing them in his hands and picking the little parts up off the tray and feeding himself. He was a very happy little man and they kept him preoccupied for a good fifteen minutes.
Advice - Have the hoover to hand, this can get messy, but sure isn't that all part of the fun?!
Labels: 8 months, Baby, BLW, cooking, diet, finger food, food, healthy, parenting, Recipe, vegetables, weaning
