Low GI Oaty vegetable bake

The glycaemic index (GI) is a rating system for foods containing carbohydrates. It shows how quickly each food affects your blood sugar (glucose) level when that food is eaten on its own.

High GI foods

Carbohydrate foods that are broken down quickly by your body and cause a rapid increase in blood glucose have a high GI rating. High GI foods include:

• sugar and sugary foods
• sugary soft drinks
• white bread
• potatoes
• white rice

Low and medium GI foods

Low or medium GI foods are broken down more slowly and cause a gradual rise in blood sugar levels over time. They include:

• some fruit and vegetables (but not dried fruit)
• pulses
• wholegrain foods, such as porridge oats 

A wholesome winter bake, serves 4-6, lovely with some crusty bread and a green salad 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped 
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped (I use the frozen cubes!)
• I tbsp fresh thyme leaves 
• 1 tea spoon dried chilli flakes
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes 
• 400g tin beans (I used mixed beans, but any would work)
• 125g porridge oats 
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach/kale 
• 125g frozen peas
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce 
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 50g grated cheese 
• 4-6 tbsps wholemeal breadcrumbs

You can alter the beans and veg depending on what you have around the kitchen. Courgette, aubergine and kale works well.                                     Method                                                  In a pan add the oil and fry the onion for a few mins, add the garlic, chilli and thyme, fry for a few more minutes, then add the tomatoes, beans and oats. Bring to the boil, simmer and add the spinach/kale, soy sauce, peas. Mix together then transfer to an oven dish - a lasagne dish works well.

Season and top with cheese and bread crumbs, grill until brown and crispy.

Note: I always find it difficult when a recipe calls for bread crumbs, so the last time I had a few crusts and a couple of slices to spare. I threw them in the food processor and then into some tupperware and froze it, so I have some to hand when ever I need some.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry

I'd recommend a slow cooker to any busy parent, I know the idea of cooking something for 4-8 hours may seem like a waste of time. But personally I find it a life saver! I put the dinner on when the little people are having their afternoon nap. Then when I've finally put them to bed, tidied up their mess, the last thing I want to do is start cooking, which is why the slow cooker works so well! It's great for meat eaters, you could put on beef casserole in the morning and it would be lovely and succulent by the evening. 

However my husband doesn't eat red meat - and I'm not keen on chicken, therefore I mostly do veggie meals, and finding veggie recipes for slow cookers isn't that easy. Check out my stuffed peppers in the slow cooker. Stuffed peppers

Here is my vegetable curry recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (use powder if not available)
• 1 onion. sliced
• 2 curry leaves (not always so easy to find in a supermarket - I have some growing in the garden which i had found in a garden centre.
• 1 in piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and chopped
• 2 tbsp curry paste (any according to your preference, I used tikka
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 cauliflour, cut into florets
• 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• pinch tumeric
• 250mls hot vegetable or chicken stock
• 85g frozen peas
• 115g mangetout

My slow cooker fry's, if yours doesn't you may want to use a frying pan first. 

• Heat the oil in the slow cooker on fry setting.
• Add cumin to the pan, if using seeds, when it start popping add the curry leaves and then the onion slices. 
• Stir for a few minutes until the onion has softened.
• Add the ginger and chillies and cook stirring occasionally for a minute
• Stir in the curry paste, cook and stir for a few minutes
• Add the cauliflower and carrots, cook for 5 mins 
• Add the tomatoes, turmeric and season with salt and pepper if required
• Cook for a few minutes, then add stock and bring to the boil
• turn to slow cooker setting, low, medium or high, depending on how quick you need it. I found 2 hours on high was works, but probably best 5 hours on low for the best flavour
• I added the mange tout and peas near the end of cooking, as I found that the mange touts wilt and they both lose their colour.

Here are how I served it for my 11 month old and my 2.5 year old, went down very well.

Check out my stir fry veg rice: stir-fry-vegetable-rice-

Stir fry vegetable rice - great for little people

My favourite food is rice, I should have been born in a different continent - I could eat it all day and all night. 

This is a very quick and easy dinner for little people - and full of healthy veggies.

I made a large batch of rice in the rice cooker (I actually have a slow cooker/ rice cooker in one - fab for making family meals).

In a pan cook some stir fry veg - I usually have a pack in the freezer, or any veg will do (carrot sticks, peas, sweetcorn, courgette sticks, mange tout). Add rice, and some soy sauce if you what, bear in mind soy sauce is high in salt, but you can get low sodium versions. If it's for a very young child, I'd leave out the soy sauce. 

Easy Yummy Fish Pie

It's cold outside, so thought I'd make something warm and tasty for dinner. I don't actually measure anything, I'm once of those throw it all in the pan cooks and hope it all works out. It did on this occasion, but didn't a few days ago when I put too much bicarbonate in my cookies!

Anyway this easy fish pie:

Poach some fish, I used a small skinless boneless fillet of salmon and 2 skinless fillets of cod. Cut into bite size peices and cooked in a pan with a little butter and covered with milk. Cook about 10 mins. Can also use a pack of fish pie mix.

I peeled and chopped into medium sized pieces about 4 large potatoes. Boil for about 20 mins until soft. Drain water, mash with a little butter, pepper if you like (I don't add salt to anything, but you can if you wish), and a little milk to bind. When the fish is cooked I threw in a couple of handfuls of frozen mixed veg - peas, sweetcorn, carrot and chopped green beans, and some pepper. Cook for about 5 mins.

Pour mixture into a large dish and top with potato. I added a little more pepper and sprinkling of grated cheese.

Cook at about 200 degrees until brown and bubbling - about 20 -30 mins.

Lovely served with a green salad.

Great for the whole family including little people 

Healthy Home Cooked Baby foods (no jars in sight)

My little person is 10 months now and the bigger little person is nearly 2 and a half, so I thought I'd share some little person foods.

Currently my 2 year old is munching through a bowl of blueberries and the baby is making lots of mess with spaghetti! 

As I have previously shared I am a huge advocate of baby led weaning, although my husband is majorly not a fan - due to the mess and wastage! 

Although I do think the problem lies with the fact that little person sits on this Mamas & Papas Snug seat and will not keep the tray on, and big little person sits in the high chair, therefore little person drops food all over the floor. The reason for this, is the toddler will not sit still for 2 minutes unless firmly strapped into a highchair, and I don't want to go down the route of buying another high chair, when she really should be sitting at her little person table and chairs that my dad very kindly got made and shipped to us!

Here is just a small selection of easy little person foods thats good to keep handy

• Hard boiled egg cut into quarters 
• Potato (cooked whole potato sliced or small ones left whole)
• Roast potatoes
• Toast soldiers 
• Steamed broccoli - long stem is great
• Pasta tubes/spirals/Spaghetti served plain or with a try small sprinkle of cheese or tomato sauce
• Steamed rice especially sushi rice as sticky and easy to pick up
• Sliced fruit
• Mashed banana on toast
• Little wholemeal pancakes 
• Vegetable batons and hummus
• Frozen/ tinned sweetcorn and peas are great if your little person has the dexterity, I add them to rice and pasta

What we often do is cook extra for us, and leave a variety for the girls for a pick and mix for their lunch, sunday lunch or friday night dinner is great for this. 

I agree with the BLW theory that there is no such thing as baby food - that all food can be suitable for little people and eating what we eat (as long as it's healthy and suitable) is best for little people.

Note: I'm not preaching, but I never add salt when cooking, as babies kidneys can't process salt well, also no honey to under 1's.

Banana and chocolate chip mini muffins - baby led weaning treat

I'm lucky enough to still see all the mums and babies from my antenatal classes that we attended prior to my oldest little person, and today I'm having them all round, as one if the mums is due another little person in a few weeks.

When having a gathering of little people and adults in can be difficult to decide what to serve. Obviously my favourite limoncello mini cupcakes are out, and so is anything with chocolate - toddlers and my cream couch don't mix - I learned that one the hard way! 

So I'm making my old favourite mini chocolate and banana muffins. 

Very easy to do, and healthy - as far as cakes go!

Also freezable!

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas mashed
• 100g chocolate chips
• 75g caster sugar 
• 100ml milk
• 1tsp baking powder
• 200g Self raising flour 
• 2 large eggs
• 100g butter 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Line 2 x 12 hole mini-muffin tins with small paper cases, or use  silicone tins. Melt the butter in a small pan and leave to cool slightly. Peel and mash the bananas.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the milk, sugar, eggs and melted butter.
3. 
   Sift in the flour and baking powder and add the banana and chocolate. Using a large metal spoon, fold everything together until combined but don’t over-mix.
4. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases and bake for 25 minutes until risen and golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Yummy Homemade Pizza - Perfect toddler food

I've made pizza many times for hubby and friends - it's great for a cheap and easy dinner party. For adults I normally make the dough (in my trusty bread machine), then roll out 4 pizza bases and put loads of toppings in to bowls, and when the guests arrive they can make their own. It normally turns into a competition between couples - very amusing.

This time I made small pizza bases, topped with pizza topping (i also use pasta sauce sometimes), and grated cheese. Oven cook until crispy - about 10 mins.

To make large pizzas (dough can be frozen):

• 500g bread flour (i used 50:50 wholemeal and white)
• 60ml Oilve oil
• 360ml Warm water
• Pinch of salt
• 7g yeast

Throw into a bread machine, put on dough setting, split into 4 and roll flat, then add toppings.

Healthy toddler food

Well I'm a little shocked, my slightly picky 2 year old is on her 3rd bowl of brown rice, chickpeas, feta cheese and currant mixture, that I had left over from yesterday's stuffed peppers. My 8 month old loves it too, but she will eat anything!

Vegetable Samosas

I know it's been a little while since I posted, children are very time consuming!

But I just had to share these fab homemade vegetable samosas.

Made with peas, sweetcorn, red onion and feta cheese, with a sprinkling of tikki seasoning and wrapped in filo pastry.

Reasonably healthy as baked in the oven and so yummy ! 

Both my 2 year old and hubby love them, and they're perfect for a picnic, or a summers evening dinner. My daughter has hers with steamed veg and new potatoes and hubby and I are going to have ours with some tabbouleh, which by the way I've never made before !