Simple and delicious chocolate cookies

These are the easiest cookies to make, as they don't require me to lift down the kenwood chef from the high shelf, as they are made in a saucepan. 

Ingredients: 

• 125g butter
• 175g soft light butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150 plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 100g white, milk or dark chocolate chopped (I used a bag of chocolate chips)

Method

Preheat oven to gas mark 5 (180 degrees) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

Melt butter in a large saucepan, then add the sugar and take the pan off the heat. Beat in the egg, add the vanilla extract, then sift in the dry ingredients, giving it a good stir so that you don't start cooking the egg. Stir in the chocolate chunks.

These spread well, so leave a good gap when you spoon onto the baking sheets. 

Bake for about 10 minutes.

Leave for a few minutes to settle before sliding them on a wire rack to cool

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.

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.

Baby led weaning

I am a huge fan of baby led weaning (blw), mainly because i can be a little lazy and with a 2 year old and an 8 month old - anything that makes my life easier is hugely welcome! 

The way I see it, is why spend ages pureeing and spoon feeding or using packets and jars of who knows what, when you can just plonk down some banana or toast on the high chair and they feed themselves. 

Here's a little breakdown 

When babies are 6 months, able to sit up with little or no support and have an interest in food, then you can start weaning them on to food.

There are two options:

• Parent led weaning 
• Baby led weaning

Parent lead weaning normally involves purées and spoon feeding

Baby led weaning involves finger foods and babies feeding themselves when they have the motor skills to pick up food and put it in their mouths.

Some people - normally the ones without children think I'm a bit bonkers following this, and hubby is not a fan of the mess. 

When my now 2 year old was about 6 or 7 months old we went out to a coffee shop for lunch with the mums and babies from my antenatal group. While they were all sitting round the table spoon feeding mush to their babies, I was sitting back enjoying my hot chocolate and Ava was eating a sandwich and some cucumber batons that we brought from home.

A health visitor, called Gill Rapley, wrote a book a while ago, called baby led weaning. In it she explains that many moons ago the government use to recommended weaning at 4 months, but then they did some research and found that babies digestive systems couldn't cope with food prior to 6 months. What Gill found was that by 6 months babies had the motor skills to sit up and feed themselves, so they had missed the pureeing and spoon feeding stage (this method is good for premature babies who should be fed at 4 months, but consult your Dr first)

I did actually start pureeing and spoon feeding Ava at 5.5 months, as I thought that's what you do, it wasn't until a couple of weeks later when she was taking toast out of my hand and feeding herself, that I realised there was no point, and baby led weaning just sort of happened in my house.

So with my now 8 month old, I always knew I was going to follow blw, although husband likes to spoon feed her the occasional thing like natural yoghurt and home made soup, it's working really well and she loves food.

The good thing about blw is that the children can eat regular family food and we can all sit together as a family.

I read book a while ago, French children don't throw food. It's fantastic, better than Gina Ford any day! Basically it is about the experiences of a American journalist and her English husband raising their 3 children in Paris. She talks about going out for lunch with her husband and  their oldest child when he was a toddler and having an awful lunch, while all these French families are sitting nicely eating. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying it's all down to baby led weaning, but I think a big part of it is children from a young age sitting with their family eating daily.

Also apparently there are no children's menus in restaurants so children eat just smaller portions of what adults eat. According to the book Parisian children don't snack in Paris, this I agree with! Where as over here the supermarkets have a massive aisle devoted to baby and childrens foods, normally rice cakes, biscuits and raisins, this doesn't exist in Paris. I never really understood the need to give babies snacks of rice cakes, crisps and raisins all day.

I'm certainly not saying I'm a perfect mother and what I feed my children will have them being the next Einstein, and I'm not saying that you won't see fish fingers in my house (who doesn't love a fish finger!), but I'm just sharing my love for the ease of baby led weaning. I can't think of anything nicer than seeing my 8 month old tucking into roasted veg or home made falafel

More info found on:

http://www.rapleyweaning.com/

http://www.babyledweaning.com