Kinder Kitchen cooking tip - using scissors instead of a knife

Scissors are a great alternative to knives when chopping herbs, the fat off bacon and ham, anchovies, sun dried tomatoes and spring onions and all the other foods you can think of.

Kinder Kitchen Baby Food Idea - rice pudding for babies with pear

Rice pudding (from 9 months plus)

Ingredients:
30 grams of pudding rice
300ml milk
1/4 tsp. of cinnamon
A pinch of nutmeg
1 grated pear


Preparation and cooking:

1. Place the rice and milk into a saucepan
2. Cook for a couple of minutes then add the cinnamon, nutmeg and grated pear and place the lid on the saucepan. Cook on a low heat for 30 minutes or until cooked (check on the rice and give it a stir every five minutes or so.
3. Serve on its own once cooled and drizzle a little honey on top (honey should only be given to babies over 12 months old)

Please note : you can also cook the rice in the oven – but this takes 2 hours – just follow the instructions on the packet.

Nice little add ins to rice pudding are:

Dried apricot, prunes or figs
A spoonful of jam
Some mashed banana
A little plum compot

Kinder Kitchen healthy kids recipe - easy vegetable stock

Basic vegetable (suitable for babies from four months plus)

This is my easy basic recipe for vegetable stock. Of course, you can add anything you wish to this including a number of fresh herbs such as thyme and parsley. It is a great way of using up vegetables that are going off and need using up. Instead of just using the stock liquid for sauces and stews, you could just get a hand blender and blend the ingredients once cooked into a delicious soup. A swirl of rapeseed oil before serving will give it a really nutty flavour.

Ingredients:
¼ medium swede
3 sticks of celery
3 carrots
1 onion
4 peppercorns (optional - for babies under 1 year it is best to leave these out)
2 bay leaves
1 litre water

Preparation:

1. Wash the carrots and sticks of celery and peel the swede then chop them all into equal pieces
2. Peel the onion and cut into quarters
3. Add the vegetables and all the other ingredients to a saucepan
4. Add 1 litre of water, cover and gently simmer for an hour
5. Sieve the stock into a container and refrigerate once cooled.

Serving suggestions:

Add other vegetable such as peas, broccoli, spinach to make a vegetable soup. Add the stock to sauces, rice dishes, curries and lentils.

Kinder Kitchen cooking tip - Rapeseed oil

Rapeseed oil is a new great alternative to olive oil. Also known as canola oil, it contains both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in a ratio of 2:1 and is second only to flax oil in omega-3 fatty acid. Canola oil's proponents claim that it is one of the most heart-healthy oils and has been reported to reduce cholesterol levels.

Today's nutritious Kinder Kitchen recipe - apple pancakes

Apple pancakes

 

Ingredients:

 

1 egg

3 heaped tbsp. of plain flour

1 mug of milk

A little butter

1 apple, quartered and thinly sliced

 

Method:

1. Whisk the egg, flour and milk into a smooth consistency
2. Heat the pan until hot and add the butter
3. Add enough of the pancake mixture to cover the bottom of the frying pan
4. Add the sliced apple on top
5. When browned turn and brown the other side. Serve straight away.

 Serve once cooled. To make the pancakes a little sweeter for a treat you could add a drizzle of honey over it (honey though should only be given to babies 1 year and above)

 

Kinder Kitchen Tip:

Instead of adding the apple to the pancake in the frying pan, if you have some apple or pear puree left over you could add it to the middle of a plain pancake and roll it together.

Kinder Kitchen healthy Kids Recipe - Okra with tomatoes and thyme

Living in London allows me to use ingredients from all around the world. I love okra (ladies fingers) but do not cook them enough - well hardly ever. I bought a tin of them in Tesco's the other day and thought I'd add them to the basic tomato sauce recipe whilst adding a little fresh thyme. It is delicious.

Okra with tomatoes and thyme (9 months +)

Ingredients:
I tin of okra or 10 fresh okra/ladies fingers
1 tin of tomatoes
½ a medium onion chopped finely
1 small crushed clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of ketchup (for children over 1 year old)
1 tablespoon tomato puree
4 sprigs of fresh thyme or a tablespoon of dried thyme

Method:

1. In a saucepan, fry the chopped onion and crushed garlic in a little olive oil for five minutes
2. Drain the okra in a sieve and chop up into small pieces. Add these to the onion and garlic.
3. Now add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, ketchup and thyme.
4. Cook on a low to medium heat for at least 20 minutes. or until the okra is soft.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with rice, couscous, pitta bread, grilled meat or fish.

Kinder Kitchen Healthy Kids recipe - ways to jazz up yoghurt

Buying individual pots of yoghurt can be expensive so I generally buy the 500ml pots of plain yoghurt and add things to it for my little girl. It is also a healthier option as it does not then contain so many of the additives and sweetners that potted yoghurts have in them.

There are so many ways of making it more tasty. Here are some examples:

• Add half a passion fruit
• Some tinned or fresh peeled peaches
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Mashed banana
• Grated apple
• Stewed pears
• A tsp. of jam
• A tsp. of honey (over one years old)
• A tsp. of Nutella (over one years old)

N.B if you child is still really young you can just mash everything up instead leaving the fruit whole or cut into small pieces

Today's nutritius recipe from Kinder Kitchen - easy lamb kebabs

Lamb kebabs (1 year +)

These are so easy to make and so delicious. Remember this is just a guideline and you can add anything you wish or replace any of the ingredients with your own take on the recipe. Fresh mint is also a lovely accompaniment to this dish.

Ingredients:
300 grams of lamb mince
1 heaped tsp of paprika (optional)
½ a medium onion chopped finely
1 small crushed clove of garlic
Thyme from 6 sprigs or a tablespoon of dried thyme
Fresh black pepper


Cook:
1. Fry the onions and garlic in a little oil for five minutes
2. Add the cooked garlic and onion to all the other ingredients in a bowl. Mix together well making sure all the ingredients have blended well together
3. Take 10 skewers (metal or wooden – n.b. if wooden, remember to soak them in a bowl of water for 10 minutes before putting them under the grill otherwise they could catch fire) and mould the meat mixture onto the skewers until they resemble sausages
4. Grill for 15 minutes, turning regularly or until cooked all over

Serving suggestions:
remove the stick and serve on their own as finger food, with fresh tomato sauce, rice, salads, vegetable mash or in pitta bread with yoghurt.

Kinder Kitchen cooking tip - anything with a sauce

I have found that babies and toddlers love sauces. Dry food can be quite difficult to chew but with a sauce it goes down a lot easier. My daughter definitely loves her food with sauces. To prevent you from making a fresh sauce every day, once a month make a large pot of tomato sauce, cheese sauce, chicken stock/gravy and anything else you like to make and divide it into individual batches and freeze it. When you need to use it take it out, allow it to defrost and heat up properly.

Other sauces to freeze:

Pesto
Bread sauce

However, most babies/toddlers love yoghurt and having a tub of plain yoghurt in the fridge is also great as you can add a spoonful with a lot of dishes.

Kinder Kitchen finger food - eggy bread fingers

Eggy bread fingers

Ingredients:
2 slices of bread with their crusts cut off
1 egg
30ml formula or cows milk
Butter

Preparation and cooking:
1. Slice the bread into fingers
2. Beat the egg and milk together
3. Dip the bread fingers one by one into the egg mixture coating both sides
4. Heat some butter in a frying pan and fry the bread fingers on both sides until brown.

Serving suggestions:
Serve on their own or with baked beans.

Kinder Kitchen cooking tip - steaming vegetables

When cooking vegetables steaming is the best method to retain the nutrients. You can buy steamers that rest on the bottom of the saucepan. A cheaper way is using a sieve or a colander. Always remember to place the lid on the saucepan otherwise it will take forever to cook your veg. Although this is the best method for retaining nutrients boiling vegetables in little water is also fine. The fact that you are cooking them fresh is the most important thing. Don't beat yourself up for not steaming.

Today's nutritious recipe from Kinder Kitchen - basic tomato sauce

Basic tomato sauce

Ingredients:

1 tin of tomatoes
½ medium onion
½ garlic clove
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
1 teaspoon of oil
A little water

Preparation and cooking:

Add a teaspoon of oil to the saucepan
Add the finely chopped/grated onion and crushed garlic. Fry on a low heat for 5 minutes
Add the tin of tomatoes, mixed herbs and a little water. Add some black pepper
Cook on a low heat for 20 minutes. Stir the mixture a couple of times during this time
Once cooked remove from the heat and serve.

Serving suggestions:

Serve with pasta, roast potatoes (patatas bravas), as a sauce with meat or fish. This sauce is also the base for spaghetti bolognaise.

Tip: if you would like to add a little sweetener to the sauce, a tablespoon of ketchup is perfect for doing this.

Kinder Kitchen cooking tip - freezing meals

Many of the recipes you will make will make enough food for 3 or 4 meals. Although when you freeze food and then reheat it, it will lose some of it's goodness, it is wise especially during the week when time can be tight to have meals to hand in your freezer.

Once the food is cooked and has cooled (within 1 1/2 hours) freeze the meals into individual portions that can be warmed up at a later date. Just be careful that you reheat all food properly. Allow the food to defrost overnight or use a microwave.

Guidelines regarding how long food lasts in a freezer differ although the main consensus states between 8 and 12 weeks maximum.

Today's nutritious recipe from Kinder Kitchen - egg fried rice with peas and tofu

Egg fried rice with peas and tofu

Ingredients:
50 grams basmati rice
½ onion cut finely
1 egg beaten
1/2 small crushed garlic clove
½ a mug of peas
125 grams tofu cut into small squares

Preparation and cooking:
1. Cook the rice and peas separately and allow to cool
2. Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil in a frying pan for a couple of minutes. Add the tofu and cook for another 2 minutes
3. Now add the beaten egg and allow the egg to scramble
4. Add the rice and peas and mix well together

Serve once the dish has cooled slightly.

Tofu

Tofu is made in much the same way as cheese, except that it is made from soya beans rather than milk. It is entirely plant-based. Nutrition-wise, tofu is in a league of it’s own. It is a complete source of protein, being one of the only food products that provide all eight essential amino acids. It contains no animal fats or cholesterol, is low on sodium, contains few calories, and is easy to digest. It is also an excellent source of iron and Vitamin B. And because calcium sulfate is used in the manufacturing process, it is a worthwhile source of calcium.

Kinder Kitchen cooking tip - substitute for breadcrumbs

If you always forget to buy breadcrumbs or are forever running out, have some cream crackers in your cupboard. Put some into a freezer bag, get your rolling pin out and bash away. Once crushed, these work just as well as breadcrumbs and you can store the crackers at the back of the cupboard.

Today's nutritious recipe from Kinder Kitchen - cheesy omelette with mushroom

Babies and toddlers love eggs. Omelette's are a fantastic source of protein and anything else you add to the eggs. It was all my daughter ate over Christmas when she had the flu.

Cheesy Omelette with mushroom

Ingredients:

1 egg beaten
A splash of milk
3 small mushrooms finely sliced
2 tablespoons grated cheese
A little butter
Black pepper (you may not want to add pepper to your child's food until they are a little older although I added it to meals when my daughter was about 8 months)

Preparation and cooking:

Heat the butter in a saucepan and fry the mushroom on a low heat for 5 minutes
Add the beaten egg, a little black pepper and mix in well with the mushroom
Now let the omelette set and add some grated cheese to the top
Fold the omelette in half and cook for further 2 minutes.

Serve once cooled. Do not worry if the omelette turns into scrambled egg. It is the taste that counts. Over time you will perfect the omelette.

You can replace the mushrooms with tomatoes, onions, peppers - basically anything your child likes - just remember they need cooking first before you add the egg.

Kinder Kitchen cooking tip - sugar substitute

To sweeten a meal instead of using sugar why not grate an apple into it or a spoonful of honey.

Today's nutritious recipe from Kinder Kitchen - vegetable fritters

Vegetable fritters

These are so simple to make and taste really good.

Ingredients:
¼ red pepper chopped into small pieces
1 small leek chopped finely
1 grated carrot
1 heaped tablespoon self-raising flour
1 beaten egg
Fresh pepper

Preparation & Cooking:
Wash the vegetable. Fry the leek and red pepper gently in a little butter for 10 minutes
In a bowl, add the flour, egg and a little fresh pepper to the grated carrot
Add the cooked leek and red pepper to the carrot mixture and stir well
Heat some vegetable oil in the frying pan and add a heaped tablespoon of the batter and press down with the back of a spatula
Cook the fritter for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown.

Serve on their own, with a cucumber and yoghurt dip or a fresh tomato salad. You can use any vegetables really in these fritters. Just cut them small enough and cook the ones first that need a little longer cooking time. Sweetcorn fritters are also a favourite.

Kinder Kitchen cooking tip - tasty vegetables

This can be a tricky one, where children and vegetables are concerned. But there is an easy way to make vegetables a little tastier and that is by simply adding some butter (preferably unsalted for the under twos) and a little pepper once the vegetables are cooked. You could also use a little powered vegetable stock (1 teaspoon) in the cooking water which I find tends to make the vegetables a little sweeter once cooked. A great one is the Swiss Marigold Bouillon which is available widely in the UK and abroad too.

Kinder Kitchen Healthy Kid's Recipe - Cheesy Semolina

Cheesy Semolina (1-2 portions)

Ingredients:

30 grams semolina
280ml of whole milk
4 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese/cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

1. In a saucepan, add the semolina to the milk slowly and bring to boil
2. Low the heat and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally (always good to refer to the cooking instructions on the pack of semolina as cooking time can vary)
3. When ready, add the grated cheddar/parmesan cheese to taste and a swirl of olive oil. For cheese lovers add another tbsp. of cheese
4. Allow to cool slightly and serve