Snakes and Ladders

Some ideas for snack times for the little ones

Cheese
Cubes or slices of cheese are great as finger foods. Hard cheeses like edam and cheddar are generally accepted.

Steamed Broccoli
Plain steamed broccoli florets are sweetish in taste. Steam lightly to retain the crunchiness.

Bread sticks (with cheese dip)

Bread sticks are great on their own or with cream cheese dips.

Pepper strips (with hummus)

Wonderful source of antioxidants and a great way to consume raw veggies. Red, yellow and orange peppers cut into thin strips on their own or with a plain hummus dip.

Dried fruits

Very handy while travelling and if your child is fussy about eating fruits. Raisins, sulatanas, apricots, figs - store up on them.

Nuts and seeds

Same as above. Nuts can pose choking hazard so be mindful while your child is eating them.

Cheesy Spinach Potato

Another potato favorite which is easy to whip up. Mind you, this can be so tasty that you have to prevent helping yourself to it!

Cheesy Spinach Potato
Age when introduced: 12 months

Ingredients
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1 handful of spinach leaves, chopped
1 cheese slice (I use medium or mature cheddar. You can also use grated cheese instead.)
salt to taste (normally not required)

Method
Boil the potato and spinach together. When cooked mash, and add the cheese slice to it while still hot so that it melts. Add salt if necessary. Serve.

Strawberry Jam

In my excitement yesterday, I did what I told myself I wouldnt do - bought fruits from the local market. My experience so far has been, that vegetables from the market are fine, but fruits are always over-ripe and do not stay for more than 1-2 days. I bought 3 packs of strawberries, they were just 1 quid, u couldnt blame me! Today I saw they were beginning to go bad. Now, I like strawberries, but I am not such a fan as to polish off 3 packs at one sitting. I had to do something, the strawberries had to go into some wonderful recipe.
The first thought I had was Foodie Mama's strawberry ice cream. Simple, and DH would have been delighted. But, lil darling and I have been down with a bad cold and cough for more than a week. So ice cream was out of the question.
Googled for all kinds of recipes using strawberries and the only one which I had ingredients at home for and was in the mood to try out was strawberry jam. The recipe is mind-numbingly simple. Taking a cue from Foodie Mama again, I substituted sugar with honey, but midway panic struck when I felt the jam wasnt beginning to set as it should. So in went a few spoons of sugar.
I am not a jam aficionado so the end result according to me is 'quite good'. Am waiting to see what DH has to say. Till then, here's the recipe. You will find the measurements are all very vague, and actually I am not sure it will turn out the same way the next time. But hey, this is the first time I have made something like jam, you think I will resist blogging about it? :-)

Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
2 handful strawberries
honey or sugar to taste
juice of 1 lemon

Method
Remove the stalk and other green parts from the strawberries. Put in a bowl and mash. Transfer strawberries to a large saucepan. Add juice of lemon. Heat until it starts rapidly boiling. At this stage add the honey or sugar. I would suggest adding some sugar in any case, since I am not certain if it would set otherwise. Keep stirring while it is boiling until it reaches setting consistency (see note below). Turn off heat. Cool and transfer to sterilised bottle. Refrigerate.

(Note: To check if jam has reached setting point, place a plate in the freezer. After 10 mins of boiling, spread 1 tsp of jam on the plate and put it backin the freezer for a minute. Take it out and run ur finger thru the middle. The jam should stay and the sides should not flow back to merge. If not, keep boiling for some more time and repeat.)

Simple vegetable pulao

Pulao is not one of my favorite meals to cook because I have never been happy with the result, no matter how many various recipes I have tried. I was pleasantly surprised then, when this method, that I just put together as I went along, turned out very well. My daughter has been eating mainly wheat and potatoes the last few days and so I was happy when she polished this off in no time, and fell asleep right after! While the list of ingredients may seem long, I call it simple because it is a one-pot meal and was done in under 20 mins.

Simple vegetable pulao
Age when introduced: 13 months

Ingredients
1 cup Basmati rice, washed and drained
2 1/2 cups of water
2 baby carrots, chopped
1/4 small cauliflower, separate florets
1 tsbp green peas (fresh or frozen)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 small green chilli, chopped fine
2 cloves
1 cardomom
1 small bay leaf
1 small piece of cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
juice of 1/3 lemon
salt to taste
oil or ghee for frying

Method
Heat 1 tsp oil or ghee in a pressure cooker. Add the whole spices (clove, cardomom, cinnamon, bay leaf). Add the washed and drained rice and saute on high heat till u hear a cracking sound from the rice, about 3-4 minutes. Remove and keep aside. Heat 1 tsp oil or ghee in the cooker again. Add cumin seeds, when they pop, add green chillies and onions and saute till onions begin to turn brown. Add the vegetables (carrot, peas, tomatoes, cauliflower). Since cauliflower cooks easily you can add that last. Add the turmeric and garam masala and mix well. Fry for 2-3 mins. Add hot water and bring to a boil. Add the rice, lemon juice and salt to taste. Cover and cook. Instead of putting the weight on the pressure cooker, I just placed an inverted cup, so that I could open and check whether it was done or more water was needed, etc. Cook until the rice is done. Serve with plain yoghurt and cucumber.

Stewed apples

Yeah, not the most original or complex recipe, but it's useful to note, nonetheless. Stewed apples were one of the first foods I started to wean my little one on. She loved it until we moved to London, when, like with many other foods, she developed a sudden aversion to it. I tried it again today, after months, and was surprised to watch her eat it all. She still cant eat raw apples so this is going to be my preferred way of feeding her the fruit. Hope her interest continues.

Stewed apples
Age when introduced: 6 months

Ingredients
1 sweet apple
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of powdered nutmeg or cinnamon

Method
Peel and chop apples into bite size pieces. Put it in a small vessel (something that will fit inside a pressure cooker). Sprinkle the sugar and nutmeg or cinnamon on it and mix. Place this vessel in a pressure cook and put some water in the pressure cooker. The idea is to steam the apple and not boil it. Close the lid, and cook without the weight until a steady steam comes out. Apple cooks quick so keep checking from this stage onwards, to prevent it from getting too mushy. It should be just soft cooked. Let it cool and serve.

Bulgur Wheat Upma

I went looking for dalia or broken wheat in the supermarket yesterday, and picked up a packet of bulgur wheat instead, assuming they were the same. Curiosity got the better of me when I reached home, and I googled to see if indeed they were same, or if not, what was the difference. To cut a short story shorter, they are not the same and here is why.

In the process I found a nice recipe for dalia upma, which I modified slightly cos some of the ingredients I dint have (curry leaves) or dint want to add (green chillies), since I was making this for my 13 month old daughter. I quite liked the end result. Bulgur is healthier than rava, needs lesser oil to cook and has a wonderful nutty flavour, like brown rice. Its a one-pot meal, very easy to prepare, with most ingredients at home always. What's even better is that, lil one liked it and helped herself to a whole bowl of it last night. I think this is going to be a regular meal in our home.

Bulgur wheat upma

Age when introduced: 13 months

Ingredients:

1 cup Bulgur wheat (u can use dalia also as in the original recipe), washed and drained

1 carrot, peeled and cubed

1 tomato, chopped

1/4 cup peas, fresh or frozen (I use frozen)

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp chana dal

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

pinch of asafoetida

salt to taste

2 1/2 cups water

2 tsp oil or butter/ghee

Method:

Heat 1tsp oil/ghee in a pressure cooker. Add the washed and drained bulgur wheat and saute on high heat for 2-3 mins. Remove from the pressure cooker and keep aside. Heat 1tsp oil/ghee in the pressure cooker again. Add mustard seed and let it splutter. Add chana dal and fry till it is golden brown. Add asafoetida and ginger and stir. Now add the carrot, tomato and peas and mix well. Add the water and let it come to a boil. Now add the roasted bulgur wheat and salt to taste. Put the lid on the pressure cooker and cook for about 10mins after first whistle. Let rest for 10mins. Serve.

Banana pancakes

Maida may not be the most ideal thing for your toddler, but the egg and bananas in this recipe, more than make up for that nutritional deficiency. It is quick to make, and finger-licking good to boot.

Banana Pancakes
Age when introduced: 11 months

Ingredients
1 cup maida (all purpose flour)
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 egg (u can use just the yolk, if u find the taste too eggy)
pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp baking powder (optional)
1 tbsp sour yoghurt
milk or water to make batter
1 tbsp sugar
salt to taste
butter or oil for frying

Method
Mix all the ingredients to make a smooth batter. It should be slightly more runny than dosa maavu. Heat a griddle and put some oil or butter. Spread the pancake batter on the griddle and cook both sides until browned and done. Serve hot with golden syrup or honey.

Besan Dosa

This is not something that lil one accepts always, so I make sure to offer it only when I know she is quite hungry and will not fuss about what is on offer. This can also be a tasty breakfast for grown-ups, by adding a few more spices which is what I usually do.

Besan Dosa
Age when introduced: 11 months

Ingredients:
1 cup besan (black gram flour)
1 carrot, peeled and thinly grated
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
pinch of cumin powder
pinch of asafoetida
salt to taste
butter or oil for frying
water

Method:
Mix the cumin powder and asafoetida with the besan. Add water slowly to make a thick paste. When the paste is thick you can easily break any lumps, later you can add more water to get the right consistency. After you get rid of any lumps, add the onion and carrot, and mix well. Add salt to taste, for the lil one, the less the better. You can add more for the grown ups later. Now add more water to get a slightly runny consistency, it should be a little more watery than dosa mavu. Heat a gridle, put some butter (oil if this is for grownups :)), and spread like dosa. Cook on both sides until browned and done. Serve with corriander chutney or plain yoghurt.
For grownups, add some turmeric and chilli powder and 2 finely chopped green chillies into the above batter. You can also add some chopped corriander leaves. Cook as above.
Carrot can be substituted with any suitable veggies. Tomatoes taste great but tend to undercook the dosa.

Potatoes for any occassion

My lil one loves potatoes and they are a life saver for me. Its easy to add anything to potatoes and whip up something tasty. Here is an all time favorite since the ingredients can be found at home always.

Potatoes & Carrots mash
Age when introduced: 8months

Ingredients:
1 large potato, boiled and peeled
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into inch long pieces
Pinch of turmeric
1/2 tsp butter
Salt to taste

Method:
Boil the potato and pieces of carrot until it can be mashed soft. I use a pressure cooker and so this gets done in 5 mins after the first whistle. Peel the potato, mash along with the carrot. Add the butter and turmeric and mix well. Add salt if needed. Since the butter is generally salted, taste to see if the mash will be to ur lil one's liking, if not, adjust the salt accordingly. The less salt used, the better. Serve :)

A new blog

Inexperienced Cook + First-time Mom + Growing Toddler + Picky Eating = Several Anxious Moments. I guess that summarizes the reason for this blog. :-)