RECIPE: #InstaWeanTeamChallenge - Frozen Yoghurt & Strawberry Fingers

Despite repeated attempts, Little Dude has never really taken to strawberries. He tends to give them an exploratory lick then looks mightily disgusted and chucks them on the floor. The Very Hungry Caterpillar week has given me an opportunity to try serving them in a different way... and it worked!

 

 

Since giving him these he's actually eaten TWO chopped, uncooked strawberries. Perhaps the penny is starting to drop on just how yummy they are (they're my favourite fruit too)

YOU'LL NEED:

60g porridge oats

20g chopped walnuts

A few generous spoonfuls of natural yoghurt

Splash of whole milk

5 medium strawberries

Optional - additional sweetner such as honey, dates, or sugar

 

METHOD:

1. Chop the walnuts and add to a bowl along with the oats (keep a few walnuts back for decoration). Pour in enough milk to make a thick porridge mixture but keep it fairly dry. 

Note - Adding a spoonful of honey, some chopped dates, or a little sugar at this stage would sweeten the fingers up a little as they come out fairly savoury. We liked them that way though :)

2. Press the oat mixture onto a lined baking tray then cook at Gas 5 for 5-8 minutes.

3. Set the oat base aside to cool

4. Once cooled, spread a thick layer of yoghurt on to the oat base

5. Decorate with chopped strawberries (I made ours into heart shapes) and walnuts.

6. Put the baking tray into the freezer for 2-3 hours until the fingers have set hard

7. Slice the fingers then return to the freezer, remove each one a few minutes before serving.

 

Thanks to Ezpz who provided the Happy Mats we used for this week's challenge.

Check out what the rest of the team made by visiting our Facebook Page

RECIPE: #InstaWeanTeam Challenge - Date & Butternut Squash Tagine

Last week I made my Healthy Lunchbox Snack (Date & Walnut Cereal Bars) using dates so for this week's challenge I wanted to do something completely different. My sister bought me a tagine a couple of years ago and I hadn't used it for a while so I decided to dust it off to make a Moroccan-inspired dish this week. I originally planned to use lamb but the supermarket only had full lamb shoulders which intimidated me a bit so I went with a vegetarian version instead. Fear not, carnivores, it's still a hearty, satisfying dish :)

YOU'LL NEED:
4 chopped Medjool dates
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 tin cherry tomatoes
4-5 chopped walnuts
250g frozen butternut squash (cutting this stuff is my pet hate so I bought a lazy version!)
100g sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cinnamon
A squeeze of runny honey

METHOD:
1. Defrost the frozen mushrooms and butternut squash (I poured boiled water over mine and left for 5 minutes or so until it was soft).
2. Slice the onion and dates, lay in the bottom of the tagine
3. Add the butternut squash, mushrooms, tomatoes, spices, sesame seeds, garlic and honey. Stir well.
4. Add a splash of water to loosen the mixture slightly
5. Bake in the oven as Gas 4 for 1 hour.
6. Eat chocolate while it cooks - optional but highly recommended! :)

I served ours with wholemeal giant cous cous and a sprinkle of sesame seeds and chopped walnuts on top. Delish!
 
Note - The NHS guidance is that honey should only be given over the age of one. I'm not sure if this changes if the honey is cooked but personally I always err on the side of caution and would skip it for younger babies.

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the team have made for Date Week by visiting our Facebook Page 

RECIPE: #InstaWeanTeam Challenge - Walnut and Date Cereal Bars

Anyone who follows my Instagram feed will know I'm a big fan of putting lunchboxes together. Filling them with varied, healthy food can be a bit of a challenge, especially when it comes to snacks. This week I decided to make something I've tried before but not perfected: homemade cereal bars. I totally revamped my recipe and was really pleased with how these turned out - they are soft, sweet fingers of pure deliciousness!

To make these...

YOU'LL NEED:
5 Medjool dates (I used organic ones)
70g walnuts
25g sultanas
70g porridge oats
15g dessicated coconut
1 beaten egg
Coconut oil or unsalted butter for greasing the baking tray

METHOD:
1. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and grease very lightly with coconut oil.
2. Finely blend the nuts then tip them into a large glass bowl. Add the sultanas, coconut, and porridge oats then stir.
3. Blend the dates into a sticky paste - throw in a handful or two of oats if they start to gum up the blender like mine did.
4. Put the dates into the bowl then using a thumb and forefinger, rub them into the oat mixture as if you were making crumble. Continue until the dates are distributed evenly into the mixture.
5. Stir in the beaten egg.
6. Press the mixture onto the baking tray in a rectangular shape about 2-3cm thick.
7. Bake for 15 minutes at Gas 5, ensuring the egg is cooked.
8. While still warm, slice into finger shapes with a sharp knife. I used a pizza cutter which was the perfect tool for the job.
9. When cooled, peel the cereal bars carefully off the greaseproof paper. I will keep mine for a few days in a sealed Tupperware container... if they last that long!

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the InstaWeanTeam are making this week by visiting our Facebook Page

 

RECIPE - #InstaWeanTeam Challenge - Mango and Coconut 'Nicecream'

Little Dude has never been a huge fan of mango (or any fruit that is obviously fruit, for that matter) so for me, this challenge was about finding a clever way to sneak it into him! I'm still a bit obsessed with the banana and berry ice cream my buddy Meg made a few weeks ago so I decided to try making my own variation. This recipe is so easy it barely qualifies as cooking :)

YOU'LL NEED
1 ripe banana
1/2 ripe mango
Handful dessicated coconut
1 tablespoon natural yoghurt

METHOD:
1. Chop the banana up into slices and put into a freezer bag
2. Slice the mango in half, chop into chunks and add to the bag with the banana.
3. Put the bag into the freezer for a minimum of 3 hours. Remove from the freezer and set aside for 15 minutes before you want to make the 'nicecream' (smirk)
4. Put the (now slightly softened) fruit and the yoghurt into the blender. Blast it until the mixture is smooth and creamy. I do this in bursts because my blender objects to frozen things.
5. Add the coconut and blend again briefly to mix.
6. Serve. I sprinkled a few chia seeds and some more coconut onto ours but some finely chopped nuts, chocolate shavings or slivers of fresh mango would also be ideal.

This week's challenge comes to you sponsored by the fabulous Ezpz, makers of the Happy Mat and Happy Bowl. See my review of these products if you're interested in buying them.

RECIPE: #InstaWeanTeam Challenge - Olive and Roasted Veg Vol-Au-Vents

This week’s #InstaWeanTeam Olive Challenge comes to you 70s style. I’ve never tried vol-au-vents before so fancied giving them a go and they were surprisingly easy to make. These were perfect for both Little Dude and my vegetarian friend who joined us for a BBQ (the carnivores also had homemade paprika burgers, swoon!). 

I used shop bought pastry which has a little salt in it but making my own would've been way too time consuming. This recipe made 4 vol-au-vonts plus a bunch of different size rectangular 'slices' for our guests.

YOU'LL NEED:

1 Sheet Puff Pastry

5 Black Olives, Sliced

3 Vine Tomatoes

1/2 Courgette

1/2 Red Onion

1 Yellow Pepper

1/2 Tsp Mixed Herbs

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Beaten Egg

METHOD:

1. Lay out the pastry and use a cookie cutter to make an even number of pastry circles.

2. Take half of the circles and use a smaller cutter to remove the middle, leaving a pastry ring.

3. Brush the edge of the pastry circles with beaten egg, lay the pastry rings on top. Brush the top again with beaten egg.

4. Put them pastry in the oven on a lightly floured baking tray, cook for 25-30 mins on Gas 7 until golden and risen (check them regularly!). Once cooked, set them aside to cool. If the inside has risen, carefully pull it out leaving a pastry case with a hole in the middle.

5. Chop the vegetables into small chunks then lay out on a baking tray. Sprinkle herbs on top and drizzle with a little olive oil.

6. Cook the veggies (except the olives) at Gas Mark 5 for around 30 mins.

7. Chop the olives and add to the cooked veggies, mix well.

8. Carefully spoon the cooked veg into the pastry cases. 

These can be eaten cold or blasted until the grill to heat them up just before serving. Delish!

Don't forget to check out what the whole team made for olive week by checking our InstaWeanTeam Facebook Page

RECIPE - #InstaWeanTeam Challenge - Casserole-Pot Moussaka

Outside of Greece, the best moussaka I've ever had definitely has to be the one my mother-in-law makes. Aubergine is another ingredient I don't cook with very often (read: ever) so when the girls decided it was going to be this week's #InstaWeanTeam challenge, I knew there was only one dish I wanted to try. When I told my own Mama that I was going to tackle a moussaka she suggested adding courgette - followers will know I'm very partial to this particular veg so throwing it in seemed like a great idea. So basically, my version is an amalgamation from the two Mamas in my life, plus my own random invention. Fortunately, I wrote the recipe down as I went because this one really is good - hearty, warming and really, REALLY tasty.

YOU'LL NEED:

2 aubergines
1 medium courgette
1 medum onion
3 large white potatoes
500g lamb mince
2 tomatoes
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 garlic clove
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cinnamon 


Béchamel  Sauce:
300ml whole milk
30g butter
30g plain flour
1 beaten egg Grated cheddar

METHOD:
1. Slice the potatoes into discs and par-boil (6-8 minutes). Drain and set aside to cool.
2. Slice the courgette and aubergine into discs. Lay on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at Gas 5 for 25-30 minutes then set aside to cool.
3. In a pan, heat the butter and flour gently, stirring all the time until they are well mixed
4. Pour in the milk, whisk gently until just boiling and the sauce has thickened. Set aside to cool.
5. Meanwhile, add the finely sliced onion, lamb, oregano, garlic and cinnamon in the casserole dish and fry in the little oil (I used organic rapeseed) until cooked.
6. Add the tinned tomatoes and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
7. Spoon the lamb mixture into a separate bowl so the casserole dish is empty.
8. In the bottom of the casserole dish, arrange a thin layer of potato slices. 
9. Spoon a layer of lamb mixture on top, followed by another layer of potato.
10. On top of the potato, lay the aubergine then courgette, then fresh sliced tomatoes.
11. Add another layer of the lamb mixture, another of courgette and aubergine, and a final layer of potato (obviously feel free to freestyle here and arrange the layers however you fancy!)
12. Stir a beaten egg into the cooled white sauce. Pour on top of the moussaka.
13. Sprinkle on some grated cheese then bake at Gas 3 for 2 hours. 
14. Turn up the heat for the last 10-15 minutes to brown the top.

Don't forget to check out the other dishes the #InstaWeanTeam made this week by visiting our Facebook page.

RECIPE - #InstaWeanTeam Challenge - Watermelon Kebabs

I chose a simple summer dish for my watermelon #InstaWeanTeam Challenge – fruit kebabs with natural yoghurt and chia seeds. This took 5 minutes to prepare and about 5 seconds to devour! The sweet watermelon works really well with the creamy yoghurt and I used a flower shaped vegetable cutter to make it a little more appealing – still not enough to convince L to eat fruit unfortunately but it worked for the grown ups!

YOU’LL NEED:

¼ Watermelon

½ Mango

10-15 White and Red Grapes

Kebab Sticks

Natural Yoghurt

Chia Seeds (optional)

METHOD: 

1. Slide a knife along the rind of the watermelon to remove the tough skin. Slice the melon into strips. Using a cookie or vegetable cutter, cut out some pretty shapes :)

2. Same deal with the mango - remove the skin and slice into cubes

3. Slice the grapes in half lengthways (this reduces the choking hazard)

4. Thread each piece of fruit onto a kebab stick until it's full.

5. Service dipped in yoghurt with chia seeds (you might want to remove the stick for younger children)