RECIPE - #InstaWeanTeam Challenge: Giant Cous Cous and Pineapple Salad

I'm pushed for time this week because we had an epic weekend with a 600 mile round trip to the wedding of our good friends - it was an absolutely perfect day but taking time off work means I'm now rushing to catch up with everything. My first thought for our pineapple challenge this week was to make an upside down cake. It's something my Mum used to make us as kids and I haven't had one for about 20 years. Unfortunately, timing and being a bit stumped on the baby-friendly element got in the way. Inspired by a gloriously sunny Scottish weekend, I opted to make a fresh summer salad. Of course it rained all day today but, hey, just put some sunglasses on while you eat this and pretend it's warm.

YOU'LL NEED:
Fresh pineapple - a couple of rings is enough
Feta cheese - approx 3cm off a block
1 sweet potato
Giant wholeweat cous cous
Handful dried cranberries
1 Spring onion
Ground paprika 

Bah, I just realised I didn't measure my cous cous! The pack should give guidance on portion size, I just tipped some into the pan and did it by eye.

METHOD:
1. Add the giant cous cous to a pan of boiling water and simmer for around 20 minutes until soft and the water has disappeared
2. Peel the sweet potato and cut into small cubes. Toss in a little oil and paprika then lay on a baking tray and bake at Gas 5 for 20-25 minutes until starting to crisp.
3. Chop the spring onion
4. Cut the feta and pineapple into small cubes.
5. Put all the ingredients into the pan with the cooked cous cous, stir well and serve.

Minimal cooking, maximum flavour :) The pineapple is so sweet and juicy that the salad doesn't even need any dressing, making it super healthy.

Don't forget to check the InstaWeanTeam Facebook page to see pineapple recipes from the whole team

RECIPE - #InstaWeanTeam Mexican Challenge

Mmmm, Mexican food! I was pretty spoiled for choice this week because I love this kind of grub. Old El Pasa fajitas tend to make an appearance in our house when I'm having a lazy chef moment but still fancy something tasty with plenty of veggies. Although I was tempted to make a baby-friendly version of this old fave it's something I've done before so I chose to mix it up with a new dish - pulled pork burritos. 

I roasted the pulled pork at the weekend so kept some aside knowing I had burritos on the menu later in the week. This is a great one for using up whatever leftovers you have; chicken, beef or pork would work just as well. Same deal for the veg, you can't really go wrong once it's wrapped in a tortilla. Go nuts!

 

YOU'LL NEED:

Leftover Pulled Pork

1 Red Pepper 

1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes

1 Tin Kidney Beans

1/2 Tsp Oregano

1/2 Tsp Cumin (x 2)

1 Tsp Smoked Paprika

1/8 Tsp Low Salt Soy Sauce

1/2 Cup Wild & Basmati Rice

Handful Grated Cheddar Cheese

4 Kos Lettuce Leaves

3 Tortilla Wraps

Chilli Flakes (optional)

METHOD:
1. Put the rice in a pan, cover with boiled water, add the 1/2 tsp of cumin and simmer until cooked (mine took 25 mins), then drain and set aside.
2. Empty the tomatoes, rinsed kidney beans, spices (including the other 1/2 tsp cumin), soy and oregano into a pan.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 10 minutes until the mixture has reduced slightly. 
4. Take off the heat, mash slightly with a fork and leave to cool
5. Slice the pepper into thin 'sticks' and set aside
6. Warm the tortilla wraps in the microwave for 30 seconds (it helps them bend)
7. Take a deep breath - you are ready to roll your burritos! :)
8. Lay out a sheet of foil, slap a tortilla on top, then a lettuce leaf.
9. Add a couple of spoonfuls of rice, bean mixture, some pork, and 4-5 peppers
10. Sprinkle a little cheese and some chilli flakes on top then carefully wrap the whole burrito into a sausage shape using the foil the seal it together at both ends.
11. If the filling has cooled too much, pop the burritos in the oven for 5 mins to warm through.
12. Serve (roll the foil down as you eat to stop it falling apart).If you have extra filling, just stick it on the plate as well.

Note - young children will need the foil removing for them. I served Little Dude a de-constructed version of the burrito with all the separate parts laid out on his tray for him to explore but it coulsd just as easily be cut into slices for a baby or toddler. The photo on the right shows the version for myself and Mr BLWMamaUK. It looks a bit like an explosion in a burrito factory but boy, was it good!

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the #InstaWeanTeam made for Mexico Week by visiting our Facebook Page.

RECIPE - #InstaWeanTeam Avocado Challenge!

This week's #InstaWeanTeam Challenge was inspired by a recent episode of Masterchef. One of the contestants made an avocado chocolate pudding that was slated because it tasted like avocado however, it looked DELICIOUS!

I didn't get it. Avocado. Chocolate. What's not to like? 

I decided the only way to know for sure was to make something similar myself. I trawled the Internet and found loads of different recipes with some weird and wonderful ingredients - coconut oil, raw cacao, agave. In the end, I mashed a few together and made a version using whatever I already had in the cupboard. 

The results? Mixed. L liked it and looked adorable with yummy avocado-choccy-goodness all round his chops. However, I found it quite difficult to reconcile the creamy chocolate hit with a distinct aftertaste of avocado. It looked like a rich chocolate ganache and my brain couldn't quite process the fact that it wasn't. I'll definitely try it again and perhaps tweak the ingredients a bit - a less ripe avocado would make a big difference as it wouldn't taste quite so strongly. Perhaps the addition of a little naughty melted chocolate too...? Anyway, he's my base recipe for you to play around with as you see fit.

* Note this includes honey which needs to be substituted with something else for children under 1 *

YOU'LL NEED:
1 Ripe Avocado
3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder (I used Green & Blacks Organic)
2 Tablespoons Runny Honey
1 Teaspoon Almond Butter
1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
4 Tablespoons Whole Milk

METHOD:
1. Throw everything in a food processor. Blend.
2. Spoon into a dish and refrigerate

As ever, let me know if you make this and check out the InstaWeanTeam Facebook page for the recipes from the rest of the gang :)

Surviving a food strike

We made it! It took a few weeks but the food strike is finally over and Little Dude is eating like a champ again... until the next time.

From talking to my Mummy friends, food strikes seem to be a common occurrence and come in all shapes and forms. Just in my little circle of friends we've had:

• Refusal to eat any solids and very little milk (this was L)
• Taking food into mouth then spitting it out immediately (yup, L again)
• Refusal to eat any savoury food
• Sudden refusal to be spoonfed
• Refusal of foods that were previously favourites 
• Sudden refusal to eat breakfast (all other meals were fine)
• One random week of happily eating from a spoon, which stopped as suddenly as it started (L again)
• Gleefully blowing all food out of the mouth in sudden explosive raspberries (not good news for sofas, walls and carpets!) 

In my experience, the reason for the food strike isn't often clear until after it's passed. The first one L had was a combination of teething and a tummy bug. I'm pretty sure on this because we shared the tummy bug and I struggled to eat for a good week myself - I can't blame him for feeling the same way. The second one was due to a nasty cold and temperature. Being off solid food I could handle, but watching him push his bottle of milk away was more stressful because I worried about his hydration. It turns out that, as often is the case, baby seems to know best. After a couple of days of eating very little, things started to get back on track. 

Obviously it's important to contact a Doctor if you have any concerns about your baby not eating. I am now on first name terms with everyone at my local out of hours GP service, particularly those manning the phones at 3am. Reassured that L wasn't going to starve himself, I tried a few different things...

• Stopping solid food altogether while he had a temperature. Under 1, milk is the most important source of nutrition so I focused on making sure he had enough of that and forgot about everything else.
• Offering at least one favourite food at each meal. I figured if he wasn't going to eat that, he wasn't going to eat anything.
• Sticking to comforting, plain foods - omelette, porridge, pasta,mashed potato - when he was getting back into it. Nothing too acidic or strongly flavoured.
• Making yogurt smoothie pops - a way of getting liquids and milk into him which also soothed sore gums and/or throat
• Using my freezer stash - spending time preparing meals then throwing them in the bin can be a bit soul destroying so I raided my freezer for things that could be prepared quickly
• Repeating to myself 'This too shall pass'. A lot.

It's taken a good 4 or 5 weeks to get back to where we were with his food. In the meantime I recommend patience, perseverance and plenty of chocolate for Mama. :)

RECIPE - Peach Crumbles

YOU'LL NEED:
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon ground almonds
1 tablespoon porridge oats
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (depending on your taste preference)
15g unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon sugar (optional)
6 peach slices (I used tinned in juice, not syrup)

METHOD:
1. Leave the butter out of the fridge until soft
2. Put the flour, oats, almonds and cinnamon in a bowl and stir to mix.
3. Add the butter and 'rub' into the mixture using your thumbs and forefingers until the mixture has turned slightly golden and looks like crumbs. Shake the bowl to bring the big crumbs (unmixed butter) to the surface and repeat until the texture is fine enough.
4. Stir in the sugar (optional) - I added this because I wanted to make a slightly sweet dessert and my peaches were quite tangy. If you're serving it with a sweet custard (I didn't) it's probably not necessary. It's a personal choice on whether you want to give your baby sugar - L rarely has any so I made an exception this time.
5. Chop the peaches and split the mixture across two ramekins
6. Spoon the crumble on top
7. Bake at Gas Mark 4 for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Little Dude is 10 months old and surprised me by eating an entire crumble! He's often not too fussed about fruit and would rather each savoury, so this was a great sucess, particularly as you could substitute the peaches for apples, pears, blackberries etc.

Tag me on Instagram @blwmamuk if you make this!