TMC Family Recipe of the Week: Fruit & Veg Ice Lollies

Read More

TMC Family Recipe of the Week: Fruit & Veg Ice Lollies

TMC Family Recipe of the Week: Fruit & Veg Ice Lollies

These zero-sugar fruit and veggie lollies are delicious and not only a healthy treat but will also soothe sore gums if your little one is teething.

Ingredients

Strawberry, Beetroot and Apple Lollies

50 g/2 oz cooked beetroot, peeled and diced
70 g/3 oz strawberries, chopped
50 ml/2 fl oz apple juice

Carrot, Kiwi, Mango, Banana and Orange Lollies

25 g/1 oz kiwi, peeled and diced
50 g/2 oz ripe mango, diced
50 g/2 oz ripe banana, peeled

Method

1. Put all the ingredients into a jug. Blend using a stick blender until smooth.

2. Pour into 6 lolly moulds and freeze for 6 hours.

Recipe from https://www.annabelkarmel.com/

A Guide to Baby’s First Foods

Read More

A Guide to Baby’s First Foods

A Guide to Baby’s First Foods

Babies sure know how to test us. Just when it starts to feel a little bit easier, you’re given a whole new other job to learn.

But weaning doesn’t have to be as daunting as it might seem and it can actually be (dare we say it) quite fun.

Especially great for hilarious snaps of them covered in mush or videos of them wincing over pureed peas.

So to aid your adventure we’ve rounded up our best weaning tips.

The best tips for weaning your baby

  1. Go easy on the pressure. You don’t have to be wonder mum + chef, all while keeping your shit together – just do what you can.
  2. Aim for variety. Offer veg first and blend veg with fruit if things are getting tricky. Struggling with anything green? A bit of banana never hurt anyone.
  3. Hold the salt and sugar for under ones.
  4. You can add baby’s usual milk to loosen the food when making purees.
  5. Finger foods should be around 6cm long and soft enough to squish when pinched.
  6. Peel off any skin from fruits and vegetable, as this can present a choking hazard early on in weaning.
  7. Ensure food has cooled down before serving.
  8. Good quality food pouches are okay. Not everyone has time to cook, and not everyone wants to. If you can, go organic.
  9. First foods should not replace baby’s usual milk feeds.
  10. Offering around one tsp of first purée is fine; they’re just exploring for now.

Babies are already accustomed to slightly sweeter tastes such as breastmilk or formula, so it is likely that they will accept sweeter foods such as fruit and root vegetables more easily than complex flavours.

Based on this, many mums give their little ones neutral foods before introducing more bitter ones. Avocado for example (filled with healthy fats, creamy in texture and not too sweet) swiftly followed by bitter greens and root vegetables. 

Which is why we’ve put together a list of single foods to start feeding your baby with (regardless of whether you follow spoon-led or baby-led weaning) all grouped by ease of preparation. Because let’s face it, we mums need all the help we can get.

Weaning foods that take minutes to make

Mash it up: 2 min preparation time

Avocado
Banana
Mango
Papaya

Steam/stew and blend to a purée: 15 minutes prep time.

Green beans
Spinach
Courgette
Peach
Blueberry
Pineapple
Raspberry
Apple
Pear
Plum
Nectarine
Strawberry

20 minutes prep time.

Broccoli
Kale
Sweet Potato
Carrot
Potato
Cauliflower
Butternut Squash
Pumpkin
Swede
Parsnip

Learning to eat is a major challenge that leads to an important life skill. Go easy on yourself.

You and baby will have good days and bad, so be patient and stay calm, and good luck!

Pomegranate & Squash Salad

Read More

Pomegranate & Squash Salad

Pomegranate & Squash Salad
Ingredients

1 butternut squash
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
100g hazelnuts
50g sunflower seeds
50g pumpkin seeds
100g spinach/watercress/rocket or a mix
1 pomegranate
Handful rosemary

For the dressing

4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp clear honey
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp mixed spice

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200° fan setting.

2. Chop your butternut squash into roughly 1cm cubes. (see note for seeds)

3. Place the chopped squash onto baking tray. Sprinkle over the mixed spice and cayenne pepper, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Massage to coat with your hands. Roast for 40 mins until cooked and charred in places.

4. Place hazelnuts onto a separate clean baking tray and cook for 8-10 mins until they begin to smell nutty. Remove and allow to cool before roughly chopping.

5. Place your seeds into a clean frying pan over a medium heat and toast, tossing continuously for about 5 mins until they have browned and popped a little. Transfer to a plate to cool.

6. To prepare your pomegranate seeds quarter the pomegranate and fill a bowl with cold water. Using your hands, place the pomegranate quarters one by one under the water and release the pomegranate seeds. This ensure the juice doesn’t fly everywhere and allows the white pith to rise to the top of the water.

7. Allow the pomegranate seeds to sink to the bottom and then scoop the pith from the top. Drain and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen roll.

8. To make the crispy rosemary place a good glug of olive oil in a frying pan. Add one leaf to test the heat. When the leaf begins to sizzle you know the oil is hot enough.

9. Place all the rosemary leaves into the hot oil (taking care is it will spit) and let it cook for 15-20 seconds before removing with a fork and placing on a kitchen towel lined plate to drain the oil.

10. To make the dressing whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

11. When ready to serve place your roasted squash, salad leaves, roasted hazelnuts, seeds and pomegranate seeds (reserving a few to sprinkle on at the end if you wish) into a large mixing bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss gently using your hands. Transfer to a large serving plate and sprinkle over with the crispy rosemary. Enjoy!

Recipe from https://www.alexandradudley.com/