The Little Menu :)

Hi I'm Kat! Mum of 1 boy and 1 girl (3yrs and 18 months).. After commencing the weaning journey for baby number 2 I was starting to feel a bit lost, with no new ideas and was just making the same things over and over again. I wanted to feed my kids healthy happy meals without salt or sugar (plus a friend on her first weaning journey asked me for some ideas) so I set about recording my own meals and recipes, which meant I found lots of similar blogs inspiring me.. Although some recipes and plates may seem simple and straight forward the idea is that anyone preparing meals for little ones can do it from their own home probably with what they've already got in stock! I wanted to share my food ideas with mums, dads, nannys, grandads, aunts, uncles, childminders and budding kid chefs to encourage healthy eating around the clock.. and this is why ⬇️ Childhood obesity is a global public health challenge. It is estimated that 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight in 2015 worldwide. In the UK 22% of 4-5 year olds and 33% of 10-11 year olds are overweight or obese!! If healthy food blogs can help change these statistics then I'm all for it! I'm no food professional but I enjoy real healthy food and feel very passionately about passing on my love of good food onto my kids and anyone else who's interested.. I was brought up on a vegetarian diet and am officially pescatarian but I'm happy to cook my kids meat and let them decide their own food choices in their own time! So for anyone who's taken the time to read this - thank you! I hope the pics and recipes can inspire and change more chefs of little ones to encourage good, wholesome, healthy diets. It doesn't need to be complicated, fussy or fancy - just healthy, fun and yum!! The Little Menu (Stats from Nursing Children & Young People journal, June 2017 ed)

MINI BEAN BURGERS

This was so easy to make even on our first attempt so we had to share! Perfect served with a tasty curry.. Ingredients: • Plain flour • Wholemeal flour • Olive oil • Water Method: • Mix together an equal amount of plain and Wholemeal flour depending on the amount of chapatis you want • A large tbsp of each flour will yield about 3 medium size chapati • Mix in a drop of olive oil then a spoonful of water at a time mixing with your hands to form a spongy but not sticky dough • Add more flour if it gets too sticky, add more water if it's too floury • Mould into balls • Heat a pan (lightly grease if you wish, I think it works better without as long as it's non stick) • Roll balls into flat shapes on a lightly floured surface until desired thickness achieved • Place into hot pan for around 30 seconds each side or until brown spots appear • Serve hot or cold and enjoy! The Little Menu :)

Great as a take away snack to keep the little ones happy while you're out and about but also perfect for mummies and daddies too!! Here's what you need to make a batch of these naturally sweetened tasty treats.. Ingredients: • 4 tbsp olive oil • 180g self raising flour • one medium carrot finely grated • 1 egg • 4 tbsp maple syrup • handful of raisins Method: • Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and pop into cupcake cases in a muffin tray.. • bake on 200c for around 20-25mins until baked and delicious! The Little Menu :)

These mini beauties are full of it - protein, carb, veg and dairy! You can use butter instead of oil and leek instead of spring onions, different fish or add frozen peas.. whatever it is it's yum!! What do I need? • 3 spring onions washed & chopped • 1 carrot peeled & chopped small • 1/2 tbsp olive oil • 2 salmon steaks • pinch of grated/ground nutmeg • sprinkle of black pepper • handful of Parmesan cheese ( save some for the bake) • 1 tea cup of milk • 1 desert spoon of plain flour • 2 large potatoes cooked & mashed What do I do? • Get your potatoes peeled, chopped & boiling • Put carrot and spring onion in a pan with olive oil and stir on medium heat for a few minutes • add Salmon and break up with wooden spoon • add milk and flour and mix • add parmesan, pepper & nutmeg • pop the lid on and simmer for 10-15 minutes • you should have a thick creamy sauce - to make thicker add more flour - to make thinner add more milk • spoon mixture into silicone cases • mash potato on top • sprinkle of parmesan on top • bake 200c for 30 minutes until crispy brown on top • eat... The Little Menu :)

These are the three ingredients you'll need to make your own shortcrust pastry. It's very simple and means you know exactly what your little ones are eating.. INGREDIENTS 👉 9tbsp/70g plain/ wholemeal flour 👉 2 tbsp/15g unsalted butter 👉 3 tbsp warm water METHOD 👉 Mix the flour and butter in a food processor to create a breadcrumb consistency 👉 Add more butter if it still looks like flour 👉 Add water 1tbsp at a time and mix 👉 The mixture should eventually bind and form a lump of pastry 👉 Dust a clean surface with flour and roll out pastry to desired thickness turning and rolling 👉 If it's sticky sprinkle more flour on each turn and roll out 👉 There you have it ☺️

RECIPE - Simple Saucy Veg Couscous 🍚 • Ingredients: 🍚 Cooked couscous (100g roughly) 🍚 Tin of chopped tomatoes 🍚 1 leek chopped 🍚 1 garlic clove chopped 🍚 Chopped cauliflower 🍚 Chopped broccoli 🍚 1/4 tin of chickpeas 🍚 Full fat Greek yogurt 🍚 paprika 🍚 Basil * Method: 🍚 Cook broccoli and cauliflower 🍚 Sauté leek and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes 🍚 Add chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, yogurt, paprika and basil and simmer, stirring frequently for 5-10 minutes 🍚 Stir in cooked veg and couscous at the end.. • • • #fingerfood #simplefood #toddlerfood #healthyfood #healthybaby #instafood #instagood #foodspiration #babyfood #babyfoodideas #babyledweaning #blw #feedthemhealthy #tinytummies #thelittlemenu #l4l #babyrecipe #toddlerrecipe #lovecooking #yummy #followme #foodporn #igfoodie (at Wickford, Essex)