Sausage Stew

Sausage Stew

 

It sounds bizarre, well actually it is! But my god it tastes fantastic. It is all stuff that I had lying around in the cupboards so I haven't bought anything special. This should serve 4 - 6 people easily.

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1 tbsp. mixed herbs
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 6 thick sausages
• 2 large white potatoes
• 6 tbsp. peas
• 6 tbsp. sliced carrots

 

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

 

1. Add the oil, mixed herbs and black pepper to the pan and gently heat until it starts to smell aromatic.
2. Then cut the sausages into 6 sections each. Brown lightly.
3. Add 1L vegetable stock to the casserole dish along with 2 large white potatoes that have been peeled and chopped into chunks.
4. Then add the peas and carrots and leave to simmer on a reduced heat for 45 minutes to an hour.
5. Serve with bread, lots of bread.

 

 





Perfect Pizza

Perfect Pizza

 

 

 

It is not as hard as it sounds to make your own pizza, in fact the hardest part is leaving the dough to rise and then the frustration gets to me. I hate waiting (even if it is only 30 minutes) but it is healthier than shop bought or takeaway pizza, and costs a fraction of the price. This recipe cost a mere £3 to put into the oven, I also saved a huge amount of money that would have been spent on therapy, but instead I kneaded the dough for 10 minutes and got a lot of frustration and niggles out!

 

10 - 25 minutes Cooking time, up to 1 hour Prep time.

 

 

Meat Feast Version

 

Ingredients for Dough

 

• 300g Strong White Bread Flour
• 1 Sachet (7g) Fast Action Dried Yeast
• 1 tsp Table Salt
• 200ml Warm Water
• Oil for brushing the pizza tray

 

 

Ingredients For Toppings

 

 

Meat Feast:

• 50g Cooked Chicken in Strips
• 50g Cooked Bacon Chopped
• 2 Sausages Cut into 6 and then Halved
• 200g Mature Cheese
• 2 tbsp. Tomato Puree

 

 

Tuna & Sweetcorn:

 

• 60g of Drained Tuna Flakes
• 30g of Boiled Sweetcorn
• 200g Mature Cheese
• 2 tbsp. Tomato Puree

 

 

Four Cheese:

 

• 2 tbsp. Tomato Puree
• 50g Mature Cheese
• 50g Mild Cheese
• 50g Red Leicester Cheese
• 50g Edam Cheese (minus the rind of course)

 

 

Veggie Friendly:

 

• 2 tbsp., Tomato Puree
• 200g Mature Cheese
• 30g Sweetcorn
• 25g Red Pepper
• 25g Green Pepper
• 25g Chopped Mushrooms

 

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 240 degrees. Sieve and mix the flour, salt and yeast into a large bowl.
2. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm water. Stir well until you have a slightly wet dough.
3. Lightly flour a work surface, turn out the dough onto the surface and knead well for 10 - 15 minutes. Once kneaded, replace in the mixing bowl and cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
4. After your 30 minutes has ticked by, knead the dough on a floured surface again for 5 minutes. Leave in the mixing bowl covered with cling film again, for a further 5 minutes.
5. Roll out the dough (with a rolling pin) until it fits your pizza tray, no matter how big or small it is, it will stretch. Before placing the dough in the tray, lightly brush with a small amount of oil.
6. Once you have fitted the dough to the tray, smooth on your tomato puree with the back of a metal spoon until evenly coating the dough.
7. Then apply your grated cheese, or cheeses! Then apply the rest of your toppings.
8. Place in the oven at 240 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. The dough may rise further. To check the dough in cooked properly, prod a knife into the crust nearest to you and see if it comes out clear, if it does, you are good to eat, if not, leave it in for another few minutes and test again.

 

 

 

Meat Feast Pre-Oven

 

Don't Forget!

Like us on facebook for regular updates : www.facebook.com/feedingforthefuture

and We love to see pictures and hear feedback!





Sweet Farmhouse Chicken

Sweet Farmhouse Chicken

 

Another fabulously low-fat recipe suitable for Rosie's and Slimming World followers! Tyler also wolfed this one down, I was very surprised, he couldn't get enough! I served mine with mashed potatoes but you can try something different such as jacket potato, wedges or potato rosti.

 

The nutrition is brilliant, lean meat providing a low fat protein, fibre, vitamin C etc. Very healthy for little ones and us older ones!

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 2 Large Chicken Breasts
• 250ml Chicken Stock
• 6oz Frozen Sliced Carrots
• 4oz Frozen Petit Pois
• 1 tsp Mixed Herbs
• 4 Sprays of Low Calorie Cooking Spray
• 2 tbsp. Cornflour

 

 

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

 

1. Add the cooking spray to a hot casserole dish (on full heat on the hob), followed by the mixed herbs.
2. Once the herbs start to smell aromatic, dice the chicken breasts and add to the dish immediately. Keep turning the chicken with a wooden spoon so the chicken is evenly coated with the herbs.
3. When the chicken has started to colour up and loose it's pinkness, add the stock to the dish, followed by the carrots, peas and cornflour.
4. Reduce the heat and stir well. Place the lid on top of the casserole dish and leave. Stir every five minutes or so to prevent it sticking to the dish. After 20 minutes, serve with a carb based side.

 

 







Turkey on a Bed of Diddy Veg and Diced Potato

Turkey on a Bed of Diddy Veg

 

This meal feeds four and has the essential carbohydrates, protein, fibre and key vitamins. This is a cheap and healthy meal suitable for Slimming World fans too!

 

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. of sweetcorn per child
• 3 tbsp. of peas per child
• 6 tbsp. of sweetcorn per adult
• 6 tbsp. of peas per adult
• 2 large white potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 small turkey breast steaks

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

1. Peel and dice the potatoes then put in boiling water and into the microwave on full power for 3 minutes then drain.
2. Grill the turkey steaks for ten minutes on each side.
3. Dice the turkey steaks, leave to rest.
4. Fry the diced potatoes for around 15 minutes with low calories cooking spray.
5. Place all the veg in a bowl of boiling water and whack in the microwave on full power for 6 minutes. Drain the veg and mix in the potatoes.
6. Plate up the vegetable mix and put the bits of turkey steaks on top.

How simple was that? It is also very quick and very nutritious for all ages.



A Goulash that Isn't a Goulash

A Goulash That Isn't a Goulash

 

Warming and hearty using every day ingredients. This dish should serve four and I served mine with mash potatoes. This recipe should be suitable with slimming world from what I can make out.

 

Ingredients

• 1lb 1oz Lean Beef Steak Cut Into Strips (£2.79 for three frying steaks at Lidl)
• 10 tbsp. Garden Peas
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 14 floz Reduced Salt Beef Stock
• 1 tbsp. tomato puree
• 14oz tin of Chopped Tomatoes
• 3 tbsp. Lemon Juice
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

1. Heat a frying pan and add your strips of steak once piping hot. Fry for approx. 2 minutes (or until light brown).
2. Add the stock, tomatoes, puree and peas at this point.
3. Then season with paprika, lemon juice and black pepper.
4. Leave to simmer for 20 minutes so that the mixture has time to reduce. Stir every five minutes or so then enjoy.



Ham and Cheese Muffins

Ham & Cheese Muffins

 

Makes 9

 

These muffins and absolutely amazing! I scoffed most of them myself, did my diet no favours what-so-ever! Also, they make a nice change to sandwiches, pasta, salad, soups etc. They don't even take long to prepare.

 

10 Minutes Preparation, 25 Minutes Cooking Time, 10 Minutes Cooling Time

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 3 slices of Wafer Thin Ham (cut into pieces)
• 2oz Grated Mature Cheese
• 2 Eggs
• 6oz Plain Flour
• 2oz Melted Butter
• 2 tbsp. Caster Sugar
• 2 tsp Baking Powder

 

 

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees or Gas Mark 5. Grease a muffin tin.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and caster sugar. Stir together to be doubley sure!
3. Combine the beaten eggs, milk and melted butter and whisk lightly to form a thoroughly blended mixture.
4. Make a well in the dry mixture and pour in the wet mixture. Stir together with a wooden spoon so it is just combined, no over mixing.
5. Add in the cheese and ham and stir through lightly.
6. Using a table spoon, heap the mixture into the muffin tin slots until they are each half full.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until puffy and golden brown.
8. Leave to stand for five minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack to allow to cool for another five minutes.



Extra Lean Minced Beef Hash

Minced Beef Hash

Serves 4

 

6 simple ingredients, ready in half an hour tops, warming, filling, nutritious and low in fat (free from syns on slimming world and compatible with Rosemary Conelly's).

 

 

Lovely on a cold evening!

 

This meal provides, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Protein, Carbohydrate and Fibre, amongst other vitamins and minerals.

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 2 white onions peeled and finely diced
• 450g extra lean minced beef (£2.79 at Lidl)
• 4oz Frozen Sliced Carrots (£1 for 750g at Co Op)
• 5 Fl oz Reduced Salt Beef Stock
• 5 'Twists' of Black Pepper
• 10oz White Potatoes Peeled and Diced

 

 

The Not-So Nitty Gritty Bit

 

 

1. First peel and dice the potatoes and onions. Put the potatoes on to boil along with the sliced carrots.
2. Fry the onions and as soon as they start to brown, add in the minced beef. When the mince begins to brown, add the stock.
3. After the potatoes and carrots have been boiling away for around 10 minutes, drain them and add to the minced beef, stock and onions. At this point, add in the 'twists' of black pepper.
4. Leave to simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

 

 







A Poor Girl's Eaton Mess

A Poor Girl's Eaton Mess

 

Raspberries, biscuits and instant whip. Mmmm, lovely! And it is a lovely fun messy pudding for baby led weaning and it gets an extra bit of calcium into the little ones! Oh, and fruit with the raspberries that I picked up from Lidl last week for £1 a pack! This recipe makes 3 servings and costs around £2.

Raspberries

Raspberries are fantastic BLW finger food for summer and autumn. They contain loads of fibre, vitamin C, vitamin K and magnesium. They are a refreshing change to the usual strawberries and are often slightly cheaper! And at only 63 calories per 100g, they are perfect for mummy and daddy snacks too!

Ingredients

• 100g Raspberries
• 1 packet of light instant whip
• half a pint of whole milk
• 6 rich tea biscuits (2 for crushing, 4 for breaking)

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

1. Break up four biscuits and put them in the bottom of the bowls.
2. Wash the raspberries and place them on top of the biscuits.
3. Make up the instant whip with the milk in a separate bowl then pour evenly over the other bowls.
4. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to set.
5. Put the remaining biscuits in a food bag and seal. First smash with a rolling pin then continue to roll over with the rolling pin and leave to one side.
6. Remove the bowls from the fridge and sprinkle the crushed biscuits over the top.

 

What Little Monster Thought...

 



At first he used his fingers and got in a right mess, despite liking it, he preferred to be spoon fed towards the end. Daddy wasn't keen but mummy and Tyler thought it was brilliant!

 

 

Links:

• www.facebook.com/feedingforthefuture
• www.lidl.co.uk

 

Black Peppered Chicken

 Black Peppered Chicken

 

with sweet corn and sweet potato wedges

 

 

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts
• freshly ground black pepper
• 9 tbsp. sweetcorn
• 1 large sweet potato
• drizzle of lemon juice

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Place the chicken breasts in the roasting tin, drizzle lemon juice over the chicken breasts and season with black pepper. Cover over with foil and place in the oven for around 40 - 50 minutes depending on weight (see packaging for details).
2. Peel the sweet potato and cut in half, half again and into 3's. Put in boiling water for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the sweet potato from the pot and drain. Place into a pan with hot oil and cook at 180 degrees for 15 minutes.
4. Boil the sweet corn for 3 minutes. Then serve all together.

What Little Monster Thought....


 Loved it very much! He did pull his face a bit at the chicken but he soon changed his mind and ate all of the chicken breast before the wedges and sweet corn! Mummy and Daddy loved it too! A sweet winter warmer. Relatively cheap to produce, around £5 with a left over chicken breast and the majority of a bag of sweet corn. The best Place I have found for frozen chicken is Aldi!  The sweet corn was £1 for a medium sized bag at Iceland and the sweet potato I picked up from Lidl for around 70p for a massive one. We didn't even eat all the wedges!

 

 

Next Time: A Poor Girl's Eaton Mess

 

Links:

• www.facebook.com/feedingforthefuture
• www.aldi.co.uk
• www.lidl.co.uk
• www.iceland.co.uk



Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkins

 

So, it's getting close to Halloween and there are loads of pumpkins on offer but what can you do apart from carve them? Make a soup for seasonal meal times!

Pumpkins provide 170% of your daily vitamin A needs and 15% of your vitamin C needs. Impressive per 100g really, especially as it only contains 26 calories.

Pumpkins are great for adding fibre, colour, texture, taste and variety to yours and your family's diet.

The recipe I am about to show you makes 4 servings or so and cost me around £3 as I bought a very small pumpkin.

 

 

 

Pumpkin Soup

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 250g Pumpkin Flesh
• 200g Peeled and chopped carrots
• 300ml Chicken/Vegetable Stock (chicken stock turns out better)
• 300ml Blue Top Milk
• 4 Twists of Freshly Ground Black Pepper

 

 

The Not-so Nitty Gritty

 

1. Carve the pumpkin and chopped/peel the carrots first as this bit takes the longest. Remove the top and bottom of the pumpkin first and remove the excess 'stringy' flesh and seeds. Seeds can be dried as used later on as snacks. Remove the outer skin of the pumpkin and cut the flesh into thumb-size chunks.
2. Add the carrots, thumb size pumpkin chunks, stock, milk and pepper to a large pot. Bring to the boil and remain on the boil for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Reduce heat slightly and wait until the pumpkin and carrots are tender. This should take an extra 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Put in the food processor or blender until a smooth consistency is achieved.
4. Pour the soup out of the food processor and back in the pot to heat up, stirring well and serve!

 

 

It should go from this...

...to this....

...to this!

 

What Little Monster Made of it....

 

 

Well, first time with soup, didn't go as planned. The soup ended up the walls, over the toys, over me and the carpet ended up a new shade! But, He thoroughly enjoyed the bread dipped in the soup and was gobbled up quickly. We need soup practice!Very tasty and mummy and daddy really liked it too.

 

 

 

 

 



TTFN from Mummy's sleeping pumpkin!!!



Cheese & Onion Pie for the Family

Cheese, Onion & Potato Pie

 

The cheese melted instead of going crispy... I may have put too much on but I do love cheese.

 

 

This is so so so easy to make! As you can tell from the caption, mine didn't turn out as hoped but was still very enjoyable and Tyler's dad asked for second! This meal should take 45 minutes prep and cooking in all. It provides shed loads of calcium, vitamin D, carbohydrate, protein, vitamin C and fibre.

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 8oz Grated Cheese
• 6 Medium White Potatoes
• Quarter of a Grated Onion

 

The Not-so Nitty Gritty

 

1. Finely grate a quarter of an onion. Grating will stop the onion ruining the smooth texture and it releases the flavour so much better. Leave this to one side.
2. Peel the potatoes and cute them into quarters and boil for 30 minutes then drain and mash.
3. Grate the cheese and ass to the mash along with the onion and stir through thoroughly.
4. Pat the mash down firm into an oven proof dish and add slices of cheese to the top. It browns nicely (or should do) and gives the mushy main bit a crispy top. Add a slice of tomato for decoration if you wish. I didn't as I can't stand fresh tomatoes. Brown for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool a little for that little mouth.
5. Serve with baked beans, sweet corn or carrots.

 

 

What Little Monster Thought of it....

 

 

Tyler and Mummy portions.

 





 



Tyler used his hands for this, much to my joy at cleaning him up afterwards. Ate most but did not seem keen, probably better for younger babies getting used to textures or older ones needing a filling meal after nursery or school. I love it and so does the other half, he wanted seconds the greedy bugger. Oh and Tyler is eating baked beans one by one at the minute so it did take forever.  

Toad in The Hole

Toad in the Hole

 

 

   Toad in the hole has always been one of my favourite dishes and proves to be a firm family favourite. Right, I have a confession, I cannot make homemade batter to save my life so I use Asda smart price batter mix and at only 7p a packet and you only have to add a beaten egg and 200ml cold water, it is a great time and money saver. Yes I am aware of added ingredients, but it won't hurt every now and again if you are short of time and money.

  

 

   This dish will provide, protein, carbohydrate, vitamin C and fibre amongst other things.

 

 

 

Tyler's Personal Portion

 

 

 

Ingredients

• Battermix (7p, Asda)
• 6 Sausages  (89p, 12 pack, Lidl)
• Oil (89p, Lidl)
• 1 can Baked Beans (17p, Aldi)

 

 

The Not-so Nitty Gritty

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees
2. Drizzle oil into a small roasting pan and place in the oven
3. Fry sausages until a light brown
4. Make up your batter mix, or your homemade batter if you have greater apt for these types of things
5. Remove the pan from the oven and pour in the batter mix.
6. Put the sausages in the pan too and space out evenly.
7. Start cooking the beans 5 minutes or so before the end of the oven cooking time
8. Cook for 20 - 30 minutes.
9. Take out and cut up and serve with baked beans

 

 

Mummy size portion, daddy wouldn't let me take a picture of his, he thinks it's unhealthy for me to be obsessed with photographing food. I majorly disagree.

 

 

 



What Little Monster Made of it

 

Well, well, well! I have never seen his plate clear so quick. Ate the batter first, sausage second and beans last. All by hand as we are having some fork issues at the moment. A nice strawberry rice pudding to follow and all was well. Not much else to say really, was eaten, seemed to be enjoyed, cheap and quick enough for success!

 

 

 

 

Meat & Two Veg The Healthy Way

Turkey Dinner

 

If you know me, you will know that I am big on eating white meats as they are leaner and offer great health benefits! Turkey is 70% white meat and 30% dark meat, so what's not to love?

This meal offers a filling and warming evening meal without spending the whole morning roasting meat. This meal has only 15 minutes prep time and 30 minutes cooking time. So that's the time issue solved, and the warming issue? What is not to love about potatoes, meat and two veggies? Traditional and it fills you up with goodness.

The meal will provide protein, carbohydrate, fibre, good fats, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, folates and vitamin K.

Wow. I did not realise how good this meal actually was for you until I started researching what each ingredient provides.

 

Key Fact: Most of the vitamin C in potatoes is in or close to the skin. So, when  peeling, avoid excessive de-skinning. Basically don't take chunks out of the potatoes at the same time.

 

 

Benefits of Eating Turkey

 

 

• High in protein
• Low in Fat
• Good source of iron, zinc, potassium, phosphorus and vitamin B6
• Can lower cholesterol if eaten regularly
• Contains the amino acid 'Tryptophan' which produces serotonin and this strengthens the immune system

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 3 Turkey Breast Steaks (£1.29 on offer, Lidl)
• 5 tbsp. Peas (£1, Iceland)
• 5 tbsp. Carrots (£1, Iceland)
• 3 Medium White Potatoes (£3 bag, Iceland)
• Chicken Gravy Granules (£1, £land)

 

The Not-so Nitty Gritty

 

 

1. Peel and chop potatoes into quarters and leave on the boil for half an hour.
2. Prepare your turkey steaks by removing excess fat and pre-heat the grill to full power.
3. After the potatoes have been boiling for 15 minutes, put the turkey under the grill and leave there for 15 minutes and turn half way through.
4. Boil the peas and carrots.
5. Use the vegetable water left from the peas and carrots after cooking, add gravy granules as the packet tells you. This will add more goodness to the meal as some key vitamins get lost during the boiling process.
6. Serve when everything is ready.

 

 

What Little Monster Thought

 

   He loved it so much, really got his appetite going again. Even consumed a whole custard pot. He ate the turkey that had been cut up first, he does love meat but soon moved onto his potatoes and veg. He seemed to enjoy the gravy too.

   Mummy and daddy really enjoyed this meal, no idea how I pulled it off as I had a slight bit of concussion from where that little monkey smashed a vase over my head! But all went down well and mummy and daddy had raspberry steamed pudding afterwards, really should have cut Tyler in on this but he got his custard out the kitchen for me so, I let him have custard instead.

 

 

Coming up Soon..... homemade banana custard, spaghetti bolognaise and more, keep up to date by liking the facebook page www.facebook.com/feedingforthefuture or simply add your e-mail address to the subscribe box above.

 

Happy eating and don't forget I love to see the pictures and hear feedback. Apologies for no pictures this time but we sat down to eat straight away and I was starving as I hadn't had an appetite all day. 



Leighton's Fighting Fit Dinner

Leighton's Fight

 

Leighton is a little boy who was diagnosed with Juvenile Monocyclictic  Leukaemia (JMML) at only eight months old. He has been in and out of treatment ever since and I have recently been keeping up with his progress and his mummy's brave efforts. It is remarkable that someone so young has so much strength and I thought "What can little old me do to help this little man?".

 

 

 

The idea I came up with, if I do a blog post making a recipe with Leighton's favourite foods in the link it to his facebook page, I could raise awareness of JMML and encourage people to buy his wrist bands to raise money, particularly for the Birmingham Children's Hospital which his Mum, Zoe, Is doing a tandem sky dive for. Good luck.

 So let's give this local lad (Worcester) a little hand.  

 

 

And as September is national Childhood Cancer Month, why not try this little lad's recipe or send a donation. His Mum has the most respect from me for fundraising and taking care of her son at the same time. A true inspiration for mums and it put a lot of things in prospective for me.

 

 

 

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/LeightonsFightJMML

Tandem Sky Dive Sponser Page:

http://www.doitforcharity.com/ZBrownrigg

PayPal for Wrist Bands:

lajbrownrigg@outlook.com

 

If you wish to purchase a wrist band they are £2 each plus £1 p&p for everyone you buy. And once you have made the payment please personal message your delivery details. The pictures below and right are of the wrist bands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Task

 

   Leighton, from what I have gathered, sometimes loose appetite during treatment, so when he does eat it has to be something he likes and knows is going to taste great. Mum has told me that grapes and broccoli have always been his favourites before and during treatment. And that he prefers softer foods as his teeth are currently sensitive. Then I have to consider my angle, tasty, lots of energy for treatment and playing and key vitamins to encourage growth and weight gain. Oh, and something quick and easy that mum can do after a long day. Easy you say? Well it's taken me near on a week thinking about this one so not as easy as it initially sounds.

 

My Conclusion

 

   Leighton likes broccoli? Then broccoli he shall have! I wish broccoli was one of my sons favourites. So, here it is ... main course: broccoli cheese with chunky wedges and for pudding mixed grapes and evaporated milk. Yes, I believe all fruit tastes amazing in evap milk. Personal weakness.

 

 

 

Broccoli Cheese & Wedges

 

Yes it is basically coliflour cheese without that white vegetable my son has a distinct hatred for. So this idea of mine has turned out pretty good for little Tyler. The broccoli contains loads of key vitamins and is also a great source of iron for keeping our little men strong. The sauce that will go over it will provide plenty of calcium and vitamin D as well as protein for muscle growth and muscle repair. The potato wedges are jam packed with carbohydrates to keep those mess makers going ten to the dozen as well as a surprising high amount of vitamin C!

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 5 tbsp. broccoli (Frozen £1 a bag, Iceland)
• 1 pint Whole Milk (£1, Iceland)
• 3oz Cheddar Cheese (£1, Iceland)
• 2 White Potatoes (Large 4kg bag, £3, Iceland)
• 1oz unsalted butter (£1, Iceland)
• 1oz plain flour (£1, Iceland)

 

 

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

 

 

First, for the cheese sauce. If keeping on the hob while the broccoli and wedges cook, stir regularly to avoid burning as cheese sauce burns as quick as it is made.

 

1. Melt the butter in the sauce pan and sift in the plain flour.
2. Stir in the milk gradually to slowly build up the texture.
3. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Stir in the cheese, allow to melt and serve as soon as this step in done.

 

Now, for the main bit.

 

1. I am putting the broccoli into boiling water for longer than usual (10 minutes) as Leighton is better with softer foods at the minute.
2. That aside, I will peeled and cute into wedge shapes the white potatoes.
3. These need part boiling for 15 minutes.
4. Once the potatoes have been boiled put on a baking tray with a drizzle of oil and put in the oven at 180 degrees for approx. 15 minutes. Check after ten to be on the safe side.

 

 

And there is your main meal!

 

 

 

The Easy Peasy Pudding

 

 Get your red and white grapes, I would say 6 - 7 of each. If your little one is below 1 year they might prefer them pealing as they are easier to chew then, I always had to peel Tyler's, much to my frustration! Wash the grapes and dry off with kitchen towel.

Put the grapes in a small pudding bowl and add that lovely sweet evaporated milk. Then Serve, bliss!

Unfortunately, Tyler is off grapes at the moment.... so no picture and no review of that, but I love it!

 

 

What My Little Monster Made of It

 

Loved it! We ended up in a bit of mess with the cheese sauce, I might use a bit less on his plate next time but he ate all his greens for once! So I would class this meal a success as he has had good vitamins and minerals and he is full up for the night so he will sleep brilliantly.

 

 

 

 

More Information on JMML

 

JMML is serious chronic leukaemia (cancer of the blood) that mainly affects children under the age of 4 years old.

JMML only accounts for 1 - 2% of childhood leukaemias.

Most children with this condition are male.

Most children are diagnosed around the age of 2 years old.

 

 

 

Hope you like it Leighton!

Love From Hollie & Ty :)

 

 

 







Sweet Chicken, Rice & Peas

Sweet Chicken, Rice & Peas

 

A twist on a traditional Caribbean recipe going back generations of families. This version is not spicy in the slightest and it is very, very tasty! It is also low in fat so perfect for mummy getting that pre-baby figure back, in a filling and tasty way!

 

You Will Need

• 3 tbsp Tinned pineapple inc. 3 tbsp. juice (79p, Lidl)
• 3 heaped tbsp. of white rice (£1, Iceland)
• 3 tbsp. frozen petit pois (£1.50, Iceland)
• Chicken Breast (£3.99, Lidl)

For mummy and daddy portions increase the pineapple to half a can, white rice to two and a half handfuls, 3 chicken breasts and 10 tbsp. of petit pois. Brilliant family meal.

The Not-so Nitty Gritty Bit

1. I used frozen chicken so put the chicken in a roasting tin and cover with foil and put in the oven at 180 degrees for 40-50 minutes.
2. In the mean time, boil a pan of water and add the rice and peas. Simmer for 5 - 9 minutes.
3. When the chicken is cooked, uncover and add the pineapple and juice. Slice the chicken and stir the pineapple in, make sure the juice covers the chicken and leave for five minutes.
4. Drain the rice and peas. Stir in to the chicken and pineapple.
5. Serve and enjoy.

Little Monster's Opinion

 

Who needs a fork?

 

As you can guess from the caption, Tyler found it easier to use his hands not his fork which isn't really a bad thing at his age. My sons loves pineapple so this went down quicker than air! The pineapple makes the chicken really sweet and with the different textures, little ones won't get bored. Mummy and daddy love this one two and we have always eaten this pre-baby so it was an absolute joy to be able to include Tyler in yet another one of our favourites.

 

Also, try adding sweet corn or peppers for even more texture.

 

Happy eating :)



Catering with those little mouths with GOR & GORD

GOR & GORD

 

   GOR and GORD are the two types of acid reflux that people can suffer with, and it is a lot more common in babies and children than I initially thought. So, here's where I find myself, I'm putting together a couple of recipes that rule out all the 'forbidden' food that could trigger reflux. Everyone's reflux has different triggers so to do something ruling out each one would have took forever! And as a busy mummy, I do not have forever, as I'm sure none of you lot do either! GOR is more common than GORD and can go on it's own. However, GORD is more serious and often needs monitoring and medication, even in babies. GORD is when the stomach acid leaks out of the stomach and into the oesophagus (the long tube that starts at the mouth and ends at the stomach).

   What I have picked up on my personal research into GORD is that most sufferers should avoid a high fat diet, avoid fizzy drinks, citrus fruits and choose white lean meat such as chicken, fish and turkey over red meat such as pork, beef and lamb.

 



Picture taken from a post on the living with reflux facebook page.

 

Farmhouse Pasta

 

Tyler is chowing down.

Ingredients:

• 30g turkey breast (£1 per pack, Iceland)
• 50g frozen baby carrots (carrot batons may be better) (£1 per pack, Iceland)
• 4 baby spinach leaves (£1 large pack, Asda)
• 20g dried penne pasta (69p, Asda)





The Not So Nitty Gritty Bit

 

1. Add the carrots and pasta to a pan of boiling water and leave for approximately 8 minutes.
2. I used pre-cooked turkey breast (lazy mummy day) so I sliced the chunks and cut the spinach and added to Tyler's favourite bowl (the pink one of course).
3. Drain pasta and carrots and add to the bowl.
4. Mix the bowl round a bit so your little one can't just see one block colour, they need stimulation to keep them interested.
5. Serve, too easy? Yeah I agree but Tyler liked it.

 

 

And what little monster thought.....

 



Yes mummy very nice but I personally would much prefer eating it off my legs right now.

 

Loved it, ate a bit of everything but had a lot left over, but this unfortunately is due to his health at the moment not the poor cooking standard, however, let me know how you get on with your little ones. No pasatta was included in this recipe as it's for GORD sufferers and tomato can aggravate reflux sometimes, so feel free to add it if your child is happy with the tomatoes.

 

Against the Grain Chicken and Roast Veg

 

 

It looks like a hot salad!

 

What You Will Need

 

• Quarter of a red pepper (on offer at 29p each, Lidl)
• Quarter of an aubergine (89p, Lidl)
• Quarter of a courgette (49p, Lidl)
• 5 green beans (99p for a large net bag, Lidl)
• 20g (can use less or non if vegetarian) of sliced chicken breast (£1 per pack, Iceland)

 

 

The Not-So Nitty Gritty Bit

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees, add a 1 calorie oil spray (as little fat as possible used for GORD sufferers) to a roasting tin or add oil if your baby is okay with it. Place the roasting tin in the oven to heat through. This allows the veg to cook quicker.
2. Wash all your vegetables thoroughly. Slice the pepper into thin strips, leave the green beans as they are and slice the courgette and aubergine into rounds.
3. Add to the roasting tin and leave in the oven for five to ten minutes, do not leave any longer as they can go very dry and if you wouldn't eat dry and hard veg, why give it to the little ones?
4. Make sure the chicken is not in pieces that are over-sized, adjust to your baby's stage of eating.
5. Add all to a plate and serve!

 

 

And What Did The Little Monster Think?

 

 

Well, as you can see from the pictures, orange squash was added to the recipe by Master Blakemore himself! I would not recommend.

 

Well, he liked what he actually ate but he is even more off his food today then he was yesterday. Although, he was not keen on green beans but he eats them in a stir fry? I don't understand my sons logic very much.





 

Other Recipe Ideas:

 

No pictures available for these, but when they are they will be on the feeding for the future facebook page.

www.facebook.com/feedingforthefuture

 

• Little Hands Stir Fry: 20g chicken breast, 1 nest of plain dried noodles, 5 green beans, 2 tbsp. of peas, 2 tbsp. chopped carrots and 10g of chopped red pepper. All in one big wok. Takes 5 minutes to cook. Shouldn't cost more than £1 per portion!
• Moroccan Style Chicken: 40g chicken breast, 15g roasted courgette, 5g Red Pepper and 3 tbsp. sweetcorn. Chicken should be cooked at 180 degrees for 40-50 minutes and always cover in foil to stop it going dry. This should cost no more than £1.50 per portion.
• Bread & Fish Dippers: white bread soldiers, white fish (cod, haddock, Pollock) steak cut into chunky strips (cooked according to instructions on packet or from fish monger) and a blended avocado dip (blend half an avocado with 1 tbsp. of butter).

 

Let me know how you get on with your little ones and send in the pictures, I like to know how you do yours differently too :)