I’m pretty excited to be part of the I Quit Sugar follow friday this weekend – check out an interview I did with them here.  I’m also taking over their Instagram – its happening right now, so be sure to follow along… This hearty soup is featured on the I Quit Sugar website and is packed full of hearty vegetables, beans,…

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Everyone loves fries right?  My little guy certainly does.  I don’t make them often because H will go straight for them, and its often hard to get him to eat anything else, but when I do, I love to add herbs and spices.   These sweet paprika fries make a tasty alternative and being oven roasted they are…

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Frozen yoghurt is so easy to make – it only has 4 ingredients.  I’ve added banana to give it some sweetness and a little maple syrup, but that is totally optional.  It freezes quite hard so sit on the bench before serving to allow it to soften a little. Substitute the blackberries for whatever you have on…

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Frittatas are a really great option for lunch or a light dinner.  They are also a great way to use up leftovers or all of those extra veggies in your fridge that need to be used.  Basically all you need are eggs and then add any veggies that you like.  I love the combination of asparagus…

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We eat a lot of fruit in our house.  The little dude just loves it, so I always like to mix things up a little.  This fruit salad has a lovely orange vanilla glaze drizzled over the top, then I added a dollop of my homemade mascarpone and some toasted almonds.  It would make a…

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This recipe is adapted from Movida restaurant in Melbourne and it is so good!  It would make an impressive side dish, light lunch, or even main course.  The rich flavours are balanced beautifully by the sharpness of the quince and although it does take a little time to prepare, I promise it will be worth…

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   Tomatoes are easily H’s favourite food so I knew he would love this dish.  I have found that by adding Big H’s favourite foods to new dishes he is more likely to try new things, and get used to new flavours more easily.   This dish is easy to prepare and the coriander lime dressing is lovely…

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I have a huge basil plant that was in need of a major prune, and this is the result.  Homemade, deliciously raw, broccoli and basil pesto.  Pesto it is a great way to get children who don’t like the look of vegetable to get a good serve.  You can stir it through pasta, add a dollop to soups, spread…

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I just had to include the picture above.  Check out the lower left hand corner.  It’s a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex!  I noticed it when I was going through my photos – too cute!  These shots were the best of the bunch, as that spice in the dish was everywhere and he was using it as…

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This is a really easy dish to prepare and it has a wonderful flavour for not a whole lot of effort.  To speed things up you could use a pressure cooker…  

I have mentioned in previous posts that kids will to eat just about anything if you put it on a stick!

These lemony salt and pepper prawn skewers are no exception…  H loved them and I loved that they were easy, effortless and ready in 15 minutes.

The prawns are sprinkled with a lemony salt and pepper mixture and cooked on the BBQ for a few minutes.  You could add whatever herbs and spices you like.  If serving as finger food the dressing is optional but does add an extra hit of lemony goodness.  As a main serve alongside rice and roughly chopped mint.

Looking for more food on stick ideas? Try these…  Fruit skewers with coconut, Beef Skewers with sticky asian marinade, Frozen banana on a stick!

Print Pin Prep Time 10 minutes minutes Cook Time 5 minutes minutes Total Time 15 minutes minutes

• 1/2 kg green king prawns, or as many as you like
• 1 tbsp sea salt flakes
• 1 tsp black pepper, freshly cracked, or to taste
• 1 lemon, zest only

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp sugar

• Soak skewers in water for 10 minutes minimum.  Peel and devein the prawns, leaving the tails intact.  Thread onto the skewers.
• Combine the salt, pepper and lemon zest in a small bowl and sprinkle over the prawns.  Brush a BBQ or grill plate with olive oil and cook the prawns over hight heat until cooked through.  A few minutes each side is perfect. 
• Serve immediately drizzled with the lemon sesame dressing if using.

• Combine all ingredients in a small jar and shake. 

If serving as a main course serve alongside rice and roughly chopped mint. As a starter simple enjoy as is, with or without the dressing.

If you make my lemony salt and pepper skewers, be sure to take a picture and upload to Instagram with the hashtag #littlebigh so I can check out your creation. xx

It may be getting cold here in Firenze but the city is more beautiful than ever. The Christmas lights are up all over the city, there are idyllic Christmas markets with mulled wine and delicious treats, and Harry said to me yesterday that he loves Florence. This made me so happy! Harry and I have…

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Green smoothies are to H what lollies are to a lot of kids – he absolutely loves them. Guaranteed if we walk past a juice bar, he will drag me kicking and screaming until he gets one – he loves to choose the ingredients and it has become his little treat after daycare a couple of times a…

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Inspiration for recipes usually come to me when I am wandering through my local green grocer, something usually catches my eye.  Sweet mangos, a nice big bunch of the greenest kale or more recently a little guy yelling at the top of his lungs “peach, pe ach, peach, muuuum, peach…..”  This inspiration for this recipe however…

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I have been making these delicious bread rolls for years with a range of different fillings.  This kale pesto filling is really delicious as the lemony flavour is balanced beautifully by the sweet bread.  If you want a short cut, store-bought pesto would also work well.   I have rolled the pasty out quite thin,…

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Super light and crispy kale chips make a delicious snack.  Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around, and is particularly high in vitamin K, A, and C  My toddler loves them and I’m sure you little ones will too.  Just make sure they are nice and crisp.  That way they just melt in your mouth…

A delicious green smoothie that isn’t at all leafy tasting.  H just loves it – he finished the glass in a matter of minutes!

Forget boring and tasteless rice cereal as babies first food.  Offer real food instead!  Avocado and banana make wonderful first foods.  (Try individually to check for any allergies, then mash together for a wonderful tasting puree)

Bananas’ high enzyme content (namely, amylase) means that they can digest themselves and thus, there’s less work for your baby’s digestive system to do. Ripe brown-spotted bananas are best – they taste the sweetest and are easiest to digest.  Avocado is a great source of monounsaturated fats and contains the enzyme lipase, which pre-digests the avocado’s fat as it ripens – great for your babies developing digestive system.  K Erlich, M.D, K Genzlinger.  Super Nutrition for Babies. (Fair Winds Press, 2012), 61.

Print Pin

• 1 Organic Banana (ripe spotted is best)
• 1 Organic Avocado (not too hard, not to squishy is best)

• Add equal parts banana and avocado to a bowl and mash with a fork until the desired consistency is reached. Add cooled boiled water, milk or formula to thin mixture if required.
• The obtain a very smooth mixture – use a spoon to push mixture through a sieve.

For older babies and children, spread mixture on toast or a sandwich

These corn fritters are perfect as a starter to a main meal or they make a great light lunch or breakfast, just top with a poached egg and you have yourself a quick but healthy meal in a flash. You could also make them mini sized and serve them as finger food at your next party, topped…

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 This is a really easy panna cotta to make, with much less sugar than normal – perfect for the little ones.  You could top it with any fruit you like or simply enjoy as is

It doesn’t get much simpler than this – Banana dipped in lemon juice and tossed in coconut.  A nice easy snack for the little ones – it also makes it easy for them to grip.

H playing with his jelly!  As much as I would love to say he gobbled it all up and absolutely loved it – I can’t.  He was very suspicions and mostly just poked it to watch it wobble!  It really is very delicious, which is why I’m posting it.  So for all those jelly loving…

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 This really is a deliciously healthy snack, dessert or even breakfast.  Mango, Pineapple, Lime and Coconut Tapioca is also perfect to freeze.  I simply warmed the mixture a little and it was perfect.  So double the recipe if you like and freeze what you don’t use for another day – enjoy…

 This is a really easy panna cotta to make, with much less sugar than normal – perfect for the little ones.  You could top it with any fruit you like or simply enjoy as is

Print Pin

• 1/3 cup (80ml) hot water
• 3 teaspoons gelatine powder
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 cups full cream milk
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

• Place water in a small bowl and sprinkle over gelatine powder. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the gelatine has been absorbed. Place the cream, sugar, vanilla bean paste in a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil and add the gelatine; stir to combine. Remove from the heat and strain into a large bowl. Stir through the milk and divide mixture between 6 deep-fluted tart tins. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or preferably over night.
• Turn out onto plates and serve

Makes 6 Adapted from Donna Hay – donnahay.com.au

It has been quite some time since I’ve posted a true baby food recipe, so I thought I would post this old favourite.  It is a recipe that I grew up on and still love, although we always had it with sugar, and lots of it.   It is amazing how things change when you have…

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I have a huge basil plant that was in need of a major prune, and this is the result.  Homemade, deliciously raw, broccoli and basil pesto.  Pesto it is a great way to get children who don’t like the look of vegetable to get a good serve.  You can stir it through pasta, add a dollop to soups, spread…

Read More »

I just had to include the picture above.  Check out the lower left hand corner.  It’s a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex!  I noticed it when I was going through my photos – too cute!  These shots were the best of the bunch, as that spice in the dish was everywhere and he was using it as…

Read More »

This is a really easy dish to prepare and it has a wonderful flavour for not a whole lot of effort.  To speed things up you could use a pressure cooker…  

These corn fritters are perfect as a starter to a main meal or they make a great light lunch or breakfast, just top with a poached egg and you have yourself a quick but healthy meal in a flash. You could also make them mini sized and serve them as finger food at your next party, topped…

Read More »

 This is a really easy panna cotta to make, with much less sugar than normal – perfect for the little ones.  You could top it with any fruit you like or simply enjoy as is

 This is a subtle tasting smoothie with blueberries and rock melon – perfect for younger babies.  (Suitable for babies from 6 months of age, if you have introduced all the components individually)

It doesn’t get much simpler than this – Banana dipped in lemon juice and tossed in coconut.  A nice easy snack for the little ones – it also makes it easy for them to grip.

Super easy to make, these fish cakes with potato and dill are ready in no time, and if you have a little helper – even quicker! Not counting the extra time to clean up the all the mess of course… They are made with a classic flavour combo of potato and dill and make a healthy lunch or…

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I used a combination of purple and green asparagus here.  H and I were at the green grocer when he spotted purple asparagus and got super excited – like jumping up and down excited, I wish I could have recorded him.  It was super cute and me loving his enthusiasm for good food ended up buying…

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Ribollita is a Tuscan soup made with lot of veggies, white beans and bread.  It is super easy to make and doesn’t take too long.  It is a great dish for the entire family.  Puree/mash for baby and leave it chunky for bigger kids and the family.   Ribollita – meaning reboiled, is a great…

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This is my take on the Thai dish; Pad Kra Pao.  I haven’t called it that because it is far from authentic but I have been making it for some time and its super tasty.  It’s also super simple to make and a perfect weeknight meal for the family. Serve this Thai basil chicken with…

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Baked fish parcels make a fun weeknight meal.  Super easy to prepare and by cooking it in baking paper it is harder to over cook and dry out the fish.    H was pretty excited to get a parcel for dinner. ‘oh that looks nice’  he said – he is my greatest fan… If serving this to your…

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I have been a little sweet potato mad lately – but it has to be roasted.   Something really magical happens when veggies are roasted and I can’t get enough of them.   H on the other hand has decided he likes everything served raw.  Now I’m not complaining.  He will happily sit down and eat…

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I have been making a version of this dish for years.  It is a perfect mid-week meal – easy to prepare, super tasty, it all happens in the one pot so there isn’t a lot of clean up, and it’s always a hit.   The spices are balanced beautifully with the sweetness of the currants…

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Quick roast lemon chicken is a great weeknight meal with minimum fuss.  By butterflying the chicken it cooks in half the time and allows you to add your veggies in from the start.   I love meals like this that all go in at once and allow you to clean up while the magic happens.  So easy and perfect…

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Teriyaki salmon is one of those dishes you assume is time-consuming and has a million ingredients but it is actually very simple.  It has only 4 ingredients: salmon, sugar, soy and mirin.  Simple but really delicious.  Serve with a salad and you have a super easy weeknight meal. I cook the salmon under the grill when making this dish….

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Chicken Domburi has always been a favourite of mine.  It all happens in the one pot (excluding cooking the rice), so its perfect for a quick week night meal.  You start by browning the chicken and then cooking the onions until soft.  Add your liquid and the eggs and its all ready once the eggs…

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These little parsley and pine nut ricotta pastries would be perfect served as a light lunch or starter at your next party.

You may remember my sweet jam filled ricotta pastries? These are a savoury take on them with a no cook filling of parsley, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and baby bocconcini.

The pastry is made using ricotta and it is fool-proof – so give it a go!  You could make them with store-bought puff pastry if you like though.

The recipe makes about 32 pasties and even though the sweet version differs slightly, you could use this pastry recipe to make a few sweet ones.  Just add a tablespoon of jam instead of the savoury filling.

Print Pin Prep Time 30 minutes minutes Cook Time 25 minutes minutes Pastry resting time 30 minutes minutes Total Time 55 minutes minutes

• 200 grams (7oz) butter softened (not melted)
• 300 grams (10 1/2oz) ricotta
• 300 grams (2 x 250ml cups) plain all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt

• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup parsley (loosely packed) finely chopped
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (loosely packed) finely grated
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 10 approx baby (cherry) bocconcini torn

• Add the butter and ricotta to a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the sifted flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Tip out onto a bench and knead together with your hands until the mixture comes together into a soft ball of pastry. (If not wanting to do it by hand, I have made this recipe in my Kitchenaid with a dough hook attached, it works out perfectly)Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Make the filling below while you wait.
• Pre-heat oven to 180 C/350 F.  Roll out pastry with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, to a thickness of about 3mm, and cut into 10cm (4inch) squares.
• Put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the middle of each square and a couple of piece of the torn bocconcini.  Pinch the opposite ends together with a little water.
• Line an oven tray with baking paper and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm

• Dry fry the pine nuts in a frying pan until golden brown.
• Combine the remaining ingredients (excluding the bocconcini) and stir to combine.  Add the pine nuts while still hot and mix to combine. 

 If you make my parsley and pine nut ricotta pastries, be sure to take a picture and upload to Instagram with the hashtag #littlebigh so I can check out your creation. xx

Yellow split pea dhal is the ultimate comfort food and it makes a nourishing meat-free meal that the whole family will love.  This variation is flavoured with mild spices and is incredibly simple to make.

You simply cook the lentils in water with garlic and chili and cook away for 45 minutes or until the lentils are tender.  You then fry your spices and combine the two.

Serve topped with a dollop of natural yoghurt, fresh coriander, hemp seeds, sweet chutney or whatever toppings you like – or enjoy as is!

This recipe makes a large batch so you will have leftovers to freeze for another time.  Yay…

Looking for more meat free family meals?  Try these favourites:

Tuscan Ribollita, Asparagus and saffron risotto, Potato and broccoli galette,

Stuffed baked pumpkin, Orecchiette with broccoli and anchovies,

Roasted sweet potatoes with chickpeas, Lebanese beans with chickpeas,

Print Pin Prep Time 10 minutes minutes Cook Time 45 minutes minutes Total Time 55 minutes minutes

• 2 cups yellow split peas
• 4 cloves garlic ,crushed
• 1 tomato ,chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 small red chilli ,chopped *optional
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion ,sliced
• 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 50 grams butter ,optional*
• To serve: natural yoghurt, coriander, hemp seeds, sweet chutney ,optional*

• Add yellow split peas to a large saucepan with half the garlic, tomato, salt and chilli if using.  Add 6 cups water and bring to the boil.  Skim off any froth that forms on the surface, this will stop it boiling over. 
• Continue boiling, adding an extra 4 cups of water as the liquid absorbs, for 45 minutes or until the split peas are tender and falling apart.  Stir often to ensure if doesn’t stick.
• Once the dhal is cooked add oil to a large saucepan or pan and fry the onion until tender, add garlic and spices and continue to fry until just browned. 
• Add the split peas to the fried onion, being careful it doesn’t splatter.  Stir to combine.  Turn off heat and add butter if using, combine well.  Adjust seasoning. 
• Serve with rice, natural yoghurt, fresh coriander, hemp seeds and sweet chutney – or simply on its own. 

This makes a large batch of dhal so freeze what you don’t use for another day.  The butter is optional but does make it extra delicious and silky. 

 If you make my yellow split pea dhal, be sure to take a picture and upload to Instagram with the hashtag #littlebigh.  I’d love to see your creation. xx