I’m super excited to be part of the healthy kids community this week on Instagram.  My recipe is this mini egg-free quiche.  It’s really simple to make and great for babies and toddlers that have allergic reactions to eggs.  To replace the eggs I have used tofu.  Not a tofu fan either?  Don’t worry, once…

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H and I had these little pea and broccoli fritters for lunch.  They are quick to make and packed full of veggies.  They would also be lovely for a light dinner. I served them with a yoghurt dipping sauce because I know it’s always a winning combination with the little guy.   Whatever works right!   The…

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Galettes are really simple to make and you can put any veggies you like in them.  I’ve used potato, broccoli and sage which are great together.  I also put some sage leaves on top to crisp up in the oven.   The pastry I have made is also super simple and only takes 2 minutes to…

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Broccoli is my favourite green vegetable and H is a pretty big fan as well.  In this recipe the broccoli taste is very subtle because of the huge amount of herbs, but I love that there is another veggie in there. I very quickly pulsed the broccoli in a food processor to achieve a rice like consistency and then cooked…

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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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 This is my go to super easy lunch/dinner for Little Big H if I haven’t had time to prepare anything.   He loves it and its ready in 15 minutes. It’s best served cold, so make it ahead of time if you can.  If you don’t have a lots of fresh veggies on hand, it’s just…

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I’m excited to show you a little of where I grew up and spent most weekends as a teenager.  The beautiful beaches of Newcastle.  My girlfriends and I would catch the train every weekend in to town and go to the beach.  My family still live in Newcastle so I go back home often.  I have a lot of great memories here that I will pass onto my little guy.  He just loves the water and the ocean baths are perfect for little people, with shallow water that is super warm.  These golden, super crunchy chickpeas are the perfect snack to take along.

NEWCASTLE OCEAN BATHS, NEWCASTLE NSW

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• 250 gm dried chickpeas , soaked overnight in cold water; drained
• Olive oil for frying
• 1/4 cup rosemary (loosely packed)
• 2 garlic cloves , thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon of sweet paprika
• finely grated rind of a lemon , plus a few wedges to serve
• Finely grated parmesan to serve

• Generously cover chickpeas with water in a saucepan, bring to the boil over medium heat and cook until tender (about 50 minutes). Then drain and and spread on a tray lined with baking paper to dry (30 minutes or so, it will help prevent the chickpeas from splitting in the hot oil)
• Heat 1 cm of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, until just simmering. Add the chickpeas and cook stirring often until golden (about 5 minutes). Add the rosemary, and garlic and cook for a further minute. Add the lemon, stir, then strain through a metal sieve into a heatproof bowl. Sprinkle with the paprika and stir to combine. Generously season and top with the parmesan. Serve hot with a lemon wedge or they are equally delicious served cold

Keep in an airtight container once cooled completely Adapted from Gourmet Traveller Magazine – Annual Cookbook 2014

I have two weaknesses when it comes to food, chocolate and ice cream.  I often enjoy a bowl of ice cream of an evening, and up until recently I would serve myself ice cream and H natural yoghurt – sneaky but brilliant right 🙂

But at 2.5 years old, H is now totally on to me.  ‘Me ice-cream mummy’.  My trick is up!  

I’m still trying to avoid sugar as much as possible, particularly before bed, so I was inspired to come up with a healthy alternative (for both of us), that tasted great and was smooth, creamy and of course delicious.  This avocado lime ice cream is just that (also approved by a non avocado fan), so I’m sure you and any suspicious children will agree.

When you are done hang on to the avocado seed and grow a tree from it on your kitchen bench, the kids will love watching it grow.  My instructions are below.

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• 2 ripe avocados (ripe but not over mushy)
• 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup or your sweetener of choice

• Remove the flesh from the avocado and place in a blender with all the other ingredients; blend until smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness to suit. I found it it tasted sweeter the next day so don’t over sweeten.
• Churn in an ice cream maker as per your machines instructions. Add to a freezer proof dish and sprinkle with the lime zest. Serve as a soft serve or freeze until you are ready to use.

This ice cream freezes really well and doesn’t get super hard – the perfect consistency.
Keep the seed and make an avocado tree from it. See my instructions below. The kids will love watching it grow.

To grow an avocado tree from your seed all you will need is: a seed, 3 toothpicks, a glass of water.  

The pointy end of the seed should face up.  Push the toothpick into the seed so you can suspend it over a glass of water.  Don’t let the seed dry out, water well, the seed should be partly submerged.  

After a few weeks you will notice roots sprout and a few more weeks a stem and eventually leaves.  H has loved watching it grow.  It’s almost time for us to plant it outside.  We have another three growing on our kitchen bench now.

  Making raw halva truffles is a great rainy day toddler activity.  They are super easy to make and require no cooking.  H had a great time rolling the balls that I passed to him in either cocoa powder, sesame seeds or coconut.  Be warned however, it is a pretty messy activity, so a nice sunny…

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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 with smoked salmon and a dollop of creme fraise.

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• 1 cup (150g) self raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs ,separated
• 2 cups (330g) corn kernels (fresh or frozen are fine. If using frozen let them defrost on the counter before adding to batter)
• 2 green onions
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander + a few extra leaves to garnish

• Sift flour, soda, salt, cumin into a medium bowl. Gradually stir in the milk and the egg yolks unit the batter is smooth. Stir corn, onion, and corridor into batter
• Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peeks are formed; fold into batter. Pour 2 tablespoons of batter into a heated oiled frying pan. Cook for about 2 minutes each side. Remove from pan and cover to keep warm. Repeat until all the batter is used. Serve garnished with coriander leaves

Makes about 18 fritters. They freeze well so freeze whatever you don’t use for another time. Like a quick dinner in a flash.
For the smoked salmon corn fritters. Combine some creme fraise with a little lemon juice. Top corn fritters with some smoked salmon and a dollop of creme fraise. Garnish with coriander leaves

Be sure to take a picture if you make these corn fritters and upload to Instagram with the hashtag #littlebigh so I can check out your creation. xx

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…

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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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Who doesn’t love arancini!  It’s sure to be a hit with the kids so next time you make risotto, make it a big batch so you can make arancini the following night.  Two meal with minimal effort.  Bonus… The kids will love to help prepare this meal.  I rolled the balls and passed them to H to dunk…

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Gozleme is a tradition Turkish pastry filled with savoury ingredients.  I have very much cheated by using store-bought flatbread instead of making my own pastry.  It makes this cheats gozleme recipe super quick and convenient for lunch, a light dinner, or to pack into kids lunch boxes.  Gozleme has always been a favourite of mine….

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Chunky sesame prawn toasts are sure to be a hit with young and old.  They are super crispy, quick to make, tasty little triangles that are great served at parties, for lunch or as a starter to your main meal.  I have used delicious plump fresh prawns for this recipe but frozen would work just…

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I’m super excited to be part of the healthy kids community this week on Instagram.  My recipe is this mini egg-free quiche.  It’s really simple to make and great for babies and toddlers that have allergic reactions to eggs.  To replace the eggs I have used tofu.  Not a tofu fan either?  Don’t worry, once…

Read More »

H and I had these little pea and broccoli fritters for lunch.  They are quick to make and packed full of veggies.  They would also be lovely for a light dinner. I served them with a yoghurt dipping sauce because I know it’s always a winning combination with the little guy.   Whatever works right!   The…

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There is something so satisfying about making bread at home.  Kneading the dough, the smell of it baking in the oven and it is a fabulous activity for kids. H loves measuring the ingredients and getting his little fingers into the dough.  It’s also very calming for little ones if things are getting crazy…  What do you do…

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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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This recipe makes a large batch so you can freeze what’s left.  They defrost really well and are perfect for unexpected visitors or as a starter or light lunch.  The lamb filling has lots of spices along with mint and crumbly feta – really delicious.  I served it with a little golden kiwi fruit salsa (golden kiwi…

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Fresh ling fillets with a sauce that is the perfect balance of sweet and sour. The tamarind adds a lovely sour note but doesn’t over power the fish – it’s also only mildly spiced so the kids will love it. You create the sauce in the frying pan by frying your onions and adding your…

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Glass containers by Little Lock 

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• 200 g tapioca pearls (about a cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon of finely grated ginger
• 150 ml sweetened condensed milk
• Tin or fresh lychees – about 10
• 6 springs mint

• Fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add the tapioca pearls, stirring occasionally to make sure they don’t stick. Simmer until they are almost completely transparent with just a small speck of white in the middle (around 10 minutes). Drain and refresh under cold water; add to a bowl and set aside
• In another saucepan add the sweetened condensed milk and the ginger. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes to allow the ginger to infuse. Then add to the tapioca pearls and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into individual pots and allow to cool in the fridge. The mixture will set slightly
• Top each serving with a whole lychee and roughly chop the remaining lychees with the mint to also garnish the pots

You can freeze the mixture and simply warm in the microwave to serveUse any fresh tropical fruit that you like

For a sugar free option – replace the sweetened condensed milk with just milk and use a sugar substitute to sweeten

It has been so long since I have cooked lamb shanks – I’m not sure why! There is something so satisfying about cooking a tough piece of meat and turning it into something super tender and melt-in-your-mouth. This dish is just that… the tomatoes and spices produce a rich chunky sauce, and the chickpeas add…

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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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This recipe makes a large batch so you can freeze what’s left.  They defrost really well and are perfect for unexpected visitors or as a starter or light lunch.  The lamb filling has lots of spices along with mint and crumbly feta – really delicious.  I served it with a little golden kiwi fruit salsa (golden kiwi…

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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 had no intention of putting these mini lamb koftas on the blog when I made them for Little Big H’s lunch today, but they were so yummy and he loved them so much that I though – I have to!   I made them using lamb loin (because that’s all I had), so I was…

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H and I had these little pea and broccoli fritters for lunch.  They are quick to make and packed full of veggies.  They would also be lovely for a light dinner. I served them with a yoghurt dipping sauce because I know it’s always a winning combination with the little guy.   Whatever works right!   The…

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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 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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I really like celery but I don’t tend to use a lot of it in my cooking – not sure why!  I always seem to have a huge amount taking up prime real-estate in my tiny fridge – thanks to my mum who always seems to buy it.  Keen to use it up, I was…

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Broccoli is my favourite green vegetable and H is a pretty big fan as well.  In this recipe the broccoli taste is very subtle because of the huge amount of herbs, but I love that there is another veggie in there. I very quickly pulsed the broccoli in a food processor to achieve a rice like consistency and then cooked…

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This is such as a simple salad and could be made with any tomatoes, but these gorgeous heirloom tomatoes were just too beautiful to walk past.  As you are all probably aware, I make a lot of dishes with tomatoes!  I know H is going to love it and I get so much joy watching him…

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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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