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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Mascarpone cheese is incredibly easy to make and its a lot of fun.  It only requires two ingredient and about 10 minutes of effort for thick, creamy and delicious mascarpone cheese the next morning.  

A lot of recipes on the web call for heavy cream, which in Australia is most similar to pure cream.  Don’t use thickened cream as it often contains a thickener such as gelatine.  Pure cream works beautifully, just make sure it contains a minimum of 35% milk fat. Once you have heated it on the stove, leave it to cool to room temperature before adding it to the cheesecloth, if a little of the mixture strains straight through its ok, it will settle and the whey will slowly strain away over night (a few tablespoons only) and in the morning you will have mascarpone cheese. 

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• 2 cups pure cream – minimum 35% milk fat (heavy cream for my US friends)
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

• Add the cream to a saucepan and slowly bring the temperature up to 82 degrees C (180 degrees F). (I used a candy thermometer) Simmer at this temperature for 3 minutes, giving an occasional stir
• Add the lemon juice, stir and simmer for a further 3 minutes at 82 degrees C (180 degrees F).
• Leave to cool for about 45 minutes. Sit a fine strainer over a bowl and cover with 4 layers of cheesecloth. Pour the mixture in and refrigerate over night. It will be ready to use in the morning

A lot of recipes on the web call for heavy cream, which in Australia is most similar to pure cream. Don’t use thickened cream as it often contains a thickener such as gelatine. Pure cream works beautifully.

Who doesn’t love a sausage roll…  my little guy certainly does so I was keen to make a healthier version.  These veggie sausage rolls are made using chickpeas, carrots and feta and are super simple to make.

Simply add most ingredients to a food processor and then combine the remaining with your hands.  Add the mixture to your ready rolled puffed pastry, form into logs and cut in to whatever size you like. I like to keep them small.

Serve with tomato sauce or chutney and enjoy as a snack, at lunch time or even dinner with a simple salad.

They also freeze really well, just pop them back in the oven to defrost and become crispy again.

Serve these veggie sausage rolls with chutney or tomato sauce.  Store bought is fine or try my homemade fresh tomato sauce.

Print Pin Prep Time 10 minutes minutes Cook Time 35 minutes minutes Total Time 45 minutes minutes

• 3 sheets ready rolled puff pastry
• 1 onion
• 400 gram tin chickpeas drained
• 2 carrots roughly sliced
• small handful fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp dried mixed herbs
• 2 eggs
• 3 slices wholemeal bread
• milk
• 100 grams feta (half a block)
• sesame seeds

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).  Remove pastry from freezer and allow to defrost on bench covered with a damp cloth
• Add onion to the food processor and pulse to chop. Add to a large bowl.  Add chickpeas, carrot and parsley to the processor now and process until finely chopped.  Add to the bowl along with the onion.
• Also add the dried herbs and 1 egg.  In a separate bowl add the bread and pour some milk over and allow to absorb.  Squeeze as much liquid out as possible and also add to the mixture.
• Using your hands, mix until well combined.  Crumble the feta into the mixture and stir to combine.  Small chunks of feta are good. 

• Cut a puff pastry sheet in half.  Add the chickpea mixture along the long edge (you can make them as big or as little as you like).  Add a little water along the edge and roll the pastry over to seal. 
• Cut into 5 rolls and add to a lined baking tray.  Continue with the remaining mixture and pastry. 
• Brush the rolls with the remaining egg (lightly beaten) and sprinkle with sesame seeds.Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with tomato sauce or chutney.

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

Energy balls, bliss balls, apricot balls, whatever you want to call them, are delicious little things that are perfect for lunch boxes and a quick snack. My energy balls contain hemp seeds which have a rich nutrition profile with high levels of antioxidants, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins.  They also contain oats, chia seeds, unsweetened coconut, dried…

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Black sticky rice with caramelised coconut and mango is our favourite dessert, but I hear it is most often eaten at breakfast in Thailand. I could definitely get on board with that! On our recent visit to Thailand, H and I ate this everyday – sometimes twice a day!  It’s the perfect balance of sweet…

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Well Easter has come and gone and I got away with it for another year.   H still doesn’t like chocolate!   He wanted a kinder surprise bunny and a big kinder surprise egg – its all about the toy inside obviously!  He was a happy boy but had no interest in the chocolate.  I…

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Chia seed pudding is one of the first recipes I posted on this blog.  H and I both love it, and I love the convenience of it when served for breakfast.  I always make it the night before and it is ready to go in the morning.  It is so easy to make and requires…

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These macadamia bonbons are super healthy, they contain macadamia nuts, chia seeds, tahini, coconut, vanilla and I have sweetened mine with maple.  If you want a sugar-free alternative use rice malt syrup.   I was pretty excited when my toffee idea came together.  I put brown rice syrup in a  small saucepan and heated it over…

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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….

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These strawberry and coconut muesli bars are a real winner.  They are super easy to make and always work out beautifully.  I have used strawberries because there seems to be an abundance of them in Australia at the moment, they are super cheap, super tasty and we can’t get enough of them.  You can substitute what’s in…

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Puffed amaranth is an ingredient that I stumbled upon at my local health food store recently and I love it.  It is great to add to dishes like muesli bars and on your breakfast.  I love to add it to yoghurt.  It sort of melts into it and make it very fluffy.   I have…

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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.

From 10 months old I progressively started making food with a lot more texture than previously.  I still puréed meat very smooth but left vegetables quite lumpy (soft lumps though). 

I also started to introduce a lot more finger food in to his diet.  Little Big H had 6 teeth by this stage and was able to chew the food quite easily.  (Depending on your babies chewing ability you may need to wait some time before introducing certain finger foods).

As mentioned on the previous pages.  In Australia it is now recommended to give babies all food types from 4 months.  This includes meat, fish, eggs, nuts and other foods considered highly allergic.  Because of this Little Big H has tried most food at this point. 

Some Finger Foods to try: (7 – 12 months)

• Zucchini – cut into sticks and lightly steamed (a great one to start with because it is so soft when steamed)
• Avocado – I use an avocado slicer which cuts the flesh into nice size slices.  It makes it easy for Big H to hold
• Broccoli – break off little florets and steam
• Asparagus – lightly steamed
• Carrot – cut into sticks and steamed until they are very soft
• Tomato – steamed until tender and chopped in to pieces
• Watermelon
• Very ripe rockmelon
• Peas – boiled and served whole
• Blueberries – I serve them whole 
• Raspberries – I serve them whole
• Strawberries – I leave them whole and Big H sucks on them and bites pieces off
• Fish – steamed and little flakes broken off
• Cheese – I give Big H Babybel cheese.  It’s quite soft, so I break pieces off for him to pickup

For other food ideas see the Recipe Index,  4-6 Months page or the 6-9 Months pages

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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This quick crispy potato with nigella seeds recipe happened when I was in a bit of a rush.  I was going to boil some potatoes but noticed my nigella seed mix sitting there and decided to give my potatoes a quick toss in the pan, with some oil and a tablespoon of the spice mixture – they…

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Salads and toddlers aren’t two words that generally go well together!  But, we love salads, and they are one of H’s favourite things to eat.  The trick is to add ingredients that they love, and then sneak in the rest.   This warm lentil, potato and corn salad has all of H’s favourite things.  I have snuck in…

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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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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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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 grew up eating my mums salmon patties and they are a family favourite.  They are so comforting and remind me of home.   They are so simple to make and are a great first finger food for little folks.  I have made these mini sized so they are easy for H to pick up.   The mixture…

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These pretty little roasted rhubarb chia pots make a wonderful breakfast or healthy dessert.

The rhubarb is roasted with strawberries, orange juice, zest and a good drizzle of honey – the only sweetener in this recipe.

The chia pudding has 3 ingredients only and will thicken in the fridge after an hour or so. I usually make it the night before so it is ready to go in the morning. You then layer the chia and rhubarb it into little jars.

I’ve topped my chia pots with hemp seeds, bee pollen, toasted almonds and pepitas but top with whatever you have on hand.

Print Pin Prep Time 10 minutes minutes Cook Time 25 minutes minutes Total Time 35 minutes minutes

• 4 tablespoons chia seeds ,black or white
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste ,or extract

• 1 bunch rhubarb
• 1/2 punnet strawberries
• 1/2 orange, zest and juice
• 1-2 tablespoon honey ,use more if you like it sweet

• flaked almonds, bee pollen, hemp seeds, pepitas, honey ,or whatever you like

• Add all ingredients to a bowl or jar and mix/shake to combine.  Mix/shake again once it starts to thicken so you don’t end up with clumps.  Leave in the fridge to thicken.

• Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F). Chop rhubarb and add to a roasting tin with remaining ingredients.  Cover with foil and roast for 25 minutes.  

• Layer the rhubarb and chia pudding into little jars or a glass and top with whatever topping you have on hand.

Topping suggestions: flaked almonds, bee pollen, hemp seeds, pepitas, honey.  

Looking for more healthy pudding ideas? Try these….

Coconut chia seed pudding / Ginger tapioca pudding / Mango pineapple & lime tapioca / chia pudding

If you make my roasted rhubarb chia pots, be sure to take a picture and upload to Instagram with the hashtag #littlebigh.  I’d love to see your creation. xx

A little bit like a shortbread these delicious little honey and walnut cookies are made using only 5 ingredients and are refined sugar-free.

I have never had much luck with sugar-free cookies but these were an experiment gone right.

They are also super simple to make; you simply beat the butter and honey and add the remaining ingredients. Chill the mixture for 30 minutes and then roll into tiny balls and bake.

The mixture makes enough for two batches so freeze half ready for next time.

Enjoy xx

Print Pin Prep Time 10 minutes minutes Cook Time 15 minutes minutes Total Time 25 minutes minutes Servings 25 cookies + extra mixture to freeze

• 250 grams butter softened
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons orange blossom water *optional
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts + a few extra to put on top packed

• Beat the butter and honey until well incorporated.  Add the flour and orange blossom water and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
•  Add the walnut and mix again on low until just combined. Halve the mixture, wrap in glad wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Freeze the other half for another time.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F)
• Roll the chilled mixture into small balls (approx a heaped teaspoon) and add to a lined baking tray.   Press down just slightly and press the extra walnuts into the top if you wish. 
• Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. They will be soft coming out of the oven but will harden once cool. 

If you make these honey and walnut cookies, be sure to take a pic and upload to Instagram with the hashtag #littlebigh so I can check out your creation. xx

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 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

 You may have seen this recipe a million times on the internet, but I couldn’t resist putting it on the blog for anyone who hasn’t.  It is perfect for babies from 6 months old – and its delicious.   My favourite topping is mango and passionfruit but use whatever fruit is in season. It takes…

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Serve these gorgeous poached vanilla pears with my lavender custard from my previous post.  It is sugar-free and perfect for babies from 6 months old.   Simply mash the poached pear with a fork and mix it with the custard for a delicious dessert, snack or even breakfast.  Enjoy xx   Sugar Free Lavender Custard – recipe…

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Making custard at home is a really great option.  You can be guaranteed that it is sugar-free and free of all other nasties – something I am very particular about when feeding my son. This is an easy custard recipe and baby will love it.  Stir though a little pureed fruit for a natural sweeter…

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This is the simplest of purees but I wanted to add it to the blog to highlight that the organic apple season in Australia is coming to an end.  Apples top the ‘Dirty Dozen’ list so it is important to buy organic.  Apples are a bit of a staple for adding to other foods therefore…

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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…

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