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 finger paint by the end of it!  It’s not easy taking photos with a toddler.

H is becoming more and more involved in helping me cook of an evening.  He just loves washing the fruit and vegetables, although I expect a few to go straight into his mouth. I once gave him a punnet of cherry tomatoes to wash and he ate the entire punnet in a matter of minutes!  He also helps to set the table and loves to serve the salad or vegetable dish at dinner; such as this Lebanese beans dish that makes a great side to any meal.  It is simple yet nutritious and full of flavour.

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• 400 g green beans
• 4 medium-large tomatoes; chopped
• 1 onion , chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon all spice
• 400 g can chickpeas; drained

• Add the oil to a frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic until golden. Add the beans, tomato and all spice and stir to combine. Lower heat, cover with a lid and simmer; stirring occasionally for about 30 – 45 minutes or until the beans are tender. Add the chickpeas; stir and serve warm.

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…

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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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If you live in Sydney then you would have been melting along with us in the heat over the past few weeks.  These healthy Avocado Chia Popsicles are just what we needed.   They are so good for you that you could eat them for breakfast…  They contain avocado, coconut milk, chia seeds, honey and strawberries…

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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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  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 yummy little balls were inspired after a recent attempt at Jamie Oliver’s no bake vegan slice. It turned out to be a winner and really satisfied that afternoon chocolate craving (mine of course not Little Big H’s!).  They are raw no bake balls suitable for toddlers (although they do contain lot of nuts, so if…

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 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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The sous vide cooks apricots amazingly well. They have a beautiful delicate velvety texture once cooked. You could also make this dish on the stove top if you don’t have a sous vide. The flavour will be the very similar but you will lose the velvety texture.  Little Big H loves the tartness of this…

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I started making this dish for Little Big H at around 7 months.  It contains eggs but I had given him eggs previously so I didn’t have to worry about any allergies.  It makes around 6 x 120ml mini flans

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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I had never tried Kohlrabi before making this dish.  I spotted it at my local organic store and bought two.  A purple one and a green one.  I googled it when I got home and realised that it is very similar to cabbage.   I am a huge coleslaw fan so I thought I would…

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This is a delicious breakfast, dessert or healthy afternoon snack for Little Big H, with no cooking involved.   I like to swirl the mango raspberry and yoghurt rather than mix it all together, that way Little Big H gets a different taste with every mouthful.   He just loves yoghurt.  I always serve him…

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A simple summer puree that requires no cooking. The mint gives it a nice freshness, and its a great way to start introducing herbs to your baby

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…

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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…

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• 1 bunch Kale (any sort – curly, ornamental or dinosaur)
• Olive oil
• Celtic Sea salt (optional)

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F)
• Wash kale and remove the leaves from the stem. Tear large leave into medium size pieces
• Allow to dry thoroughly (I used a salad spinner)
• Drizzle with olive oil toss it around so it is all coated. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and bake in a single layer approximately 8 – 10 minutes (ornamental or dinosaur) or the curly variety takes a little longer approximately 10-12 minutes

Switch to Celtic Sea Salt, it retains the oceans moisture, which helps lock in many vital trace elements.

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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Little Big H is wearing monkey print t-shirt from SOOKIbaby – available here

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• 1 cup of ricotta
• 1 egg
• 5 to 8 tbls flour (depends on the consistency of the ricotta)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• pinch of nutmeg
• salt and pepper (optional)

• To make the gnocchi combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. (if using firm ricotta – blend beforehand) The dough should be quite sticky
• Dip a teaspoon in hot water and use it to shape the dough into several olive-sized gnocchi. Re-dip the spoon each time so dough does not stick
• Heat a saucepan of water. When boiling poach the gnocchi for 30 – 40 seconds and remove from water with slotted spoon. They are done when they float to the surface
• Eat immediately with a little olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt

I served this with a simple fresh tomato sauce. I added two chopped tomatoes with a sprinkle of oregano and some water to the pan. Cook until the tomatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened Adapted from Beaba Babycook Book by David Rathgeber

My healthy-ish ricotta pancakes are made with just a few simple ingredients: wholemeal spelt flour, eggs, milk, fresh ricotta, and baking powder. That’s it! I haven’t added any sugar because, let’s be honest — if you’re going to smother them in maple syrup (like I did), you really don’t need it. But if you prefer, feel free to add your sweetener of choice to the batter. 🥞

Unlike some recipes that require you to whip the egg whites separately, I skip that step. Thanks to the fresh ricotta, these pancakes still turn out light and fluffy — no extra effort required.

You can also toss in some fruit. I added a few blueberries to mine this morning, but they’re totally optional. Try strawberries, or even thin slices of apple or pear for something different.

Looking for more ricotta recipes?

What about my Tuscan kale and ricotta pie, or my pine nut and ricotta pastries, or for a sweet version these jam filled ones – they both use an easy to make ricotta pastry that you will love.

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

• 1/2 cup wholemeal spelt flour (or whatever flour you prefer)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 125 grams fresh ricotta
• coconut oil for cooking
• maple and fresh berries to serve

• Add the eggs, milk, flour, baking powder to a bowl and whisk to combine. Gently fold through the ricotta (little chunks are good). Also add blueberries if using. Let the mixture rest for 5-10 minutes.
• Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Using a large spoon add pancake mixture to the pan in your desired size.  Cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip and cook for a further 2 minutes.  Repeat with the remaining mixture.
• Serve pancakes with maple and fresh berries

This recipe doesn’t use any sugar.  If you like your pancakes sweet, add a sweetener of your choice.  If you want extra fluffy pancakes, seperate your egg white and whisk.  Fold through the egg whites along with the ricotta.  

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

Breakfast…  I was never into it before having H, but now it is one of mine and Harry’s favourite meals of the day.

It’s always quick to prepare and usually made up of whatever we have in the fridge.  It is the one meal I usually let H decide on so regardless of what he decides, I want it to as nutritious as possible.

These healthy poppyseed crepes  with fresh berries are just that.  They are made using wholewheat flour, eggs, milk, poppyseed and are sweetened just slightly with maple syrup – all good things.  Fill them with natural yoghurt and fresh fruit and you have yourself a breakfast (or dessert) on the table in minutes.

Enjoy xx

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• 1 egg
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp poppyseed
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup wholemeal spelt flour
• Coconut oil , for cooking

• Natural yoghurt
• Fresh berries or whatever fruit is in season
• Maple syrup to serve

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
• Heat a little oil in frying pan over medium heat. Add a 1/4 cup of the mixture and swirl around the pan to coat. Cook or a couple of minutes, flip and cook for another minutes and turn out onto a plate.
• Cover with a tea towel until you have used up all of the mixture. Fill crepes with natural yoghurt and fresh berries, drizzle with maple and serve.

Be sure to take a picture if you make these healthy poppyseed crepes with fresh berries and upload to Instagramwith the hashtag #littlebigh so I can check out your creation. xx

I posted this recipe on Instagram a few weeks back and it was very popular, so I’m posting here as well.  We love it, it’s simple and quick to make.   I originally came across a recipe similar to this in a magazine some time ago, but this is my toddler friendly version.  I’m certain the original has tea…

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I have been a little obsessed with labneh ever since I made it myself awhile back.  You can find the recipe here if you want to give it ago.   It’s super simple to make but store bought is fine if you want to skip that step. Labneh is often served in savoury dishes but this time around I’m…

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Labneh or yoghurt cheese is so easy to make and it is delicious.  It has a smooth and creamy consistency and a slight tangy taste.  It’s great spread on crackers with a sprinkle of sumac – I also love a sprinkle of good quality sweet paprika and so does H.  I can see this being a staple in my…

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