peanut butter and banana muffins-YUM!

I love all things peanut butter and banana. It's such a magical combination. These muffins are so soft and fluffy they simply melt in your mouth.

What will you need:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large over- ripe bananas mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup melted butter
2 heaped tablespoons peanut butter

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Sift the dry ingredients and leave aside. Combine bananas sugar, egg, butter and peanut butter in a large bowl. mix well. Add in the dry ingredients and fold the mixture. The mixture should have a cake- like consistency. I found mine to be slightly too thick so I added in just a little milk. Scoop into greased muffin pans or liners. Bake until golden brown.

Food groups incorporated:

fruit: bananas

Cinnamon strawberry syrup crumpets

There's nothing better than strawberries and crumpets for Sunday breakfast. I much rather prefer strawberries to traditional maple syrup because this way the kids are eating their fruits too.

What will you need:

Crumpets (store bought or home- made)

2 cups self- raising flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or ordinary butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup milk

Beat eggs, sugar and butter together. Add flour and milk (you may need a little extra) to make a runny batter. Drop spoonfuls on a hot greased frying pan. Flip over and cook till golden brown.

Cinnamon strawberry syrup

In a pan add chopped strawberries, castor sugar (about half a cup), 2 teaspoons cinnamon and let it simmer on a medium heat until the strawberries are soft and gooey.  Layer three crumpets with the strawberry mixture between each one. Top with the mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon and serve with ice- cream.

Food groups incorporated:

Fruit: strawberries
dairy: ice- cream

Savory waffles

These savory waffles are not only great for the kids but a real treat for the adults too.

What will you need:

You could attempt making your own waffles which are actually super easy, or if you don't have time or just not in the mood you could buy store bought waffles instead.

Waffles

2 eggs
1 and a 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch salt
1 and 1/2 cups flour

Beat all the ingredients together to form a batter. Heat a waffle iron and grease well with a non- stick spray. Pour batter and cook waffles until evenly cooked on both sides.

Creamed spinach

Slightly braise 1 chopped onion (should be yellowish in color)
Add 1 bunch spinach cleaned and cut
Add: salt to taste (add small amounts at first)
chopped green chillie to taste
aromat to taste

Cook for a few minutes till done.

Make a paste with:
4 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon flour
half a cup of milk
Add to the spinach.

Lastly add 2 tablespoon fresh cream and a handful of crumbled feta.

Method:

Spread spinach over the waffles. Add grated cheese. Sprinkle red chillie powder. Melt the cheese in a pre- heated oven on 180c. Enjoy:)

Note: Instead of using waffles you could also use crumpets or roll the creamed spinach in crepes and then top with grated cheese after you roll it.

Food groups incorporated:

Veg: spinach/ onion
Dairy: cheese/ feta cheese/ milk

Banana balls (fritters)

What you will need:

In a bowl mix together:

250ml self- raising flour
pinch salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
5 ml banana essence (optional)
half an egg lightly beaten
Mix together.

Add:

3 large ripe bananas mashed
100 ml milk to make the batter. (You may need to add extra milk, batter should resemble a cake batter that has a dropping consistency but should not be runny)

In a separate bowl mix together castor sugar and cinnamon and keep aside for dipping.

Heat approximately 500ml oil in a small pot on medium- high heat. Using your four fingers take approximately a tablespoon of batter and push off into the hot oil using your thumb so that when you drop the batter it drops in the shape of a ball. Deep fry till golden brown. Remove from oil. While still hot dip in castor sugar/ cinnamon. Enjoy!

Food groups incorporated:

Fruit: bananas

Pumpkin crumpets

My kids were overjoyed when I put before them a plate of crumpets with ice- cream for lunch. Little did they know that these were no ordinary crumpets, they were pumpkin crumpets. I was happy that they were eating veg and they were happy that they were getting crumpets for lunch. Win win!:)

What will you need:

1 cup pumpkin puree (I bought a whole pumpkin, steamed it and liquidized it and then took out one cup for the crumpets and froze the balance in ice cube trays after which I transferred it to a zip lock bag and left in in the freezer for later use)
2 cups self- raising flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons nutmeg
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped pecan nuts

Beat eggs, sugar and butter together. Add dry ingredients. Add milk to make the batter. Last add the pumpkin puree and pecan nuts. Do not over mix the batter. Over low- medium heat melt a tablespoon of butter or vegetable oil in a skillet. Once the skillet is hot drop 2 spoons of the mixture for each crumpet. Flip over and cook till golden brown. Once browned and cooked transfer to an oven- proof plate and place in a pre- heated oven at 100 C to keep warm.

Serve with golden syrup, cinnamon and ice- cream.

Food groups incorporated:

Veg: pumpkin
Eggs: Protein

Chicken sandwiches

Have left- over chicken? Why not turn it into a healthy meal for the kids.

What will you need:

2 slices bread of your choice
margarine
Shredded chicken
grated cheese of your choice
sauces of your choice
cottage cheese
shredded lettuce

Mix chicken, lettuce and cheese in a bowl. Add sauces. I used tomato sauce and mayo. Mix well. Butter the outsides of the bread for toasting. Add chicken mixture. Now add blobs of cottage cheese.
Close the sandwich and toast. Enjoy:)

Food groups incorporated:

veg: lettuce
protein: chicken
dairy: cheese/ cottage cheese
grains: bread

Serve a fruit for dessert and you covered all the food groups in just one meal:)

Root vegetable mash

original pic from the MasterChef SA website

Ozzy, one of SA's top 7 MasterChef contestants recently did a pink peppercorn sirloin with a root vegetable mash. He basically took traditional mash to a whole new level. I was so excited to try it out on the kids and just as I thought they loved it!

Here's what you will need:

1 small potato peeled and cubed

1 small sweet potato peeled and cubed

1 small carrot peeled and cut into rounds

Boil all the above veggies together until the potato and sweet potato is soft and mushy. Remove from the stove. Drain out all the water. Mash up the potato and sweet potato. Grate the carrots into the mash. Add about a tablespoon butter and season with salt and pepper. Mix well.

I decided to try to incorporate protein also into the mash. I had some left over lamb from the evening before so I shredded it into small pieces and added that also in. You could use any left over protein you have (chicken/ steak/ lamb).

They loved it and didn't even notice that it was different from the usual mash they eat.

Food groups incorporated:

veggies: carrot/ potato/ sweet potato

protein: lamb

Veggie bakes

Makes about 16

The best way to encourage kids to eat on their own is by offering them finger foods. I came across this awesome recipe on www.joythebaker.com and decided to try it out on the kids. These veggie bakes taste so good even the adults will enjoy them.

What you will need:

1 punnet broccoli broken into pieces
about 5 carrots peeled and cut in rounds
3 potatoes peeled and cubed and boiled till soft and mushy
grated cheese of your choice
salt & pepper to taste
mayo/ sweet chilli sauce

Method:

Transfer broccoli and carrots to a baking tray. Drizzle with a tablespoon olive oil. Roast in the oven until the veggies are done. Remove from the oven and transfer to a food processor on high speed. Add to a bowl. Now add your mashed potatoe, cheese, salt & pepper to taste and season with any sauces your kids enjoy. I used mayo and sweet chilli sauce. Mix well and form small balls. Press the balls flat in your palm to resemble small patties. Dip each ball in flour, then egg and then bread crumbs. At this stage if you don't want to use them immediately you could freeze them until you need them or you could bake them in an oven tray, drizzled with a little olive oil, on 180c until golden brown. Enjoy:)

Food groups incorporated:

Veggies: Broccoli/ carrots/ potatoes
Dairy: Cheese

Home- made lemonade

If there's one thing my kids can't resist it's home- made lemonade on a hot Summer's day. Well actually they don't mind it even in the middle of Winter, so that says something.

What you will need:

One lemon cut in fours
Two green apples cut in fours
One litre water
One cup sugar

Add all the ingredients to the liquidiser (Do not peel anything). Blend well. Sieve through a large strainer and pour into a jug. Add lots of ice and chill before serving.

Note: The longer the lemonade stands it tends to get a bit of a bitter taste. Therefore its best to drink it the same day you make it.

Food groups incorporated:

Fruits: lemon/ apples

Tip: You can pour leftover lemonade into popsicle makers and freeze them to be enjoyed later on:)

Spinach and cottage cheese pizza

More often than not pizza is catergorized under "junk food". But who says pizza can't be healthy? I say let's eat pizza and feel good about it:)

What you will need:

Pizza bases

Put in a bowl:

1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons margarine rubbed into flour mixture

Make a soft but not sticky dough with a mixture of 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup milk. You don't have to use all the mixture.

Roll out dough onto a floured surface. Cut circles/ flowers with a big sized cookie cutter. Bake in a pre- heated  oven on 180c just the the bottom of the base is slightly brown.

Tip: This makes a large quantity of bases. after baking transfer bases you don't need to an airtight container and freeze until you need it.

If you are not up to making the bases yourself you could purchase ready bases without the tomato base.

Topping

coriander and chilli sauce/ pesto
blanched spinach
cottage cheese
cheddar cheese/ mozzarella cheese
origanum
chip spice/ salt & pepper/ veg spice

How to blanch spinach

Fill a dish 3/4 way with ice. Fill water to the top. Keep aside. Bring salted water to a boil. Add cleaned, cut spinach and boil for about 2 minutes till bright green in colour. Remove spinach and transfer immediately to ice bath to cool down. Remove the ice and water. Drain spinach leaves.

Tip: The next time you purchase spinach after you clean/ cut and rinse it put it in an airtight container and freeze it until you need it. That way you always have fresh spinach on hand.

Method:

Spread coriander and chilli sauce on the base. Top with drained spinach. Season with chip spice/ salt & pepper/ veg spice. Add blobs of cottage cheese. Add grated cheese over. Sprinkle origanum and bake in the oven at 180c until cheese melts.

Food groups incorporated: 

Veg: spinach
Dairy: cottage cheese/ cheddar cheese
Grains: pizza base

Breakfast smoothies

Makes 2 glasses

What you will need:

one and half glasses full cream milk
1 banana
handful oats
1 small plain yogurt
1 tablespoon peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey

Mix together all ingredients in a blender and serve.

Food groups incorporated:

Oats- grains
Milk- dairy
Yogurt- dairy
Banana- fruit

Welcome to Tot- terrific Treats

Welcome one and all to Tot- terrific Treats, totally terrific treats for toddlers.

My name is Sam and I am the proud mom of two wonderful boys aged two and three. If there's one thing I am sure all moms can agree on is how difficult it is to get your kids to eat, never mind eat heathy. Looking back, I for one can attest to spending almost an hour each meal of every day trying to get my boys to eat their food. Fortunately, I am lucky enough to be a stay-at-home-mom so I actually do have the time. But I can tell you, I would much rather have been doing something else then begging them to eat something. Then it dawned on me that this shouldn't have to be so difficult. And it really isn't! All you have to do is change the way you look at food and basically learn to "cook smart".

Eating healthy

Another aspect I really wanted to incorporate into our meals was to make them healthy meals that actually taste real good. Growing up we never ate fruits and veg. I started off every morning with tea and cookies and even cake. My mom would bake at least three times a week. And guess what I still have for breakfast every morning? Coffee and cookies. A terrible terrible habit that as hard as I try I cannot seem to escape.  I honestly believe that the way you eat as a child shapes your eating habits later on. That is why I want my boys to start eating healthy from now while they are little. Until I had kids of my own the thought of veggies conjured up images of a bland, boring bowl of yuck. But I can promise you it doesn't have to be that way. It all comes down to creativity and the use of just enough of the right spices to tickle those tiny taste buds and before you know it your little one's will be eating out of the palm of your hand, veggies and all!

Cooking smart

So I mentioned "cooking smart". As we strive for the ideal of incorporating all the food groups into every day, you could end up offering your little one a plate of food that it totally overwhelming. Kid's don't like a plate that is filled with food. They would much rather have one thing to eat so they can get done with it and get back to playing. But then how can you incorporate all the food groups? When coming up with ideas for recipes for my boys I always think food groups. I basically want to incorporate meals that are simple yet jam packed with all things good for you, so I try incorporating as many food groups into one meal as possible. Another advantage of this is that kids will more likely eat their veggies if they don't even know it's there. And the best part is, more often than not you already have all the ingredients at home and you can even recycle left- overs to make hearty-healthy meals.

So here's to the start of a brand new blog that promises to bring you quick, simple (even for those who have never cooked before), healthy but most of all Tot- terrific meals. Healthy food can taste real good!