Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Breakfast Soup with Toast Fingers

Ingredients:
  • 8 oz vanilla yogurt
  • 1 tsp honey**
  • 1/2 Cup cubed banana
  • 1/2 Cup peaches, peeled
  • 1/4 cup wheat germ
Steps:
  • Blend together and top with additional wheat germ. Serve with avocado blended with cream cheese on whole grain toast.
  • Please note that Honey is appropriate only for those who have reached the age of 1 year old and older!

Cheesy Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • dash of pepper and/or garlic powder (optional)

Steps:

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl until frothy then pour in a warmed frying pan. Stir as the egg mix is cooking. Eggs are done when firm and not runny.

Add veggies or even crumbled turkey sausage to this recipe if desired.

Sweet Potato Crisps

Source: Adapted food-4tots.com

Ingredients:
1 small sweet potato, peeled (about 120g)
2 tsp olive oil
a pinch of salt (optional)

Methods:
Preheat oven at 150°C. Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper/ parchment.

Use a swivel peeler (or mandoline slicer) to cut the sweet potatoes into strips or any preferred sizes. The strips must be thin and uniform in thickness so that they can turn brown and crisp within the same cooking time. You may also need to trim those pointy or ultra-thin edges if necessary.

Wash and rinse them several times until the water is not cloudy. Then soak them in water for 15 minutes. This helps to get rid of the starch and make them crisp. Drain and pat them dry with kitchen papers. Make sure they are completely DRY so the oil can coat them easily.

Put the strips in a bowl and toss with oil and salt (if used).

Spread the strips out in a single layer (without overlapping) on the baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes. Then rotate the baking sheet and continue to bake for a further 8-10 minutes and check every minute as the strips can go brown very quickly. Remove from the oven if the strips start to curl and brown at the edges. Once the strips are completely cool down, they will be even crispier.

Best to serve them immediately. Though you can store them in an airtight container, they will soften a bit after a while.
Notes:

The baking temperature and time should only be used as a guide. They will vary depending on the type of oven you use, and thickness and shapes of the crisps.
You can double the amount and bake them by using two baking sheets at the same time. But, you may need to adjust the baking time if necessary and swap the baking sheets around after 15 minutes. For best result, I would suggest you to bake only one sheet at a time.

Weaning Cottage Pie

  • 1 potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and diced
  • ½ a small onion
  • 100g extra lean minced beef
  • squirt of tomato paste
  • sprinkle of thyme and parsley
  • little vegetable oil (optional)

Steps:
Fry the onion until slightly browned (use a little vegetable oil if desired).

Add meat and fry till cook.

Add the carrot, potato, tomato paste and herbs. Add a cup of water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Puree to a desired consistency.