Annabel Karmel Fish Pie

This is one of Oscar's favourite meals and so easy to make. I make mine slightly different to Annabel's but if you are interested in using the original recipe, it can be found here:

http://www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/baby-fish-pie

For my take on this recipe you will need:

Ingredients 

4 medium sized potatoes (peeled and cubed)

1.5 tbsp milk

40g butter

1 small white onion

1 tbsp flour

1 cod fillet skinned and cubed

1 tsp fresh or dry parsley 

1 bay leaf

75ml milk 

50ml veggie stock

25g frozen petite pois

50g grated cheddar cheese

2 tsp chopped chives

Method

Bring a pan of water to the boil and add potatoes. Reduce heat and cook for 15-20 mins or until tender. Once ready drain and mash with a the 1.5 tbsp milk and half the butter. Finally add the chives.

Melt the remaining butter in a pan on a low heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened. Add the flour and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Gradually stir in the milk and then the stock. Bring to the boil and cook for one minute. 

Add the fish with the parsley and bay leaf. Simmer for about 3 minutes and then stir in the peas and cook for one minute. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the cheese until melted. 

I then separate the fish mixture between freezeable containers and top with the mashed potato and a light sprinkling of grated cheese. These are now ready to freeze or enjoy warm! 

The Four P's

As mentioned previously Oscar quite frequently suffers from constipation and wind problems which tends to keep him up at night. The only advice I have been given me is to continue feeding him water throughout the day as well as types of foods which are natural constipation remedies which coincidentally all begin with the letter P: peaches, pears, plums and prunes. 

I'm not too great at stewing and puréeing my own fruit (I just can't get a smooth enough consistency!) but there are many baby food brands that sell these already puréed. I like to use Ella's Kitchen as it's organic and tastes and smells nicer in my opinion! 

Today for Oscar's breakfast I gave him half a pouch of Ella's Kitchen - Peaches, Pears and Baby Rice mixed with some cooked rolled oats (a bit of extra fibre!) with a side of buttered seedy toast which he seemed to enjoy! 

Does anyone have any other recommendations?

Smoked Mackerel with a Green Lentil, Beetroot and Feta Salad

I always try to make my meals for Oscar quite balanced, so this is a great recipe to try. Packed with protein and fibre and tastes great (so good that me and Matt will also be having this for tea!) I have taken inspiration from a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe for this meal 👍

To make this recipe as quick and easy as possible I have bought pre-cooked mackerel which is ready to eat. These are stocked in supermarkets in the fish aisle pre-packed. I am also going to use long life steamed beetroot which again is pre-cooked and packed. This is usually lurking in the veg aisle in supermarkets.

Beetroot is thought to improve digestion and is now hailed as a superfood. As Oscar does suffer from constipation and trapped wind, I thought it would be a great food to try. 

Today I am using:

Smoked mackerel (ready to eat)

Green lentils

Cooked beetroot

Feta cheese (any crumbly cheese is good!)

Lemon juice

Splash olive oil 

Veggie stock 

Recipe:

Wash lentils in clean water. Put into saucepan and add plenty of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for a minute before draining. Return to pan covering with veggie stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook slowly for 25-30 mins until tender (not mushy). Make sure at all times the saucepan has not run dry otherwise you will be left with mush. Drain lentils add juice of lemon and a splash of olive oil. Leave to one side.

Cut beetroot and feta into manageable sizes for your child and mix with the lentils. Once you have managed to wrestle the packet of mackerel open (I'll admit, I did struggle!) take half to one piece of mackerel and gently scrape off skin from the back. Then flake into manageable pieces and add to mix. **Do take into account that although pre-packed mackerel is usually boneless, always thoroughly check**. Use a hand blender to purée depending on child's age/preference. I leave mine in small pieces as Oscar prefers a bit of texture. 

For adults: we dressed our lentils with more olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar for a bit of extra zing!

And there you have it, wasn't too difficult! And tastes great! 

Post Número Uno!

Hello! This is my blog based on all things baby - mainly what I feed my baby. At 10 months old Oscar is well and truly enjoying solid food, however it is sometimes difficult to find inspiration at meal times. I've started this blog to document recipes and hopefully inspire others! 

I am not one for cooking, so this is a learning curve for me! 

For more inspiration head over to my Instagram account @whatifedbaby for more meal ideas and tag and share yours using the hashtag #whatifedbaby 

Chicken Noodle Soup

Whenever I start to see symptoms of a cold, this is my go to recipe! It's a great meal to make in bulk and freeze. 

For this recipe I used:

2 mini chicken fillets diced

1 small white onion

1 garlic clove crushed

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried parsley 

1 bay leaf

3 baby corn diced

Handful of spinach

1 small carrot diced

1/2 pint reduced salt chicken stock 

Pasta/noodles (I used spaghetti broken into small pieces)

If I make this again, I will add some more vegetables, when I made this I was using up what I had in the house at the time! 

Heat a little oil in a pan and sautée the onions, corn and carrot. Then add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Then add the diced chicken. Reduce heat and simmer. Add the herbs and spinach and leave to simmer for half an hour to fourty minutes or until chicken has cooked. The chicken should fall apart/be easy to cut and white all through when cooked. Remove bay leaf before serving. 

This is a great meal to have stored in the freezer ready for a rainy day or when the little one isn't feeling their best.