Pear Butter

This is essentially a posh name for puréed pears! Although with more of a jam consistency. I only made enough for one piece of toast as I wasn't sure what the boy would think of it, however I wish I had made more now! 

I saw this recipe on Pinterest of course! But changed it up slightly to suit what I already had in the store cupboard. 

For this I used:

1 small pear (this was enough for one piece of toast so can be used as guide to quantity!)

Half tsp cinnamon

Half tsp ginger

Splash lemon juice

Pinch nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

Pinch salt

1 tbsp agave nectar 

First I skinned the pear and boiled on a medium heat for 5-10 mins until the pear was really soft. 

Then drain and combine all ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil. Then reduce heat and simmer until thickened. 

As I had used such a small quantity, I only left it for 20-30 mins. Be sure to check this has not stuck to the pan!

Then leave to cool and blend until smooth or until you have the consistency you prefer. I then stored this in a sterilised container. From the image below you can see that it only made a tiny amount! So let the size of the pears be your guide to the quantity you want to make! I will definitely be making this again, but will make a larger amount! I would say to store this for up to a week. I served mine on toast for breakfast with some scrambled eggs.

German Pancakes/Pancake Muffins

I found this recipe again on good old Pinterest, but changed it up slightly again to suit me.

You will need:

50g flour

50ml milk

1 egg 

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

15g butter melted 

Mix all ingredients together to create batter. Grease a muffin tray and pour batter into each tin about half way up.  Bake for 15 mins until golden. This made 10 pancakes. What I did find was you will need to try and remove them out of the tin when they are still warm, unless it was just my muffin tray... I did find with the ones I left to cool got stuck!!

I then filled mine with a raspberry chia jam and blueberries - yum!! They were very tasty but because of the butter they were a little bit greasy/indulgent so they're not suitable for everyday breakfast! They're quite similar to Yorkshire puddings - they had risen up loads in the oven but deflated once they were taken out. But anyway, they were pretty tasty!

Banana Toast

This is another quick breakfast recipe, literally took 5 mins! 

You will need:

1 slice bread

1 banana

Splash of milk

Sprinkle cinnamon

Mash the banana in a bowl and add the milk and cinnamon. Cover the bread in the mixture so there is an even layer on both sides. Heat s frying pan to a medium heat and cook the bread until lightly golden on each side and then cut into fingers! How easy is that?!

My boy hates banana - however I did manage to con him into eating a few pieces of this! I think I might try this next time with an egg involved similar to the 3 ingredient pancakes! I served mine with some natural yogurt and strawberry and apple purée. 

Overnight Oats for Baby

This is one of the easiest breakfasts to make - mainly as its all made in advance! In the morning it can be a bit hectic to try and make something fun and healthy when you've got a hungry baby waiting, so this is one of my go to breakfasts as its saves that little bit of time in the morning and involves no cooking at all! 

For this recipe I used:

Rolled oats

Milk

Yogurt (optional) I used strawberry natural yogurt

Chia seeds

Chia jam

Raspberries and blueberries.

Method

Measure into your feeding bowl the amount of oats your child would usually have. Cover with milk and stir in a spoonful or two of yogurt. It may look a bit too liquidy at this point, but remember the oats will need liquid to absorb! Cover with cling film and leave overnight.

In the morning stir in the chia jam and add the fruit and chia seeds.  

It is that easy! 

Chia Jam

This is a quick recipe which will need to be made in advance in order to set. I like to leave mine to set overnight, but you could leave it for 3-4 hours minimum.

To make this yummy jam you will need:

1 cup of fruit (I used strawberries)

1/4 cup chia seeds

2-3 tbsp maple syrup

Combine all ingredients into a blender and pulse until the consistency of you choice. I literally blitzed it for about 3 seconds so it was quite chunky. Then pour into a container and leave in the fridge over night.

There are some recipes online which suggest this can be kept for up to 2-3 weeks, however as the maple syrup is the only ingredient preserving the fruit, I store mine for a week. 

Peach & Apricot Overnight Oats

This recipe was a bit of an experiment, using only what I already had in the house. I thought it would be a good idea to use flavours/foods Oscar has previously had as he is being a bit fussy at the moment.  

For this I used:

1 apricot Petite Filous yogurt

1/2 Ella's Kitchen peaches purée 

2 tbsp rolled oats

1 1/2 tbsp almond milk

1 tbsp chia seeds

Drizzle maple syrup

Basically you just mix all of the ingredients together and leave to soak overnight in the fridge. The following morning, top with a sprinkle of chia seeds and drizzle of the remaining peaches purée.

Unfortunately, Oscar is teething quite badly at the moment and it's difficult to persuade him into eating anything (unless he knows he already likes it!) so trying something which looked new wasn't working for me today! He did manage a few mouthfuls and did enjoy it when he ate it, but that was all he was willing to eat this morning! I will try this out again when he feels a bit better!

3 Ingredient Pancakes

This was so quick and easy to make, I really wasn't expecting them to turn out as well as they did - or taste decent! But they did and this is definitely a recipe I will be recreating again.

I found this recipe on Buzzfeed, but as I didn't want to make that many, reduced the quantities.

For this recipe I used:

1 egg

1/2 banana

1 tsp cinnamon 

Blueberries

Butter/oil for pan

First you mash up the banana in a dish and mix in the egg. Then add the cinnamon and blueberries and mix together. 

Heat up a little butter or oil in a pan (I used coconut oil). Once melted, add a small ladle of the mixture into the pan and cook evenly on both sides until golden. 

I finished mine with a sprinkle of chia and mixed seeds, and a few blobs of Ella's Kitchen prune purée for a dip. The boy scoffed the lot! For a quick breakfast, these are ideal. 

Banana and Blueberry Muffins

Oscar must be the only baby that hates bananas! I don't want to enforce it on him, but I do from time to time try to reintroduce them to his meals, but he won't have any of it! Even in a mixed fruit purée he was on to me! So I thought how else could I include them in a meal... In muffins!

This did actually work and they were actually rather yummy (so yummy I may have happened to scoff two of them straight out of the oven...)

To make these you will need:

150g flour (I used wholemeal)

75g soft brown sugar

1.5 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

1 egg

120ml milk

3 tbsp butter

1 banana cut into small pieces 

1 large handful blueberries

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees 

Grease muffin trays or get muffin cases out ready. This recipe makes around 12 small muffins. 

Measure out ingredients ready. 

Melt butter in microwave or on stove on medium heat.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Then add the egg, milk, butter and vanilla and whisk together. Mash up the banana and add to the mix. Hold off on adding the blueberries at this stage.

Fill each muffin cup just under half way. Then add three blueberries...

...and cover with more cake mix. 

Bake for 15 mins or until golden. 

French toast

This is a great breakfast treat and so quick to make!

You will need:

1 slice bread

1 egg

Olive oil

Cinnamon (optional)

Break an egg into a bowl, add a sprinkle of cinnamon and whisk. Place bread into egg mixture and evenly coat both sides in the egg. Leave in bowl to absorb the mixture for a few minutes. 

Add spray olive oil to a pan and heat up to a medium heat. Add the bread and cook for 2-3 mins on each side until golden. Take bread out of pan and leave to cool. Then cut into manageable finger pieces and voila! I served mine with a pear purée which was thoroughly enjoyed! 

No Flip Omelette!

I have never been able to make a presentable looking omelette. That was until I learnt the one trick which does not require flipping it: finish cooking it under the grill. This will cook the top side of the omelette off and leave you with a fluffy, golden omelette.

To make this baby's omelette you will need:

1 egg

Splash of milk

Toppings of your choice (I used spinach, tomato and cheese.)

First turn on the grill to a medium heat. 

Break an egg into a bowl and stir with a splash of milk. Chop up spinach and tomato into small manageable pieces. Add half to the egg mix. 

Turn on hob to a medium heat. Spray frying pan with a little oil and add the egg mixture turning the pan to run egg to the edges. Add the rest of the spinach and tomatoes to the top. Once this is starting to look golden on the under side, move pan into grill keeping door open. Leave for a few minutes then remove and add grated cheese to the top. Then place back under grill and wait for cheese to melt. (Before removing from grill once cheese has melted, do be sure the pan handle isn't hot!)

This should easily slide off pan onto a plate. And there you go, an easy, quick omelette that even I could master!