Banana and Berry Breakfast Muffins

I love making these with Bridget as they have all the fun of baking cakes, without some of the naughtier stuff and are a great breakfast alternative. 

They provide energy with their oaty goodness and the only sugars are from the honey, a drop of vanilla and the naturally occurring ones from the fruits. Adding in the chia seeds is like a little health boost for the children too - and they can't see them in the muffins so won't turn their nose up at them.

They are a great snack to pop into a lunchbox too and the below makes about 24 so these are perfect if you have a bunch of children round too and want a treat without oodles of sugar.

Banana and Berry Breakfast Muffins

Here's how:

• 200g plain flour
• 100g rolled oats
• 50g dessicated coconut
• 1 tsp bicarb
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 bananas
• 75g frozen mixed berries
• 4 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 85ml olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp honey

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a couple of muffin tins with cases.

Firstly weigh out all of the dry ingredients (four, oats, dessicated coconut, bicarb, chia seeds) into a large bowl, mix and set aside. 

Now in a smaller add the yoghurt, eggs, olive oil, vanilla and honey and combine well. It will be a bit of a miss-match at this stage, but make sure the egg yolks get broken up and this will be fine. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well until you have a thick cake batter.

Now peel the two bananas and mash well into a small bowl, then fold into the cake batter.

Add the frozen in berries in last and mix to evenly distribute.

Place 1 large tablespoon of cake batter into each muffin case.

Place into the oven and allow to bake for 25 minutes, or until they are well risen, and the topping is a beautiful golden brown. Enjoy!

Baby Bites Berry Yoghurt Pancakes

My little Bridget absolutely loves pancakes in all forms and these fluffy blueberry ones are a particular favourite in our house.

American pancakes tend to call on buttermilk to get that trademark thick, fluffy texture compared to the more crepe-like pancakes that we associate with Shrove Tuesday. I tried these with some natural yoghurt once instead of buttermilk and they work beautifully so this recipe has stuck.

It's a perfect weaning breakfast or brunch and makes a great treat of a finger food but it's not limited to being a baby food - these are gorgeous for the whole family and this recipe makes enough for baby plus 2-3 bigger appetites. 

We love this for a late and lazy Saturday or Sunday morning breakfast and add the icing sugar as this is a real treat meal – but if you’re keen to keep the sugar level down and keep to just the natural sugar of the berries you can of course omit this and the sugar for the pancake mix too.

Here's how:

• 240g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 120g plain natural yoghurt
• 75-100ml milk (try to use full fat for best results but semi skimmed will also be OK)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 70g blueberries
• 70g raspberries

First wash the berries and then gently dry them with a clean tea towel or kitchen towel – try not to squish them.

In a large jug or bowl combine the flour, sugar and baking powder.

Next crack in the egg, vanilla extract and yoghurt and give a really good stir until it's all combined.

Add in about 75ml of milk and keep stirring. The mixture should be like a cake mix so you should be able to do the spoon test and see how it drops back into the bowl. If it seems too thick, add a little more milk a little at a time until you're happy with the consistency.

Now add in your blueberries and raspberries and mix so they are evenly distributed.

Now add a little vegetable oil to a non-stick pan and place on a low-medium heat. Once the pan is nicely warm, half fill a ladle with the mixture and gently pour into the pan, trying to keep to a nice small rounded shape.

Cook for a couple of minutes and use a spatula, spook or egg slice to turn over, the cooked side should be nicely golden brown.

Cook on the other side for a further couple of minutes or until that has turned a golden colour. Make sure it's cooked through.

Now place onto a plate to cool enough for baby and cook the rest in the meantime. Serve with some extra fresh berries and dust with a little sprinkling of icing sugar which is the final decadent touch.

Baby Bites Yoghurt and Fruit

This is a quick and simple breakfast idea for during the weaning process - it isn't a recipe, just an idea that might be popular with other little ones other than Bridget.

We use St Dalfour to make like a 'fruit corner' type yoghurt without any of the added sugars associated with those types of products. St Dalfour is simply smashed fruit spread so the only sugars are the natural ones found in the fruit. 

Finger foods of some description are a must at every meal too, so a plate of fruit appears with most breakfasts - this one I've used blueberries and strawberries.

Here's how:

• 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 1 tsp St Dalfour (I used Apricot here but you can use any variant)
• Handful of berries

Simply dish up the yoghurt into your baby's favourite bowl and pop the St Dalfour on top - stir through to distribute the sweet and fruity flavour.

Wash the berries, and slice the strawberries to make them easier to hold. Squish the blueberries a little if you like to make them easier to hold.

Baby Bites: Spiced Cod with Sweet Potato

This is a meal I made for Bridget when Glen and I had the grown up equivalent. I thought the flavours might be too strong for her so made her a small portion as an experiment but she absolutely loved it.

The cod has a delicately aromatic flavour from the yoghurt marinade and is another good introduction of bolder flavours in the weaning process. The light spicing is complemented by the sweet potato.


This freezes really well and the below makes enough for 3-4 portions. Allow to cool completely before placing into the freezer and simply remove and defrost on a plate on the morning of the day you need to - it will be defrosted in 3-4 hours. 

Spiced Cod with Sweet Potato

1 fillet of cod approx 150g
1 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 thumbnail of fresh ginger
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 clove garlic
1/2 lime
1 sweet potato

Firstly pop the oven on at 180 and place the sweet potato in to bake.

Next try to remove any obvious bones from the cod.

Create the marinade by combining the yoghurt, garlic, ginger, lime and spices in a bowl and stirring to evenly distribute all of the flavours.

Pop the cod into the marinade and turn over a couple of times and spoon marinade onto the top to ensure the whole fillet is covered and absorbs the flavour. Leave for 15-20 minutes.

Towards the end of the squash cooking time, place the cod into an oven proof dish and loosely cover with some foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Mash the cooked potato and flake in the fish, portion up accordingly and then allow to cool enough before feeding.

Baby Bites Salmon and Dill Potato Pancakes

These are lovely, soft and fluffy potato based pancakes that go great with a squeeze of lemon and some natural yoghurt. Perfect as a weekend lunch for baby but with the addition of a big pinch of salt, these work as a great brunch dish for the grown-ups too.
Once cooked, allow to cool, and cut into smaller, bite-sized pieces and they make a great finger food for little one. The below makes approximately 5-6 pancakes.

Salmon and Dill Potato Pancakes with Lemon Yoghurt

1 large potato
1 fillet of salmon
1 egg
1 heaped tbsp plain flour
1 heaped tbsp fresh chopped dill
1 tbsp chopped spring onions
1 tbsp Greek natural yoghurt
1/2 lemon

Pop the oven on at 180⁰C (ish), prick the potato all over and place into the oven to bake for 30-40 minutes or until the inside is soft and fluffy.

For the last ten minutes of cooking, wrap the salmon fillet in some tinfoil, pop into an oven proof dish and cook in the oven.

Chop the dill and spring onions whilst everything else is cooking.

Once the potato and salmon are removed from the oven and have cooled slightly, scoop out the soft potato filling into a bowl and gently mash with a fork, allowing some texture to remain.

Flake in the salmon and mix in with the spring onion and dill until nicely combined.

Beat an egg in a separate bowl and add to potato and salmon mixture stirring with a wooden spoon.

Add a little bit of the flour at a time, mixing in, until the mixture resembles a dough.

Drizzle a little oil into a frying pan and place on a medium heat.

Using a large tablespoon, scoop out equal amounts to make each pancake, and place into a hot pan in a round shape.

Fry on each side for about 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown on the outside and completely warmed through.

Remove from the pan and remove excess grease/oil by patting with some kitchen towel.

Squeeze a little drizzle of lemon juice over each pancake.

Squeeze the remaining lemon juice into the yoghurt and serve alongside the pancakes.

Allow to cool slightly, break into pieces your baby can handle, dip into the yoghurt then pass to baby to feed him or herself and let the fun begin.

Tzatziki

There are many varieties of tzatziki out there - but this is the fail-safe recipe I use time and time again which complements a variety of Greek dishes and which goes down a storm each and every time.

Combine 200g Greek natural yoghurt with a quarter of a cucumber finely grated, 1 large clove of garlic, crushed and about a tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves and stir through - simple but fantastic.

Mooli's

Today after two years of meaning to, I finally made it to Moolis in Frith Street for lunch, with my good friend Steph.

I've seen praise for Moolis from the likes of The Guardian, The Metro and Evening Standard to name just a few, so naturally expectations were high.
Moolis offers roti wraps with a variety of fillings - six in total, with two vegetarian options. Steph opted for the Goan pork with pomegranate salsa and was left so satisfied she exclaimed excitedly halfway through "this is better than Wahaca", where she has recently discovered and loved. I had to agree with her - it had the perfect level of spice for me, the pork had a juicy picquancy and the cooling crunch of the fruit was an idylic partner - scrummy.
I had the Keralan beef with coconut, salsa and yoghurt. The beef was again spiced beautifully, and flaky, spiced pieces simply melted in my mouth. The salsa running through the roti really was tasty and just highlighted the overall freshness of it all - the roti had no grease at all - lovely.
The moolis are quite large so if you're less greedy than Steph and I then you can opt for the mini versions or the salad box (I won't be sharing titbits on what these are like as my apetite is large as regular readers will know).
The moolis are around £5 each and for £1 more you can get either a side dish, a lassis or a fruit juice. We both had a lime and minty affair - which was refreshingly lovely and felt like a sin-free mojito.
I couldn't resist trying a mango kulfi afterwards, which are served on a stick like a creamy lolly. It wasn't that strong on mango flavour to be honest - but it didn't matter, there was enough creamy spiced yumminess to satisfy by sweet craving. It was the perfect finale to a very cheap (£8.50) and very satisfying lunch.
I can honestly say that after more than 6 years of working in London this is one of the best grab-and-go lunches I've had (with maybe the exception of The Japanese Canteen. Chicken Katsu Curry which has helped me survive many a work hangover).
It may have taken me two years to get here - but I will definitely be returning sooner rather than later and if this is Indian street food then get me to an Indian street, and fast.
http://www.moolis.com/