Quick and healthy toddler food recipes from Growing-Up Milk

Children’s food expert Fiona Faulkner has teamed up with www.growingupmilkinfo.com to create a range of healthy and nutritious (not to mention quick and simple) recipes especially for toddlers (and busy mums!). (They could always be made with normal milk if you've gone through that stage too.)

Twisted Macaroni Cheese

Serves 6 toddlers

Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

300g dried pasta twists

400ml Growing Up Milk - ready-made or made up from powder

40g plain flour, sifted

40g unsalted butter

150g grated hard cheese – plus extra to sprinkle

100g frozen peas

100g frozen sweetcorn

100g cooked chicken, cut into small pieces

1 crust of bread

1 medium tomato, sliced

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C / fan 180 / Gas Mark 6. Get the pasta cooking as per the pack instructions.
2. Place the Growing Up Milk in a medium non-stick saucepan with the flour and butter. On a medium-high heat keep stirring with a whisk. As it comes to a boil, it will thicken to a sauce. This will take 5 minutes or so – be patient and don’t stop whisking!
3. Add the cheese and stir to melt. Add the peas, sweetcorn and chicken. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it off and tip into a casserole dish. Stir through the sauce.

4. Tear up the crust of bread to make crumbs (or put in the food processer for a few seconds) and use to cover the pasta. Finally top it all off with the slices of tomato and any extra grated cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes until crispy and golden. Allow to cool a little before serving.

FIONA’S TIP:

·         This sauce freezes easily – simply pour into a freezer bag and defrost in the fridge when you need it – adding a little more Growing Up Milk when you reheat in a pan.

Magic Carrot Soup

Creates 4-6 toddler portions

Prep Time: 5 minutes / Cook Time: approx 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

50g unsalted butter

1 onion, chopped

500g carrots, chopped

500ml reduced salt vegetable stock

100g dried red lentils

300ml water

½ tsp salt – plus a good twist of pepper

3 tablespoons growing up milk - ready-made or made up from powder form

METHOD

1. Melt the butter in a large non-stick pan on a medium heat and sauté the onion for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, stock, lentils and water and rapidly simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally towards the end, until the carrots are tender. Stir through the salt, pepper and Growing Up Milk.
3. Allow to cool for a few minutes then blitz in a blender (or similar) until it’s smooth. Test for temperature and then serve.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

• Add some gentle spice by adding 1 tsp ground cumin at stage 1 of the method. You could also use ground ginger.
• Add a tin of drained butterbeans instead of the lentils.

FIONA’S TIP!

·         Serve with chunky bits of bread (or even cooked pasta shapes) thrown into the soup, to soak it up.

Banana-Blueberry American-style Pancakes

Creates approx 20 toddler sized pancakes

Prep Time: 5 minutes / Cook Time: Approx 20-30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

125g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 dessertspoons caster sugar

100ml Growing Up Milk (ready-made or made up from powder form)

1 egg

1 tbsp melted butter

2 large ripe bananas

150g blueberries

Vegetable oil to fry

METHOD

1. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the sugar, Growing Up Milk, egg and butter and stir to combine.
2. Mash the banana and add this along with the blueberries. Gently stir through.
3. Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan (just enough to cover) on a medium-high heat. Once you see a little smoke coming off the pan, add a generous tablespoon of the mix. Then add another one or two alongside (don’t overcrowd the pan or make these too big).
4. Leave them to fry off for a good minute or so before using a spatula to turn them over and finish off until golden brown on each side.
5. Leave to drain on a plate with kitchen roll and finish off the mix until it’s all cooked, adding more oil as you need. Alternatively, cook as many as you want and then leave the batter, covered, in the fridge for up to 24 hours (the banana will go brown – but this wont affect the taste).

SERVING SUGGESTION:

• Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon / nutmeg to the batter for added flavour.

FIONA’S TIPS:

• Don’t worry if the first batch goes wrong – for some reason chefs often find this to be the case with cooking pancakes! Just try not to have the heat either too hot or too low.
• Contrary to popular belief, pancakes can be made in advance (well, I do this anyway!) Simply make up a batch and leave in the fridge, covered, laying them on top of each other. Then place on a non-stick baking tray and reheat in an oven!
• I tend to cook pancakes in oil – so the butter doesn’t burn.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Kids' app review : Sara’s Cooking Class

Good Natured Winter Warmer recipe challenge

Cookery Book Review : Take A Box of Eggs