Breakfast

  • Breakfast, Food

    Toddler-Friendly French Toast

    Something I love about moving on from the initial weaning process when it comes to first foods is that an entire world of easy food opens up as they get a little older. We started with baby-led weaning and found it suited our lifestyle and the way we wanted to feed our daughter so much better, even though I will be the first to admit that I was a little nervous to start, but once we got going and I saw how easy it was I was hooked. In the early days, between 6 months to a year, I definitely found that I would often batch make extra things for lunches although most of the time we would eat the same, they were always good to have on hand.

    The great thing about baby-led weaning is that you can all eat the same and together, and this is something that moves through toddlerhood and beyond. One thing I didn’t want was to be making separate dinners or being eating at different times, and thankfully, so far, we’ve been able to maintain that. Something we also loved doing throughout the first 6 months of weaning was eating 100 foods before 1. It’s a fun challenge where you see how many new foods and flavours you can tick off your list before your baby turns 1. We loved it and found it nice and easy to complete, so much so that I created our own list into a PDF once we had completed it and you can download it here if you would like to try it.

    Toddler-Friendly French Toast

    At the time of writing I am in my second trimester of pregnancy and it has recently been all about French toast for breakfast, so I have been sharing this with my almost two year old daughter, and she’s been loving it too. She’s very open to new flavours and foods at the moment, something that I think is to do with our baby-led weaning experiences, although maybe it’s just one of those things.

    I thought today I would share with you a simple French Toast recipe I use for both my toddler and also the adults in this house. It’s tasty, easy to whip up and in our house is a firm toddler favourite.

    Toddler Friendly French Toast

    Toddler Friendly French Toast

    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes

    Ingredients

    • 2 Eggs (Beaten)
    • 2 tsp Vanilla Essence
    • 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
    • 3 slices Bread

    Instructions

    1. Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk
    2. Add in the vanilla essence and cinnamon and mind until smooth
    3. Coat both side of bread with mixture and pop into frying pan
    4. Cook on both sides
    5. Serve with fruit, bacon and syrup of your choice

    As you can see this is a super simple recipe to create and whip up in the morning. For myself I serve it as the picture shows and for my daughter I usually cut it into to strips. She loves it with blueberries (her favourite fruit) and a little honey (because she is over 1). Another great recipe is bacon and maple syrup as it is super tasty too.

    If you give this a try let me know, I would love to hear if you little one’s love it too.

  • Breakfast, Food

    6 ridiculously easy toddler breakfast ideas

    You know what it is like, another morning where all you want is to sit down over your coffee (or tea) but your brain immediately springs into breakfast mode and what on this earth you are going feed your toddler today.

    We had a great weaning journey from 6 months to a year. So far (at 19 months) she eats everything but tomatoes. I used to share weaning content all the time so I thought I would bring myself out of retirement and share with you some ridiculously easy toddler breakfasts to break up the monotony.

    blur breakfast close up dairy product
    Photo by Ash on Pexels.com

    Let’s get started with the breakfast ideas

    Pancakes

    A firm breakfast favourite in our house is pancakes and I have found these brilliant from weaning and beyond. I use a really simple pancake recipe that is very easy to make. As a side note it also makes great Yorkshire Puddings too. We do have the swan pancake maker which does make perfectly sized pancakes for little hands, but you can easily make these in a regular pan too. Pre-1 year old I would always serve up pancakes plain with the addition of fruit with some yogurt as well. Now she is past 1 years old I still do this but I will also have options such as adding honey. Honey is only suitable for children over 1 year – please do your own research on this. Now I usually add honey with lemon or with her strawberries – and she absolutely loves it. 

    Omelette

    We have a joke in our house that weekends equal omelette as that is her dad’s favourite thing to serve her for breakfast and he often gets up with her and does her breakfast at weekends. There are so many options when it comes to making an omelette and we just crack an egg and whisk it and fry it in a pan. You can add anything vegetables you like as well as topping it with cheese. In our house anything with cheese always goes down well. 

    Baked oat fingers

    Baked oat fingers are a great on the go breakfast or something to pop alongside other parts of the breakfast. These are well loved by both us and our toddler, and there are so many different variations you can create. I tend to stick towards fruits such as blueberries, strawberries or raspberries but I have been known to throw in some chocolate chips from time to time when I make some for us. I have the basic recipe here but you can totally make what works for you. Next on my agenda is peanut butter and banana (I will share the recipe when I have it) and I really recommend white chocolate and raspberry. These can be frozen and eaten hot or cold.

    Baked oat fingers breakfast

    Waffle fingers

    Like above these are another great recipe that you can serve alone or as part of your toddlers breakfast. I don’t have the waffle recipe written out but there will be so many online that you can use. I know I did lemon and blueberry and they went down a treat. All you need to do is create (or replicate) the recipe, cook the waffles in a waffle maker or square mould and then cut them into fingers. I batch cooked these and then put them into the freezer and bought them out 1 or 2 at a time. You can serve these hot or cold.

    Some cereals

    I am, in general, against breakfast cereals because the sugar content is so damn high and they offer very little in terms of nutrition. However, we do have a couple of exceptions and she loves them; Cornflakes or plain weetabix. These work brilliantly on days where I just want to get something served up quickly.

    Egg muffins

    These are a great option any time of day and for adults and toddlers alike. We loved serving these up when we were weaning as they were so simple for H to hold and eat herself. For the recipe, I usually eyeball what I am doing and don’t necessarily follow a strict recipe. I would add a couple of eggs, a dash (or more of milk), some grated cheese and some vegetables. Mix everything together, pour them into a silicone cupcake cases and sprinkle some grated cheese on top. Then cook for about 15 minutes or until well done. These are then stored in the fridge and last a couple of days, if they’ve not been eaten by then.

    My daughter has always been weaned using the baby led weaning approach. We waited until the recommended 6 months before trying her first foods. I hope this helps you on your weaning journey. If you are just starting out don’t forget to download my popular 100 foods before 1 checklist – it’s a lot of fun!

  • Breakfast, Food

    Dairy free Banana & Peanut butter baked oat fingers

    Another day another baked oat finger recipe, this time its dairy free and includes peanut butter and banana. I find baked oats so versatile and something the whole family really enjoy. We give my toddler these and she has had them in some version since we started weaning her at six months. 

    Today I want to share with you this simple recipe so you can make it yourself for yourself or for little hands too. You can swap any of the ingredients around. It’s a really versatile little recipe so feel free to add and change things as you wish. Right, let’s get going.

    dairy free baked oat finger on a plate

    Dairy free Banana & Peanut butter baked oat recipe

    I have been lucky for a while that since I was pregnant I stopped having the previous issues I had with dairy. Recently though I started to get some of the signs that I was having dairy issues again. I decided to cut dairy straight from my diet and I already feel so much better. This recipe is dairy free but you could totally make it with dairy options.

    I haven’t tried it with an egg replacement, but you could certainly give it a go and make this recipe vegan too.

    Sourdough Discard American Style Pancakes

    Sourdough Discard American Style Pancakes

    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes

    Ingredients

    • 200 g Sourdough starter discards
    • 200 g Self raising flour, Organic if possible
    • 1 tsp Baking powder
    • 300 ml Milk
    • 2 Eggs

    Instructions

    1. Measure out your milk
    2. Crack your eggs into the milk and whisk together
    3. Add your sourdough starter and whisk until smooth
    4. Add your baking powder to your flour and mix
    5. Add flour and baking powder mix to your milk, egg and sourdough mix, whisk together until smooth
    6. Add some oil or butter to your pan/pancake maker and using a ladle add some mixture and cook on both sides until brown

    Other (Dairy free & regular) options

    As I said above, this recipe is incredible versatile. As long as you have the Yogurt, egg and oats you can create whatever you like. I though I would list some amazing alternatives below:

    1. Raspberry and white chocolate
    2. Blueberry
    3. Strawberry and dark chocolate
    4. Sultanas
    5. Chocolate chip
    6. Pear and dark chocolate
    7. Apple
    8. Peach

    Check out the video too

    I also decided to have a bit of fun with this recipe and turned it into an Instagram reel. Be sure to check it out and leave me a comment! Don’t forget to give me a follow too if you’d like!

  • Breakfast, Food

    Porridge Fingers

    Today I want to introduce you to our version of porridge fingers. We started our baby-led weaning journey with our daughter when she turned six months old and it has been a time of exploration, excitement and a lot of mess. It has also been a time of finding out what she loves, what she doesn’t love and everything in between. If you are just starting your weaning journey be sure to follow us on Instagram where I share a lot of what I feed her on a daily basis.

    Porridge fingers aren’t a new idea and definitely aren’t something that I have created myself, but I have tweaked a recipe that someone gave me, but I definitely can’t take credit for the overall idea. As I mentioned, this a recipe I tweaked and it was just passed along from a friend (who I have permission from to post) but there are tons of recipes out in the world and many different variations, but I wanted to come on today and share with you how I make my porridge fingers, give you some ideas on what variations you might try as well as ways to store and keep them. 

    photo of porridge fingers

    How to make Porridge fingers:

    Oatmeal Fingers

    Oatmeal Fingers

    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes

    Ingredients

    • 80 g Oats
    • 2 medium organic eggs
    • 3 tbsp of yogurt

    Instructions

    1. Whisk both eggs
    2. Add yogurt and mix together
    3. Add in the oats and mix until all oats are thoroughly coated in the egg/yogurt mixture
    4. Spread out evenly on a baking tray
    5. Cook for around 20 minutes/until golden brown
    6. Leave to cool and cut into fingers

    There are so many different options and variations that you can try when it comes to porridge fingers and what I have found works best for us is trying a few different options and seeing what my daughters enjoys the most. 

    Not just for kids:

    Although obviously I am talking here about these being great finger foods for babies, whether you are following baby led weaning or traditional weaning (these make great finger foods!), they work brilliantly and my daughter absolutely loves them. They are also great for adults too and I have made these in some format or another as snacks for my husbands and I too.

    Variations:

    The great thing about this recipe is that it really can be the base for literally any variation, you can add any kind of fruit (blueberries and raspberries are firm favourites here), you can change up the flavour of the yogurt rather than using something plain, you can add chocolate chips and you can even used flavoured porridge. We had some leftover sachets of the quick microwaveable porridge oats that were getting close in use by date that I used and they came out lovely, my daughter particularly loved the blueberry and banana batch and I very much enjoyed the maple and pecan ones (so much so that nobody else even saw sight of them). You can totally be creative with what you have in and what you or you babies/children enjoy.

    Oat fingers on a plate

    When to eat them:

    Is anytime not the answer here? Ha! I love adding them to my daughters breakfast some days but these also make a great snack too. You and your children can enjoy them at any time of the day. 

    How to store them:

    You can keep them in the fridge for a couple of days (if they last that long) an they also freeze very well. Sometimes, after I have defrosted them and if I am serving them for breakfast I will warm them a little in the microwave.

  • Breakfast, Food

    Simple breakfast pancakes!

    Pancakes seem to be a huge pregnancy craving of mine and although I have posted a couple of times my variations of my foray into the world of keto pancakes and low carb inspired pancakes, I wanted to hop and tell you guys about a very normal, very English pancake recipe. What I love about this recipe is not just that the pancakes taste great (because they do) but also that I am pretty sure you’ll be able to whip up these ingredients at a moments notice and from things you are more than likely going to have in stock too! There is nothing unique or special about this recipe at all and you can probably find it a zillion other places on the internet too, but it is good, it is what I love and you won’t be sorry you tried it.

    pancakes

    Simple Pancakes Recipe

    Simple Crepe Pancakes

    Simple Crepe Pancakes

    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 15 minutes

    Ingredients

    • 100g of Plain Flour
    • 300ml of Milk
    • 2 eggs, beaten

    Instructions

    1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth (you might want to whisk your eggs, add them to the milk and whisk both together before adding the flour. This helps create a nice smooth mixture).
    2. Add a small amount of oil to a pan (again, I use coconut oil but it really is personal preference).
    3. Pour a little mix into the pan and cook evenly on both sides.

    Ingredients:

    • 100g of Plain Flour
    • 300ml of Milk (I used Unroasted Almond milk but you can use whatever you prefer)
    • 2 eggs, beaten

    Method:

    (Now this is the real easy part)

    1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth (you might want to whisk your eggs, add them to the milk and whisk both together before adding the flour. This helps create a nice smooth mixture).
    2. Add a small amount of oil to a pan (again, I use coconut oil but it really is personal preference).
    3. Pour a little mix into the pan and cook evenly on both sides.

    (See, told you it was easy)

    Yield: Six medium pancakes

    Next decide on your filling/topping. My usual go-to has to be the tradition lemon and sugar, but for this recipe I went all out and made a cherry & chocolate extravaganza; Using Sweet Freedom chocolate pot spread inside the pancakes, a drizzle of the Sweet Freedom Chocolate and Coconut shot across the top and some morello cherries. I was not disappointed at all!

    What is your favourite pancake topping?

  • Breakfast, Food

    Why you should add a daily butter coffee to your routine

    DAILY COFFEE

    I am not a massive coffee drinker but I always like a yummy coffee mid-morning! I get a lot of questions about the coffee I drink in particular and why it is so good, but did you know coffee in general has a ton of health benefits too? I urge you to do your own research of course (I suggest an article by healthline about coffee being good or bad), the internet is wide and you can find out some of the benefits you will find from coffee.

    Some of the benefits of Coffee in general:

    1. High in antioxidants.
    2. Can be linked to a reduction in diseases.
    3. Contains essential nutrients.
    4. May protect your brain health.

    What about caffeine?

    Caffeine can have some effects on certain people but my first reaction, after learning how decaffeinated coffee is made (think lots of chemicals and waaaaaay less benefits), is that the individual will know firstly whether they can tolerate, or secondly whether they have a medical issue in which case they should always consult a medical clinician.

     

    coffee

     

    Why I love my coffee!

    My Coffee has Green Coffee Beans, which are rich in antioxidants which we all know are good for our body. Antioxidants can help to reduce the effects of free radicals (free radicals often play a major role in disease formation) which are damaged cells. Green Coffee Beans also contain chlorogenic acid, which can help reduce food cravings and boost your metabolism. Yes your cup of coffee could help you lose weight!

    An ingredient people often can’t get their head round is the Grass fed butter, but did you know that butter from grass fed cows is high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids and is considered one of the healthiest fats on the planet? Yes, you might not have been sold the truth on butter all these years. If you don’t have grass fed butter in your diet then you definitely might want to do some research as to why this fat might have a place in your diet. As always, if you have a medical condition or food allergy please consult a clinician. As well as essential Fatty Acids you will also find soluable vitamins too. “But what about heart disease” I hear you say – well guess what? A number of high profile studies have shown that there are no links between these fats and heart disease.

    MCT Oil means Medium Chain Triglycerides and is a fatty acids that comes with a whole host of health benefits, including improved cognitive function, supports gut health, is anti-inflammatory, helps you to maintain a healthy weight, balances your hormone levels and absorbs fat soluble nutrients.

     

    coffee

    Don’t just listen to me, do your own research, there is so much out there if you are willing to look! Fat free, Sugar Free, Low Fat, Low Sugar….all things we’re told is the healthy way to go, but when you really look into the ingredients in these items you will find it packed with artificial chemicals, sweeteners and nasty fillers. You should be careful with your sugar intake but I urge you to look at what artificial sweeteners can do to your health, but as for healthy fats, you don’t need to fear them.

    Don’t take my word for it though, do your own research, make yourself aware and if you want some tips on where to look I will be happy to provide them. Bet you will look at a cup of coffee differently in future!

    Want to try a sachet or more of butter coffee? Register your interest!

    As always, this is my own personal opinion based on the research I have undertaken myself. Always speak to your own Doctor or Clinician if you have any worries, concerns or you need advice. Everything on this page is personal opinion from my own research only and is not to be used in place of medical advice.
  • Breakfast, Food

    The BEST low carb pancakes you will ever try!

    Tasty pancakes using Almond AND Coconut Flour

    Today I have another fun pancake recipe post for you, a fun 6 ingredient low carb recipe. I know I shared a post the other week with you about some great keto inspired pancakes and I still love those, but this recipe is for those of you who prefer a more American style to your pancake. By that I mean, you love your pancakes much fluffier. These pancakes are made with both Almond and Coconut flour and are low carb, keto inspired, Paleo and naturally gluten free. Oh, and if you don’t follow any of those diets or lifestyles, don’t worry, they are just a great, tasty pancake too!

    Personally, I could spend every day eating pancakes, and if it wasn’t for the fact that sometimes I just like to grab and go I might very well make these a little more than I do, the great thing though is just how easy they are to make a big batch. What I love to do is dedicate some time, make a huge batch and freeze them in two’s, this was I can grab them in a morning from the freezer and just quickly reheat them with minimal fuss.

    Keto, Low Carb, Paleo etc

    My previous Keto Inspired Pancake recipe was made with solely Coconut flour, which I love, but this time round I was looking at changing up the texture and that is where the almond flour came in. Let me tell you, it worked! You cannot tell at all that these are not regular pancakes with regular flour. I am not great at working out recipes for myself so I was inspired by the Wholesome Yum Blog and their approach to low carb pancakes, and just made a few slight adjustments. What I loved the most about these pancakes was just how much they taste like a regular pancake but they are keto friendly, low carb and naturally gluten free. They also only take a few minutes to prepare with just a handful of ingredients, more than likely things that you have in your cupboards too.

    Why I love my pancake maker!

    To cook them we are lucky enough to own a pancake maker, the Electric Party Wok and Pancake Maker Set of 6 Woks and Wooden Spatula Non-Slip Coating, which is just a pancake hot plate, but definitely worth the investment if you ask me. We use it all the time for making pancakes, as well as making mini omelettes too. If you are a fan of making in bulk and freezing items such as pancakes and omelettes I definitely suggest adding one of these to your kitchen.

    Ingredients

    ½ cup of Almond Flour

    1/8 cup of Coconut Flour

    1 tbsp of Stevia (or sweetener of your choice)

    ½ tsp of Gluten Free baking powder

    3 Eggs

    3 tbsp of Coconut Almond Milk

    ½ tsp of Vanilla Extract

    A pinch of sea salt

    The BEST low carb pancakes you will ever try

    The BEST low carb pancakes you will ever try

    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 15 minutes

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup of Almond Flour
    • 1/8 cup of Coconut Flour
    • 1 tbsp of Stevia (or sweetener of your choice)
    • ½ tsp of Gluten Free baking powder
    • 3 Eggs
    • 3 tbsp of Coconut Almond Milk
    • ½ tsp of Vanilla Extract
    • A pinch of sea salt

    Instructions

    1. Add all ingredients into a bowl and whisk until it forms a batter like consistency. If you find it is a little too thick feel free to add a little more milk until you have a consistency you are happy with.
    2. At this point we lightly grease our pancake maker with a dab of coconut oil and ladle mixture into the rings. Heat until bubbles start to form and then flip and cook on the other side. Repeat until you have used all of your mixture.
    3. If you don’t have a pancake maker, melt some coconut oil into a frying pan and add battle until it covers the bottom of the pan. Cook until bubbles start to form and then flip over and cook the other side. Repeat until you have used all of your batter.

    Net Carbs per 2x 3” pancake: 1g

    What next?

    I suggest storing these either in the fridge if you plan on eating them within the next day or two, or you can add a couple to a freezer bag, pop then in the freezer and grab a bag every time you want some more. This makes it so easy.