Healthy Snacks, Recipes and Ideas for bubs
Here are some tips and recipes from other mums that will make feeding time easier, please email us if you have any to add

Some TIPS on feeding your little one

  • From when your child is able to, let them help you prepare their food with you. They will be much more inclined to eat something they have helped prepare. They can mix up an omlette mixture, put pasta in a bowl, scoop things into a bowl etc
  • Sit with your child/ren at dinner time, they will eat better seeing you eat
  • Feed baby when really hungry- not when slightly-
    They will not eat the whole meal & not need snacks.
  • Pick your child’s favourite ingredient in the meal and use it like the bread in a sandwich (ie. Hide all other filling inside) Eg. Cucumber sandwiches with fish inside or bolognaise in bread.
  • Grow a veggie patch! Teach your child where food comes from to help them appreciate it + enjoy it. They will love eating carrots that they grow themselves.
  • Try keep to 5 meals a day, frequent snacking will cause them not to eat properly at meal time.


Favourite Snacks

  • Popcorn is a great snack food. It is a good source of fiber and low in calories--until you add toppings.
  • Fruity Soda Drink-Combine equal amounts of carbonated water with fruit juice. Sweeten with honey, if desired.
  • use frozen veggies, they are easy and always available
  • Home made homous and veggie sticks
  • Olives
  • Almonds
  • Mini Wheats breakfast cereal or 1 packet of Wheat Bites To Go
  • Handful of home made pita chips (cut pita bread into triangles, sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese and bake 180ºC 15 - 20 minutes until crisp).
  • Small can baked beans, spaghetti or creamed corn.
  • frozen yoghurt
  • Grissini sticks
  • Steamed dim sims - still delicious cold
  • Sushi rice roll with avocado, carrot and tuna
  • Frozen banana

Favourite Recipes

Green cheesy pasta
Grate a zucchini, chop up some broccoli + throw in some peas from the freezer. You can add garlic at the beginning if you like.
Stir for a couple of minutes + add some grated cheese. Have the pasta cooking at the same time, when it’s finished, add the pasta to the green cheesy sauce + mix

Recipe for kids who refuse meat
500ml Apricot Nectar
500g-1kg Chicken Breast Thigh- in small pieces
A few tbs Onion Soup mix
Dried fruits
1.     Mix nectar with soup mix
2.    Pour over chicken + fruit to cover
3.    Bake covered for 45m – 1 hour
4.    If too much liquid- uncover + bake for 15 min more
They love the sweet taste!

Fish recipe
Any white fish eg. John Dory, pan fried really quick + easy.
Lentils + rice
1x tin lentils.
1 x tin tomatoes diced.
1 x onion.
1 x clove garlic
1 handful of coriander
A little oil
Chop onions finely, crush garlic
Saute
Add lentils + cook for 1-2 mins
Add tomatoes, allow to simmer for a few minutes.
Chop up coriander

Moroccan Cous Cous
4 dates (skin removed)
½ pumpkin
1 Carrot
2 apple
1 Cinnamon Stick
boil until soft
Take off Stove and add ½ cup Cous Cous and leave for 3 minutes, Drain and mash.

Chicken Corn Soup
3x cup chicken stock should be made with “home made stock”
1x tin corn-creamed
Tbl spoon corn flour
1x beaten egg
¼ cup seasome oil
Add chicken soup to corn oil and flour. Slowly dribble in beaten egg add some chicken pieces from stock add oil. Serve with chopped onion or soya sauce.


Arroz con Pollo (Mexican-style chicken and rice)
4 chicken thighs
3 drumsticks
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed
½ tsp cumin (maybe a bit less)
400g tin diced tomatoes
1 cup rice
2 cups stock
1 ½ tsp salt
Pepper
½ cup frozen peas (maybe a bit more)
1.    Brown chicken in the oil. Remove and set aside.
2.    Cook onion and carrots until soft (about 3 minutes).
3.    Add tomatoes, stock, cumin, rice, salt & pepper. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat.
4.    Place chicken into the pan neatly and cover. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes and turn off heat.
5.    Add peas and cover. Do not open (very important!) for at least 20 minutes.

Baby food: Baby spinach dahl
40g red lentils
25g rice
1 tsp olive oil
Pinch coriander
Pinch tumeric
1 cup stock
25g frozen chopped spinach
1 tomato (skinned, deseeded and finely chopped)
1.    Put lentils, rice, oil, spices & stock into saucepan. Bring the boil. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2.    Stir in spinach & tomato. Cook for 2 minutes
3.    Blend as required.

Cous Cous
Large Cous Cous boiled + cooked with some vegetable stock.
Add any meat or chicken mince
Add Mushrooms, Carrots, Spinach + Brocoli
It works with every meal.


Ocean Trout/Salmon Surprise
What:
Ocean Trout/Salmon
Potato.
Carrot
Onion
Frozen mix Veges (Pea/Carrot & Corn).
Any other veges that take your fancy.
How:
Steam/Boil Fish
In a separate bowl- put all veges (not frozen ones) in a pot with some water or stock & boil until soft. Add frozen ones 10 min before ready.
Puree or Mash Veges (depending on bub) & flake fish into the mixture.

Baked Macaroni
500G Macaroni
1 tin tomato soup
1 tin mushroom soup (cream of mushroom soup)
1 small tin tuna.
Garlic Salt
Grated Cheese (Cheddar)
Prepare the Macaroni.
Mix in soup, tuna, a bit of Cheddar Cheese, a sprinkle of Garlic salt + sprinkle more cheese on the top
Bake at 180C til crispy on top.

Easy meat balls
Mince Meat (chicken or beef).
1x Grated Apple
1x Grated onion
1x Grated carrot
Bread crumbs
1xEgg
Salt/Pepper
Combine all ingredients together.
Roll into small balls. Either bake in oven at 180C for 15-20 min or shallow fry until ready.

Grilled Salmon
Salmon fillets
Herbamere
Asparagus
Beetroot
Place beetroot cut into fingers and asparagus on a baking tray. Bake on 180C for 10min

Put salmon on tray. Sprinkle salmon and Veges with Herbamere and bake for 20-25 min.

Chickpeas snack
What you need:
    * 1 Can chickpeas
    * Olive oil
    * Salt

Drain chickpeas and pat dry with a paper towel. In a bowl, toss chickpeas with a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt. Spray baking sheet with non-fat olive oil spray and then spread chickpeas on pan. Roast on 400 for approximately 30 minutes. Toss about every 10 minutes to prevent burning. Let cool. Chickpeas will get crunchy upon cooling.

Helpful note:
Try sprinkling a favorite seasoning on the roasted chickpeas or try salt and paprika or sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar as they come out of the oven.

Sweet Potato Chips Recipe
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 400°F.
Coat a baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray.
Wash potatoes; Cut into thin slices and place in large bowl.
Drizzle oil over potatoes, tossing to combine.
Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, tossing in bowl to coat evenly.
Place slices in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, Bake 20 minutes.
Turn chips over and bake until slightly crisp, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to plate; cool 5 minutes and serve.
4-6 servings.

Zucchini Chips Recipe
1 medium zucchini
1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg whites

Cut zucchini into 1cm slices.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Put egg white in small bowl, set aside.
Stir together crumbs, pepper, and cheese in another small bowl.
Dip each zucchini slice into egg, then crumb mixture.
Place on greased cookie sheet.
Bake 10 minutes, flipping over half way.

Corn and Zuccini fritters
small can creamed corn
1 cup sushi rice
3 small - meduim zuccinis grated (skin on)
grated onion
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs (beaten)

Put all ingredients together in a bowl, mix well. make balls and flatten. Fry in a little oil, drain on kitchen towel to soak oil.