*Pudding Idea* Avocado with honey & crushed walnuts

Avocados are super rich in healthy fats and packed with folate.

To make this lovely pudding, simply half an avocado, remove the stone, spread a teaspoon of honey (over 1 year olds only) or agave nectar and sprinkle with crushed walnuts (more healthy fats and omegas) and serve.

If your toddler isn't handy with a spoon, just cut it in chunks.

*Meal Idea* Bulgur Wheat with Roasted Butternut Squash & Red Pepper

Bulgur Wheat is a great alternative to rice. In this recipe, I tried to emulate a risotto but the bulgur makes it a lot lighter. I browned some onions and courgette and then cooked the bulgur with them. I also roasted a whole butternut squash and half a red pepper, drizzled with a little olive oil and a little rosemary and thyme.

Once the butternut squash and the red pepper was roasted, I just scooped the flesh out and plumped it on a bed of bulgur wheat and served it.

For myself, I sprinkled it with a little parmesan but for Isabel I just added fresh coriander.

Sugar-Free Rich Tea Biscuits

I absolutely stole this recipe from here. Patricia cooks the lovelies vegan, sugar-free food. I've been trying to get my hands on a good sugar-free biscuit recipe for ages. Although I'm trying to keep Izzie's tastebuds away from too much sweetness, a dry starchy snack can come in handy, especially when we are out and need to minimise the mess.

They're also so easy to make. We made big ones and also little ones for tiny hands, therefore, I can't tell you exactly how many this recipe yields but according to Patricia, it makes 550 g!

Vegan Wholewheat Sugar-Free Rich Tea Biscuits by Patricia is Cooking.

Ingredients:

325 g of Wholewheat Flour
125 g of Dates
125 g of Olive Oil
45 g of Cream (we used Oat Cream)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 pinch of Salt
Milk as needed

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 180º C.

Using a food processor, mix the dates with the flour and baking powder. I started off by blitzing the dates with my handheld blender as my food processor jug was too big to ensure the dates were well minced.

Once the dates are well mixed with the flour, add the remaining ingredients apart from the milk. If your mixture seems too dry, then add some milk. You want the mixture to not spring back when you poke it.

Using a rolling pin, stretch the dough until it's just about 2 or 3 mm thick and cut into shapes using a cookie cutter or a glass. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. The thinner you cut them, the crispier they will be.

Orange and Raisin Scones

These lovely orange and raisin scones make an excellent easy breakfast. These scones are sweet without being loaded with sugar thanks to the sweetness of the orange zest.

They're so easy to bake and cook in less than 15 minutes.

As you can see by the picture, Izzie was ready to tuck in.

Orange and Raisin Scones 

Makes 6 scones.

Ingredients:

110 g plain Flour
1 tbsp Baking powder
30 g Sugar (we used Coconut Palm Sugar)
Pinch of Salt
30 g Coconut Oil
1 Orange grated rind
1/4 cup Raisins
1/4 Cream (we used Oat Cream), plus a bit more to glaze


Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 220ºC.

Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a bowl. Rub in the oil until the mixture has the texture of breadcrumbs.

Add the orange ring and raisins and mix evenly. Then add the cream until you have a soft dough.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's about 2 cm thick and use a large cookie cutter or glass to cut out rounds of around 6 cm diameter.

Place on baking sheet and glaze with cream. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.