Spinach and ricotta pinwheels

These have become a new lunch time favourite, and so easy to take out when we are on the move.

Spinach and Ricotta Pinwheels

Makes lots! 40+

Ingredients:

6 sheets puff pastry, thawed

I tsp oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic (or more to taste)

180g spinach, shredded
300g ricotta

Parmesan to stop (optional) 

Method

Preheat oven to 180C

 

Step 1

Lightly fry onions and garlic until transparent. Add roughly chopped spinach and stir until wilted. Set aside to cool.

Step 2

Stir ricotta into spinach mix.

Step 3

Spread spinach and ricotta mix onto pastry sheets, leaving a 2cm gap at one end. Roll into a tight log, starting at the opposite edge and sealing along the plain edge. Repeat with remaining pastry sheets.

Step 4

Cut into 1cm widths and place on baking tray. Sprinkle with parmesan if desired. 

Step 5

Bake at 180 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

We loved these fresh from the oven, but they are also great cold. We freeze in meal sized batches, then I just pop a container in our bag as we head out, and they are thawed by the time we are ready for lunch!

Blueberry Coconut Breakfast Balls

After posting this picture to Instagram I had heaps of requests for the recipe, so here it is!

Blueberry Coconut Breakfast Balls

Makes approx 12

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almond flour
1/3 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup berries of choice (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp melted coconut oil

Method

Step 1

Mix all ingredients in a blender/food processor until well combined

Step 2

Form into balls and refridgerate until needed.

I used fresh blueberries this time, as they are Squishes favourite. I have some frozen mixed berries ready for the next batch. I also ended up making making the balls much smaller when she actually ate them, breaking in half and reforming them into balls as she ate. 

Recipe inspo here :)

 

Our 1st Month of BLW

Our first month of BLW has been a huge success. From baby's first meal to her first time eating in a restaurant, she's learned so much, so quickly and has blown us away.

The pictures below document everything our girl ate in her first month of BLW, I post them daily on Instagram. There were (and still are) a few days when she only has one or two meals due to sleeping through meal times or through us being out and about. Most days we try for three meals and she eats as much, or as little, as she wants to.

For interest, I'll list her meals after the images.

Obviously some meals fit more than one category, I've tried to be as clear as possible! :D

GRAINS
Weetbix
Whole grain toast (plain, vegemite and peanut butter)
Crumpets
Banana muffins
Porridge
Baked Porridge finger
Cheese Pizza
Naan bread
Pasta
Pikelets
Yorkshire pudding
Stuffing


FRUIT

Banana
Strawberry
Pear
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Mango
Pineapple
Orange
Grapefruit
Peach



VEGETABLES
Green onions
Cucumber
Tomato
Potato
Celery
Red Capsicum
Cos lettuce stalks
Butternut Pumpkin
Brown onion
Broccoli
Carrot
Snow Peas
Zucchini
Sweetcorn
Green Beans
Cauliflower
Peas
Spinach

DAIRY & EGGS

Eggy Banana Bread
Greek Yoghurt
Scrambled Eggs
Cheesy Omelette
Cheddar
Cream cheese
Quiche

MEAT & FISH
Bacon
Steak
Minced Beef
Tuna
Hoki

Hulk Muffins (a BLW favourite!)

 

If you have ever read anything about Baby Led Weaning, then you have probably seen a reference to "Hulk" Muffins - so called for their bright green colouring. There are many recipes about, and many that I have seen call for honey, which is a strict no no for under 1s, and often salt which should also be limited. The fact that these muffins are PACKED with spinach which is great for getting in the extra iron that baby needs meant that I needed to improvise a little. After looking at a quite a few recipes (including many shared on Baby Led Weaning for Beginners) here's what I came up with.

Honey Free Hulk Muffins

Makes approx 12

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour plus 2 tsp baking powder OR 2 cups whole wheat Self Raising flour

1-2 tsp cinnamon (I like a little extra!)

3/4 cup full fat milk

1 tsp vanilla extract or essence

1/2 cup golden syrup (in place of honey - you could use honey if your little is over 1 year old)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1 large banana

180g baby or regular spinach (as close to this as possible - some bags I have seen are only 160g)

Method

Step 1

Preheat oven to 170C and prepare your muffin pans. You can use liners or spray with cooking oil. Next time I make these I'll prepare a few mini muffin size as well!

Step 2

Combine flour (and baking powder if needed) and cinnamon in a bowl.

Step 3

Blend all the remaining ingredients together until completely mixed. You may have to stop to scrape down the sides occasionally.

Step 4

Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and fold together until just combined.

Step 5

Spoon batter into the muffin pans, filling about 3/4 full. 

Step 6

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until muffins are firm when pressed on top. If you choose mini muffins, check them regularly. Mine did start to brown slightly as I left them a little too long!

Step 7

Cool on a tray before serving

or not! we shared one still warm with melted butter!

My little girl loves these. I am considering a savory version too, somehow working a little cheese into the mix and omitting the syrup. But for now, if you try these, let me know what you think!

 

Baby's First Meal!

 We had been planning baby's first meal for a long time. Initially we thought it might come later, around Christmas or her 1st birthday, when all we knew about was the 'traditional' way of introducing solids.

Once we learned about Baby Led Weaning, we knew right away what the first family meal we would share would be. The first meal hubby ever cooked for me was a roast chicken dinner, and that would be the first dish he would cook for our girl.

After all the build up, I had to keep reminding him that it was possible she wouldn't eat anything. Some babies don't really self-feed much until 8 or even 10 months according to what we had read. He was fine with that, you only get one first meal, so we wanted to make it special either way.

The next step was a matter of when. There are certain markers for readiness when it comes to starting solids, not just with BLW. Baby had been sitting up independently since 5 months, so we had that covered. She had lost her tongue thrust reflex. All we were really waiting for was to reach the 6 month mark.

The meal was a huge success. She was right into it! They say that one of the signs of readiness is interest in food. She had been watching us intently during meal time for the past few weeks, she put all that observation to great use! She not only picked up the food and brought it to her mouth, she actually ate some of it! We also learned some useful info on how to prepare food for her in the future (finding the balance between soft to eat, but not too soft to squish as she picks it up).


We were apprehensive about baby's 6 month appointment, wondering what they would have to say about the fact that we had only started solids the day before not two months earlier, and that we were doing BLW. When asked about solids, I said that no, we hadn't started cereal, we were going stright to 'table food' - the MCHN suggested we look into BLW! I told her that's what we were doing, I was just used to people not understanding. We showed her some photos from the night before and she was thrilled. Just popped in the reminder of no honey under 1 and to make sure that everything else was prepared appropriately. She also reminded up to offer lots of iron rich foods, and to breastfeed before meals.

We could not have asked for a more positive experience for baby's first meal!

Starting Solids

I absolutely love to cook. Being married to a fussy eater, being able to cook for baby was something I was really looking forward to. Then just before her 4 month appointment, someone mentioned that I would soon be able to feed her rice cereal.

I didn't really know much about that, but could vaguely remember mum mixing up bowls of mush for my two younger sisters. Googling "baby rice cereal" sent me down the rabbit hole that is starting solids and the conflicting advice parents are given from every source.

Some things I learned on my first day of research:
- the majority of baby's nutrition before 12 months should come from breastmilk or formula
- baby should have nothing but BM or formula before 6 months
- there is almost zero nutritional value to rice cereal (arguably the added iron)
- there are signs of readiness such as being able to sit unassisted and loss of the tongue thrust reflex that should be met before baby starts solids
- there are no 'first foods' and baby can eat anything that is prepared appropriately, with the exception of honey
- there is no need to introduce foods in a certain order, or one at a time
- foods known to cause allergies should be introduced as close to 6 months as possible, and under medical guidance if there is a family history of allergies
- baby doesn't need to eat purees if she waits until 6 months to begin solids.

The last point was interesting to me and led me into the world of Baby Led Weaning. I was pleased to see that sources including the NHS and the Australian Breastfeeding Association recommend beginning baby with finger foods. I was also disheartened to learn that although the WHO recommendation clearly states no food before 6 months, many guidelines still mention starting puree at 4 months. And I suppose that makes sense, if you introduce baby to solid food before they have lost their tongue thrust reflex, and before they can sit unsupported, the only way you can possibly feed them is to mush everything up.

Following all my research, I was disappointed to turn up to our 4 month appointment and be told to start baby on rice cereal. When I said that we weren't doing that, and that we would be waiting until the recommended 6 months to start solids, I was given a sheet of which foods I should start first, in which order, and how long to wait between new foods. So much outdated information!

 I then had to endure two months of being asked by family why I was making baby 'miss out' on solids, as my cousin's little boy who is three weeks older started at 4 months. I just repeated the same line over and over, "We are waiting until the recommended 6 months so baby can share family food right away." I then had to deal with my mum defensively telling me that she just did what she thought was best when we were little, and we turned out ok. All I could say was, yes, you did your best at the time, now I am doing my best with the information I have available.

With all that in mind, I grabbed the Baby Led Weaning Cookbook and got planning!

https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Baby-led-Weaning-Cookbook-Gill-Rapley/9780091935283

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