baby dahl, irish mash and best (guilt free) pancakes ever

These are so easy it is almost embarrassing! You can freeze all of them, yay! The puree's work well frozen in a silicon muffin tin or one sprayed with vege oil then popped out into a freezer bag.

Baby spinach dahl, about 6 serves (adapted from Good First Foods by Sara Lewis)

Bring to boil and simmer for 25 mins:

3T red lentils

2T white rice

1t oil

pinch ground coriander

pinch turmeric

1c homemade vege stock or water

You may need to monitor this and add a touch more water to stop it from sticking. 

Add 1 tomato, without skin and seeds

1 bunch spinach chopped, without stalks (you could use silverbeet too)

and cook for further 2 mins

Puree or mash to desired consistency.

Champ-cannon, 12 serves (adapted from River Cottage Baby and Toddler Cookbook by Nikki Duffy)

3 med-large potatoes

1/4 cabbage

a few spring onions

3 large stalks of silverbeet
Bit of natural yogurt

Peel and cook the potatoes and steam the very finely chopped greens above.

Puree or mash to desired consistency with yogurt and a little of the cooking water.

Whole Grain Pancakes, makes so many baby ones so make some for you too. (recipe lightly adapted from Chef Michael Smith but taken from the blog Poppytalk)

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat or almond flour
1 cup oatmeal
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, flour through to salt. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until well blended. Pour the wet into the dry and use a wooden spoon to lightly stir the batter smooth, being careful to not over mix. Let sit for 10 minutes so that the baking powder can do it's thing.

Heat over medium-high a large cast iron skillet or heavy pan and use a little butter or oil to grease the pan. Spoon batter into skillet - large pancakes or small pancakes. When you see bubbles rise on top and start to pop leaving holes, it's time to flip. Remove onto a plate covered with a large bowl to keep warm while you cook up the remaining batter. Babies enjoy these plain but serve yours with maple syrup, fresh fruit or jam and dig in.