Food / 16 August, 2020 / My Baba
Natasha Corrett is a chef and food writer who transformed her life through healthy eating. She is author of four bestselling cookbooks, former founder of ‘Honestly Healthy’ and current founder of the family foodie communityMums Know Best.com.
Natasha’s latest book Family Kitchen contains 100 healthy meal ideas that are quick, easy, adaptable and accessible for families. It’s a fabulous collection and we’re excited to share five delicious recipes with you below.
Green Waffles
Ingredients
- 35g butter
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 150ml (generous ½ cup) milk
- 1 egg
- 160g gluten-free self-raising flour
- (add 20g more for self-raising
- wheat flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp maple syrup, plus more to serve
Add-ons
- nut butter, desiccated coconut and sliced banana
- fried egg and baked beans
Method
I’ve always been a fan of wafes, but never had my own wafe iron until now. What was I waiting so long for, I don’t know! This is a game-changer in the morning to make a really quick brekky. I make the batter the night before and just pour into the wafe iron in the morning. It is also worth knowing this recipe works perfectly without the spinach if you have green-ophobe children!
1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the spinach, cooking until wilted. Put into a blender with the milk, egg, flour, baking powder, salt and maple syrup and blend until it has a velvety texture.
2. Heat the wafe iron until it is at the optimum temperature.
3. Pour in the mixture so it covers the whole surface. Close the lid for 4–5 minutes or until the top goes golden.
4. Serve with maple syrup or nut butter, desiccated coconut and sliced bananas or for a savoury fix, eat with a fried egg and baked beans.
Chocolate and Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 100g gluten-free plain flour (add 20g more for spelt or plain wheat flour)
- 150g rolled oats
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 80g coconut palm sugar or
- brown muscovado
- 80g raisins
- 60g butter or coconut oil
- 60g dark chocolate
- 1 egg
Method
These are really good. They lasted about 1 day in my house, so hide them if you don’t want them demolished in seconds. They have lots of oats in them, which are also great for milk production if you are breastfeeding. Good excuse, hey?!
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Line a baking tray.
2. Weigh out the flour, oats, cinnamon, ginger, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and raisins in a bowl.
3. In a small pan melt the butter or coconut oil and leave to cool.
4. Grate or very finely slice the chocolate and add to the other dry ingredients.
5. Beat the egg into the cooled butter. (Be sure to let it cool first as you don’t want scrambled egg!)
6. Add the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
7. Wash your hands so they are slightly wet/cool. Take a palm-sized piece of the mixture and roll into a ball, then squash in the palm of your hand to create a cookie shape and place on the lined baking tray. Repeat this ten times to finish the mixture. If the mixture starts to stick to your hands, just wash them again as this helps the mixture to not stick.
8. Bake in the oven for 10–15 minutes. Take out and leave to cool before enjoying with a cup of tea. Store in an airtight container for up to 4–5 days.
Beetroot Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 100g beetroot (raw or cooked), grated
- 100g cooked puy lentils
- 60g feta (use grated Cheddar instead if under one)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 roll of shop-bought puf pastry
- 1 egg, beaten
Method
Pinwheels are a winning formula for kids of all ages, especially for baby-led weaning stages as they are so easy to pick up. You can add whatever filling you like once you know how to make them.
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. If you don’t have precooked beetroot, put the grated raw beetroot in 125ml (½ cup) water in a pan and boil for 5 minutes until soft. Strain and squeeze out any excess water.
3. Put the beetroot, cooked lentils, feta and olive oil into a blender and blend until a chunky purée. Leave to cool before putting the filling into the pastry. If you’re using Cheddar, don’t add the cheese to the blender, just layer it over the purée when it’s spread out before rolling.
4. Lay the puf pastry out on a floured surface. Leaving an inch around all the edges, spread the beetroot mixture evenly across the sheet of pastry.
5. Brush the egg around the edges. To roll up the pastry, start by tightly folding the long side over to create your first ‘roll’, then continue rolling the pastry, making sure it is as tight as possible. Fold the ends over so it is secure.
6. Slice the roll into 2cm thick slices to create your pinwheels. Place each pinwheel flat-side down on the baking paper with about 3cm between each one, as they puf up.
7. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Take out and leave to cool. If you want to freeze them, only put them into the oven for 20 minutes and when ready to eat, bake in the oven from frozen for 15 minutes until warm through.
Feta, Tomato and Spinach Muffins
Ingredients
- 150g baby vine tomatoes halved
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 150g gluten-free plain flour (if you want to use plain wheat or spelt flour, the recipe works the same. Just omit the xanthan gum and use 20g more of the plain wheat flour)
- 40g ground almonds
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 sprig of rosemary, chopped
- 100g butter
- 2 eggs
- 110g yoghurt
- 50ml (¼ cup) cold water
- 100g feta
- 50g spinach
- salt and black pepper
Method
These taste like a pizza and are insanely good. They are packed with protein, so are great for energy levels for the early stages of labour, for your partner or afterwards with a cup of tea. They also freeze well, so you can make them in advance and keep them in the freezer. They will only take 10 minutes to defrost in an oven.
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Line eight holes of a muffin tray with cases.
2. Put the tomatoes onto a baking tray with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt. Roast for 20 minutes, then leave to cool.
3. Put the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, xanthan gum, ½ teaspoon salt and a big pinch of pepper into a bowl. Mix together and add the chopped rosemary.
4. Melt the butter, but don’t burn or take to a high heat. Allow to cool and then mix together with the eggs, yoghurt and water. Crumble the feta into small chunks and mix through.
5. In the empty pan, you melted the butter in, quickly wilt the spinach with 1 teaspoon of water.
6. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the tomatoes and stir, being careful not to break the tomatoes up too much. Stir through the spinach.
7. Put the mixture into the muffin cases and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden. Take out and leave to cool.
Leftover Porridge Bars
Ingredients
- 100g dates
- 60ml (¼ cup) warm water
- 150g leftover porridge
- 60g rolled jumbo oats
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 2 tbsp chia or flax seeds
Method
There is nothing worse than leftover porridge. I hate the waste, but no matter what happens, there is always some! I therefore came up with a little solution of making granola bars, which we all love. You can keep 2–3 days’ worth of old porridge in a container in the fridge before making these to ensure you have enough.
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Line a 20cm loaf tin with baking paper.
2. Put the dates and warm water into a blender and pulse until they make a coarse purée.
3. Add to the rest of the ingredients and mix together.
4. Spoon into the lined loaf tin and spread so that it is 1cm thick.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, then take out and leave to cool. Cut into squares or bar shapes. The bars can be kept in an airtight Tupperware for 3 days.
Recipes are taken from Family Kitchen: Simple Healthy Meals for Everyone by Natasha Corrett, published by Mums Know Best on 13 August, price £25, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Foyles.
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