it's been quite busy round here so i haven't been posting as often. we had the kitchen renovated, we did a few trips to sydney, i started work again (just 2 days a week) and Zac started childcare on those days. so we've gotten out of our homely routine!
in amongst this upheaval it hasn't been that difficult to manage healthy vegan meals for zac. there has been a few short cuts taken and variety has been a bit compromised. We were eating regular take away dahl and curry from Rainbow Dream Vegetarian Cafe, lots of bought avocado nori rolls and lot's of plain steamed vegies and tempeh pieces.
it was great to get back home and into the kitchen to do some cooking! i pulled out old favourites, not having the motivation to try something new to post!

vegie lentil casserole

these portions feed you and your baby. blend for younger babies of course. for babies used to finger food this is great as they can pick out the vegie pieces and shovel in a bit of the mushy bits with a spoon. tonight i mixed through some kamut penne as well.

1/2 cup dry green lentils (or any legume of your choice)
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/2 red capsicum cut into long slices
1/2 eggplant cut into long slices
1/2 carrot thinly sliced
2 tomatoes finely chopped
4 Tsp tomato paste (optional)
handful of fresh parsley finely chopped
2 handfuls of spinach leaves finely chopped
1/2 clove garlic crushed

soak lentils for the day. drain soak water and put in a pot covered generously with fresh water. bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 20 mins or until lentils are soft.
while lentils are cooking saute up the onions in a pan/pot with a dash of oil or just some water. once onions are soft add the capsicum and saute for a few minutes. then add eggplant and saute until soft. then add carrots and saute - they will soften more later. then add tomatoes, stir and cover to simmer for a few minutes. stir through tomato paste, spinach, parsley and garlic. remove from heat once spinach is soft. mix with the cooked lentils.
serve as is or blended. makes a great meal with quinoa, pasta or polenta.

purple salad

1 T finely diced tomato
1 T finely shaved cucumber
1 tsp finely chopped red cabbage
1 heaped tsp grated beetroot
2 T cooked green lentils
1 T tahini

steam beetroot after grating for a few minutes to soften it. you could also use a spoonful of a good quality beetroot dip if you wanted to cheat as i sometimes have! stir all ingredients together in a bowl and spoon feed or put in a wrap. blend for younger babies. zac preferred this meal spoon fed and didn't touch the wrap i also offered - weird as it is usually the other way round!

high fat all good mix

1 T avocado
1 T coconut milk
1 T ground pumpkin seeds
1 T macadamia butter
1 T cooked brown rice
1 T cooked lentils
1 T steamed vegie pieces (i used broccoli, sweet potato and peas)
1/2tsp golden kelp
optional: any herbs and spices your baby likes

mix all ingredients together in the bowl or blend for younger babies. Zac devoured this dish tonight along with his finder foods.

raw kale and tahini

1 bunch of kale, chopped as finely as you can (but not blended)
1/8tsp salt (you could choose to blanch the kale so there would be no need for salt but it is such a tiny amount for the huge amount of kale, and this makes about 10 baby servings so each serve has really not that much salt in the end)
3T tahini
juice of 1 lemon

chop up kale and put it in a bowl. sprinkle salt over kale and mix through with hands, squeezing clumps of kale as you go. you are aiming to squeeze the kale until it is dark green and moist. pour in lemon juice and squeeze clumps of kale a bit more to mix through the juice. mix through the tahini - adding more if you want it creamier.
i normally spoon out a bit for zac and do a second round of chopping on this spoonful. it sticks together with the tahini and you can get the kale leaves smaller with a second chop so it is easier for baby to eat. i serve the rest (without a second chop) to myself and my husband, oli, and mix it througb a garden salad for us. or you could divvy up the whole lot for baby by refrigerating or freezing small portions for later.
i use this for zac to be spoonfed, or spread it on a sandwich, or mixed it through some quinoa.

quinoa and (not)meatballs

this was meant to be spaghetti and meatballs but at the last minute i looked in the cupboard and there was no spaghetti! so out came the quinoa instead! the photo i took looks very professional with the white background - however the meal was just plonked on his white high chair tray and the white tray turned out to be quite an effective background for the shot!

you could follow the recipe for lentil balls on the 11/3/11 post and the tomato based pasta sauce recipe on the 5/2/11, however the following recipe i whizzed up a less complicated version.

1/2 C cooked green lentils
1-2 T protein powder (i use sun warrior raw brown rice protein powder) or flour
1/2 tsp golden kelp
1/4 C quinoa (or 25g spaghetti)
1/2 C boiling water
1/2 C tomato paste
1/2 C broccoli, kale and eggplant chopped
1/2 clove garlic
1/4 C water

mix the lentils and golden kelp with enough protein powder or flour to make a dough that will clump together easily into small balls. shape the balls and fry, grill or bake.
place quinoa with 1/2 C boiling water in a pot and cook covered on low heat until water is absorbed (normally takes 10-15mins).
add the remaining ingredients in a separate pot. cover and cook over medium heat for 10 mins (or until vegies are soft but brocolli hasn't lost it's bright green colour).
serve together on the high chair tray. blend quinoa, sauce and lentils (before making them into balls) for younger babies.
make larger proportions of this to share as dinner for the whole family.

a drizzle of tahini over this dish would make it even tastier i think.

chickpeas, quinoa and vegie pilaf

1/2 C cooked chickpeas, mashed with a fork
1/2 C cooked quinoa
3/4 C diced mixed vegies (i used corn, kale, green beans, green capsicum, broccoli)
handful of chopped fresh parsley, coriander, shallots
2 tsp tahini
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

stir all ingredients in a bowl and serve, or blend for younger babies. i make a bigger quantity of this so i can eat some for dinner too and keep some aside as fillings for wraps, pastry parcels, sandwiches, or to make into vegie burger patties (just add some quinoa flour and blended chia seeds with a bit of water)

fresh organic produce

i like to know zac is eating a colourful fresh flavoursome meal. i also want to make sure every mouthful i get into his mouth is full of nutrients rather than him filling up on low nutrient foods. i really believe that not only is fresh organic produce better nutritionally for our children and ourselves but it also makes the dishes taste so much better. i'm sure if you compare a dish made with fresh organic produce as opposed to the produce that you find in supermarkets you would definitely taste a difference. i think it is why a lot of people can't fathom how a vegan or vegetarian diet could be tasty and satisfying, or why a lot of us need to add salt and sugar to foods, because a lot of people are used to bland vegies with the animal products being the flavoursome key ingredient. i aim to make things for him that i would like to eat myself and steer away from foods that i would not eat (like baby rice cereal or jarred baby foods - i just can't see how the nutritional content of those foods would be very high as they were probably picked, cooked and packaged a long time ago and often have to be fortified with nutrients to make them seem worthwhile).
i think having meals that are fresh colourful and flavoursome has a lot to do with zac's willingness to eat the foods i offer him. i also think that it may have something to do with him not having "white" foods offered as his first foods - like rice cereal, yoghurt, white potato mash, white soft bread. he started on banana, green smoothies , avocado, tahini and steamed vegie finger food. of course the other influencing factor would be that i was eating a plant-based diet all through pregnancy and preconception, and now when i am still breastfeeding him. additionally, Zac goes shopping with us to the farmers market and food coop and he picks vegies with me from our garden which is all part of what i think is important for introducing our children to the wonders of fresh organic produce. oh and he loves to spin the lettuce!

lentil and quinoa vegie soup

1/2 C green lentils, soaked
1/4 quinoa
1 C diced vegies (pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini, broccoli, kale, peas)
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp thyme or a fresh sprig if you have one
1/4 tsp rosemary or a fresh sprig if you have one
1/4 tsp margoram
1/2 clove garlic crushed
1/4 onion chopped

throw everything into a pot, add enough water to generously cover ingredients and simmer until lentils are just breaking up (about 15mins). spoon out some soup into a small bowl and stir in a pinch of golden kelp. blend for younger babies.

lentil balls

1 C cooked green lentils
1/4 onion finely chopped or grated
handful of fresh parsley and coriander finely chopped
1 tsp golden kelp
1/2 C quinoa flour
1 T protein powder (optional)
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1 T chia seed blended or 1 tsp egg substitute powder

add all ingredients in a bowl and mash together with a fork unitl well mixed. you can blend mixture for younger babies. mixture should be a soft dough but not too sticky. shape into balls and lightly fry, bake or grill until surface is crisped and browned.

vegan sheperds pie

1 1/2C vegies finely chopped (green beans, mushrooms, kale, eggplant, tomatoes onions)
1 cup cooked green of brown lentils
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
squeeze of lemon juice
1 T tomato paste
handful of finely chopped fresh parsley
2T ground pumpkin seeds
125g sweet potato
1/4 C polenta

steam sweet potato. simmer polenta with 1/4- 1/2 C water for 5 mins. mash potato and stir through polenta. cook vegies, lentils, tomato paste, herbs and lemon with 1/2 C water, covered over medium heat for 10mins. remove from heat and stir through pumpkin seeds. spoon vegie mixture into a bowl and top with sweet potato mix. blend 2 separate parts for younger babies. this will probably do more than one serve so just eat the rest yourself or freeze the rest - of course you can increase the amounts so it is enough for the family. you may want to spoon the parts into an oven dish and bake to brown the top but i find it is fine without baking.

nutritionist advice

when zac was 9mths old i took him to see my natropath, Robyn Chuter, in Sydney to double check i was feeding zac all the right stuff. there's only so much you can gather from internet and literature searches on baby vegans so it was good to talk to someone who knew a lot about the subject. basically i was reassured that i was covering all the nutritional stuff i needed to with his diet.
at his 12 mth health check i got an earful of judgemental attitudes towards his vegan diet from the ACT Health community nurses i was refered to the ACT Health dietician. i thought this was a great opportunity for more reassurance about the nutritional value of the food i was giving him. i took a 3 day food diary and the dietician looked through it. she was very happy with all the different types of healthy food he was eating and confirmed he was getting everything he needed and i had nothing to worry about with his diet. i'll probably go back to Robyn or the ACT Health dietician in the future just to make sure everything is still on track with meeting his nutritional needs. it feels good to get reassurance in a society that tends to shun vegan parenting.

yummy protein blend

1/2 red cup lentils
1 T protein powder (i use sun warrior raw vegan rice protein powder)
1/4 C ground pumpkin seeds
1/4 C tahini (unhulled gives a nuttier taste)
2 leaves of kale finely chopped
1 tsp golden kelp

simmer red lentils in 1 1/2 C water uncovered for 10mins. don't worry if it is still abit watery at the end the water will soak up the powder and seed blends. remove from heat and stir through kale so it softens with the hot lentils. add other ingredients and stir. you shouldn't need to blend this but you may want to. zac loves eating this from a spoon but i have also spread it on toast and sandwiches for him.

mushroom lentil sauce

1 small mushroom (not so small as a button mushroom)
handful of fresh parsley and coriander
1/2 cup of soaked puy lentils, preferably sprouted
1 T unhulled tahini
1/2 tsp golden kelp
1 T water
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 small avocado

steam mushroom and boil lentils until soft. blend all ingredients adding extra water if needed. spoon feed as is for younger babies or mix through pasta and steamed vegies (steamed chopped kale is especially good with this) and plonk on the high chair.

more pastry parcels

see post on 14/2/11 and follow basic recipe for pastry parcels. however substitute the filling for the following suggestions:

Red kidney beans and tomato based pasta sauce (see post 5/2/11)
place a tablespoon of cooked beans down on each pastry square. top with a tablespoon of the tomato sauce. fold over pastry and bake.
i often have frozen cooked beans and some frozen pasta sauce from previous dinners. defrost both of these to then use as filling.

Kale, spinach and silken tofu
equal amounts of finely chopped or blended kale and/or spinach to silken tofu. mix and spoon onto pastry squares. add some herbs to taste.

coconut almond curry and tempeh (see post 26/2/11)
spoon some brown rice or quinoa and top with some curry. make sure there are some tempeh pieces and different vegies in each parcel.

coconut almond curry

when zac was just starting on solids he loved coconut curry. i would cook some for myself and set aside some vegies, legumes or tempeh, sauce and quinoa and blend together into a puree. i would often add extra nuts and extra golden kelp. it was thick and creamy and he loved it.

blend the following spices:

1 slice of fresh ginger
1/4 clove fresh garlic
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/8 tsp tumeric
1/8 tsp paprika

1/2 C chopped brocolli, colliflower, pumpkin, peas (or any mix of vegetables)
1/2 C tempeh or tofu cubes or 1/2 C of cooked legumes
1/2 C coconut milk
1/2 C water
1 tsp tomato paste or 1/2 tomato chopped
30g ground almonds

Stir all ingredients except for almonds in a pot and heat, uncovered, simmering until vegies are soft but still retaining their bright colours. sauce should reduce a bit though depending on the brand of coconut milk you use you may need a higher ratio of coconut milk to water. i like Ayam brand coconut milk because it is the only one i have found that is 100% coconut. take off heat and stir through almond meal. serve with quinoa or brown rice. blend all ingredients for younger babies.

the above curry will make an indian style dish however you can add lemongrass and cinnamon and cashews and take out the tumeric, paprika, mustard and almonds for more of a thai style. there is a few curry paste stalls at the local farmers market that i go to that i often use aswell as they are homemade without nasties - and taste better than my spice blends! if you're ever at Epic markets try Siam Siam.

raw blueberry pie

this is a treat the whole family can enjoy, and it's filled with good stuff that will be good for your baby! for younger babies maybe just give them the filling rather than the pie crust.

in food processor blend/grind:
1 cup oat groats
1 cup almonds,
1 cup of dried apricots soaked for 2 hrs (add to blend a little bit of soak water if needed)

Press into cake tin/baking dish lined with cling wrap (so you can lift out easy) and dehydrate for 4 hrs (or you could just bake it in the oven probably for about 1/2 hr on 180deg C lining the tray with baking paper not cling wrap)

then blend the following and pour into base:
2cups of fresh blueberries,
2 cups of cashews,
2 tablespoons of agave nectar (the sweetener is optional and you could use blended dates instead)

i find fresh blueberries blend up into a more gelatinous consistency than frozen blueberries but i suppose you could use frozen blueberries, maybe add some chia seeds to make it more gelatinous if needed.

freeze or refrigerate. can be frozen for up to 2 weeks.

soy and brown rice rissoles

1 cup cooked soy beans
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 T ground chia seeds
2 T water
herbs and spices of your choice (i used ground cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, garlic, ginger)

mix ground chia seeds and water. stir through rice and beans. mashing where possible. blend rice and beans before adding to chia seed mix if you want a smoother burger. shape into rissoles. bake in a preheated oven at 200deg C until crispy on the outside (about 10mins). serve with avocado mixed with ground pumpkin seeds, golden kelp and lemon juice.

bengal spice star cookies

follow cookie recipe posted on 1st February and substitute water for 1/3 cup of bengal spice tea. bengal spice tea doesn't have any sugars but is so sweet! oh and it isn't caffeinated either.

soy beans and vegies with tahini avocado dressing

i highly recommend soaking, cooking then freezing beans so you can break some off and steam up with vegies for a quick meal. with something like soy beans that take 24hr soak time and 2.5hr cook time it's often not worth the effort for a small batch!

1/2 cup cooked soy beans
1/2 cup broccoli, cauliflower, carrots.
1 T tahini
1 T avocado
dash of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 T water
pinch of golden kelp

steam vegies and if you need to defrost the beans add them to the steamer with the vegies. stir tahini, avocado, lemon juice, water and kelp with a fork until smooth. top vegies with the sauce and serve. blend all together for younger babies.

not milkshakes

here are 2 milkshake blends but any combination of fruit and nuts will do!

blend in the following proportions:

half banana, small handful of blueberries, 150mls soy/nut/oat milk and 10g soaked almonds.

or try

small handful of boysenberries, 10g cashews, 150mls soy/oat/nut milk

when the berries are frozen it makes the milkshake nice and cold and thick.

optional extras: wheat germ, linseeds, green leafy vegetables, avocado, dates and figs.

vegie and legume pastry parcels

obviously you can make more than the following recipe suggests and freeze the extra parcels for another day. i only made a small amount enough for the one meal because i used defrosted cooked legumes and i didn't want to refreeze these for a later meal. so increase the ingredients as desired.

2 10com squares of pastry (you can find vegan puff pastry in the supermarket but it still will have additives so i am in the process of mastering a home made vegan pastry recipe but not ready to post it yet...)
cup of diced steamed vegies (sweet potato, pumpkin, peas)
2 T chickpea paste or hummus
1/2 cup cooked legumes (i used soy beans and red lentils)

preheat oven to 200deg C. on a baking tray lay down some baking paper then the 2 pastry squares. spread the pastry with chickpea paste leaving at least 1-2cm from the edge. into the centre spoon vegies and legumes, not too much that you can't fold over the pastry to meet the other edges easily (keep leftover vegie and legume filling for spoon feeding). fold pastry over to make a triangle and pinch edges together. bake for 15mins. allow to cool before serving - parcels will be very hot inside.

steam vegie and chickpea nori rolls

zac loves nori and i've found it a good option if i'm in the shops and he's hungry. however the vegies sticks inside are often too crunchy for him to eat well with the soft rice - he doesn't really know how to bite them. so the avocado or tofu options are often easier for him to eat. i quickly decided to start making my own for him so i could use brown rice and steamed vegies and make sure there was no sugar or salts as ingredients.

1 sheet of nori seaweed
1/4 cup brown rice
2 chunks of pumpkin
2 florets of broccoli
1/8 avocado
3 T chickpea paste (see previous post)

cook brown rice and leave to cool. steam broccoli and pumpkin. place nori roll on a bamboo sushi roller (can be rolled without one of these but they make it easier and less messy). spread rice down first then place other ingredients in a row on top of the rice - cut vegies into stick like shapes to form a neat row. roll up and then cut into 2 peices - or smaller if your baby likes smaller finger foods)

you could try quinoa instead of rice and a range of different vegies to steam. also try tempeh sticks or mashed lentils on the inside.

chickpea paste

this makes a large round take away container sized batch. i normally then freeze half of it and use the other fresh half throughout the next 2 or 3 days on anything i can think of. zac often just gets into it in the container with both hands! he loves hummus so i thought i'd make something like hummus but a high concentration of chickpeas and no olive oil or salt.

1 cup dry chickpeas
water for soaking and cooking
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp golden kelp
i clove garlic
1 T tahini
juice of one lemon

soak chickpeas over night. cover them with water in a pot and bring slowly to boil. simmer for 1-2 hrs or until soft. drain off cooking water and add chickpeas to the blender with remaining ingredients.

use as a spread or stir through other meals. you can stir through some water with a fork to make it more like a dip consistency.

home made baked beans

this can be made with smaller quantities of the ingredients, or store what you don't use in the freezer, or share as a family meal.

1 C dry cannellini or butter beans
half jar of tomato paste or 4 tomatoes blended
pinch of mustard seeds
4 cloves
1 clove garlic crushed
1 small onion finely chopped
1 tsp golden kelp
water for soaking and cooking

soak the beans over night. put them in a pot with water about an inch higher than the beans. stir through tomatoes or tomato paste. bring slowly to the boil. add mustard seeds, cloves, onion and garlic. simmer for 1-2 hrs or until beans are a soft. add more water if needed so beans are always covered though water level should reduce substantially by the end of cooking. remove from heat and try and locate the cloves and take them out. blend for younger babies (take out what you want to eat first!)

i normally keep half of this mixture for both zac and i to eat at breakfast and freeze the other half. if freesing i like to use long flattish rectangular containers (like take away containers) then i can take out the block of frozen beans and slice off chunks when i need if i don't just defrost the whole lot for me to eat as well!

normally a baked bean recipe would require you to add sugar, black strap molasses and salt to taste but i have avoided this because i don't want zac having added salts and sugars - i might as well by a can of baked beans if i didn't mind those ingredients. however some books say that black strap molasses is a good source of iron for babies so you can do what you wish. i think zac gets enough iron in a range of other foods so i have left this out too.

lentil and pumpkin burger patties

1/2 cup of cooked brown lentils
1 slice of steamed pumpkin
1/4 C quinoa flour or wholemeal wheat flour

mash ingredients together with a fork. shape into patties. grill, bake or lightly fry.

i normally have a stash of cooked lentils and beans in the freezer and break off as much as i need for a small meal. i often steam up the frozen legumes with the vegies i am steaming for the dinner. this makes everything very quick. these patties should not take longer than 15 mins to prepare.

banana cake

i took this to mothers group one day as it was nice to have a cake that wasn't a chocolaty sweet adults only cake. the babies could enjoy this too if they wanted without the sugar and the trans fats found most cakes.

Cake:
1/2 C coconut butter
substitute for 2 eggs (2 T chia seed blended with a bit of water or follow egg substitute package instructions)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
50 mls soy milk
1 1/2 C SR wholemeal flour (if you want you could use quinoa flour with some bicarb soda)
handful of blueberries (optional)
Icing:
macadamia butter - as much as you like (i use whole macadamias blended rather than a pre-made jar from the health food store but that is fine too)
pinch of ground cinnamon

preheat oven to 180deg C. grease and flour a cake tin. mix all cake ingredients with a fork or a blender, add blueberries at the end. pour into cake tin and bake for 20=25 mins. mix macadamia butter and cinnamon and spread on cooled cake.

tomato based pasta sauce

1/4 cup soaked (and sprouted if you can) adzuki beans or other small legumes
1/2 cup chopped zucchini, broccoli, kale, pumpkin and onion
1 T chopped tomatoes
1 T tomato paste
pinch of garlic
herbs to taste (i like basil, marjoram, or oregano)
30g ground cashews (or whole cashews if you plan to blend the whole thing at the end)
1/2 tsp of golden kelp


cook adzuki beans by boiling until soft - about 20mins. strain and put aside. cook vegies and tomato in a covered pot with a bit of water to steam. once vegies are soft, but still brightly coloured, stir in the tomato paste and garlic and herbs. keep on the heat until tomato paste heats through but don't over cook the vegies. take off the heat. mash beans with a fork and stir through. add ground cashew and golden kelp. this sauce can be blended for smaller babies.
serve with the pasta of your choice (or your baby's choice!)

avocado hummus and aloo palak lunch wrap!

avocado coriander and walnut spread (see previous post)
aloo palak (see yesterday's post)
hummus
mountain bread

spread the avocado and the hummus onto the bread, top with aloo palak, roll and serve!

Zac absolutely loved this for lunch yesterday and so did i!

avocado, walnuts and coriander

blend the following ingredients:

1 avocado
100g walnuts
i bunch of coriander

feed with a spoon or use as a spread.

zac loves this mix. i thought about mixing these ingredients after a comment from my Natropath Robyn Chuter on my pesto post talking about the benefits of coriander and the use of avocado in pestos rather than oil. there is a link to Robyn's website on the right column of this blog. she has been really helpful in guiding me as a vegan for preconception health, pregnancy, breastfeeding and providing the best solids for Zac.

aloo palak

1/8 C diced sweet potato
1/8 C red quinoa
1/8 C red lentils
1/4 C kale or spinach finely chopped
pinch of cumin
pinch of tumeric
pinch of mustard seeds
pinch of fresh garlic and ginger
1/2 tsp golden kelp

cook all ingredients with 1 1/3 C water, cover and simmer for 20mins or until potato is soft. turn off heat, leave covered to cool and further soften. blend for younger babies.

if you like stir through a small bit of avocado and almond meal to when serving.

coconut berry not-yoghurt

blend until smooth the following ingredients:

flesh and juice of 1 young coconut
1/3 C mixed berries (frozen or fresh)
100g soaked almonds
1/4 C chia seeds
1 banana

this obviously is a large amount for one baby. it can be shared with the rest of the family or just reduce the ingredients quantities.

i'm sure you could shake some baby probiotics in there if you wanted... i'm going to try that next time. i suppose i'll add water to the probiotics first then stir it through the coconut mix.

birthday biscuits

Zac had his first birthday today and to mark the occasion we had family round for the weekend. my mum has a tradition of making sweet cookies for birthdays and christmas and this year i asked her to change her recipe to suit Zac's diet rather than give him dairy or sugar in his birthday treat. the following recipe is the one i worked out with her and the cookies turned out well. Zac loved them and so did his 2 yr old cousin. however they were not loved by most of the adults who were used to mum's sugary buttery biscuits and didn't care for a healthier alternative! i quite enjoyed them but i'm used to these types of ingredients!

125g coconut butter
1 C medjool dates
egg substitute equivalent to 2 eggs (follow packet instructions or 2 T ground chia)
1 tsp vanilla essence or ground pods
2 1/2 C plain flour (eg quinoa flour, wholmeal wheat flour, barley flour, or a mix of these)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (optional)

deseed and blend dates. use as many dates that can be squashed into the Cup measure. if your blender needs water added to the dates for blending then use the water you would've used for the egg substitute. mix coconut butter and dates. add egg substitute and vanilla. add flour, baking powder and salt. mix well. chill for 1 hour. roll and cut with a number shape cookie cutter. bake on a greased tray for 10 mins at 200deg C.

falafel wraps

3 falafel balls

cucumber and red capsicum finely sliced (i like to use the V-slicer so they are super thin and easy for zac to eat)

1 leaf of lettuce with any harder bits removed

couple of spoonfuls of tabouleh (see recipe on previous post)

hummus

rye mountain bread

i usually spread the hummus over the whole piece of bread so it sticks together when rolled. squash the falafel balls in a line close to one edge of the bread. i like to make falafel from scratch but you can find some ok packet mixes and don't forget to add golden kelp to the falafel mix before shaping into balls and cooking. top with sliced vegies, tabouleh and lettuce. roll up wrap as tightly as you can. cut into 2 or 3 smaller wraps that are easy for your baby to hold. things might go everywhere but it's amazing how much will get into their stomach!

not vegemite spreads

i like to think up different nutritious options for spreading on toast. here are some i have as staples for zac that are easy to wiz up for different meal times:

• avocado and pumpkin seeds blended
• banana and tahini mashed together
• macadamia butter and fig paste (blended dried figs)
  
• hummus (you can find heaps of home made hummus recipes on the net and there are some brands you can buy with all natural ingredients)
• red lentil pate (see recipe on earlier post)

spread on your toast, crackers, rice cakes, sandwiches.

mexican wraps

mexi bean mix:
1/4 cup red quinoa
1/4 cup soaked (sprouted if possible) adzuki beans
pinch of crushed garlic
pinch of paprika
pinch of cumin
pinch of oregano
1/2 tsp golden kelp

add all ingredients to a small pot with 1 cup water and simmer covered for 15mins. water should absorb and beans should be soft. mash or blend.

corn and vegie mix:
1/4 cob corn
1 thick slice pumkin
a few leaves of bok choy or kale
1 stick of carrot
1 T sunflower seeds, soaked

steam vegies then blend together with seeds.

spoon some of each mixture onto wrap bread/tortilla. shape into easy to hold rolls. just spoon feed bean and vegies mixes for younger babies.

apple & raspberry porridge

handful of raspberries (frozen or fresh)
1/2 apple finely grated
1/4 cup rolled oats, soaked
1 T desiccated coconut
30 grams pecans, soaked
1 T chia seeds

blend pecans and chia seeds with a bit of water. cook oats, apples and raspberries, stirring frequently. mix all ingredients in the bowl and serve.

buckwheat noodles, lentils and vegies

25 grams buckwheat noodles, cooked
1/3 cup cooked green lentils
1/3 cup of steamed sliced vegies (broccoli, carrot, zucchini, red capsicum)
1/2 tsp tamarind paste
1/2 tsp golden kelp powder
small bit of crushed garlic
finely chopped thai basil and coriander to taste
tahini and lemon juice to taste

stir ingredients together and cut to bite size pieces or blend for younger babies.
optional add small pieces of tempeh.

helpful books

disease-proof your child - Dr Joel Furhman
feeding your vegan infant - Sandra Hood
super baby foods - Ruth Yaron

disease proof your child i think was great but i still like to include less soy than his recipes do. but it is a wonderful source of information and a must read.

feeding your vegan infant is short and brief but covers the main points to think about - still a bit soy focused in the recipes.

super baby foods has a lot of good info and helpful hints and recipes but it also has a lot of stuff i didn't necessarily go for... don't get put off by that though because in amongst it all you can find some worthwhile tips and ways to think about getting the most in each meal.

breakfast biscuits/breakfast toast

zac has loved my biscuits and toast that has been made from his left over breakfast even though they mostly look like green dough! he eats them for snacks at different times of the day. i also serve him a piece once he's finished eating his porridge in the morning as he likes something to chew on.
use any of your breakfast porridges (eg green smoothie breakfast and fig and quinoa breakfast from previous posts). add enough quinoa flour, a bit of self raising flour (wholemeal wheat or gluten free), extra seed and nut meals to make a sticky dough. you don't need much and the amount depends on how much breakfast is left over. spoon onto a baking tray into biscuit clumps or flatten into toast shape squares. cook in the oven at 180deg for 10 mins or until slightly brown. i normally store toast shapes in freezer and put them in the toaster for reheating and serving. i normally keep the biscuits in the fridge and they last for up to a week.

cherry coconut cookies

1/2 cup cherries pipped and chopped
1/2 cup medjool dates* pipped and chopped
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 banana, mashed
1 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup SR flour (i used gluten free)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup ground chia seeds
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

mix all ingredients and add enough water to make a sticky but not runny mixture. you may need to add more flour if the fruit and oil has wetted the mixture more than expected. You may want to blend all the fruits and rolled oats if you don't want a chunky biscuit.
add more desiccated coconut if you wish and/or some nut butter.
spoon clumps of mixture onto tray greased with a little coconut oil. biscuits won't rise much so no need to spread them out too much.
bake in a moderate oven until slightly browned on the surface (between 10 and 20 mins depending on how big you make the biscuits). allow to cool. store in fridge for a up to a week.

* i only purchase medjool dates. i find other kinds of dates (like the common ones found in major supermarket chains) are not as juicy. your local organic food coop should have them for sale.

quick lunch

one slice of essene bread, toasted, then lathered with hommus, then a piece of steamed pumpkin stuck on top.
i like essene bread for zac because it is made from sprouted grains. so is probably more nutrient dense than normal loaves of bread and it is surprisingly filling. you can find it in your local food coop or health food stores.
i always have some left over steamed vegies from the night before in case i need to make a quick lunch like today!
we also gave zac some salad vegies to pick at and a couple of pieces of tempeh. tempeh is also my fall back protein quick finger food if i have nothing else prepared... recipes for a variety of vegie patties and croquets (which i normally have on hand) to come!

stir fried noodles

A lot of the time i give zac just some of what i have cooked up for myself. however i might change the proportions of things for his dish to favour proteins and and grains. tonight we gave zac a stir fried vegies, lentils and gluten free noodle dish. i had made it for myself and put some aside in his bowl with a higher proportion of noodles than i would have in my bowl, plus i stirred through some nut meals and added more lentils. my measurements for the following ingredients are estimates for the baby only meal.

30g gluten free spaghetti (i like San Remo brand as it doesn't just use rice flour like most gluten free pastas) cooked
a couple of broccoli florets, a few slices of carrot, a handful of peas, a few small chunks of pumpkin, leaf of bok choy finely chopped.
1/2 cup cooked green lentils
1/2 tsp golden kelp powder
tiny dash of soy sauce
dash of mirin
1/4 clove of garlic crushed
coconut oil and water for cooking
30g ground cashews and walnuts

melt a tiny amount of coconut oil in the pan and add all ingredients except spaghetti and nuts.
stir then cover so water steams vegies a bit. cook to be soft enough to eat but that the vegies haven't lost their bright colours. mix cooked spaghetti, vegies and nuts on a plate and cut with knife and fork into little pieces. you could blend all this for younger babies.

Lentil and Quinoa Tabouli

1/8 cup quinoa

1/8 cup sprouted puy lentils

1/16 cup split red lentils

1/8 tsp dried oregano and thyme

handful of fresh parsely, very finely chopped

½ a tomato, finely diced

¼ tsp golden kelp powder

squeeze of lemon

crushed garlic to taste

cook quinoa, lentils and dried herbs in a cup of water until water has been absorbed but mixture is still a bit runny. Mix with remaining ingredients. Can be blended for younger babies.

Fig and Nut Balls

Equal portions of dried fig and date paste*, raw unsalted almond meal, raw unsalted macadamia butter** plus ½ that sized portion of desiccated coconut.

Mix and knead together and roll into balls.

* I like to make a container of my own fig paste which is a fig and date blend. Simply get dried black mission figs and dried ordinary figs with a few seeded medjool dates and blend into a paste.

**some macadamia butters are runnier than others, I like to just grind fresh macadamias myself and the butter is less runny but still very sticky and oily.

red lentil pate

1/2 cup red split lentils
tiny bit of garlic
1/8 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp golden kelp
1/8 tsp tumeric
1T ground chia seeds

cook in 1 cup of boiling water for 10 mins. stir with a fork once cooked. stir until it becomes pasty, blending is optional for a smoother pate. Add chia seeds.

spread on rice cakes, finger food vegies, or just feed from a spoon.

Peace Love and Mungbeans

1/8 Cup Mungbeans
1/8 Cup Millet
1/2 tsp golden kelp
couple of leaves of kale or spinach finely chopped
pinch of oregano

blend mungbeans and millet until super fine powder. add all ingredients to 1 cup of boiling water. simmer while stirring frequently.
i like to stir through a nut or seed blend if i have it handy.

Zucchini Noodles

Zac thinks these are great. a lot of the time i just have the plain noodles without pesto for him and he enjoys it as finger food. i normally would serve give him a little pile on his high chair tray as an accompaniment to his main meal.

half zucchini sliced in the v-slicer lengthways

pesto: basil, parsley, golden kelp powder, loads of pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, garlic, macadamia oil. See previous post for pesto recipe.

small amount of finely diced tomato


stir as much or as little pesto as you like through zucchini noodles and top with tomato.

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

big bunch of fresh basil
handful of fresh parsley
tsp of golden kelp powder
150g of raw unsalted pumpkin seeds (more or less depending on how thick you want it)
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic
1 T of macadamia oil (more or less depending on how oily you want it)

Blend until smooth.

I normally make a big batch, pile it all into a tall jar, and add some extra oil on top to stop it going brown. It should store well in the fridge for a few days.

Sprouts

sprouts are a great finger food addition to meal times. zac seems to love fenugreek sprouts but we also offer him alfalfa sprouts. i realised he enjoyed eating sprouts when he knocked over our fenugreek sprouting tray into his toy bucket and started shoving them in his mouth! he stood there and ate for ages!
i also try and use sprouted legumes in his food. sprouting greatly increases the accessible nutrients of legumes. i was really surprised to see that sprouting lentils almosts quadruples the amount of protein.
my husband oli makes all our own sprouts.

Directions: soak 1 cup of legumes or seeds (eg mungbeans, puy lentils, alfalfa, fenugeek, chickpeas) for 24hrs. drain and leave to sprout. We use jars with small squares of fly screen fastened to the opening of the jar with an elastic band. This allows you to drain off the soak water by pouring the water out through the fly screen and keeping the seeds in the jar to sprout. The fly screen lets the sprouts air and keeps any bugs out. With alfalfa and fenugreek once they have started to sprout we lay them out on a long flat container so they grow upwards like a patch of grass.

steamed vegie finger foods

another one of the first foods we gave zac was steamed vegies. i find broccoli, carrot, capsicum were good soft textures but firm enough to grab. i would remove the skin of the red capsicum for him by dunking it in cold water after steaming to loosen the skin. pumpkin sometimes got a bit soft but he liked it when i had got the texture just right and it wouldn't break up when he pressed it up to his mouth. now that his teeth are getting better he is really liking steamed green beans and corn on the cob. we like to drizzle tahini or spread hummus or nut butters on the vegies too.

Quinoa and Fig Breakfast Porridge

1/8 cup quinoa

1/8 cup split red lentils

heaped tsp of fig paste*

30g almond meal (I grind up unsalted raw almonds myself)

1T ground chia seeds or linseeds

fruit finely diced (eg apricots, bananas, berries)

cook quinoa, lentils and fig paste in 1 Cup of water. Stirring frequently.

Mix through fruit and nuts and seeds. Can be blended for younger babies.

Optional: mix in some coconut milk

* I like to make a container of my own fig paste which is a fig and date blend. Simply get dried mission figs and dried ordinary figs with a few seeded medjool dates and blend into a paste.

super everyday meal

1/8 cup red split lentils
1/8 cup quinoa
1/8 cup grated or finely chopped vegies (eg carrots, sweet potato, broccoli, kale)
1/2 tsp golden kelp powder
pinch of oregano or other herbs and spices you choose
1 Cup water
30 grams ground raw nuts and seeds (eg almonds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts)

cook everything except for nuts, stirring frequently. add more water if needed. have it runny enough not to become too dry when you add the nuts. remove from heat and stir through nuts and seeds. Can be blended for younger babies.
optional: Stir through Tahini

Green Breakfast Smoothie

zac loves this and it is a great way to get iron, essential fatty acids, vitamin C and protein in him. it was one of the first foods we gave him.

30g raw unsalted nuts (eg almonds, pecans, brazil or walnuts), soaked overnight

1 T chia seeds or linseeds (if you don't have a good blender, you may need to grind separately)

tsp green food powder (eg spirulina or green algae powder)

tsp raw brown rice protein powder

half an average sized banana

handful of blueberries

lettuce or spinach leaves

1/8 C rolled oats soaked and cooked

Blend everything except for the oats with enough water to get the consistency you want. Stir oats through. (include oats in the blend for younger babies).