Recipe: Banana Peanut Butter Oaty Bites

Lyra loves to help in the kitchen, especially if it involves making HER SNACKS. At 20 months she likes to help measure out ingredients, mix everything up and be responsible for the QUALITY CONTROL. Because she likes to get her little hands into everything ans then straight into her mouth I've been trying very hard to find recipes that are egg free. 

A few weeks ago we got busy in the kitchen and made a large batch of peanut butter banana cookies.  Lyra helped to mash the bananas, measure in the ingredients and lick the peanut butter spoon! 

These cookies are super easy to mix up, they take very little time to bake and freeze well too! 

Banana Peanut Butter Oaty Bites

Adapted from www.engine2diet.com

Makes about 24

Ingredients 

3 ripe bananas

3/4 cup smooth peanutbutter 

3 TBSP honey (or maple syrup if making for a child under 1yr) 

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup all purpose flour 

1tsp baking powder

Method

PREHEAT oven to 180C

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl 

Place large TBSPs of dough onto lined baking sheets ( about 1 inch apart)

Bake 10-15 until golden brown 

Cool on wire rack 

Recipe: Nature Cookies

I have fallen into the black hole that is Pinterest more often than I choose to admit.  Seriously, sometimes I lose WHOLE EVENINGS to browsing PICTURES of food.  More often that not I don't even bother trying out the links to the recipes that have caught my eye, I just PIN for later and move on...and on...and on...and on...and OH MY GOSH! Where did the evening go?! 

Back before Christmas I was looking for protein packed snack ideas for Lyra and ended up pinning about a gazillion energy ball recipes only to discover, upon actually looking at the recipes, that I needed a food processor to make them...something I don't have.  

Then I found the recipe for nature cookies from the Weelicious website (check it out...great food ideas for little ones) and after a couple of tweaks I whipped up a batch of protein packed cookies to keep in the freezer for Lyra.  

The original recipe sounds amazing, but I substituted 1/4 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup butter instead of just 1/2 cup of butter because I wanted a little bit of extra nut protein, and also used maple syrup instead of honey since that is what I had on hand.  For nuts I used sunflower seeds and the basic chopped nuts mix from the Sainsbury's baking aisle, and I decided not to add in the chocolate chips. 

The cookie dough is really thick so I just rolled it into walnut sized balls and pressed those down on the baking sheet. 

These cookies freeze well and defrost quickly. The batch I made are a little bit crumbly, but still manage to get gobbled up pretty quickly. Oh, and without the chocolate chips they really don't taste sweet at all. 

Recipe: Rye Carrot Cake Pancakes

During the week breakfasts are a pretty standard affair in this house...we wake up and have a warm cup of milk sitting on the couch (watching the news, how civilised) and then, once Daddy has left for work, we usually have some cereal, toast and bananas.  At 18 months I don't really feel that Lyra cares what is on her plate...just that there is something on her plate...so I don't push myself to get too creative at breakfast time. 

However, if we wake up extra early I usually use the extra time to whip up some pancakes or french toast.  I often will give Lyra scrambled eggs for lunch or dinner so unless we are all having eggs on the weekend I tend to skip them at breakfast time.  

In reality making a batch of pancakes or a couple of slices of french toast doesn't take THAT MUCH longer than toasting some bread, slicing the banana and letting Lyra's cereal soak in milk for a few minutes. 

If it is just the two of us I half my go-to pancake recipe, which makes about 8-10 small pancakes, and wrap the leftovers and keep them in the fridge for snacks for the next couple of days (they also freeze well).  

I like adding in mashed bananas or berries to the batter, tossing in a handful of porridge oats or oat bran, grating in zucchini or carrots, or even cheddar cheese.  There is also a small amount of sugar, which could always be left out if you don't want to give your child any added sugar.  

Last week I bought some rye flour so decided to use it, along with some grated carrots to make Rye Carrot Cake pancakes.  I smeared them with cream cheese "icing" (just plain soft cream cheese) and topped mine with some flaked almonds. They were delicious and Lyra greedily gobbled up 2 and a half pancakes! 

Rye Carrot Cake Pancakes 

Makes 8-10 small pancakes 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup self raising flour 

1/4 cup rye flour 

2 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp bicarb of soda

1/2 cup finely grated carrot (I use my parmesan cheese grater) 

1 egg 

1/2 cup milk 

optional: 

pinch of cinnamon 

pinch of all spice 

Method:

In a medium bowl whisk together flours, sugar, bicarb and spices (if using). 

In a measuring jug whisk together milk, egg and carrot. 

Add milk mixture to dry ingredients, whisk together to combine.  Add a splash more of milk if the batter is too thick, it should be run off a spoon easily.  

Heat a non-stick frying pan and spoon Tablespoon blobs of the batter into the hot pan. Let them cook for a few minutes on one side and then flip them over to continue cooking for 1-2 minutes. 

Let the pancakes cool before topping with a smear of plain cream cheese (and maple syrup if you want). 

Toddler Snacks: It's hip to be square

3 sizes of square cookie cutters. 

Big squares of bread with almond butter.

Medium squares of cheddar cheese. 

Small squares of banana.