This one is probably our favourite recipe so far. NO WASTE! How good is that?

Ingredients :
- 1 Can of Chickpeas
- Food colouring (optional)
- Cream of tartar (optional)

Drain chickpea water into big glass boil. Using hand mixer on high, whip for 5 minutes or until foaming and stiff. Mix colours into separate boils. THAT’S IT! How simple. Cleaning is probably the hardest part of this activity 😅

To avoid food waste - USE THE CHICKPEAS FOR HUMMUS!!! I will post up a recipe for our smoked paprika hummus soon (it was also a huge hit!).

This has been on my mind for a while now and I haven’t brought it up as it can be quite a sensitive topic. Allowing a child the time to learn skills for themselves is a painful process. It is definitely more efficient and less messy to do things for them. However, taking time out of your day to show your child how to do it for themselves can benefit them in so many ways. Too often I see children incapable of doing simple things because it was always more convenient for the adult to do it for them. Parents, if you are reading this I urge you to take some time out of your day and allow your child the chance to observe and follow. Children are like a sponge. Just because they cannot do it today does not mean they won’t be able to do it tomorrow.

I am a huge advocate for child-led learning. I believe in Caden and his ability to be able to do anything he wants, when he is ready. I have witnessed this at home and really wanted to share some of the activities we implemented at home to help him achieve his full ability.

There are so many ways you can encourage your child to start doing things for themselves. A good place to start is during mealtimes. Children are fully capable of feeding themselves from the moment the start the weaning process. Allow your child the chance to feed themselves regardless of how messy it can get. This provides such a good sensory experience for them. I have always engaged Caden in preparing his food. It is good for a child to know that food does not magically appear on their plate and a lot of work goes into washing, chopping and cooking before it is ready to be eaten. From the start I have cleaned in front of him and once able and willing, he also started to clean after himself.

With all that being said, it definitely is a very long learning process. It requires a lot of time and patience to finally get there (almost).

For Caden’s first birthday I wanted to make him a cake that we could enjoy together as a family. After trialing a couple of made up recipes I finally came out with the perfect cake!! It’s a super moist cake so really good for toddlers to eat. Like most of my other recipes this is a very rough guide on what I actually used as I didn’t take not while preparing the cake. Also, please note coconut flour is very different to most flours I have used. It soaks in A LOT of liquid so I used a lot of coconut milk. I also opted for all organic products but it doesn’t make a difference!

Ingredients:
[Cake]
2 Cups Coconut Flour
2 Tablespoons of Bicarbonate Soda
2 Tablespoons of Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice
Some Lemon Zest
1L of Coconut Milk (in can)
4 Eggs
1 1/2Cup of Coconut Oil
1 Cup of Honey

[Frosting]
600mL of Thickened Cream
1 Tablespoon of Greek Yogurt
2 Tablespoons of Honey

Method:
Preheat oven to 170 Degrees Celsius and pop a bowl of water under so that cake contains moisture and doesn’t crack.
1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix all the wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
4. Mix well to combine ingredients.
5. Divide the batter into 3 bowls evenly.
6. Pour first batter into an oiled pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
7. Repeat the baking process with the other two batters.
8. Let cake cool down.
9. While cake is cooling you can make the frosting. I whipped the cream until peaks formed and mixed in honey and Greek yogurt. Whipped it for another minute after that.
10. Frost your cake.
11. EAT IT 😋

Anyway, I really hope I’m not missing anything in the recipe. Let me know if you do make this! It is so so yum. Good luck!!

I loveeee Shakshuka eggs. Nothing better than fresh out of the oven shakshuka eggs on a cool morning - my ideal breakfast. If you know me, you know I LOVE to eat. If we are going to hang out, it’s probably at a brunch spot. The fact that we have been unable to brunch sucks. So I thought why not try and recreate some dishes at home! Of course, when cooking at home I always keep Caden in mind and ensure everything I make is toddler friendly. This recipe has sooo many hidden veggies so it’s yummy and healthy!

Shakshuka Eggs Recipe

Ingredients :
5 Eggs
1 Red Capsicum
1 Small Onion
5 Cloves of Garlic
1 Can of Organic Diced Tomatoes - no added sugar or salt
1 Tomato
Handful of Spinach
Olive Oil
Tablespoon of Paprika
Pinch of Cumin
1 Medium Sized Pan
Sourdough (optional)

Method :
[Preheat Oven to 165 Degrees Celsius]
1. Dice the onion, capsicum, garlic and tomato.
2. Heat your pan up to high heat and sauté onion and garlic.
3. Add capsicum into the pan and cook for 1-2minutes.
4. Add can of diced tomato into the pan with freshly diced tomato.
5. Cook for 7-10 minutes until it thickens. You want to caramelise the tomato so it is not as sour.
6. Crack in 5 eggs
7. Put into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes (depending how cooked you want your eggs - for us we cooked for 15 minutes as Caden would also eat it with us)
8. Prepare sourdough by toasting, cutting into strips and drizzle olive oil on top.
9. Serve!

Hope this is a simple recipe for everyone to give it a go! Enjoy 😊