Going coco-nuts

I have been getting into coconut a bit recently. It started earlier in the year, around April with (possibly excessive) Anzac biscuit making and things progressed from there. I recently tried cooking with coconut oil, because it supposedly does not get stored as belly fat. Great for mummies with tummies. Recently I made a very simple coconut bread, which I think is an ideal snack for little lunch boxes.

I particularly loved this recipe because it was extremely simple. I found it in A Good Spread - Recipes from the kitchens of Rural Women New Zealand, which was my bedtime reading last week. I wanted to share the recipe because it was easy and very economical.

Cocunut bread

2 cups self-raising flour
2 cups coconut
half cup sugar
1.5-2 cups milk (use your judgement)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until just combined. Turn into a greased and lined loaf tin and bake for approximately 1 hour at 150 celcius.

Now, how easy is that!!!

It was really tasty. I upped the sugar to a 3/4 cup. It made a large loaf so I froze at least half of it for later use in lunch boxes. It froze well and was enjoyed by all the small people in the house, and the grown ups.

Munch Mummies Anna, Amy and I attended the second ever New Zealand Food Bloggers Conference last weekend, which was exceptional!!!!! (wink! wink! to my good friend the Kitchen Maid who spoke eloquently at the conference). Thank you to Allison and Shirleen who organised this wonderful event and to all the fantastic sponsors who supported the gig.

Those attending the conference all got an extremely well stuffed bag of treats. It was super exciting to unpack it after the conference.

In this bag of splendour was another coconutty treat, Little Bird Organics Strawberry and White Cacao Macaroons. These were "road tested" by the most feared food critic in our house, Mr Five. He promptly came back for seconds and made it known that he would most definitely approve of these being in his lunch box. So if you are looking for more lunch box ideas then these are a worthy and healthy option, if not a little pricey. But hey, good healthy food costs money. They are gluten, nut and dairy free and sweetened with agave. Of course it contained coconut and coconut oil.

Mummy to three small boys

If at first you don't succeed...

My husband thinks that I have an opinion on everything he ever attempts around the house. He does have a point, and I have tried to curb my enthusiasm for "sharing" my "ideas". But it's really hard when you really do know best.

Fathers' day is coming up shortly. Got any special plans for the Dads? Got any good ideas for crafty-kid gifts for Dad?


                        Mummy to three small boys

 

 

 

Facebook competition - Lovely mommies

Hey Munchettes,

Check out our facebook competition this week.  All you have to do this time is post a message and let us know why you deserve some time out.   Already there are many mummies who have posted that are definitely deserving.  It is going to be a hard decision to pick a winner.

 

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Happy Monday Munchettes! This week were mixing it up a bit, this ones for our Lovely Mommies that need some relaxing time out ♥ So to enter this weeks competition all you need to do is post a message below letting us know why you deserve some time out and we will pick a winner this friday! Feel free to share this with your deserving friends and family xx

Mumsday Sunday - "one-day, some-day..."

Are you a good health role model for your kids?
 
The busy mum who runs around like a lunatic organising laundry, breakfast, lunchboxes, homework and getting the troops out of the door, fuelled only by coffee and the idea of a piece of toast is a cliche because it’s often true. It’s not that we don’t want to sit down and enjoy a leisurely nutritious breakfast whilst catching up on world news, and pulling a couple of yoga poses. It’s because the daily grind is filled with a small mountain of domestic chores, that will topple over and crush us before we’ve pulled out our chair. It’s because after a night without much in the way of sleep, and with a day that’s started too early, and with too many questions, then we need the hot dark stuff as surely as we need the air to breath.
 
Or so we tell ourselves. Over the course of the day it’s possible to make a series of seemingly small decisions, that result in our own personal health and wellbeing somehow being swept under the carpet. We all pay the price differently. It could be ill health, niggly bugs, low energy, anxiety, low mood, weight gain, weight loss, and above all just a general feeling that we’re a the bottom of the proverbial pile.
 
Most if us probably have some kind of idea of a different ideal reality. A one-day, some-day plan, that will give us the body of supermodel and the health of an Olympic athlete. We’re just waiting until we get a touch more sleep before we can roll the plan into action.
 
It’s time to dust off the one-day some-day plan. Moderate it, because the chances are it’s wildly optimistic, and begin to start giving as much consideration to our own health and wellbeing as we do to our kids health and wellbeing. Partly because we’re worth it (another cliche I know). Partly because if mum falls over, then the wheels will fall off everything else. Last, but not least, because we want to be good role models for our kids. To show them that mums are not drudges who never have time to do our hair, or make ourselves a decent breakfast, or pop out for a walk, because we’re just too darn busy mopping up everyone else’s mess. Because that’s hardly inspirational is it?
 
Over the next few weeks I’m going to be writing about some ideas that have helped me to prioritise my own health and wellbeing over the last few years (including some recipes) and in the process cope better with the chronic sleep deprivation and general chaos that comes with having four young kids.

Amy Black, Munch contributor - On the monkey trail

Silence is golden...

Introducing Amy Black - new guest blogger

Amy Black is a mother four, a wordy foodie, blog creator and contributor and she is also gainfully employed. She will soon provide our Munch readers with some guest blog posts. These will be focussing on Mums! Yes, you. With at least two blogs of her own - we thought you might like to know a bit about Amy.

Amy kindly took time out of her busy life to answer some questions I put to her.

What is your blog about?

On the monkey trail is a family kitchen diary. It's a celebration of real family food and how it fits into real life. I hope it provides some inspiration, and some confidence that when it comes to cooking, a little free-style randomness can be a very fine thing. Even in baking. On the monkey trail is my test kitchen, my idea well, my life in food. It’s about the mood as much as the method.

I’m also working on a collection of recipes over at Welly Kitchen that will become a summary of favourites. The best versions of the stuff I make regularly, in an easy to follow format including  adaptations for the small folk.

Why did you start your blogs?

I started the blog as a way to amuse myself and create something for myself amongst the chaos of the day. Looking after 4 young boys (my kids were 6 montths, 2, 4 and 5 when I started the blog at the start of the year) is demanding and relentless, particularly when it comes to feeding them. I began to feel completely drained of inspiration and decided to try making food I wanted to write about. The blog evolved from there.

Do you have a favourite post?

The page ‘on kids’ is very me.

What other blogs do you follow?

I like My Darling Lemon Thyme which was one of the first blogs I came across when I started my own. Emma has a lovely writing style and takes gorgeous photos … plus the recipes are pretty inspiring.

I love The Girl Who / Thunder Pie because the authors have a hilarious way of talking about parenring.

I also contribute to The Big Swell which is a site inspired by a passion for women, children and families thriving in happy and healthy environments.

How much time do you spend blogging?

It varies dramatically depending on what’s going on in the family and how much work I have on. When I started out I was on maternity leave from my ‘real job’ so I had more time. Now I try and post once or twice a week.

What are the benefits to you of writing or contributing to blog/s?

Writing is good for my soul. I always have a couple of half finished novels on the go so blog posts are especially good for my soul because I actually finish them and get to publish them and a few people even read them.

Tell us about your food philosophy?

Food should be celebrated. To be able to feed ourselves with real and nutritious food is a very fine thing indeed. I wrote a post over on our work blog ‘Barefoot and Soul’ that talks more about this in Keeping it Real.

What is your favourite cookbook and why?

I actually started a page in On the monkey trail recently on cookbooks (which is very much a work in progress but you can read it here.

Describe your favourite meal?

Hands down my favourite meal is one cooked for me and enjoyed with my family who live in the UK and who I don’t get to see anywhere near as much as I’d like to. They’re all pretty amazing cooks but it’s the company, the conversation the good vibes that make the meals great.

 Who do you enjoy cooking for most?

Anyone who remembers to say thank you, tucks in appreciatively and helps to clear up. Although frankly any of the above will be a good start.

What else do you do? Tell us about your other adventures?

I work part time as a practice manager at WillisStreet Physiotherapy.

Munch Monday Madness competition - Dino cake

Hi Munchettes,

Check out below our latest FB competition.  Remember to share until Friday this week.






Happy Monday Madness Munchettes!! Our super cute prize for the week is a silicone Dinosaur baking tray by Wiltshire!!simply like our page (if you haven't already!!) and share the photo to enter!prize will be drawn this Friday. Goodluck!xx

No one notices what I do...

When I was a child, my mother had this sign in her laundry. It looked a little bit different to this one. I enjoyed looking at it because it had a very cute cat sitting next to a very large mountain of dirty washing. Like many children I didnt have any real appreciation for how hard my parents worked, especially my mum. Not until I had kids myself.

At Munch, we are hard working mummies too. So we know what you do. We know how hard you work. We know that they couldn't get by for long without you.

We notice what Mums do. Munch is going to do something for you. Look out for our new Sunday postings. We are making Sundays at Munch our new Mumsday. We are going to acknowledge you, support you and celebrate you.

Overdue update on the Munch cookbook

Well at first take I thought a cookbook could be published in a few months.  I thought I have written many opinions, essays, thesis which I complete within time.  Hmmm I was mistaken...two babies and another on its way and the book is finally at layout!!  My hat goes off to anyone that writes a book whether the reviewers like it or not as the journey is one that should be commended.   Or at least the time that one has put into the book.

Basically the cookbook is a seasonal cookbook for babies and families. We wanted to write a book around the seasons as it is much cheaper to eat seasonally, more nutritious and better for our carbon footprint. Most parents work these days so we wanted to create one recipe for baby and family. Who has time to prepare a different meal for each member of their family!! Also we love reading with our kids so we have included trivia about top selling kids books to discuss at mealtime so families can have fun times at mealtimes.

Check out the pages on the side of the blog which are contained in our cookbook. They are just wonderful but I must say they do look better on paper than on the web.

We will be selling our cookbook only on line at our E store www.munchcupboard.com which will be released shortly along with Amazon and Bookshake.  But it is still yet to go to the printers, so like usual, I say that it will be ready soon, but these days with little munchkins, soon is a lot longer than, what soon was before kids.  However this time I am sure it will be ready in the next 6 weeks (as I certainly do not want to be having another baby without it being finished)

Do you eat a rainbow?

The 5+ a day campaign has a simple and easily digested message: you and your family should enjoy at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. The ideal daily target being at least two serves of fruit and at least three serves of vegetables.

Another important and related food health message that is also easy to incorporate into our lifestyles is that we should "eat a rainbow". The goal of eating a rainbow is quite easy to put into practice. Essentially we should select a variety of fruit and vegetables from across different food colour groupings.

In the past, much of the goodness of fresh fruit and vegetables has been attributed to the fibre, vitamin and minerals they contain.These are important, but it is now also thought that it is the phytochemicals fruit and veg contain that pack the real punch. Phytochemicals create the bright colours in fruit and vegetables. The greater range of colours you eat, the greater range of phtochemicals you will benefit from.

The following is a very basic guide on colour groupings for fruit and vegetables so you can see how you might incorporate a rainbow into your diet.

• RED: Strawberries, tomatoes, raspberries, red apples, red onions, red pepper, red skinned potatoe, red cabbage.
• ORANGE/YELLOW: Carrot, golden kumara, pumpkin, melon, swede, yam, sweet corn, squash, oranges, yellow peppers.
• WHITE: cauliflower, banana, pear, garlic, onion, parsnip, potato, ginger, turnip, mushroom.
• GREEN: spinach, asparagus, broccoli, green cabbage, watercress, kiwifruit, celery, lettuce, silver beet, brussel sprouts, aspargus.
• BLUE/PURPLE: blueberries, tamarillos, raisins, eggplant, red cabbage, beetroot, plums, prunes.

Phytochemicals are apparently more effective when they are eaten a raw state... so if you want to take eat a rainbow to the next level, perhaps you could try eating a raw rainbow. If you would like to read more detailed information about rainbow eating, and phytochemicals check out this link.

Image sourced from here.

Mummy to three small boys

Freddie's Friday is on holiday

I am sorry to say folks, that we will not have a Freddie's Friday for several weeks. Freddie and his mum are holidaying in the UK.

I love the posts from Kate, one of my favourite I think was her recipe and posting on sugar free custard. If you want to look back over her other awesome posts, then check out:

• Fridays with Kate and Freddie
• Freddie's Friday - Breakfast makeover
• Freddie's Friday - getting kids to eat more

Or check out Freddie's Food where Kate offers healthy easy recipes and ideas for hungry tummies.

But watch this space because Amy Black, who produces the inspiring on the monkey trail, will be providing us with some posts. These will be focused on Mums. Because we certainly deserve it. Her posts will be be going up on Sundays (starting in a week or so), which in our household is definitely a "mumsday". I get a lie in(and possibly even extra mothers' day which Mr five is very keen on producing for me).

Watch this space.

Mummy to three small boys

Eat your greens - Do you hide vegetables in your kids food?

What is your approach to your kids and their vegetables? Do you hide vegetables in their meals? Or do you make sure that they are clearly identifiable on the plate?

Courtesy of vegetables.co.nz

It seems that these are two key schools of thought on this. Hidden vegetables are eaten without a fuss. But if they are on the plate, once a child is accustomed to eating them they will usually eat them again without too much fuss. For some kids, repeated exposure to the new foods is all it takes to get them to eat something. Unless they take exception to it of course.

I have a foot in each camp, myself. I definitely do a combination of the two. I think that this is because I tend by nature to be a pragmatist, rather than a purist. I hide some vegetables and I 'expose' others. My feeling is that way you get some healthy bits into them while they are learning/acquiring the tastes for a wider range of things. It is possibly also my cooking style. We eat a lot of sauce based meals (since we had kids), and curries, both of which are easy to incorporate vegetables into.

Mr five will happily eat peas, corn, broccoli, (and 'white brocolli'). So I definitely don't hide any of these.

But there are some things Mr five will not eat. At three and a half I had the audacity to serve him a salad. He looked at the plate and then at me and earnestly explained that he "did not eat leaves". It made me giggle at the time, but he has stuck to this resolution. Mr five will pick out (with his fingers!) eggplants, courgettes, mushrooms, onions and carrots (but he will eat raw carrot sticks, go figure?) if he can identify them in a meal. This is despite much exposure to them over several years. So I have learnt to add these early to the cooking process to things such as bolognese or casserole type meals, so they cook down and become indistinguishable when eaten.

There are a number of other things that can be "snuck" into meals, depending what you are making:

• tinned tomatoes and finely diced onion are key
• finely grated carrot
• spinach
• grated apple, pear or courgettes
• finely sliced eggplant (grate for curries for the grown-ups, makes a great sauce so less calories)chopped prunes or apricots
• tinned chick peas or lentils
• ground nuts, eg almonds (or even some LSA)

These things add variety and potentially make your meals go that little bit further whilst allowing you to up the vegetable head count on the plate a little, by stealth.

When it comes time to serve I will hopefully have added something he will eat along side it (broccoli, corn, peas or "white broccoli"). Doing it this way I know that even if he makes a big deal about the side vegetables that he will at least had had some roughage and coloured vegetables.

What about you? What do you do?

Mummy of three small boys

Munch Monday Madness - Charity Cure Kids

Hi Munchettes,

Dont forget to check out our competition on FB this week.  http://facebook.com/munchcooking See below




Happy Monday Munchettes!! We have our charity of the month Cure Kids - red nose day appeal. Please 'like' this photo and we will donate 10 cents to the Red Nose Day! Please 'share' this photo and spread the word xx thank you Munchettes

The green issue

Is it a battle in your household to get vegetables into your children? Do you hide vegetables in sauces are you a staunch vegetable parent who lays them out loud and proud on the plate? Me, I think I am definitely one to take put a dollar each way on this one. I hide some and put some others on the plate. What about you?

Do you have any great ideas for inspiring your little ones to eat their greens (and other colours)? You may have already seen our recent posts on peas and corn fritters. Over the next few weeks will be concentrating on other everyday vegetables like onions, carrots, broccoli and more? What do your kids like to eat? Do you hide vegetables? Is frozen fresh?

How do you feel about frozen vegetables? Is frozen fresh? Please share with us any inspiration or thoughts you have on the green issue.

Mummy to three small boys

Universal truths of parenting?

Since becoming a parent five  years ago I have learnt a lot of important things. Perhaps the most important thing is to try and keep a sense of humour at all times. When humanly possible. (I know that many of you have also probably been in situations where if you didn't laugh you would probably cry). Getting to grips with some of these "universal truths" may be of help.

1. You will be poked in the eye if you try and sleep when your children are awake.
2. There is a chipmunks' version for every song on youtube. You will be proved wrong if you try to argue this point.
3. Never leave a child unattended whilst they are watching something on youtube. They will find this rude version of fireman Sam. It will take you at least three quarters of the time it takes to run to realise that something is amiss.
4. Naked trampolining is fun. Especially when your neighbours are home or you have new "friends" over for dinner.
5. They may not listen to you very often, but they are definitely always watching you.
6. One day they will tell you that you are not invited to their birthday party anymore.
7. You can actually get your mittens onto your feet, even when you have gumboots on. Again, not one to bother arguing about.
8. The main reason people only have two children is because no-one will volunteer to look after all three of your children.
9. The more of your child's vomit/snot/food (or combination thereof) you have on your top the more likely you are to see someone you know at the supermarket.

Luckily the three boys are all so cute.

Mummy to three small boys

Freddie's Friday - cheesy sweetcorn puffs

Here is a fab finger food recipe that your little ones will hopefully love as much as Freddie. Cheese puffs are a great snack, a cross between a scone and a muffin, they take barely any preparation and are quick to cook. So an all round winner in my book!


They are great for morning teas as they give your little one a mixture of carbohydrate and some protein, which will hopefully keep them going until lunchtime. They are also great on the go as they are a pretty clean food to eat.

You can adapt the recipe to include different vegetables  I've tried the recipe with ham and peas, chopped capsicum and also spring onions. All were pretty tasty but I generally make them with sweetcorn because, as my regular readers will know, Freddie just LOVES sweetcorn!





Cheesy sweetcorn puffs
Makes: 15 puffs
Preparation:  10 mins
Cooking: 5-10 mins

3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup grated cheese
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp milk
100g sweetcorn

Sift flour and baking powder.

Add cheese, beaten egg, sweetcorn and milk.

Line a tray with baking parchment and divide the mixture into 12 blobs and cook for 5-10 minutes at 210 'C.

Munch Mummy Kate

Goodnight mush

The process of weaning from milk to solids is a very gradual one. From around six months babies are slowly introduced to different foods and textures. We gradually increase the volume of solid food over a number of months. Eventually they move onto eating finger foods and a wider range of things. We introduce things slowly because they need to learn to chew and swallow, and because of the risks of allergies and choking and because their little tummies and palates are still in their infancy.

My little ones were all breast fed till sixteen months, and even after they were weaned from milk they continued to eat a lot of what we might call 'baby food' or 'baby mush'. However, just recently, I suddenly realised I had not really made any 'baby mush' for some time. And rightly so really, as they are nearly two.

I had kept making baby food for them because it was easy and they liked it. Mostly, I kept making it because one of our little ones is really, really little. I wanted to make sure he always got really good amounts of protein, carbs and vegetables into him. Baby mush seemed to be the best vehicle for this becuase they ate it with gusto. For a long time the two little ones both refused to eat pasta, they didn't like beef much and shied away from tomato based meals. They didnt even like tinned spagetti... so I kept making and feeding them baby food - with a fair amount of finger food too so they could develop the necessary chewing and swallowing functions (and  because they both love to feed themselves, thank you very much).

Making baby food is quite easy as many of you may have experienced. It can be made in bulk and frozen. My little ones really enjoyed mashy type meals based around core ingredients that were naturally sweet such as:

• Kumara
• Pumpkin
• Carrots
• Lamb
• Pork
• Apple
• Pears
• Peas

By the time they were about 18 months I would make them something like this:

Baby mush and toddler soup recipe

Exact ingredients and amounts were always fluid, depending on what I had in the store cupboard. Usually I would include approximately one third meat to two thirds vegetables.

First I browned the meat, then added in variety of chopped fresh vegetables and sometimes a small amount of fruit. Then I would add a liquid of some sort, water most of the time, but sometimes stock or a little bit of juice. I simmered these they were tender. I would then let it cool, drain and reserve the cooking fluid and then puree the food with either the food processor or a stick blender. Sometimes I would add some frozen peas at the pureeing point, because I knew I would reheat at some point and that would sufficiently cook the peas. I would then add back enough liquid to get the I consistency required.

I also had a pre-schooler to cook for at this time. He loves soup. Which is great because it is easy and nutritious. I would often try to economise on time and cooking and make a soup from some of the baby mush if I had plenty. I would take some baby mush and add in stock or the reserved cooking fluid and perhaps a little seasoning and he would have an easy healthy soup meal for his tea. Sometimes I would add in a little cooked risoni into his soup to bump up the carbs. I would sometimes freeze these for him for days when I couldn't find time to prepare three separate meals in an afternoon.

But for us, it is now "goodnight mush". The little ones are now more than ready to eat family meals. They have always been keen on finger foods, but will now eat beef, some pastas and tomato based sauces. Hurrah. This means a bit less work for me as we can have one meal to feed all of us. This means I can focus more on making sure we all have a nutritious balanced family meal.

Mummy of three small boys

Facebook competition - lets bake

Hi Munchettes,

Don't forget to check out our latest Facebook competition.  See below. Good luck.



Happy Monday Madness Munchettes!! Our super cute prize for the week is a double whammy! A silicone animal faces baking tray and lickety Sips ince block maker from Decor!!simply like our page (if you haven't already!!) and share the photo to enter!prize will be drawn this Friday. Goodluck!xx

Yes peas

I don't know where I would be without peas. They feature in much of my cooking, particularly that which I do for the kids. I am grateful that they will eat them really as it can be a battle getting green things into them. Peas have been a favourite in our household since my eldest was very little. He will often have peas, still frozen, as a "starter" while I am preparing his "main". 

When you eat them raw like that they are particularly sweet. I have sometimes felt bad about how often I rely on peas to be the 'green' on the plate, but when I looked into it, they turned out to be really surprisingly good for you. Peas are a really great source of both fibre and iron and they contain protein!

Peas are also a good source of vitamins A, C and B1, folate, and phosphorus. Peas are pulses which means  that they are rich in protein and a source of carbohydrate and fibre. Naturally they are low in fat. An 85 gram serving of peas provides four grams of protein. Roughly speaking children need 13 mg of protein a day when aged 1-3 and closer to 20 gm per day when aged 4-8.

The big freeze

Every Christmas we would shell a big pile of peas grown by my granddad for the Christmas dinner. Shelling peas is something the little ones enjoy helping with when they are in season. However, mostly my children get to eat frozen peas.  I have often felt guilty about using frozen vegetables instead of fresh ones. However, garden peas are usually freshly frozen - within two and a half-hours of being picked. This locks in all the nutrients, which can be lost at room temperature. This quick freezing process preserves the sweet taste that might otherwise be lost. This means that we can enjoy them year round.

There's nothing added to freshly frozen garden peas: no salt, sugar or water and certainly no other preservatives or additives. Just Mother Nature's own way of preservation - freezing.

Cooking peas
Freshly frozen garden peas are really convenient because they take just three minutes to cook. The less water you use when cooking peas, the less vitamin C is lost. Consequently, steaming helps to conserve this vitamin. When boiling frozen peas, add enough water to cover, bring to the boil and then cover and simmer for 3 minutes. To microwave simply add a very small amount of water and cook on full power for 2-3 minutes, depending on the size of your microwave.

Peas are extremely versatile. I like to add them to risottos, kedgeree, omelettes, pasta, soups, casseroles and green curries. For the kids, I just add them into the pasta/rice at the end of its cooking process. Or, if it is a meal that i have reheated for them I heat it really well (of course) and then add the frozen peas into it and the peas cook in the hot food whilst also cooling down. Saves time and dishes. Gosh I am lazy.

If that ain't enough information for you on peas, then check out this great resource www.peas.org.

Mummy to three small boys

Revamp of Blog

Hi Munchettes,

We have had a bit of a revamp of the Blog.  Only the layout has changed, we have not tampered with the content structure.  Be great to get some feedback from you.  Let us know what you think.  To white, too green or just right?

Thanks Anna

Freddie's Friday: Home-made fish fingers

Fish fingers are my 'oh no it's 5pm already and I haven't organised anything for tea' fallback. They are a good source of protein and quick to cook in the oven. Well, I decided the other day that I really don't have any excuse not to make up a batch of home-made fish fingers and pop them in the freezer for those busy days when there's no time for cooking from scratch.

You can use any firm white fish with a mild flavor, I used Tarakihi. The best thing about making your own fish fingers is that you can choose a sustainable source of fish. For those of you in NZ who want to make a sustainable choice here is a helpful guide produced by Forest and Bird of the best fish to buy and also the Greenpeace NZ red fish list, both of which are pretty easy to follow.

This fish finger recipe is really simple to make, it will only take about 10 minutes to prepare 20 fish fingers which you can freeze raw.

Ingredients
4 fish fillets, about 80-100g each
3 cups of cornflakes or rice bubbles
3 tbsps grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsps sesame seeds

Bowls of flour and beaten egg for dipping

Slice each fish fillet into 5 fish fingers.

Next make your 'breadcrumbs' - blend the cornflakes into a powder, add the parmesan and blend again briefly, then stir in the sesame seeds.
Dip each fish finger into the flour followed by the egg and finally the 'breadcrumbs'.

To freeze place in a plastic container and separate the layers with greaseproof paper. To cook fresh spray each side with spray oil and place on a baking tray layered with greaseproof paper, bake at 180 C for around 8-10 minutes, turning half way, until golden and cooked through. You can alternatively shallow pan fry for 3-4 minutes on each side being careful not to over brown the fish fingers. I personally prefer to bake mine, as it is easier and healthier.

Cook from frozen as above but it takes about 12 minutes.

Serve the fish fingers with the yoghurt dip I serve with my chicken nuggets or with tomato sauce.

Munch Mummy Kate

Breastfeeding awareness week 1-7 August

We are all aware now that breastfeeding can help lay the foundations of a healthy life and exclusive breastfeeding is recommended until babies are around six months. It provides a beautiful and positive experience for both mums and their munchkins, but for many it is not an easy journey.


With my first child, after the first few days and lots of support from my husband, I found breastfeeding very easy, enjoyable and pain free. When it came to breastfeeding twins, I was apprehensive about not having enough hands/milk/energy, but again things went pretty smoothly. Tandem feeding two babies was do-able, which saved a lot of time and was a pretty remarkable experience. When they got to about six months I would feed them individually during the day. I was still able to do tandem feeding at night, with the support of my husband.

These are the babies of world-famous-in-New Zealand blogger, Donelle Belanger-Taylor, she posted a lovely piece on her breast feeding journey here. Any of you who know me and have met my two youngest boys will find it hard to believe that this image is not of them. I have had to reproduce it here because it bears such an uncanny resemblance to my twin boys that I feel like I am looking at my boys when I see it. This image conveys the loveliness and intimacy of tandem feeding. One of the many joys of being a parent of multiples.

I was one of the lucky ones. I was able to breastfeed to around sixteen months with all three boys. I know that for many of you breastfeeding was a quite a struggle. I have met several mums who although desperate to breastfeed their little ones have been unable to do so. Breastfeeding awareness week runs from 1-7 August. You can find out more about it world breast feeding week here. And the la leche league provides support for those who might be struggling with breastfeeding.

Mummy to three small breast fed boys

The Olympics

I am loving watching the Olympics. It's so relaxing to just sit down and watch a little on television. I don't even mind what event it is. What about you?

Image sourced from here.