Dairy free pizza

This was inspired by a trip to Pizza express. We always order the bolognese for T, but I thought that he can't miss out on pizza! Making pizza dough is surprisingly easy, you just need a bit of time on your side. 

Ingredients  

250g Bread flour
1 packet dried yeast (7g)
2 tbsp olive oil
150mls lukewarm water
Jar of sundried tomato paste (check that it is dairy free). 
Whatever toppings you can think of! (see below for some ideas)

 Method

• Measure out the flour into a large bowl (or use your work surface in the kitchen)
• Make a well in the flour
• In a separate bowl, mix the water, yeast and olive oil and leave for a few minutes until the yeast starts to ferment. 
• Pour the yeast mixture into the well of the flour. 
• Initially combine with a spoon, and then turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic

Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic

• Put the dough back into a clean bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave in a warm place for 45mins-1 hour. 
• Once the dough is doubled, turn it back out onto a floured surface and knock the air out. 
• Cut the dough into 4 equally sized pieces and roll these out with a rolling pin. 
• Place the pizza bases onto a lightly oiled baking paper and top with your desired toppings. 

This recipe made enough for four small pizzas. 

Ideas for toppings:

Ham and mushroom

Dairy free cheese (if your baby can tolerate soya)

Chicken and sweetcorn

Tomato and basil

Tuna and green pepper

Ham, mushroom and basil pizzas. 

• Bake in the oven for 15mins at 200C until the dough has cooked through. 
• Serve with a tomato salad and enjoy!

PS - you can always make some for yourself too! 

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Ok, I'll be honest, my husband liked these much more than T did! I made a batch and stored them in the fridge for a quick and easy snack on the go, and when pressed for time. Give them a go yourself. 

Ingredients  

1 sweet potato - boiled until soft.  

100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
150mls milk replacement 


Method

1. Place the cooked sweet potatoes into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth

3. In a frying pan, place a splash of olive or rapeseed oil, then put a large spoonful of the mixture into the pan and cook on both sides. I made four small pancakes in each batch in the same frying pan. 

Always supervise your child eating.

Butternut Squash "Chips"

It's getting quite exciting with the blog now. People are approaching me to tell me that they have tried some of the recipes on the blog. Turkey burgers and the Jamie Oliver cookies have gone down especially well so far. 

T likes being able to feed himself, and these went down well, as they were the perfect size for him to hold. Broccoli used to be his absolute favourite (cue smug organic mummy face), but all of a sudden, he went off of it, and now Dog gets copious helpings at mealtimes as it is all thrown on the floor. 

The fabulous people in our local fruit and veg shop commented that I've been going there an awful lot lately. Ha! I think it's because so much ends up on the floor. (Again, I doubt dear Dog is complaining). We've recently tried buying a suction bowl to stop the free flow of food from highchair downwards, and while it seems to be working, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before T works out how to fling this along with everything else, over the side. 

Butternut squash "Chips"

In reality, you could make these "chips" out of any finger food you want: carrots and courgette sticks spring to mind, even sweet potato and aubergine as well, though I'd imagine you'd need more care cooking them, to prevent them turning to mush. 

I chopped one small butternut squash into fingers and steamed these for about 10minutes (can't tell you exactly I'm afraid!), just until they were soft enough to allow a knife to pierce them, then cooled them under some cold running water so they didn't continue to cook in their own heat. 

Alternatively, place on a non-stick baking tray, brush with olive oil and a little chopped rosemary and place in an oven at about 180C for 20-30mins (depending on how thick you've chopped them), and you and baby can enjoy them? 

In order to save time, (which I'm all for!), why not make this at the same time as my butternut squash and red lentil dish, or even at the same time as my Cheeky Courgette and butternut pasta? (Recipe to follow soon!)

Enjoy!

Under 15 Minutes: Vegetable Omelette

In a rush, and haven't been to the shops lately? Here is the first of my EasyDairyFree Fifteen minutes or less meals: 

Diced pepper as well as a host of other vegetables could work in this dish. 

Dairy free finger foods

Baby led weaning is very popular at the moment. The philosophy centres around babies weaning at their own pace, and having food from the family's plate. Not such a bad idea, right? It means less cooking for you as you can just siphon things off of your plate and on to baby's. 

Not T - just a stock photo from pixabay.com! 

I don't always find this practical however. When we're out to eat, I can't always trust that our food will be made to the same strict dietary requirements that I do at home, so I tend to bring food for T with me wherever we go. 

Some babies aren't very keen on feeding themselves, whilst others scream at the sight of a spoon. I mix and match spoon-feeding and finger foods for T, as I find that this is the right balance for us. 

Homemade hummus

I always used to buy hummus in the bucketload. Once I learned how easy it was to make, I never buy it now. 

Quick and east ingredients - for you and for baby 

This recipe is not suitable if your child has a sesame allergy as tahini is made from sesame seeds.