Cooking - Banana Bread

So this week we decided to use up our abundance of bananas by making a yummy loaf of banana bread. Sugar free so perfect for a snack or as picnic food. Why not give it a go and let us know what you think!

 





Ingredients:

2 cups of flour

(we used one of plain and one wholemeal)

Squeezing the orange

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon cinnomon

2 large ripe bananas

Handful of raisins

1 egg

Juice of 1 orange









Adding raisins

Put the flour, baking powder, raisins and cinnomon in a bowl and mix. Mash the bananas well and mix them together with the egg and orange juice then add to flour mixture. Mix together then put into a bread tin and cook for around 30-50mins on 180oC.

 

Simple and yummy, enjoy!

Cooking - mini quiches

Today we got busy in the kitchen making mini vegetable quiches. A simple recipe which can be adapted to suit any taste. Makes a great snack or meal.

Ingredients:
For the pastry:
Large chunk of butter
cup of flour
milk to bind
For the filling:
2 eggs
grated cheese
finely chopped vegetables
(we used onion, broccoli, spinach, tomato and red pepper)
a drop of milk
oregano and pepper to season

For the pastry we added the ingredients together, mixed them well then made a ball with the dough. We rolled it out and cup out six small circles then put them into the tray.
For the filling we added everything together, mixed it well and spooned it into the pastry circles.
Then we popped them in the over for around 20 minutes and sat down to enjoy them!

Cooking - cheese straws

What better activity than cooking a yummy snack on a cold and wet winter's day?
Today we made cheese straws.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
tablespoon baking powder
1 cup grated cheese (we used mozzarella)

Add all the ingredients together, mix well and make straw shaped sticks. For variety you can add different herbs such as basil, oregano or thyme. Also older children may enjoy making different shapes or animals to eat!

Practical life activities - washing the windows

Today's activity - Washing the windows

This one is really simple. While I am cleaning the windows using window cleaner, he is using a damp cloth on the lower parts. It's great to see how he copies my movements and really goes to town!

All you need here is a clean cloth and to be careful they don't get too close to any cleaning products (sometimes easier said than done)! I usually encourage him to clean the patio doors so he isn't standing on a chair.

For older children a spray bottle with water and a squeegee can make the process more elaborate. Remember to give them a cloth to mop up the excess water!!!!

Practical Life Activities - cooking

Today's activity looks at cooking with your toddler.

When I say cooking I really mean combining the ingredients and (if your toddler is anything like mine) having a good taste!!!

Making Scones

Firstly, this activity takes quite a bit of preparation on your part. It's best to have ingredients measured out and in easy to pour containers. You also have to leave the recipe to one side and hope for the best!!!

So, we use flour (about a cup full), butter (a small chunk), milk (to combine the mixture), baking powder (a tablespoon), a grated apple and a handful of raisins. Then allow them to mix until they are happy! Bear in mind you will probably have flour overboard and loose a few raisins to your toddlers tummy!!! If they can manage, help them to blob the mixture on to a baking tray. If not you can do this later (that's what I do for now).

With all these activities it's important to allow the child to have freedom to carry out the activity without interfering too much. When they have finished and gone off to play you can mix it better. Try not to get into the activity too much unless they ask for help or it's getting out of hand. If need be, take the bowl away and ask them to help you clean up either wiping the surface of washing a spoon!

Other things we have tried when we need to get on and make dinner is: washing vegetables (yes, you will have to wash them again after), helping to put chopped veg into a pan, pulling leaves off the spinach and grating cheese (although he's a little bit small for this but it did keep him occupied until he'd eaten all the cheese)!

Got an idea for us to try out? Leave us a comment below.

When Babies become Toddlers - practical life activities

What happens when your baby isn't a baby anymore? They start to waddle after you and copy what you do. They want to be involved in everything you are and don't leave you alone for a second....sound familiar? Well, here is a short guide to helping your child to become independent whilst you work together. 

This is the stage that Montessori introduces a lot of practical life activities. What is this? Well, basically all the day to day chores and things you do around the house. Washing up, watering the plants, cleaning the house, folding and sorting the washing - the list is endless. So how can you involve your toddler in these activities? Over the next week we'll be posting several simple activities that you can do with your child that may help to make your life a little easier, while helping your little person gain some valuable life skills.

All these tasks can be adapted as your child grows and is capable of more complex tasks. Always try to plan ahead and only offer your child the things you are prepared to deal with. For example, many activities involve water. If your child is young you may need to limit the amount of water to avoid huge floods in your kitchen. As our little guy is still young, we give him very little water for these activities (something around 100ml) and we always have a floor cloth handy to mob up the inevitable spills. But remember it's all part of learning and important for your child to learn act and consequence.

Watering the basil

Today we show you watering the plants. A few weeks ago we planted some basil and now it is shooting up nicely. Our boy just loves watering it every morning and is almost able to do so alone. As watering cans often spurt water all over the place and are great outdoors but rather awkward for small indoor plants, we adapted our own waterer. We used a small plastic bottle and got some screw on rose available from most garden centres or from Amazon. 

Our waterer

We put the plant pots on a small tray and place them on his table with the waterer and he does the rest. Very simple and he gets to care for a living thing. For older children it is fun to plant the seeds with them and maybe keep a diary of the progress. Just make sure you pick something that sprouts within a day or two otherwise they may get bored waiting!