How to Feed your Toddler Recipes

How to Avoid Fussy Eating

Celebrity Baby and Child Nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed’s latest book, How to Feed Your Toddler: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Happy, Independent Little Eaters, tackles the trickiest stage of child nutrition – toddlerhood.

How to Feed Your Toddler brings together Charlotte's trademark approach of evidence-based advice, nurturing support, practical problemsolving, and delicious recipes to give parents the confidence to help their toddlers develop a positive relationship with food.

The book also contains 50 delicious, healthy and super-easy recipes that introduce little ones to a variety of flavours and textures, whilst also being suitable for the whole family, and versatile for different dietary requirements and lifestyles. With our thanks to Charlotte, she has shared three of her favourites with you here to get you started!

Courgette Cornbread Squares

This is one of my favourite recipes from the book – it’s so tasty and makes a great snack, lunch or side, as well as being fab topped with a dollop of cream cheese and some dill or a spoonful of hummus with some ground pistachios. I love this one on its own though, and it’s now a regular in our freezer. This recipe makes a good amount and packs lots of flavours and textures. I hope your little ones will love it. Prep: 10–15minutes Cook: 25–30 minutes Makes: 20–25 squares

Ingredients

 50g unsalted butter or dairy-free spread  4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped  2 courgettes (about 350g), trimmed and coarsely grated  1 large free-range egg, beaten  125ml milk of choice  125g Greek yoghurt  198g tin sweetcorn, drained  100g plain flour  150g cornmeal or polenta  30g mature Cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions

➊ Preheat the oven to 200˚C/180˚C fan. Line a 20 x 30-cm tin with greaseproof paper. ➋ Melt the butter or spread in a large frying pan, add the spring onions and courgettes and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and cooked down. Leave to one side to cool completely. ➌ Mix the egg, milk, yoghurt and sweetcorn together in a bowl. ➍ Add the flour, cornmeal, Cheddar, and cooled veg, and give it a good mix to combine. ➎ Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. ➏ Cool in the tin then transfer to a cooling rack and cut into 20–25 squares. These will keep in an airtight container for 2 days or can be added to your freezer stash.

Sweet Potato and Bean Cakes

These are a great alternative to burgers or fishcakes, and are packed with amazing flavours and textures. The bean mashing does take a little work, but it’s well worth it, and you can make a batch and keep the mixture in the fridge for the next couple of days or freeze some of the cakes for later. Serve in a bun or just on its own, whichever you fancy! Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 20–30 minutes Makes: 10 cakes

Ingredients

 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 400g)  400g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed  400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed  1–2 tbsp tomato purée  2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped  80g shop-bought or homemade breadcrumbs  2 tbsp olive oil  1 ripe avocado, destoned and skin removed  1 lime

Instructions

➊ Preheat the oven to 200˚C/180˚C fan. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

➋ Wash and scrub the potatoes and prick them on all sides with a fork. Pop them into a microwave for 5 minutes or bake for 1 hour at 200˚C/180˚C fan until the flesh is soft. Leave to one side.

➌ In a bowl mash the beans until they form a paste. Mix in the tomato purée and spring onions and stir until combined. Scoop out the flesh of the cooked potatoes, add to the bowl and mix.

➍ Shape the mixture into 10 balls, then flatten into 8cm wide patties.

➎ Pour the breadcrumbs onto a plate and dip the patties into the breadcrumbs to coat. Transfer the patties to the tray. ➏ Brush each with a little olive oil and bake for 10–15 minutes each side or until golden and hot all the way through. ➐ Once the bean cakes are cooked, leave them to cool a little (this also allows them to firm up). Mash the avocado with a good squeeze of lime and serve the beancakes with a dollop of the avocado alongside for dunking for little ones. For older ones and adults, spread some on top of the cake.

Cheese and Tomato Loaf

This is like a mini focaccia (but takes no time at all!) and packs in the flavours. This was a hit when I was doing the recipe testing and is definitely one for the adults as well as the kids; I’ve even brought it out at a family dinner party recently. As ever with my recipes, you can change up the fillings if you wish. This is delicious (and more balanced) served with some hummus as a dip and some extra veggies or a salad. Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 25–30 minutes Makes: 1 loaf

Ingredients

 250g self-raising flour  1 large free-range egg or 1 chia seed egg  200ml milk of choice  5 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced  20 cherry tomatoes, quartered  100g cheddar cheese, coarsely grated  drizzle of olive oil

Instructions

➊ Preheat the oven to 200˚C/180˚C fan. Line a 20cm square ovenproof tin with greaseproof paper. ➋ Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Pour the milk and egg into the well. ➌ Whisk the mixture together to combine, then add the spring onions, tomatoes and most of the cheese. Stir to mix in the flavours. ➍ Add the mixture to the lined tin, drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle over the reserved cheese. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the loaf is brown on top. ➎ Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then carefully lift the loaf from the tin onto a cooling rack. Leave to cool a little before cutting into chunks and serving. This loaf will keep fresh for around 3 days and it is a great addition to your freezer stash. You can grab a few slices and defrost for a couple of hours in time for lunch!

How to Feed Your Toddler: Everything You Need to Know To Raise Happy, Independent

Little Eaters by Charlotte Stirling Reed is published by Ebury Press and is available now

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