Stuffed Tomato – Healthy Baby Recipes

So, it was Saturday night and I was making homemade burgers for a satisfying night in.. I had beef mince, cheese, tomatoes etc, so I came up with this recipe for the little one. Just a quick note, it takes ages to cool down, so watch out for the heat when you serve it!!

Stuffed Tomato

1 Large Tomato

2 Tbsp Beef Mince

1 Tbsp Breadcrumbs

1 Shallot

¼ Tsp Cumin Seeds

Thumb sized piece of Cheddar (cubed)

Small bunch of Parsley

Few leaves of Rosemary  

Black Pepper

Rapeseed Oil

Get the oven on to 220 degree’s

Firstly using a sharp knife cut the top of the Tomato, try to cut at an angle (into the Tomato) and keep the lid or top part of the tomato whole. Using a teaspoon, gently scoop out the middle of the Tomato leaving enough walls in the Tomato to remain whole, but taking out enough of the tomato that you can get plenty of filling in (reserve the Tomato that you have scooped out). Brush the inside of the Tomato with Rapeseed Oil then season with Black Pepper and also add some chopped Rosemary.  Place on an oiled tray and bake for 10 minutes.

Whilst the Tomato is cooking, fry off the Beef Mince in a little Rapeseed Oil. When the mince has a little colour on it place it in a bowl and reserve. Next fry the shallot gently until it becomes translucent and sweet then add the breadcrumbs and cumin seeds and gently fry along with reserved (and chopped) centres of the Tomato.

Add all of the cooked ingredients along with chopped Parsley to a bowl and allow cooling until the Tomato is cooked. When it is add the cubed cheese to the mix and season with a little more Black Pepper (taste). Using a teaspoon fill the Tomato to the top compressing the filling in (gently try not to tear the now softer Tomato). Fill to the top and then place the lid back on the Tomato and bake for a further 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and allow to cool (this could take a while).

To serve chop into manageable portions and let then at it.. Little bit of fuss, but a really tasty dinner for the little one! (Remember it takes ages to cool down!)

Baby Ratatouille – Healthy Baby Recipes

Ratatouille is a convenient baby dinner! If you have loads of fresh vegetables in the fridge this is a winner as you can use whatever you have at hand. Ratatouille is simply a vegetable stew as healthy baby recipes contain no salt the trick is to make sure that you colour the vegetables to deliver big flavour!

Baby Ratatouille

2 stems of Broccoli

1 Carrot

2 Small New potatoes

2 Spring Onions

1/3 Red Pepper

Tbsp of Canned Tomatoes

Fresh Chives

Rapeseed Oil

Black Pepper

Firstly, don’t peel anything, wash it well and leave the skins on. Most of the great vitamins and minerals (as well as flavour) are held in the skin. Slice your Potatoes and Carrot to a thickness of 2mm and then begin frying in Rapeseed Oil. When the start to colour add your Spring Onions (which should be in baby hand sized sections). Add the Red Pepper (again in hand sized portions) and fry until the vegetables take on that flavoursome browning and begin to crisp. 

When the vegetables are nicely browned, season with Black Pepper and stir in the Tomatoes (add enough Tomatoes to make a nice sauce). Cook the vegetables in the Tomatoes (add a little water if it begins to dry out) until they are soft enough to eat – not mushy). 

Turn off the heat add your chopped Chives and allow to sit in the pan until cool enough for baby to eat. This sitting (convenient if you are getting baby ready to eat) really allows the flavours to merge a little further.

Super healthy a great way for baby to eat lots of exciting colours and shapes of vegetables too. 

Aubergine, Tomato and Mozzarella stack - Healthy Baby Recipes

Summer delivers so many great ingredients to cook with! For our family holiday we visited Southern Italy, it was there that I discovered my baby loved Aubergine.. I mean loves it! She cannot get enough.

Aubergine, Tomato and Mozzarella stack

2 Rounds of Aubergine (about 1.5 cm thick)

1 thick slice of a big Tomato

2 slices of Mozzarella

Few leaves of Basil

Dried Oregano

Black Pepper

Olive Oil

Heat up some Olive Oil in a frying pan. On your chopping board, season your Aubergine and Tomato slices with Black Pepper and Dried Oregano, firstly fry off the Aubergine (the Tomato takes much less time). Fry the Aubergine quite hard as you want it to colour. As the Aubergine fries push the centre into the pan, as it starts to cook through (and colour nicely) add the Tomato to the pan and cook through on both sides (again try to get a little colour).

Now cooked start by laying a slice of Aubergine on the plate, followed by a Basil Leaf. Then a slice of Mozzarella and a Basil leaf. The Tomato another Basil leaf, another slice of Mozzarella, a Basil leaf and then the final slice of Aubergine.

This dish is packed with Vitamins and Calcium as well as the health benefits of Aubergine (helps control fats in the blood).  

Pork meatballs with Spaghetti - Healthy Baby Recipes

This plate of food is the funniest to watch baby eat. I love watching her eat Spaghetti as much as she loves eating it. That messy slurp that leaves Tomato sauce everywhere makes me crack up. The meatballs went down a storm too, if you were struggling to get veggies into your baby you can hide a lot of vegetables (if grated) into a meatball without them noticing!).

Pork meatballs and Spaghetti

The Pork Meatballs..

2 Tbsps Pork Mince

1 Tbsp Breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

1 Tbsp Chopped Parsley

Black Pepper

Simply mix all of the ingredients together and in clean hands press (about a ½ tsp of the mix) into the palm of your hand and roll (between both of your hands) to form small meatballs. Continue to roll out the meatballs until there is no mix left, store in the fridge until ready (this allows them to firm up a little too). Quick tip, keep your hands moist with tap water to prevent the meatballs sticking to your hands and make rolling easy.

Spaghetti (Small handful)

1 Large Tomato (chopped)

1 Shallot (finely chopped)

Few leaves of herbs (I used Basil, finely chopped)

Get a small pan on to cook the Spaghetti in and also a frying pan with some Rapeseed Oil nicely hot.

Firstly cook the Meatballs. Fry them in oil gently until they start to take a little colour, gently move then in the pan until they are nicely coloured all over (4 or 5 minutes). Place on a plate and prepare to make your quick Tomato sauce. Gently fry your onions for a couple of minutes (of course using the same oil that the meatballs fried in), then add your Tomato, cook for a further few minutes – season with Black Pepper and add the chopped Basil.

Meanwhile cook your pasta, I like to break Spaghetti into 3 equal lengths whilst cooking, this makes it the perfect size for baby they come to pick it up. Cook the pasta as per packet instructions.

To serve simply drain the pasta and add it to the Tomato sauce along with the Pork meatballs, stir al together and then serve with a little Parmesan.

Good wholesome cooking and really lovely, baby will love it!