Harper - Little Pip Eats the Colours of the Rainbow

To my husband, Phillip Harper, for cleaning up our messes and putting up with our emotional ups and downs.

Im lucky hes a patient man!

welcome to the rainbow

Introducing food to babies is messy and fun, but the job is far from done once their infant days are behind them. The toddler years are where their curiosity and appetite really ramp up. As a qualified nutritionist, I know how important maintaining a balanced diet and lifestyle are to overall health and well-being. But as a mum, I also understand how overwhelming it can be to have someones future relationship with food in your hands.

My first cookbook, Baby Pip Eats , was born out of my renewed interest in childrens nutrition after having my first baby, Pip. My final year of university had been spent studying childrens snacking behaviour at school, and then trying to implement healthy eating initiatives at local kindergartens. Around the same time I started introducing food to Pip, I noticed fellow mums and dads experiencing the what to cook dilemma that faces every parent daily. I wanted to help eliminate this problem by sharing a few wholesome recipes that anyone could cook with some kitchen cupboard essentials and a few fresh ingredients.

Mealtimes at my house now include baby Jimmy, toddler Pip, my husband and me, so meals have to be easy and fun, as well as nutritious and tasty. This book is the next step on from Baby Pip Eats , with slightly more sophisticated recipes that bridge the transition from baby to toddler. The recipes here (unless otherwise indicated) are suitable for all ages, once chewing has developed. The focus is on encouraging a healthy diet through offering visually stimulating foods, which is why the recipes are divided by colour. Eating the rainbow when it comes to fruits and vegetables is one of the fundamental principles of good nutrition, its also one of the easiest ways to incorporate a plethora of wholefood into the diet of your growing child, which is hugely important to their development. Offering a variety of colourful foods will pique your childs interest and encourage them to become more adventurous eaters. But thats not all: serving a variety of different textures will also stimulate them intellectually, through tactile learning, and physically, by encouraging mouth, jaw and tongue muscle development, which assists in speech development. All this from food!

I want this book to give parents confidence and a have a go attitude when it comes to cooking for their kids. Preparing simple, wholesome foods and presenting them in a way that looks fun and exciting is easier than you might think.

Getting children involved with ingredient selection and meal preparation can really pay off. Pip loves helping me to select ingredients and prepare meals. Shes my number 1 assistant! And Im sharing a basic life skill that will serve her for the rest of her life. Its our responsibility as parents to give our kids the best possible start to life, and instil confidence, a love of cooking and a good understanding of food. Why not have fun doing it?

FLUFFY RASPBERRY PANCAKES

SOURCE OF: PROTEIN, DIETARY FIBRE, FOLATE & VITAMINS C & K
MAKES: APPROXIMATELY 24 SMALL PANCAKES
SERVES: 1 BABY/TODDLER & FAMILY OF 4

265 g (9 oz) self-raising flour

2 free-range eggs, separated, yolks lightly beaten

375 ml (13 fl oz/1 cups) milk

300 g (10 oz/1 cups) ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon butter or mild tasting olive oil

250 g (9 oz/2 cups) raspberries (or other berries)

Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the egg yolks, milk, 200 g (7 oz) of the ricotta and mix well. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites through the batter.

Heat the butter or oil in a large frying pan and spoon -cup measures of the batter into the frying pan. Place 3 raspberries on each uncooked pancake and cook for 5 minutes, turning once, until lightly golden. Remove from the pan and repeat with remaining batter.

TIP: For a special and indulgent breakfast, add a spoonful of extra berries, lemon curd and mascarpone to each plate before serving.

RED CAPSICUM & CASHEW SAUCE

SOURCE OF: PROTEIN, IRON, ZINC & MAGNESIUM (CASHEWS)
& VITAMIN C (RED CAPSICUM)
SERVES: 1 BABY/TODDLER & FAMILY OF 4

3 red capsicums (peppers)

400 g (14 oz) unsalted cashews

25 g (1 oz/ cup) finely grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the capsicums on the lined baking tray and cook them for 25 minutes, or until slightly blackened and soft. Remove from the oven, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Place the cashews on another baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 minutes, or until slightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Peel the capsicums and discard their skins, stems and seeds. Place the flesh in a food processor along with the cashews and parmesan. Pulse until smooth.