Tasty smoked fish pie with kumara/potato mash

When preparing meals for your family, one way to get preschoolers excited about dinner is to serve in personal portions. This smoked fish pie is delicious and gets extra points from our 3 yr old son, Max, in his own special serving.

This easy family meal is also ideal for pureeing up a tray or 2 of homemade baby food cubes at the same time in your mumi&bubi Solids Starter Kit without any extra time or effort.

Ingredients:
500g smoked fish
1 leek, 1 onion
1 cup milk + extra for mashing, 1 Tbsp flour
3 potatoes, 1 kumara
+750g kumara if also making kumara baby puree
parmesan or other cheese, grated

Directions:
-Boil potato & kumara in large pot, remove your portion for baby puree into another pot or bowl and cover. Mash the portion for the pie with milk and a knob of butter.
-saute onion until soft then add sliced leek for a further 4min
-add the flaked fish
-mix flour + milk, stir into the onion/leek/fish mixture

Assembly:
Layer individual 10cm baking ramekins with a thin layer of potato/kumara mash on the bottom, follow by a thicker layer of the fish mixture, topping with another potato/kumara layer. Sprinkle top with grated parmesan or other cheese.

Cooking:
If cooking to eat right away, grill in the oven until cheese is melted and top is golden and crispy. As this is an ideal dish to make ahead, cover and then pop into the fridge until you need it that evening or the next day. Bake covered in 180C oven for about 45min, then uncover for the last 15 to colour up the top.

For babies 9-12 months+, you can also puree portions of this yummy pie for either serving right away or freezing in your mumi&bubi Solids Starter Kit.

Enjoy! If you have any questions, please ask in the comments section below :)

9 months!

Happy Birthday Isobel, 9 months old today! She started solids nearly four months ago and I am so happy to say that she has had 100% healthy homemade baby food made by me, and sometimes her Daddy :) It has been so easy with the Solids Starter Kit.

Isobel celebrated this milestone by totally feeding herself her dinner! No one was more shocked than me as Max didn't do this until a little later. Which goes to show that all babies are their own little people and will do things at their own pace.

Moving on from the puree stage, I am going to continue using my 'Solids Starter Kit' for keeping her meals organised and freezing portions of finger food - mushrooms, swede, carrots, etc. so that I have freshly prepared food that Isobel can feed herself on hand in the freezer.

I am also going to be freezing portions of our family meals and I am going to try the Chicken and Kumara Dinner that was submitted by Rebecca one day soon.

It's all about being prepared saving time and not having to cook all the time, but still providing healthy homemade food for your precious little ones.

Organic Brown Rice

From around 8 months or so, babies can be introduced to brown rice. Most babies are on the move by this time - Isobel is so fast these days crawling from room to room and scrambling to climb up on the coffee table, etc. - that some more carbs & this exciting new texture may be a welcome change.

To save you from the time-consuming task of cooking brown rice on a regular basis just for your baby, the 'Solids Starter Kit' is ideal for freezing "cubes" of rice and having a 1-2 month supply at hand in the freezer.

Leanne Cooper, the Organic Bubs nutritionist and owner of Cadence Health, recommends that brown rice can be introduced around this time. Just make sure that it is cooked thoroughly until soft.

Avoid GM rice, but this can be easily done by choosing organic brown rice like the one we use from Ceres Organics. It is widely available at regular grocery stores, has a wonderful nutty flavour and is great for the whole family.

You Say Zucchini...

...Kiwis say courgettes! These little green wonders are another baby fast food as they steam so quickly. From the chopping board to spooning the fresh green puree into your mumi&bubi premium freezing trays takes less than 15 minutes.

If bubs is sleeping and you set the stove burner to low for a light steam, you might just get a shower in. As a work-at-home Mum of a 3 year old and a 6 month old, I have to take these opportunities as they come along :)

That's the great thing about making your own healthy homemade baby food - you do it while you are doing other things, not instead of. With mumi&bubi, making your own baby food is really easy to fit in to your day or evening. Not only is it best for your baby but it doesn't take up a lot of your precious time which is just as important for busy parents these days.

Recipe for Zucchini/Courgettes:
2 medium courgettes to make 7 cubes or fill 1 row;
6 medium courgettes to make 21 cubes or fill 1 whole tray;
-wash, top and tail the ends, then slice evenly
-lightly steam or place in a saucepan with 2-3T boiling water and simmer gently with lid on until tender
-mash with a fork for older babies or puree smoothly if bubs is 6-7 months old
-allow to cool either before or after spooning puree into your mumi&bubi premium freezing trays before freezing

Nutritional Information for Courgettes:
Courgettes are a good source of protein, Vitamins A and C (which are both immune boosters and potent antioxidants) as well as potassium and calcium.