Boost your iron - a recipe - and... have you got a fussy eater? recipe for them too!

Here we are in May! The first 4 months have flown by. 

Are you like me and wondering how that happened?
Yup it's just crazy how the days are melting into each other.

So normally I send you an email on a Tuesday but as yesterday was a holiday and I figured you probably wouldn't be looking at email, I delayed it till today.

This last week for me has been a bit of  mad round-about. There's nothing that I can put my finger on and say that is what set it off. It just was a mad week. 

Maybe it was just because it was a short week... who knows!

This week I thought I'd share a couple of recipes with you.

This one is a variation on bolognese....

The extra ingredient is chicken livers and this is to add iron to your diet. 

If you remember iron's job is to bind a haemoglobin molecule to a red blood cell. 

When you don't have enough iron then you can become anaemic.
When you're anaemic your body has less of an ability to carry oxygen in your blood.

As a result you may start to feel tired and have less energy.

• Headaches and dizziness,
• irritability and
• an overall paleness in your cheeks, tongue, lips and skin and
• a fast or irregular heartbeat

are all signs of anaemia.

Bolognese Recipe

• 500g of lean beef mince
• 250g of chicken livers
• 1 onion
• crushed garlic
• 1/2 cup of lentils (red or brown)
• 1 chopped or grated carrot
• 1 tin of tomato & onion mix

Method

1. Melt a dessertspoon of coconut oil
2. Add chopped onions and garlic
3. Add chicken livers 
4. Brown the chicken livers till they are no longer soft to press.
5. Remove from the pan
6. Add the mince and brown
7. Chop the chicken livers or put them into a Twista or some such gadget to chop them for you
8. Add back to the browned mince
9. Stir in a 1/2 cup of lentils, tin of tomato & onion mix and carrot
10. Use the tomato & onion tin and add 1/2 a tin of water to the mix
11. Stir and season with salt, pepper and herbs.
12. Set to simmer for 25 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent the lentils sticking.
13. If needs be add extra water.
14. With 5 minutes to go add 2 dessertspoons of tomato sauce and chutney.

Serve with wholewheat spaghetti, zoodles (zucchini spagetti), brown or wild rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice.
My second child is sooo different from my first. My first pretty much eats everything except and he will tell you, "mushrooms and courgettes". 

My second on the other hand will eat anything that his wonderful nanny feeds to him but...
when I offer the EXACT same food he will not touch it.

So fussy or power struggle I made these muffins which he does eat when I dont' offer them. (sigh)

Carrot & Courgette Muffins for your Fussy Eater

• 4 cups of flour - I use 3 cups of wheat and 1 cup of rice
• 1/3 cup of sugar or castor sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 carrots
• 3 courgettes
• 2 eggs
• 120ml sunflower oil 
• 120ml milk

Method

1. Turn oven to 180*C
2. Sift flour
3. Add sugar & baking powder
4. Grate carrots and courgettes and then put them through your Magi-Mix to chop them fine
5. Add flour and sugar to Magi-Mix 
6. Tip into a baking bowl
7. Add eggs and milk and oil
8. Stir
9. The batter is quite runny
10. Spray your muffin tin
11. Divide the batter
12. Bake for about 15-18 minutes
13. Remove when golden and skewer comes out clean
14. Leave to cool

Can be eaten on their own or with butter and Bovril.