Kitchen Archives - Nanny Shecando

Recipe: Anzac Biscuits

With Anzac day fast approaching, we’ve taken some time with our nanny children to introduce more in-depth conversations. As I typed the words “we will remember them” earlier this week whilst putting together the Anzac Day Paper Poppy Wreath DIY, tears ran down my face.

The weight and significance of those words have real meaning to me. Because of this, I’m able to understand and acknowledge that these feelings can weigh down hard on our children. And if we’re not able to explain the events, the reasoning, and the emotions properly, our kids are at risk of feeling all kinds of emotion they don’t really know how to handle.

Conversations about events such as Anzac Day can be tough for most of us to have, but it’s a special reminder to broach these topics mindfully with our children. As superstar nanny Olivia demonstrated, she used first the Anzac Day paper craft and then the process of making Anzac Biscuits as activities to do with the kids to provide opportunity to discuss Anzac Day without it being too heavy for our children.

And then well, because we can’t go past a classic, we thought we’d share these yummy classic Anzac Biscuits with you. If the kids are pulling up stools to help (we highly recommend they do), just be careful when mixing the wet ingredients. The bi-card can fizzle and sizzle and splatter if little helping hands are mixing too fervently.

>>> Click Here To Download Your Anzac Biscuit Recipe Printable <<<

To Make: Anzac Biscuits

Makes 25

You’ll Need:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup coconut
125g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 180°, fan forced.

2. Combine oats, sifted flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl.

3. Combine butter, golden syrup and water in a small saucepan, stir constantly over medium heat until butter is melted.

4. Stir in soda.

5. Stir mixture into dry ingredients.

6. Place rounded tablespoons of mixture 5cm apart onto baking paper covered oven trays.

7. Bake in oven for 20 mins, cool on trays.

*Recipe from “The Australian Women’s Weekly Basic Cookbook”

A classic #AnzacBiscuit recipe out of the hands of the Womens Weekly. You can’t beat it! #AnzacDay

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>>> Are you making Anzac biscuits with the kids this year?
See you on Saturday morning for the dawn service!

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Olivia is a career nanny of 5 years and craft extraordinaire. Having travelled Australia working with many families, Olivia now resides in Sydney and cares for 7 children aged 15 months to 1o years old. Craft + diy activities feature prominently in their daily schedule. You can follow Olivia on instagram {@oliviasfoster} for crafty ideas and activities.

Recipe: Healthy Pear and Banana Bread

(Pear and Banana Bread Recipe) For various reasons, I have a love/hate relationship with food. But even so, I absolutely love to cook. I fell in love with the creative accomplishment at a young age, and buoyed by the likes of Jamie Oliver and Nigella, I happily spent most of my time in culinary heaven doing the hospitality thing.

These days, I don’t always get the time to be adventurous in the kitchen. Between preparing healthy nutritious meals for baby, picky little ones, and then MB and DB, my chef hat is ready to retire by 7pm. Outside of the nanny life, my kitchen and I are lonely houseguests, living with each other but not really knowing each other.

So the midday nap times in the nanny life have become my treasured moments of sanctuary. Whilst the little Mr has his day sleep, I seek refuge in the kitchen and get to work creating meal plans in the search for the elusive meal to suit all ages and food preferences of the family. But mostly, I bake. Baking calms the mind and feeds the soul.

A champion of healthy eating and of the importance for children to have a healthy nutritious and well balance diet, I tend to rework old classics into healthier, lunch box friendly treats. This banana, pear and sultana loaf is a modern take on the traditional butter and sugar loaded banana cake and is a big success with the kiddos.

You’ll Need:

1 large banana, smashed
2 medium-sized pears, smashed
125g butter*
1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sultanas
150g wholemeal plain flour
100g coconut flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp all-spice
1 tsp bicard soda
1 tsp salt
5 drops vanilla
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)
2 tsp lemon juice

To Make:

1. Combine the milk and lemon juice together and set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add vanilla and eggs and mix lightly.

3. In a separate bowl, sift flours and mix dry ingredients. Add the fruit and sultanas.

4. Gradually mix the butter mixture into the dry ingredients until well combined, adding the milk and lemon juice mixture.

5. Pour into a medium-sized greased and lined loaf tin and bake for 55 minutes at 180 degrees C.

6. Switch the oven off and leave to sit for another 5 minutes. Then remove from tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.

7. To finish, dust lightly with cinnamon or coconut sugar.

*To reduce the amount of butter used, you can half the quantity and then also add 1/2 the amount of pureed apple sauce, prune puree, smashed avocado or a portion of chia seeds soaked in greek yoghurt. To use this method, cream the smaller portion of butter as per usual and then add in the substitutes with the the wet ingredients.

**For a fancy finish, top with chia seeds, slithered almonds or banana chips before placing the loaf into the oven.

Pear and Banana Bread – so good the kids will fight over it! #healthykids #nannylife #recipes

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Slice and portion off the Banana and Pear loaf ready for school lunch boxes, afternoon tea snacks, or slather a slice in nut butter for a quick morning breakfast on the go.

A healthy twist on an old classic, this Pear and Banana bread is so good, it’s almost too good. Better still, I promise you, the kiddos will love it as much as you do!

>>> Do you love to cook? Enjoy reinventing recipes to suit healthier tastes for kids?

Make: Frozen Fruit Ice Cubes

Things are heating up really quickly this summer! Even though we’re enjoying some wild summer storms in the afternoon, the temperature is still average 30 degrees during the day. And for us in the nanny life – that’s pretty hot. Our outdoor activities are limited to before and after the hottest part of the day and we’re applying sunscreen and hats like it’s going out of fashion. Staying well hydrated though, that’s always a tricky one with kids …

These Frozen Fruit Ice Cubes are perfect for when your kids aren’t entirely sold on water. Or maybe for when your kids think they’re drinking enough already. But with the record high temperates we’re going to experience this summer, it’s vital to consider the risk of them over-heating or even suffering from heat stroke.

Frozen Fruit Ice Cubes

You’ll Need:

– Fruit of your choice
we used blueberries, strawberries, apples, oranges, mandarins, and kiwi fruit. You could use melons, pineapple, cherries and any other fruit that freezes well
– A jug of water
– Ice trays or popsicle moulds
– Chopping board
– Knife
– Freezer Space

Cool Tip: Boiled water makes clear ice cubes whereas tap water freezes cloudy!

To Make: Frozen Fruit Ice Cubes

1. Wash your hands and pull-up a stool for the kids near your prep area.

2. Slice your fruit into pieces small enough to fit the trays, keeping the knife away from the young ones.

3. Layer the fruit into your ice tray. You can get creative here with flavour combinations if you like. This is when the kids can really get involved!

4. Fill the trays with water, being careful not to overfill.

5. Carefully carry to the freezer and leave to set overnight on a flat surface.

Enjoy these fresh fruit ice cubes as a cool alternative on these out of control summer days. I suggest you pop in a CD to dance and sing along to (Disney’s Frozen soundtrack of course), so that you can stay cool indoors between 11am and 3pm.

For a fun twist, add in a splash of fruit nectar or juice to sweeten your fruit ice cubes. And if you’re fond of milk, you can always make creamy ice-cubes with plain of flavoured milk and bananas.

Cool Tip: boiled water makes clear ice cubes whereas tap water freezes cloudy! #frozenicecubes

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>>> Are you a Frozen fan? Do you prefer water + fresh fruit OR chocolate milk + banana?

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*Note: may not be suitable for children under 3 years of age as large chunks of fruit may present a choking hazard.
*This post originally appeared on Care Academy, contributed by NANNY SHECANDO.

Winter Family Meals: Veggie Super Food Bowl

Morning lovely, how’s your Sunday going so far?

I hope you’re sitting with a coffee somewhere in the sun, maybe catching up on Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine or reading the many food blogs we all like to do on the weekend. If you’re not drooling over the always beautiful photographs and recipes from Local Is Lovely then you’re missing out!

I know I’m thinking about winter and what to cook tonight. Sundays usually mean I put in a little more effort to the preparations than quick mid-week dinners. We crack a bottle of red, light a few candles, get some smooth soulful tunes happening care of the lovely Norah Jones or Michael Bublé and settle in for the night over a home cooked meal. We catch up on the week that was and talk about what’s on the agenda for the coming week.

| “It’s a great excuse to down tools and reconnect without the constant interruptions of Instagram and Facebook and Twitter.”

Speaking of quick mid-week winter meals, I connected with a few blogging friends this past week to collaborate on a series of Winter Family Meals On A Budget. The lovely Money Mummy, our resident financial adviser in the blogging world, has been hosting winter warming recipes designed to keep both your budget and your belly smiling. And I don’t know about you, but I’m always on the hunt for recipes that are quick and easy that also won’t break the bank!

As well as my Jamie Oliver inspired “One Pot” Italian Roasted Chicken + Vegetables, earlier this week I shared a super easy mid-week throw together. I called it the Veggie “Super Food” Bowl, and it’s over on Money Mummy now.

“This is one of my mid-week “throw together” meals. They’re meals I turn to when I’m not in the mood to spend any longer than absolutely necessary in the kitchen. Considering that I often find myself making three different meals of an evening at work before coming home to see to my own dinner, an easy and nutritious meal is usually the best I can do.”

For more of the Winter Family Meals On A Budget, head over to see recipes from Mums Take Five, Fresh Home Cook, and Sheridan Anne.

Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter

Italian Roasted Chicken + Vegetables

Winter means I tend to feel a resurgence in the need for comfort foods and slow cooked meals. But just to make things interesting, my schedule always seems to kick up a gear. Which means even though I’m far more inclined to devote longer in the kitchen than it’d normally take to throw together a light summer salad, I simply don’t have the hours to give.

| “On those busy mid-week winter nights, I quickly become a big fan of the one pot all-in-one dinners.”

This week Money Mummy has been featuring winter family meals on a budget. Meals designed to keep both your belly and budget smiling. Today I’m joining in with the series over at Money Mummy to share one of my own winter family meals.

Winter Family Meals:
Italian Roasted Chicken + Mediterranean Vegetables

On a budget!

The best thing about quick one pot winter meals is that they’re super easy and super budget friendly! You can mix and match with whatever you find leftover at the bottom of the fridge crisper, and slow cooked meals let you get away with using cheaper cuts of meat.

A great way to keep the costs low is to freeze your fresh herbs in olive oil ahead of time. Because if you’re anything like me, a herb garden will face certain death and a bunch of store-bought always wilts before it can be used!

[gmc_recipe 2656]

Recipe Notes:
I usually use Rice Bran Oil instead of Olive Oil. For an added indulgence, serve with fresh crusty bread and a generous glass of red wine. Italian of course!

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You can see the full Winter Family Meals On A Budget Series here.

Money Mummy aims to help you make the most of your money by giving you simple, accessible, independent, jargon free information on important money matters. “Once upon a time I saw myself as a female ‘Gordon Gecko’ sort, working as a stock market analyst for a range of companies for the last sixteen years. Now I enjoy being a mum, play dough in one hand, Financial Review in the other.”