Having to feed a toddler in a nutritious way can be tricky with all the pre-cooked or packaged options available at the super market. As a mom of a 14 month old I hold no judgement to offering the above mentioned snacks as it’s time consumung and not always practicle to make your own.
With that being said I went in search of an alternative healthy biscuit option for my growing boy.
I came across Baby Jakes mom’s recipe for protein biscuits. My son, Noah loves them as a snack. They are easy to make and I have frozen the batches so they last longer and help me when prepping his snack pack for the day.
I am comforted when I see Noah munching away knowing that he is enjoying a healthy treat that isnt hard to make or cost a fortune.
Because of the chickpea flour the biscuits aren’t very sweet so for the older toddlers I would suggest increasing the syrup or honey or you could add a sweeter fruit. I recently made a batch with grated apple and pumpkin seeds for added crunch.
Happy baking and munching!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chickpea flour (get it at Dischem or Woolies)
- 1/4 cup “other” flour (almond flour / ground oats / coconut flour / desiccated coconut. I used ground oats by grinding raw oats in a Nutribullet)
- 1/2 cup nut butter (I used peanut. Could also use almond. Or a mixture.)
- 2 TBS ground flax seeds (my favourite ingredient to sneak in Omegas)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 to a 1/3 cup of “sweetener”. You can use pure maple syrup / honey / coconut sugar. Only use honey if baby older than one. You could also use a mashed banana instead. Just need something to make it a bit sweet. I use 1/3 cup organic maple syrup or honey.
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp baking soda / bicarb
- 2 tsp pure vanilla essence or vanilla powder
- 1-2 TBS water if needed
Method:
- Measure out 1 cup of Chickpea Flour and put it in the freezer while you get the rest of the batter.
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees celsius.
- Combine the wet ingredients: the nut butter / the egg / the melted coconut oil / vanilla essence / syrup / honey / mashed banana/grated apple (whatever you are using for sweetness). Also add the bicarb.
- Stir to combine. You could use an electric beater but not necessary at all. Less fuss. Less mess.
- Now add the dry ingredients (the chickpea flour from the freezer / other flour / flaxseeds). And mix.
- You can use your hands to combine it all into a nice dough. Will be quite dense. You can add some of the water if needed to combine into cookie dough texture.
- Take a small ball of batter and roll, and then flatten on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Press down with your 3 middle fingers to flatten slightly.
- Bake for approx. 12 minutes until golden.
- Once out the oven, immediately press down (gently) on the centre of each biscuit with a fork. This gets rid of air pockets and creates that yummy chewy centre that all good biscuits need.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Eat while warm. Yummy.
- Store in an airtight container.
Origional recipe from –Baby Jakes mom’s – http://www.babyjakesmom.com/homemade-baby-biscuits/
Contributed by Amiee Collison of Clamber Club Sports – Randpark Ridge
Tel: 072 027 9214
Email: sportsrandparkridge@clamberclub.com
Website: www.clamberclub.com