Roasted red pepper & feta bites

With the festive season fast approaching it’s lovely to kick back and relax with a glass of fizz and some yummy nibbles. I’ve been experimenting with creating some vegetarian snacks and I’m pretty pleased with how these came out – they even got the thumbs up from my little one who is a tough critic at the best of times!

Ingredients
1 pack of ready rolled puff pastry
200g block of feta cheese
2 red peppers
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
A small cup of milk for brushing
Poppy or sesame seeds to decorate

Method
Preheat your oven to 200oc
Cut your peppers into strips, coat with a little vegetable oil and roast in pre-heated oven for around 20mins
Once your peppers are cooked leave to cool slightly, then cut into small pieces and add to a bowl
Crumble in your feta, add oregano and mix well to combine
Lay out your pastry flat width-wide on your worktop and cut into 8 squares
Add a spoonful of mixture along the middle of each square , edge to edge.
Fold the square in half and firmly press the edges together to join
Turn the pastry over cut into your desired size of bites (they will rise a little in the oven)
Repeat with the remaining mixture and pastry squares.
Arrange your bites on a pre-lined baking tray with a little space between each one, brush with a little milk and top with poppy seeds.
Bake in the oven for around 12-15mins until golden.

Makes about 16 bites

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Easy Oat & Raisin Cookies

Ingredients
125g sugar
150g oats
50g raisins
125g butter
1tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp golden syrup
75g plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp mixed spice

Method
Heat the oven to gas mark 4 180oc/160oc
Grease or line a large flat baking sheet
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs and vanilla essence
Add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
Shape tbsp amounts into balls and place well spaced onto your baking tray.
Flatten slightly with a fork so they bake evenly.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until lightly browned.

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School days are long for little learners and they are usually ravenous by the time you pick them up. So ward off hangry tantrums with a few of these nutritious suggestions to keep their tummies topped up until dinner.

Fruity yogurt pots

These yogurt pots are fun for kids and you use any kids of fruit to create colour combinations. You can also make them in advance to keep in the fridge ready for after school

• Use any kind of tupperware pot, old jam jar or a small drinking glass (if your child is old enough to use this safely)
• Start by creating a layer of fruit using your child’s favourite. This could be pieces of tinned fruit (fruit in juice rather than syrup if possible), slices of chopped banana, pear, apple, berries or cubes of melon.
• Next add a layer of sugar free granola or muesli
• Top with plain natural or greek yogurt

Homemade tortilla chips and hummus

It’s surprisingly easy to make your own tortilla chips and they make a far better alternative to shop bought crisps which tend to be really salty.

• Preheat your grill to a medium setting
• Cut up a couple of tortilla wraps into triangles and lay on a baking tray, give a small spray of oil or brush lightly with vegetable oil. Sprinkle lightly with paprika and pop under the grill, turning over once they’ve started to lightly colour on one side.
• Word of warning! The tortilla chips will brown very quickly so keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!

Other ideas:

• Cubes of cheese & sliced apple
• Chopped veggies & hummus
• Banana & peanut butter wrap
• Wholewheat crackers with soft cheese & grapes
• Toasted teacake
• Wholewheat bagel with hummus
• Homemade oat cookies
• Fruit and yogurt smoothies
• a small cup of lentil & vegetable soup
• Plain popcorn
• Baked apple rings with cinnamon
• Mini Babybel cheese & slices of apple

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Green Power Smoothie

If you’re trying to increase your intake of healthy greens then why not try this nutritious green smoothie. Packed full of lovely veg, it’s a great way to get your greens in at the start of your day, or to give you a refreshing boost in the afternoon.

Ingredients
½ cucumber
1 handful of spinach
1 handful frozen pineapple
1 handful of mint leaves
Juice of ½ lime

Method
Pop all the ingredients in a blender and blitz till smooth.
Enjoy over ice.

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I do have quite a sweet tooth and I’ve been reading up on healthier alternatives to the usual tempting array of delicious treats I usually find hard to resist.

This recipe is incredibly easy. Dates pack a huge sugary punch and are fantastic to cook with. The addition of walnuts balances the sweetness of the dates and adds a lovely texture to the bites and their natural oil helps bind the recipe together without the addition of any other liquid.

You will need

250g pitted Medjool dates

250g raw, unsalted walnuts

2 tablespoons of raw cacao powder

Unsweetened desiccated coconut, to coat

Makes around 20 bites

1.) Put the dates, walnuts and cacao powder into a food processor and blitz on a high speed until the mixture sticks together.

2.) Sprinkle the coconut evenly on a large plate

2.) Shape small amounts of the mixture into small balls and then roll in the coconut until evenly covered

3.) Pop the bites in a tupperware container in the freezer until you’re ready to eat them.

All photography © Heather Elizabeth Wilkinson 2014

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