Easter

~ Easter -1~

Easter is just around the corner which means its time to

 think about those lovely decorated sugar eggs, chirping little chicks 

and  big ear bunnies .... Its the time of the year when the flowers bloom

 and the sun shines bright spreading its love and warmth everywhere. 

Have fun with your kids this easter with these quick  and easy to make 

breakfast ideas. This chick and  rabbit sandwiches will not only
 liven up the breakfast table but will leave you with lots 

of quality time to spend with the kiddos too !!! 

Cheep cheep ..

Whole wheat  bread cut into circle & topped with a sunny side up egg , 

red pepper, olives, cucumber & lettuce ( To make a perfect round egg- 

Grease a large circle cookie cutter n put it on a hot greased skillet ,

 crack an egg and gently pour in the cutter , cook till set ) 

Easter Bunny 

 Whole wheat  bread cut into circle  with a sunny side up egg , sliced 

red radish, olives, cucumber ,peas, cherry tomato , beans , carrot & parsley. 

 (To make a perfect round egg- Grease a large circle cookie cutter n put it on 

a hot greased skillet , crack an egg and gently

 pour in the cutter , cook till set ) 

Underwater

~ The Sea Calls ~

The best part of making fun foods for lil ones is that you can 

run your imagination wild and  become a kid once again . You get full

 liberty to  play with the myriad colors , textures & flavors  creatively . 

The magic by which a simple plate transforms into a work of art and  

 wins the attention of even the most pickiest and  fussiest eaters 

is defiantly the best part of playing with food !!

Turn a watermelon slice into a jelly fish  and happily watch the little

sea monsters gobble , gobble,gobble .............

Jelly fish on my plate !!!!

Halved slice of a small watermelon, cucumber , carrot, grapes,  dill, & cheese. 

Don't forget to use  a blue napkin, an underwater themed  fork/ pick 

 &  a  blue glass of water  to make the sea come alive !!!! 

Halloween-1

~ Healthy Halloween ~

Halloween is incomplete without  adding fun to food . 

During this time of the year when kids are sinking their teeth into 

junk foods, calorie and artificial color laden desserts and whackiest 

candies wouldn't it would be wonderful to give a twist to their 

 treats with some Boolicious Spooky Oats Apple  Spiders . 

Just a few slices of apples, black grapes/ berries  & Strawberry

 flavored Quaker Oats is all thats needed to add some Halloween 

goodness and lots of fun to their breakfast !!!! 

Itsy Bitsy Oatsy Spider 

Strawberry flavored Quaker Oats , 2 black grapes/ berries, few apple slices .

While the rest of the world is gearing for Halloween , India 

is gearing up for the festival season too . Check out my recipes and
 photographs - Sweet Surprises in the October issue of Child 
magazine India (Pg 70 -74 and  also some Ethnic Entree on Pg 50) 

Pup on my plate

~ My Little Pup ~

Few days back my lil one had to write a few lines

on her pet. Since we don't have a pet at home, I

took her to a friends place so that she could spend

some time with her friends & their cute little pet

puppy & get a brief idea about the topic. Back home

while she wrote some lovely lines on it , I decided

to treat her on a visual representation of the same.

Puppy on my plate

Dinner rolls, cucumber , olives, hard boiled egg.

Breakfast fun

~Fun with Flavors ~

Review : Quaker Oats in 4 new flavors

A bright beautiful morning , birds chirping , some cool

crisp air & a bowl of hearty healthy breakfast on the table

are somethings we all crave for but life moves at such

fast pace that we tend to miss these small pleasures.Often

we mommies find ourselves in the kitchen planning &

preparing breakfasts to reenergize our tiny tots .

"What if I could make something real power packed ,

yummy & just in a couple of mins & yet spend most of the

beautiful morning out of the kitchen " -we often

ponder . But I have surely found my way out !!!!

A chirpy breakfast

Quaker Oats - 4 new flavors

Few days back I received a packet from Quaker Oats

with several colorful & fun packed samples of their

recently launched Flavored Oats. Flavored Oats- as the

name suggests are the new range of flavors that adds a

yummy punch to the wholegrain Quaker goodness.

Available in 4 delightful flavors - Strawberry with apple,

Kesar with Kishmish , Lemony veggie mix & Homestyle

masala, these little goodies just take 3 mins to pep up .

Cooked with milk Quaker Oats - Strawberry with apple &

Quaker Oats Kesar with kishmish are perfect to pamper the

sweet cravings in a healthy way .

Apple Bird

Prepared Strawberry flavored Oats (cooked a per packet directions) ,

apple slices , java plums

A simple garnish of few slices of apples & a couple of java

plums added an extra fun to the flavorful breakfast . Poof !!!

the breakfast vanished much more quickly than I had imagined .

The luscious flavor of strawberry with sweet & sour chunks of

apple had won over the little taste buds.

The 2 savory flavors - Quaker Oats Lemony Veggie Mix

& Quaker OatsHomestyle masala are perfect to woo the

Indian taste buds - lemony , crunchy & mixed with flavorful

herbs & real chunks of capsicum & vegetables these flavors are

perfect & healthy replacement for savory breakfast delicacies.

I know christmas is far ahead , but the vibrant colors of the

packs and colorful chunks of added vegetables in Homestyle

Masala somehow made me imagine how much fun we will

have lazying a bit more on winter mornings & having fun

during the Christmas holidays with just 3 mins in the

kitchen &a bowl of steaming delicacy . The yummy flavors

paired with a veggie Rudolf garnish were enough

to cheer up the lil one on a warm sunny morning .

Rudolf - the red nose reindeer

Homestyle masala Oats (cooked a per packet directions) ,

capsicum , cherry tomato & olives.

These flavorful sachets are quick & convenient way

of adding a healthy yummilicious twist to breakfast .. just cut

a pack, mix in the milk or water ( as the pack suggests ), cook for

3 mins & ta da its ready ...This great tasting bowl of breakfast

comes at a humble price of INR 10 /- only . Available in

modern retail outlets across India .

Note- A steaming bowl of freshly cooked oatmeal porridge is the

perfect way to start your day . Each tiny grain of this miracle

food is a powerhouse of the dietary fibers required to power

our bodies . The soluble fibre - Beta Glucan is known to lower

cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease & type 2 diabetes.

All pics by Smita Srivastava @ Little Food Junction

Save our tigers

~ Save Our Tigers ~

Tigers have been an integral part of our culture and mythology . The Indian subcontinent has been home to these juvenile beauties for a very long time . The Tiger reserves- right from Corbett to Ranthambore have been mystical meccas for the tiger lovers . The royal beast is the symbol of strength ,power & leadership . Besides being our National animal , it finds a place of great importance in the Indian mythology- as the carrier of Goddess Durga too. While our National animal is fighting for its survival & our conservation experts are working hard for the noble cause , lets embrace the cause by making our little ones aware of their social responsibility right from the tender years. Little Food Junction pledges to join NDTV's Save Our tigers campaign by creating Tiger themed fun foods on the blog  to make lil ones embrace wildlife in the urban scenario. All good things start with Kids - what say ??? TIGER TIGER on my plate Dhokla (savory lentil cake)- recipe below baked in a muffin cup & garnished with olives , sliced baby/ armenian cucumber (kakdi), olives & tomato sauce. Khaman Dhokla ( savory lentil cake) Ingredients- 3/4 cup gram flour (besan), 1/4 cup semolina ( sooji), 2 tsp powdered sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice 1/4 tsp soda, 1/4 tsp eno fruit salt, salt to taste, water as req. For tempering - few mustard seeds, 1/4 cup water , sugar & split green chili to taste, few drops of oil Method- sift together flour, semolina , soda , salt & sugar. Mix in lemon juice n water to smooth ribbony consistency . Sprinkle eno & drizzle a tsp of water . Mix gently n pour in greased muffin cups. Steam cook for 7-8 mins or till done. For tempering - heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard . Mix in sugar , chilies & water. Pour the hot tempering over the dhoklas . Serve.

Animal pops

~ Animals on Sticks ~

A party with tiny tots , animal props and food on stick - what else can

lil ones ask for ????

Its a commonly known fact that food just tastes better (or i

should say looks n feels ) better when topped on sticks.

Inspired by cute food , cakes , fudges ,chocolate n of course

Bakerella these little cuties came alive from my sketch pad

to reality at my lil ones animal theme party. No doubt

they were a bit time consuming but definitely worth

all the time & effort. Owing to the omnipresence of cake

at the party I opted for a cookie truffle pop version .

From paws & leaves on floor , from placards to posters , the

party was a hit but the cuties on stick stole the show , the kids

simply loved the treats on sticks. (Although I just couldn't bring

myself to bite their heads off !!! )

Finding a variety of sprinkles, colorful loli sticks , brightest

food colors , colorful candy melts & of course the candy eyes

is not much easy in India . But as always my lil ones high

spirits opened paths for substitutions . I used Kellogg's

chocos for the ears , Cadburys Gems for the nose & white

mint holes for the eyes. To add life to the pops I finally made

the features- eyeballs , nose & mouth with food markers.

Prepare the cookie truffle balls according to the recipe

below.Dip one end of lolipop stick in melted chocolate

n fix into the prepared truffle balls, refrigerate for

10-15 mins.Hold the pops from the stick n dip the ball

in melted chocolate.Gently shake off the excess chocolate.

Quickly place the sprinklers n other decorations. Place on a

florist foam or styrofoam block to set .

Cookie Truffles Recipe for Pops

Ingredients - 250 gms Marie biscuits, 1 tbs powdered sugar , 4tbsp

cocoa powder, 20 gms butter , 1/2 cup milkmaid ( condensed

milk), 100 gms cooking chocolate , finely crushed nuts (opt)

Method- Roughly crush the biscuits by pressing down a rolling pin.

Melt the butter n chocolate in a double boiler and add in the crushed

biscuits n the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and shape into lemon

sized balls . Refrigerate for 6-7 mins. Use as required .

(Tip- you could replace Marie with any leftover cookies, but jus 
make sure to adjust the quantity of condensed milk to balance 
the sweetness)

Snake Sticks

~ Snake Sticks~

Little one (shhh!!me too) is a sucker for cute food

and a die hard fan for all those cutie pie treats that

makes her tiny little heart top of the world.Healthy

homemade food that resembles a character from

the zoo, fairy-tales or cartoon coloring book are

always a bigggg hit amongst kids . I couldn't stop

myself from heading to the kitchen after seeing

these cuties at Crista's blog..... Little one loved

dipping the snakes in her soup eshhhhh .....

Snake (snack) Sticks !!

Cumin flavored savory breadsticks .

Original recipe states Refrigerated Breadstick dough, but its

not easy to find here hence I happily used the regular jeera

(cumin) cracker recipe n it worked wonderfully.

Gliding thru the oven ..Hissssss.......

Recipe for Cumin flavored breadsticks -

Ingredients - 2 cups refined flour ( i took 1 cup whole wheat & 1 cup refined ),

1 1/2 tsp salt , 1 tsp baking powder , 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp roasted cumin

powder,1 tsp powdered sugar , 1/2 cup olive or refined oil, 1 egg , a few

peppercorns , dry whole chillies and wooden skewers .

Method- Sift together flour, salt & baking powder, mix in the cumin seeds &

cumin powder. Beat the egg & mix in sugar & oil . Knead into soft dough

adding a few tbsps of water as required. Divide the dough into 15 portions &

roll each into sticks (coils ) . Wrap each coil around a greased skewer . Flatten

one of the ends to resemble a snake's mouth & place two peppercorns for the

eyes. Cut out a piece from the chilly & put it as the tongue. Place on a greased

tray & bake in a preheated oven at 180C / gas mark 4 for 20-25 mins

or until light brown & crisp . Cool & serve .

Featured on Child magazine (July '11 issue)

Glad to share with you the Tiffin Time that got featured

in the July '11 issue of Child magazine . Click (link)

to read . A warm thanks to the Child family & all my

lovely viewers who motivate me for all the creations.

Angry Birds

~ Angry Birds ~

The Angry Birds fever has gripped my family too....

hubby n little one are obsessed with the birdy puzzle

game. Being not a a video/ computer game person ,

I happily sink my head into books and magazines

while the daddy- daughter duo are hooked to their

game. The cute looking vibrant colored birds of all

shapes n sizes are something that I totally love ....

The Giant Red Bird from the game is the inspiration

behind this fruity version .....Little one had so much

fun helping & eating it too......

Big Bird on my plate !!

Sliced Watermelon (small size) topped with cucumber,

olives & Canary melon/yellow melon beak .

Tiffin Tunes

~ Three Little Birds ~

I have grown up hearing Bob Marley's eternal

optimistic melody - Three Little Birds & totally

admire its beautiful lyrics. 'Don't worry about a thing,

cause every little thing gonna be all right ....' The

musical version of this song by Connie Talbot is my

little one's all time favorite . Got an idea of making

this song inspired tiffin while watching the video a

couple of days back .....

Song in my Tiffin

Birds- Savory Lentil balls decorated with cheese, capsicum

corn & carrot to resemble a penguin, a chick & a green

billed toucan . Served with garden fresh salad

& some saffron flavored kheer (Indian milk dessert ).

The pig & chick...

~ Breakfast Time ~

Playtime n story telling sessions are integral

part of the vacations. I always feel nothing

is better than reading out a good story to the

kid , short educative ones are not only a great

pastime but also a wonderful aid to build values

n teach them uncountable life skills. My little one

tremendously enjoyed the 'Little Pig n the Chick '

story that I read out yesterday. The story revolves

around a cute little chick n a piglet who try to mimic

the birds without actually realizing that they are

much different to the winged creatures.....

Story on my plate

Half fried egg , peppercorns ,olives, red pepper , tomato sauce n lettuce

Tip- Large metallic cookie cutters are a great way to make cute

shaped fried omelets/ pancakes. Place a cutter on a skillet n pour the

the egg/batter .Cook till done. Decorate n serve.