Posts tagged feeding the family

Is your toddler a fussy eater? Here’s how to solve it

Won't eat vegies. Will lick mixing bowls.

Won’t eat vegies. Will lick mixing bowls.

By far the most common email I get is from stressed parents (actually it’s always mothers, but I’m being PC) of toddlers aged 2-3 who refuse to eat anything much and particularly won’t eat vegetables.

Getting the little darlings to put food into their gobs isn’t generally the problem. Ice-creams, lollies and chips usually disappear without any delay whatsoever, but finding a way to get any amount of fresh produce down the hatch is a constant and miserable drama that is starting to impact the family wellbeing (and mum’s sanity).

Does this sounds like you? Have dinners become miserable? Is your toddler holding you to food ransom?

Firstly, let me assure you that I feel your pain. This site exists due to my own experiences dealing with these issues. Back in 2006 when my daughter started causing me these headaches, I looked everywhere and really didn’t find too much helpful information. There were ‘cooking with kids’ books, which focused around getting them to bake treats and top pizzas. And there were ‘healthy kids’ books, written by nutritionists who insisted that all I had to do was serve my kids burgul salad and all would be well. Considering the short list of foods that were acceptable at the time, this idea was beyond laughable.

These days, there are a lot of good resources to help parents out, but I like to think that I’ve got some great ideas and recipes here to help you, in fact enough that I wanted to collate them into one toddler-specific post.

The good news is, that I’m living proof that this toddler behaviour is manageable and that you can overcome it. Now aged 8 and 6, both my fussy eaters are fantastic and will eat most things. It’s been a long but worthwhile road, one I would do all over again to achieve the outcome of healthy kids, without food issues who enjoy flavours and will take a food adventure with me.

I truly believe that if I had indulged them, to keep the peace, and maintained our limited menu, I would still be dealing with children who ‘won’t eat that’. Because one thing is certain, children who aren’t offered healthy food, definitely don’t eat it.

SO LETS’ BEGIN!…

• Why do I create my recipes the way I do? Click here to see a list of ten tips for smuggling vegies.

• Feeling overwhelmed? If this toddler behaviour is all new, read this post “Please help Vegie Smugglers, my child only eats…”

• More specific help. And if you need more help about dealing with toddler food behaviour, read “How to get fussy kids to try new foods.”

• Find inspiration. Click here for more of my personal story, and a great toddler tinned-spaghetti recipe.

• Recipes. Then of course you’ll need more fabulous recipes suitable for toddlers. As with most of my recipes, I aim to make them interesting enough for the whole family (no one wants to cook twice a night). Often I’ll suggest ways to ‘adult up’ a meal, by adding extra ingredients once you’ve served the kids. I’ve got a post about that, and a recipe for tomato & lentil pasta, both for you and your toddlers here.

• Even more recipes! You can see a selection of meal ideas here. Also, browse this entire blog. There are over 150 recipes on here that are all aimed at feeding fussy kids.

If you find all of this info helpful, and want even more recipes, you may want to buy the books or ebooks. Your purchase will benefit your family AND keep me afloat and able to whip up even more great ideas for you in the future.

Good luck and keep me posted on how you go!

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Something illicit for the weekend…

There’s nothing like telling me I can’t do something to make me want to do it. Perhaps most of us are hardwired that way?

At the moment, I just keep hearing about how toxic sugar is, how evil flour is and how my life is being ruined by them both. Except the thing is, I feel good. And I like my life. My body seems to cope just fine with moderate amounts of both without any drama. And did I mention that I LOVE them? In quite a passionate and deeply-needed way.

Maybe it’s just that I’m so far under their spell, that rather than understanding how far they have me trapped in their abyss, all I can see is the absolute delirious joy that I experience as I bite into a floury/sugary concoction that’s freshly baked.

So perhaps biologically they are bad for me, but sometimes, just sometimes, a little bit of naughty can be a whole lotta nice.

Mmwwwwaaaahh aah aah aah aaaaaaaaaahhhhh

Mmwwwwaaaahh aah aah aah aaaaaaaaaahhhhh

Pecan chelsea buns

They’re a bit of work, but a rewarding way to potter about on the weekend.

1 cup luke warm milk
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp instant yeast (just under 1 sachet)
4 1/2 cups bakers flour
1/2 tsp salt
50g butter, melted
1 egg, lightly whisked

Filling
50g butter, melted (this gets brushed over the rolled dough)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 tsp cassia powder (or cinnamon)
1/2 tsp mixed spice

Glaze
1/4 cup caster sugar
just under 1/4 cup water

Pop the warm milk and 1 tbsp of the sugar into a jug, scatter over the yeast, stir and leave it somewhere warm until it goes frothy (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and remaining sugar.

Once the yeast mix is ready, pour it into the dry ingredients, along with the melted butter and egg. Use a metal spoon to combine it all into a dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes until the dough it smooth and gorgeous. Pop it into a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel or greased glad wrap and pop it somewhere warm to double in size. (In the winter, I use my car, which is the warmest, least drafty place – but avoid giving anyone a lift anywhere afterwards – they’ll wonder what the yeast smell is). The proving process can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes, depending on the temperature & conditions.

Once doubled, Give the dough a punch with your fist to release the air. Turn it out onto your floured bench and roll it out into a large rectangle.

Brush the dough with the melted butter (from the filling list). Combine the other filling ingredients and scatter them over the entire surface. Roll up the dough from the longest side. Cut into 12 equal pieces. Place cut side down into another greased baking tray. Recover and leave that to prove for another 30 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Add the glaze sugar and water together in a small saucepan over medium/high heat. Stir to melt the sugar. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer it for a couple of minutes to thicken. Set aside.

Remove the cover off the bread and bake for 15 – 20 minutes until golden and springy. Take the buns out of the oven and brush over the glaze (you might not need all of it).

EAT. Enjoy. Makes 12.

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GOT A THERMOMIX? Chuck all the dough ingredients in the bowl and mix speed 6 for 12-15 seconds. Then knead for 6 minutes. Turn out and follow the recipe as normal.

Right then (she says dusting off her floured hands), where’s the wine?

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Ok, confess, how often do you eat McDonalds…

The food cum shot.

The food stylist’s food porn.

For us, McDonalds goes hand in hand with long car trips. It’s firmly entrenched as a family tradition and is just the enticement the kids need to KEEP IT TOGETHER on those long haul car trips. Like the other day, when we drove from Tenterfield to Newcastle. Turned out that Armidale was just the perfect time for a Maccas lunch.

Are you shocked that I feed my kids McDonalds? Usually it’s a twice a year treat, but so far this year, they’ve already eaten it three times. And I don’t really care. I don’t like the concept of taboo foods. I’d prefer to raise food-savvy kids, educated and able to enjoy everything without guilt. They just need to learn how often they should eat certain things.

Do you know parents who say, “We NEVER feed our kids fast food”? Such smugness bugs me. It’s right up there with those parents who also survive wonderfully without TVs and video games, who never yell at their kids or have a bad parenting moment. I’ve never mastered such parenting perfection. My kids and I live in the real world full of temptations and things that are bad for us. If I keep those lures magically out of reach, I can only imagine the rebellion, when as teens they can take their own money and scoff as many burgers as they want.

Did my kids enjoy their McDonalds cuisine? Not really (they prefer my nuggets which are apparently tastier) and part of me is always happy when we get to the end and the kids haven’t really been into it. Except for the toy. They always love the crappy toy.

Feeling brave, I ordered a sweet chilli chicken wrap. Safe to say that it was disgusting. All oozy and inedible. Have you noticed the current trend for fast-food ooze? The final food shot in all the ads has burgers and wraps oozing sauce. Looks gross to me, but it must be popular, so I’m jumping on the bandwagon, oozing away with my own version of a sweet chilli chicken wrap. Of course mine has pumpkin, spring onion and bamboo shoots in it, which means that it actually tastes good, too.

Thai style chicken chilli wraps

500g chicken mince
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, (I make fresh ones from stale bread)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon grass (or lemon rind)
4 spring onions
225g can bamboo shoots, rinsed, drained
1 cup grated pumpkin
1 egg, lightly whisked
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
0-2 tbsp Thai red curry paste (NOTE: To appease everyone in my household, I skip the paste, to keep them blander for Miss F – then I add extra toppings in the wraps for adults. But if your whole family likes spice then add in some paste – it’s yum.)

To serve: Store bought wraps of your choice, spinach leaves, grated carrot, coriander, sweet chilli sauce.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Pop the mince into a large mixing bowl.

Use a mini food processor to whizz up the breadcrumbs, garlic and lemon grass/rind. Tip into the bowl.

Blitz the spring onion, add to the bowl and repeat with the bamboo shoots. Also add in the pumpkin (you can blitz it, but I actually prefer the texture of it grated) and the egg and all the sauces/pastes.

Wear kitchen gloves and use your hands to combine everything really well. Note that the mixture is SLOPPY! It will firm up during cooking. Form small patties, or long ‘chicken tender’ shapes and place on the tray.

Spray with cooking oil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and carefully turn over. Spray with more oil and cook for another 15-20 minutes until cooked through (break one open and check that the mince is no longer pink).

Serve with salad on wraps, with an extra dollop of sweet chilli sauce and lashings of coriander for the adults.

Serves 2 adults and 3 kids.

USE LEFTOVERS THE NEXT DAY... make a lunch salad with bits of chicken patties, spinach, carrot, fennel, avocado, sesame seeds and a sprinkle of brown vinegar - I just ate it and IT WAS DELICIOUS.

USE LEFTOVERS THE NEXT DAY… make a lunch salad with bits of chicken patties, spinach, carrot, fennel, avocado, sesame seeds and a sprinkle of brown vinegar – I just ate it and IT WAS DELICIOUS.

FREE-SHIPPING2

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Do I love my thermomix? You might be surprised…

Take me to your leader.

Take me to your leader.

So last Thursday, the mothership landed. A lovely Thermomix consultant named Kellie dropped in and got me going on the device that will do everything – revolutionise my cooking, fold my washing and felate my husband.

With true cult fevour I spent the next three hours making a risotto, 12 muffins, 1 tub of cashew nut butter and bread. The next day I made bread, homous and jam. Tomorrow I’m looking forward to perfectly soft-boiled eggs, more bread and a soup. (Am I sounding a bit ‘hungry caterpillar’ yet?)

And do I love it? Well, I am actually a bit more reserved than you might imagine. As my hubster eloquently put it – “it’s very German, seems to be more about food production than cooking”. And I reckon he’s nailed it. There’s not much art to it, but heaps of efficiency and repeatable results. Since though, families do deal in food production most of the time, a thermy is never going to be a wasted investment. The amount of dishes you can cook in the time you have changes drastically and the type of things you’ll cook alters too. Bread was never high on my to-do list, but it has been easy to whip up two loaves in two days. Score. And I can easily see how it will increase the amount of stuff that I’ll make from scratch, using wholefoods, and that’s a huge win.

But there’s hype to sift through, too. Making muffins in it was annoying. All the mixture stuck in the blades. I think it’s easier to mix muffins in a single bowl and then divide the mix out. The homous was delicious, but I can also make delicious homous in mini-food processor. I find it’s more about the recipe than the gadget.

If though, you’re not a keen cook and owning a thermy gives you the encouragement you need to make these things, then obviously I’m not going to be critical – my end goal is just to get people cooking, so if the thermy gives you the confidence you need to try it, then that’s awesome.

My biggest gripe though, is that the machine is for right-handers, not left-handers like me. Everything needs to be done clockwise around the blades and I actually find this difficult with my non-dexterous hand. In the end I rebelled and dug out my sticky muffin mix using my left hand – in the process taking some significant gauges out of the fancy $18 spatula. So I need to try and reprogram my brain and get my right hand working better. I’m sure those Germans are actually doing me a favour, forcing my brain to rewire thus helping me ward of dementia for an extra year or two.

But at $1939, it’s frustrating that I couldn’t order a left-handed blade set.

So for me, it’s going to be a great extra tool to have in the kitchen, but one lacking in a bit of soul. It does a great job of churning out food and I am looking forward to revisiting a few of my old recipes to give them a thermomix tweak. Stay tuned.

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What’s your secret?

pens

Do you have a dirty little secret? I’ve got a few. Like this secret pen stash. So sick am I of having my stationery pinched that I’ve had to resort to hiding it away from the prying eyes of my family.

Also, I’m having a bit of a secret EOFYS sale. You can shop at the Vegie Smugglers store and receive 10% off everything before June 28, midnight. Just enter discount code EOFYS10.

What do you think of my girlfriend who has a secret credit card? (Just so that her husband can’t put an exact dollar value onto her personal purchases.) Do you think it’s ok to keep a financial secret from your spouse? I actually think this is a pretty big secret.

Much more innocently, today’s recipe has secret vegetables. As do all my recipes. I like my kids to eat healthy and develop an enjoyment of savoury flavours without too much fuss. Sure, they eat lots of recognisable vegies too, but sometimes a few secrets are ok.

Since these wontons are a bit fiddly to make, they seems like a perfect recipe for the school holidays. Get that dextrous child labour those gorgeous children of yours to help you out.

The kids will have fun wrapping these.

Get the kids onto wrapping these.



Basic Pork Wontons

This recipe uses half a supermarket tray of mince. Feel free to make a double batch and freeze half of the mixture raw, ready to wrap and steam another day.

2 spring onions, roughly chopped
3 button mushrooms
½ carrot, peeled
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
250g pork mince
Packet of 30 gow gee (or wonton) wrappers

Use a food processor or mini food processor to blitz together the vegies, garlic, ginger and sauces.

Add in the mince and blitz to a paste. Scoop heaped teaspoons of mixture into the centre of your wrapper. Use a finger dipped in water to wet half the circle, fold over and press well to form a seal.

Bring a saucepan of water to a strong simmer. Steam dumplings over it in a steamer basket or tray for 8-10 minutes until cooked through.

Serve these as is with soy sauce or in an Asian-style broth with some other vegies.

MAKES 30

No food processor? Just finely chop, grate and mix ingredients in a bowl.

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The Vegie Smugglers promise to you [insert toothy smile & a wink]

Regardless of being on my best behaviour lately, it seems that I court Facebook trouble at every turn. Perhaps it is a special knack I have for pissing people off, or a general inability to keep my mouth shut.

I think I’m tired of it though, and need a rest. So from now on, I promise you that I will no longer use any of the following words online…

Fat.
Fat people.
Fat kids.
Overweight.
Obese.
Controlled-crying.
Bottle-feeding.
Smacking.
Jesus.
God.
Julia Gillard.
Teachers.

I think that just about does it. There will be no insinuations about fat kids being fat because they eat too much of the wrong food, or judgements about mothers in supermarkets. Instead my pages will be filled with stories about cute puppies, photos of babies in ladybird costumes and the recipes will be selected by you, not me.

Which is why this week, we’re eating potato bake. You chose it.

Now… (she says, tapping the table with her fingertips) with everything running without controversy, what will I do with the rest of my day?

vegie-smugglers-pasta-bake

Potato (& sweet potato) bake

1 kg potato (I use 700g regular waxy potatoes and 300g kumura or sweet potato)
300ml cream
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, grated
½ cup Parmesan cheese
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 180C. Spray an oven dish with spray oil or rub with butter.

Combine the cream, garlic, onion, Parmesan and ½ cup of the cheddar. Set aside.
Thinly slice your potatoes (be patient and use a sharp knife, OR use a mandolin slicer).

Layer potato over the bottom of the dish, drizzle over some of the cream mixture, then do a layer of sweet potato. Repeat the process with another layer of potato, then the sweet potato then finish off with regular potato. Pour over all the rest of the cream, top with ¼ cup cheddar cheese.

Bake for about 1¼ hours until cooked through. (Cover with foil if it starts to burn before then).

Serves 2 adults & 2 kids

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Winter is coming…

Ok, yes, it’s a ‘Game of Thrones’ reference. After sitting through the first season of gore, blood, betrayal and beheadings, I’ve opted out of seasons 2 & 3. Mr VS is disappointed, but gallantly soaking up the next episodes without me (then reporting in with full step-by-step plot updates, complete with actions).

While the blood was a bit much, I did relate to the tension and foreboding over the upcoming Winter. I mean really, who LIKES winter? No one in Sydney, where the houses aren’t heated properly and we all sit about shivering our bums off for a few months. But while the Seven Kingdoms prepare for an unknown winter that may last a lifetime, I’m feeling more optimistic about one that lasts about 10 weeks. Especially with a stash of recipes that warm my soul and tide me over until the jasmine vines all start to flower.

Here are some of my favourites (click the pics to link through to the recipes)…

vegie smugglers chicken curry recipe

Chicken curry.

vegie smugglers pumpkin and lentil soup recipe

Pumpkin, corn & lentil soup.

chicken and tarragon one pot winter warmer by vegie smuggers

Chicken & tarragon one-pot.

Vegie Smugglers boston baked beans

Boston baked beans.

Stewed apples.

Stewed apples.

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June giveaway (and why I love bread)

Wasn’t there a lot of pressure a while back to give up bread? I was still working in magazine-land at the time and naught a model nor stylist nor photographer would DARE have it pass their lips (but then joyously they discovered QUINOA and were saved from the evil rampaging of processed carbs).

Me? I’ve always loved bread and have never had issues with it. A warm crusty baguette is pretty much as good as life gets. Sourdough downright seduces me and I find it IMPOSSIBLE to walk through Townhall station without grabbing a Luneburger loaf.

In the burbs I’ve always been happy with Bakers Delight bread, particularly the cape seed and the hi-fibre, low-GI white, which is a great option for the kids. So when they got in touch and asked to team up I was more than happy. You can see my recipes on their website here

In return, they’ve given me a bunch of prizes for my June giveaway. Up for grabs are two vouchers for $40 each and 5 kids merchandise packs which include a ruler, pencil case, pencils & lunch bag.

To enter you must be in Australia and you must be a Vegie Smugglers subscriber. Check out the Bakers Delight website and then comment below about which of their products is your favourite and what you like to do with it (stay nice!).

I’ll start… this is what I do with a slice of low-GI white…

Bread tart cases.

Bread tart cases.

Easy egg tarts

Cut a big round of bread from a slice, push it into a greased muffin tin, spray with oil and grill until a bit golden. Then pop in some prosciutto and cherry tomato before cracking in an egg (in a smaller muffin hole, you won’t fit all the egg-white). Then bake until set to your liking and sprinkle over salt, pepper, parmesan and parsley.

And there you have it, a gorgeous, quite posh looking egg tart, done with the minimum of fuss. Your turn…

Entries close Sunday June 23 at 8pm, AEST. **COMP NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO VANESSA & JILL WHO WON THE VOUCHERS AND TO SUSIE, CAROLINE, DEB, JOANNE & ALLISON WHO WON THE MERCHANDISE PACKS.

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A simple (gluten-free) mix and bake

Is there anything better than a dinner that gets mixed up in one bowl, then pressed into one tin and cooks in one oven? Perhaps only the addition of Bono, sitting up on the benchtop in his onesie, belting out a little acapella version of ‘One’ while I sip one wee glass of vino while I’m wearing my onesie. That’d be nice, if a little weird.

If you’re free Bono, pop over tonight and we’ll whip this zucchini slice up together.

One piece.

Just one piece.

Zucchini & rice slice (Gluten free)

There’s no smuggling going on here really, since pretty much the whole dish IS vegies. Smuggling vegies within vegies…

2 zucchinis, grated
1 carrot, peeled, grated
4 spring onions, finely sliced
125g can corn kernels, drained
1 cup cooked rice (white or brown) – I always make extra rice whenever I’m cooking a stir-fry, so I can make stuff like this the next day
2-3 tbsp fresh chives and/or parsley, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (plus extra for the top)
1/2 cup mild feta, crumbled
4 eggs, lightly whisked

Preheat the oven to 190C. Line a 20x30cm slice tin with baking paper.

In a large bowl, combine everything well. Press the mixture into the tin, top with a handful of grated cheese and bake for 30 minutes until set.

Serves 2 adults and 2 kids

________________

Like this recipe? Why not try out my Baked tuna & tomato rice.

summer-sale-square

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Social media etiquette and a simple breakfast idea

Let's keep in mind that we all love our kids and are all doing our best.

Let’s keep in mind that we all love our kids and are all doing our best.

Last week’s Facebook battle was a bit of a doozy. I won’t lie – I didn’t walk away from it unscathed. There’s no need to rehash the topic but it did make me realise two things.

1. I need a formal social media etiquette policy.

I love debating stuff. Being forced to defend my stance does help to cement my reasoning. And sometimes one of you will present a fabulous argument that makes me change my mind. When people are too fixed to consider the alternative views then it’s not really a debate or discussion, it’s an argument. And for some reason, arguments on the Internet are vicious and full of personal attacks. And that’s not fun for anyone. Which is why I’ve written this policy…
___________________

When I comment on Vegie Smugglers pages, I will try to…
* Be real & genuine

Please treat my blog and Facebook page like the real world. Despite the fact I post under a blog name, I am a real person and I’m venturing online with the same spirit with which I approach my whole life. I’m connecting with people, talking to them, forming friendships and having interesting conversations.

* Be open minded

Enjoy chatting to people here who are different to your regular circle of friends. Share information; feel free to passionately state your case in a considered and rational way. Then read and discover the other opinions. Foster empathy and understanding of others.

* Admit mistakes & be thoughtful
So if you wouldn’t say something in real life, don’t say it on my page. And if you do say nasty stuff then shame on you, apologise! If you do it more than once then you’re not welcome here and will be banned.

* Have fun

Please enjoy the Vegie Smugglers pages. Enjoy sharing your opinions in considered and passionate ways. Help each other, make friends and learn something new.
___________________

2. Now, the other thing that last week’s discussion did was strengthen my resolve around this whole vegie-smuggling thing.

The more I work on my business, the more passionate I get about helping people make little changes that will improve their lives.

For me, food is the foundation of everything. Good food enriches your soul. It leads to good health, which leads to positive behaviours, enthusiasm and motivation for life.

Perhaps it sounds silly but I really believe that introducing new ingredients and finding new healthy meals that your family can enjoy together will improve your life. By making good food choices you’ll feel better about yourself, you’ll improve the health outcomes and behaviour of your children and create a positive environment. And your life will just be that bit more interesting.

Regular readers will know that I am not even nearly fanatical about anything. A bit of white flour, sugar and wine can enrich our souls too. But I will always discourage consistently lazy eating habits. Considering that childhood obesity is still increasing, I’m committed to doing whatever I can to help families make good choices.

Here’s an example of what I mean. You can buy sachets of quick oats in the supermarket. They’re expensive and the flavourings taste a bit weird, but they’re easy. How about instead, buy the plain box of quick oats. They only take 30 seconds longer to cook. Then sprinkle this powder over the top. The result is an aroma that will make you swoon, some sneaky nutrition and a little bit of magic to make you smile first thing in the day. From soulless to spectacular with the minimum of fuss.

Magic powder to make your day awesome.

Magic powder to make your day awesome.


Magic Morning Powder

1/2 cup LSA mix
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix together and sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons over your steaming hot porridge.

Thanks for stopping by.

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