There’s no secret to cooking family food or what we like to call 1 Meal 3 Ways. You simply choose a meal you love, and during the cooking process remove elements suitable for your baby and gently mash or puree. For your toddler, prepare the meal or deconstruct part of the meal into manageable finger foods.

As part of a blogger’s cooking challenge (Kidspot Voices of Australia 2013) we were sent a Breville All In One mixer from The Good Guys. And, a lemon. My kitchen is, shall we say… vintage, circa 1970 so I have genuinely loved having an appliance that does it all, but can be tucked away neatly when not in use. So with my new gadget, and a humble lemon, I needed to create something delicious, and true to our style, we wanted it to also be simple to make and nutritious for the whole family.

This recipe is a healthy twist on the high sugar, preservative and additive loaded store bought ice-cream. And what’s even better is that hidden in-amongst the delicious creaminess, this frozen yoghurt (fro-yo) is bursting with nutritional goodness. Some may even say, super goodness. Just the way we like it.

The Ingredients 

If you are making all three meals, you can just add the extra ingredients to the mixer as you go.

And, to make you feel even better about making this fro-yo we’d like to ramble on about the super-ness hidden in each ingredient.

‘Super’ Food Nutrition Notes:

Banana: High in potassium, magnesium and vitamin B6, bananas boost energy production and brain and immune function.

Avocado: Nutrient dense, avocados are rich in healthy unsaturated fats, antioxidants, folate and vitamins A and C, all required to promote health and wellbeing.

Lemon: High in vitamin C, lemons help build the immune system and prevent colds and flu.

Greek Yoghurt: Rich in calcium and probiotics, Greek yoghurt helps keep bones strong and bowels healthy.

Chia Seeds: The richest plant source of omega-3 essential fatty acids and high in protein and fibre, chia seeds are a great addition to your diet.

Raspberries: Rich in antioxidants and vitamin C and high in fibre, this berry is delicious fresh or frozen.

Almonds: An excellent source of vitamin E and high in protein and fibre, almonds are important for heart health and general wellbeing.

Maple Syrup: Contains health promoting anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant compounds similar to those found in other ‘Superfoods’ allowing it to make this lovely list. Oh, and just to be sure this isn’t a reason to over consume maple syrup – it still is very energy dense making it an occasional food, not an everyday one.

So, now a look at these wonder foods.

Baby fro-yo:

Toddler icy-pop fro-yo:

Adult fro-yo with candied lemon and tasted almonds:

To make our superfood fro-yo is simple – See the full recipe below

To make a perfect grated rind, grab your blender (we used the Breville all-in-one) and cut a piece of lemon to fit. As you pulse the blade, the lemon will automatically spin, for perfectly sliced rind in seconds (or simply use a hand-held grater).

Change the mixer setting to blades, for some high speed action. Combine the yoghurt, avocado, banana and lemon (optional for baby) to create your baby fro-yo.

Remove a couple of portions for your baby at this stage. The littlies will love the cool, creamy mixture particularly soothing on teething gums.

Next, add the remaining fro-yo ingredients – chia seeds and maple syrup. Mix until beautifully smooth and creamy. Use a stick blender to puree the raspberries separately.

Divide the toddler portion of fro-yo into small icy-pop moulds adding small drops of raspberry puree as you go. Use a skewer to swirl the raspberries through the icy-pops. Place in the freezer until set. Serve to your toddler a delicious treat – much to their delight and full of goodness – much to yours.

Now, for your turn. The candied rind should be cool and sticky, and the almonds toasted for that all-important texture. Serve yourself a bowl and sprinkle the goodness on top, then sit back, relax and enjoy the super foods at work.

This post is sponsored by The Good Guys as part of Kidspot Voices of 2013.

*Ready in 15 minutes doesn’t apply to the toddler icy-pops as these need freezing time. 

Note: The following recipe may not be suitable for babies and toddlers of all ages. Always choose age appropriate flavours and textures for your children.

Ingredients

• 1 lemon (used for rind and for juice)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (for candied lemon peel)
• 400g Greek or plain yoghurt
• 4 bananas, peeled, chopped and frozen
• 1/2 avocado flesh
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup + extra to taste
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/4 cup frozen or fresh raspberries (toddler)
• 1/4 cup flaked almonds, lightly toasted (adults)
• Note: Choose age appropriate foods for your baby and toddler.

Method

Step 1

Cut the middle out of the lemon at the right size to fit snugly in your mixer's chute. Use your mixer on the grate' blade, and pulse so that you gently remove the rind form the lemon (the lemon piece should rotate automatically). If you don’t have a grate setting you can simply use a hand grater. -

Step 2

CANDIED LEMON PEEL: To prepare the candied lemon peel (adults version). Take half the lemon rind and place in a small saucepan. Pour over ¼ cup of water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for around 5 minutes or until the lemon appears translucent. Drain. Return the rind to the saucepan and pour over the ¼ cup maple syrup and bring to a low simmer. Simmer for around 15 minutes or until the maple syrup has thickened. Drain. Place the sticky rind on baking paper to cool. -

Step 3

Change the mixer to the blade setting. To make the fro-yo, place the yoghurt, banana, avocado and a pinch of lemon rind (optional) into the mixer. Process on high until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Remove all portions for your baby at this stage. -

Step 4

Next, add the maple syrup, lemon juice, and chia seeds. Process until smooth. Taste the mixture and add more lemon or maple to taste. Remove all portions for your toddler at this stage. -

Step 5

ICY-POPS: To make the icy-pops, use a stick blender to puree the raspberries. If it’s too tart, sweeten the mix with 1 teaspoon of maple syrup. -

Step 6

Divide the fro-yo mixture into your moulds, adding small amounts of raspberry puree as you go. Once full, use a skewer to swirl the raspberries through the icy-pops. Place in the freezer. -

Step 7

For adults, serve a bowl of fro-yo and sprinkle the candied lemon rind and toasted almonds on top. -

Step 8

Store any leftover fro-yo in the freezer. Remove it from the freezer around 15 minutes before eating to let it soften. -