Peanut Ladoo/Sweet Balls

Here's another addition to my Toddler Treat Series and Toddler Lunchbox Series! Becoming a mother has made me delve even deeper into the wealth of information that's out there in books, the Internet, magazines, people, television, etc...Peanuts/groundnuts are something I've had all my life and known are a high source of protein, but it's only now that I went deeper into it and discovered the following facts-they are higher in antioxidants than fruits like strawberries and vegetables like carrots and beetroots, have a very high content of niacin which is good for brain health, are high in fiber and vitamin E, and have more than 30 nutrients in them! And did you know that roasting them increases the antioxidant level by more than 20%?! Of course, there's no use rattling off all this to a 2+ year old toddler! My son doesn't like peanuts and so I had to find ways to include them in his diet. I first tried the obvious choice-peanut butter, which he rejected outright....I was looking around for other ways when I found this recipe on a popular TV show (Lakshmi Nair's Magic Oven). This seems to have hit all the sweet spots with my son, who gobbles them up with glee, much to his mom's relief and delight! So now that I've got one more nutritious and delicious snack/sweet to include in his school snackbox, I'm sharing this here hoping it might be of help to some other moms out there. Even if you don't have any toddlers to feed, I can assure you that this will be a winner with adults too! So here goes....

Multigrain power-packed dosa

In a continuation of my Toddler Treat series and Toddler Lunchbox Series, this recipe is one of my son's and my personal favorites. If your child is a little older and doesn't like to experiment with new tastes, it might get a little rough to have this included in her/his diet, but it's still worth the effort! I have been giving this to my son since he was almost a year and a half, so he's kind of used to the taste now (which I personally find delicious anyway!). This truly is a powerhouse of all the goodies that you would want your little one to have. The clincher is that it doesn't require any overnight fermentation or heavy grinding like conventional dosas and can be called "instant". This is a combination of carbohydrates (from rice flour), calcium and vitamin E (from soy flour), once again calcium and carbohydrates plus proteins (from ragi flour), again vitamin E, vitamin B and folic acid (from almonds) and did I mention the addition of yoghurt too? So you get an extra dose of calcium and proteins and vitamins B6 and B12! What more do you need now? So here's the recipe!

Beetroot Rice, Spinach Rice, Carrot Rice (Toddler Lunchbox Series Menu #3)

My quest for nutritious, cook-in-a-jiffy recipes to pack for my son to take to his daycare continues! I'm happy to report I've made good progress and this week have 3  recipes to give you...Although my mom usually cooks what he takes for his lunch, I keep foraging around for newer recipes and that's how I came across this wonderful site Archana's Kitchen, from where all 3 of today's recipes are sourced. I think these need not be limited to kids lunchboxes but can be just right for those lazy afternoons if you're alone at home or to pack for your own lunchbox, if you take one to work! If you start cooking the veggies at the same time as the rice, this dish will get ready in less than 20 minutes. Pair it with a raitha, pickle, and pappad and you're all set!

Toddler Lunchbox Series-Menu #2-Sandwich Fest or Canape Carnival! (Creamy Egg Diamonds, Spicy Chicken and Peppery Liver)

For today's post, I'm going to give you 3 different recipes for sandwich fillings, which you can use as a topping for canapes too. You could also use them for stuffing tortillas, dosas, rotis, etc. I am thankful to Vrinda chechi (in Chennai) for the egg and chicken recipes. We made the egg sandwich today and it was delicious. She says these are great to make in large quantities, freeze and store in small tubs, and just microwave and spread on the bread slices when it's time to use them. I guess it's better than buying the readymade bottled sandwich fillings-at least you know what's inside when you make them yourself! The third recipe is one I came up with myself, modified a little from a snippet I read in a magazine sometime ago. It's better to use brown bread (wheat) or multigrain bread whenever possible, even if you like the taste of white bread better :-). For my son, who is not yet 2, I found that presenting the food in attractive shapes and colors enhances the appeal, so when I make sandwiches, I cut out the shapes using cookie cutters. Hence the two ways of presentation in the photograph. With a little improvisation, these are things you could easily serve up as starters too!

Toddler Lunchbox Series-Menu #1 (Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins & Cheesy Tomato Rice)

Yes, I'm starting a new series today, one that I will be adding to frequently over the next year. This series is my way of recording and keeping track of recipes my son likes as well as helping anyone out there who is in a similar predicament like me, having to pack a variety of delectable lunchboxes on a daily basis (and I know there will be many!). My dear reader friends who are already veterans in this lunchbox routine, please feel free to send me your suggestions/recipes/tips-it would be more than welcome!


The first recipe is one among my son's favorites. I like it particularly because it sneaks in everything we mothers would like our kids to eat - oats (high in fiber and vitamins), bananas (high in fiber, iron, vitamin B6), peanut butter (very high protein and calorific value), yoghurt and milk. The second recipe is something I made up and packs in a goodie bag of betacarotenes (with carrots), lycopenes and vitamin C (tomatoes) calcium (from cheese) and of course carbs (rice). Of course, the muffins and rice is something even grownups can take in their lunchboxes :-)