Oven Baked Chicken Thighs Marinated in Yoghurt

I honestly don't have a name for this recipe; I can only credit this amazing dish to my long-standing friend and fellow 'mum of three' club member, who made this for me when I was pregnant with my first daughter, Eden. That was seven years ago! I loved this lightly spiced chicken so much that it was practically all I ate during my first pregnancy. Thank you, Farida!

Obviously, for best results, I'd recommend marinating the chicken in the yoghurt and spices overnight in the fridge. But it is not a necessity, in fact, I haven't done it this time and it turned out just fine. This was our dinner last Friday night.

This is a great recipe for the whole family, which is why it is lightly spiced. I am known to be a little heavy handed with the chilli but I've only used a single fresh one here (with a pinch of black pepper) and my three year old son eats it with no hassle. So, if you are heat sensitive, you can easily forgo the red chilli.

For 6-7 servings, you will need:

• 7 good quality, fresh chicken thighs, skins and bones removed
• 250g of plain/natural yoghurt (I've used low fat)
• 1 chicken stock cube by Knorr, chopped small enough to crumble
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed to a mince in a garlic press
• 1 red chilli, seeds removed and chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
• A pinch of ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Garam Masala* mix
• A handful of freshly chopped coriander, stalks included

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Celsius.

2. Once you have trimmed any excess fat, place your chicken aside.

Look for good quality chicken. Most butchers will happily de-bone and skin your meat for you on site.

3. Prepare your marinade by mixing all of the ingredients (except for the fresh coriander) together in a bowl. Next, thoroughly coat each chicken thigh in the mixture.

4. Place your chicken in a flat, single layer into an oven proof dish. If you have any of the yoghurt mixture left over, you can simply spoon it evenly on top of the thigh pieces. Gently sprinkle the freshly chopped coriander on top and place it in the middle of the oven. Adjust the oven's temperature to 220 degrees Celsius. 

5. Depending on how brown you would like the end result, I'd recommend 35-45 minutes in the oven. Remember to turn at least twice to avoid actual burning. The liquids will likely cook away, so if you want a little more sauce, cook for less time, I'd say around 30 minutes should do the trick.

Serve with boiled baby potatoes and some gently steamed broccoli florets for a wholesome and healthy family dinner.

*I use a locally bought store brand of Garam Masala (92g mixture), which is simply a blend of the following: Coriander Seeds 69% | Cumin Seeds 9.9% | Ginger 5.9% | Fennel Seeds, Black Peppercorns, Caraway Seeds, Cinnamon 1.5% | Cloves 1.5% | Cardamom, Celery Seeds and Nutmeg

My Broad Bean Tomato Salad

Try making this broad bean salad and you won't regret it, I promise. It is so simple and easy to make. As a last resort, I've used frozen broad beans in this recipe. But feel free to use fresh produce whenever possible. I really enjoy the chewy texture of the beans - so much in fact that I could eat them as they are - but they seriously give this salad such an incredibly substantive quality, a leafy green salad alone seems boring.

For the broad beans by themselves, you will need:

• 750g of frozen broad beans
• 1 cup of hot water, from the kettle
• 0.5 teaspoon of salt
• 0.5 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, freshly crushed and then finely chopped

How to:

In a large non-stick wok/pan, add the broad beans and a cup of hot water and cook (for about 10-15 minutes) on a medium heat until the water has reduced and the beans have cooked though.

Lower the heat. You might need to add a little more water at various intervals to ensure they soften.

Season with salt and black pepper and stir until the water has evaporated. Turn the heat down and drizzle with olive oil and add the crushed garlic. Cook for another 5 minutes.

For the salad mix, you will need:

• 3 large vine ripened tomatoes, stems and cores removed and chopped into cubes
• a handful of coriander leaves, chopped (be sure to include those flavourful stems)
• a pinch of sea salt for flavour

How To:

With your freshly cooked broad beans happily set aside, combine your chopped tomatoes with the coriander leaves and fold together, gently season with some sea salt and some extra black pepper if you want that extra kick.

Combine your broad beans and tomatoes well, serve and garnish with a little more coriander.

***

Suggestion

If you're like us and you have guests over for dinner, you can serve your broad bean salad with some freshly pan-fried salmon, it will certainly take your dish that little bit further.

Not to mention, you'll get points for serving up a pretty plate. Enjoy!

Getting Your Child to Eat

No one ever said that parenting was going to be easy. In fact, it is quite the opposite and probably one of the hardest challenges you will face in life, as has been the case in my own experiences a mother.

And yet, being a parent is the best, most rewarding job in the world. I would never change a thing about having my kids... and I had them relatively young. Whether that makes the experience harder, I do not know. There is a list of arguments for and against the idea, which I will not get into right now.

What I am trying to say is, no matter how hard it seems at the time; it is worth every hair-pulling, brow tensing second. There will always be a silver lining, and at the end of the day, when your little one looks up to you with the utmost love... I mean, I cannot express to you, but it is absolutely, without a doubt, the most life defining moment, ever!

Raising your children the right way was always going to be a challenge, things wouldn't be as exciting if they weren't. We knew this when we had them. What we didn't know was how frustrating this brilliant job could be at times. But I will admit that there are those few instances where I am absolutely stumped as to why I cannot solve a problem right away. And I have hit a stumbling block.

Over the past six months, my current (and ongoing) parental challenge has been getting my eldest daughter to actually eat a meal in decent time. All solutions have escaped me and despite my best efforts I can't help but feel as though every attempt to acheive a simple normal eating pattern has outright failed because while the first few tries have appeared to be successful, it eventually dwindles into an alltogether stressful situation where all parties are just, miserable. 

It is the most disheartening moment, when all you want is for your child to eat. It really is the hardest thing to do; to watch your child unable to eat a pefectly healthy and wholesome (kiddy-sized) plate of food, which was so lovingly put together.

Surely, at three and a half years of age, it should not take upto two whole hours, to just get her relatively through her meal. All the while she is constantly distracted by absolutely nothing. Twiddling with the fork, staring off into space, enticing her sister into playing beneath the table, which results in kicking (we absolutely put a stop to this, the moment it happens - got to love those timeouts), flicking the food about her plate as if she was simply bored.

We have tried and tested the 'Supernanny' approach of with-holding food until the child realises that they will not get anything else except what they were served. But then that was never Eden's issue in the first place, she wasn't being picky and demanding fries or cookies or any of that junk because she has never eaten these things (we are not a junk food house-hold). So, that was a fail and my kid just went hungry. The next day, I realised she was all to happy to have gone hungry the night before. Personally, I am not in agreeance with letting my child starve...

So where to go from there? Well, we tried 'Timeout! If you do not eat', which have worked for the most part, but it doesn't solve the timing issue, she is still slow as poke! Having to administer Timeouts just prolong the process. We decided to incorporate into this, the 'smaller portion/serving,' which worked for the first few days, as she began eating quicker. But, again she started to fall back into her old ways and once again, that look of boredom and utter lack of concentration.

We have even tried to just talk casually (around the dinner table) about the day and things we might have planned in the week, but that is the worst approach so far as she takes it as an invitation to chatter non-stop and completly give up on her food. I really cannot recall all the other little alterations and like I said - stumbling block.

Nevertheless, I am determined to try and figure this out. And you know what, I am sure that there are some days where the kid will just not eat and we, as parents, are always going to throw a fit about it and go into a frenzy of worry and panic. Fact of the matter is, Eden is a happy girl; she is tall and lean (which is to say, not too skinny), with a tremendous amount of energy that is shockingly overpowering. We really cannot keep up with her. So until there are signs that your child is poorly, is not themselves, are weak and of a somewhat lifeless nature, then you really should not worry too much.

The Troublesome Eater: Boredom at the dinner table, anyone?

My goal is to stay on top of the situation. It is, after all, a work in progress and I will keep this updated when we have a breakthrough. In the meantime, any top tips, or suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated.

The Top 10!

I have found that the first few days as a new mum are indeed the hardest and most trying of times. So, I have compiled a list of ten items, which have been essential to my survival these past few weeks with my newborn baby, Drayven.

1. Pampers Newborn Diapers - You will need lots of these! My little monster goes through at least nine dirty diapers a day (both wet and poopy ones). My Bubba is an exclusively breastfed baby, so finding a mass of of wet yellow liquid poops are not uncommon. Gone already, are the days of black tar-smeared bots (meconium aka babies first bowel movements). I miss these.

   

   Diapers: Pampers New Baby essential.
2. Cotton Balls, or Baby Wipes - For the first few weeks, using cotton balls and plain warm water to clean Dray's diaper area have been the gentlest on my baby boy's botty. It has allowed his baby soft skins PH to regulate normally. Using wipes (fragrance free and all) so early on made his skin red and sore. It is only recently, now that he is three weeks old, has he adjusted nicely to the use of wipes.

   

   Essential: Use cotton balls and warm water for the first month.
3. Muslins & Bibs - Muslins cloths are perfect for all those spill, spews, burps and if you have a little boisterous boy in particular, for catching any little accidents. Dare I say it, but I think I have mastered dodging those projectile wees at change-time. Bibs are always handy and you really cannot have too many of either of these products.

   

   Muslin Cloths: Jazz them up with rainbow muslins.
4. Baby Vests & Sleepsuits - These are really all I need for in the early days. I find its pointless spending loads on fancy and expensive brands when all they will do is get spoiled and stained with poop and spit-up on a daily basis. Plus, your babe will out grow the first sizes very quickly.

   

   Starter Set: Affordable collection from Mothercare.
5. Boppy Pillow - Whether you are breastfeeding or going the bottle way, a feeding support cushion is one of those essential items that have come in handy for my own comfort and ease. I am so exhausted during night feeds, that I feel as though I cannot hold my arm upright to support my Bubba's big bobble-head. Everything seems a hundred time harder when you are suffering from sleep deprivation, which lets face it, all parents will be trying their best to battle. This pillow provides firm support with its donut-like shape and has aided me in many a sleepless night. It truly has been one of those life savers for me. It comes in a variety of colours and designs to suit your tastes.
   

   

   Supports Feeding: The Boppy Pillow.
6. Medela Twin Plus Electric Breast Pump - I've decided to exclusively breastfeed my third bundle of torture... and a devilishly hungry little demon he is too. While Drayven has  expanded our capacity to love exponentially with his precious presence; he is by far more challenging than my other kids. He is always hungry. Having an electric pump to had is very useful, especially when your milk first comes in at around day three after birth. The breasts swell up and become hard like rock. It is excruciating - the pain - all I could do to ease my distress was to get my little devil to feed as often as possible while I waited for my pump to be delivered.
   

   

   Electric Breast Pump: Medela Twin Plus.
7. Baby Björn Original Classic Carrier - This carrier has been another ingenious design and is useful for many situations. Drayven likes to be close to his mamma (at all times I might add), and for hte most part he is not far from my arms. So, being able to keep him close as well as spend time doing the housework, cooking dinner and more importantly, spending time with my daughters and my husband is very important for me.
   

   

   Baby Bjorn: Original Carrier in City Black.
8. Nap-time - It is important to take those naps whenever you baby sleeps, otherwise you will not be able to function efficiently. You will just become a stressed out mom and not be able to enjoy the early days because everything will begin to annoy you, even your babies cries. Make good use of those cat-naps, even if you cannot sleep, try to rest.

   

   Cat-naps: We all suffer from sleep deprivation (moms and dads). So, nap when you can.
9. Healthy Eating & Hydration - Adjusting to life with a newborn in the house can make looking after yourself difficult. Almost instantaneously, any idea of you comes second to everything you actually do. First you feed the baby and tend his needs and then, if there is time, you have a bite to eat yourself. The best thing I ever did with regards to nutrition, was to give up all junk/processed foods. We only eat healthily cooked whole, fresh foods in our house. It is also very important to keep yourself well hydrated, especially if you are breastfeeding - trust me, you will really benefit from at least one litre per day.
   

   

   Hydration: Keep well hydrated with, at least, 1 litre of water per day.
10. Camera - So you can capture all of those first moments because they only happen once and for me, there is nothing more important than immortalising these precious mile stones. If you are as photo-mad as I am, then invest in a good digital camera to freeze your memories in time.

    

    Canon: A great introductory DSLR for all those perfect snaps of your newborn.

There you have it; my survival list of new mom must-haves that will get you through until the first month at least. What has worked wonders for me may not always work as well for others and so my advice to you would be to find what suits you best because we all have our own individual needs. Remember not all forms of support can be bought.

I have found that, in my experience at least, the most invaluable and treasured form of emotional and physical support came from my husband. Knowing that he was there for me and always at hand to carry out any little favours; be it dropping Eden off at nursery, or making sure that Lydia ate her lunch on time, made it all the more easier for me to survive my babymoon with Drayven.