Cauliflower, Potato, Cheese and Mince Tots

Being a Mum has brought on many challenges, including listening to my own mother tell me all about how much of a nightmare I was to feed. Of course we brush our Mum’s stories off without a second thought initially, and then BAM! She gets her sweet revenge by watching you suffer trying to find something your 18 month old will eat.

Don’t get me wrong my 18 month old will eat just about anything, but sometimes he goes through phases where he just won’t eat a damn thing I put in front of him. Kyran’s favourite trick is to do this with veggies and meat (we toss it to the dogs apparently). Leaving him with just fruit and bread to eat during theses phases. Sometimes he goes 2 weeks doing this. So what do we do? I panic and started frantically seeing paediatricians, midwives and child health nurses. They are all say the same thing “its just a phase”.

Soon my Fiancé and I worked out the pattern; the phase comes the weeks following Daddy’s departure for work. Great! How do we fix that without Daddy quitting his job?

I got so desperate I even resorted to the ultimate healthy parent taboo we went to McDonalds. Well would you believe Kyran finished everything in his meal? Well I wasn’t prepared to feed him McDonalds everyday of the week, so I resorted to finding ways to make things LOOK like McDonalds, without the problems that come with eating McDonalds (obesity in children is real yo!)

Today we went with a Nugget look alike. This recipe was in one of my Cook Books as a Chili Cheese Potato tot. But being the thrifty Mum that I am, and stubbornly determined to get my toddler to eat veggies (probably to a fault).

Ingredients:

-Half head of cauliflower, finely diced (as fine as you can get it, you don’t want the fussy ones to find it). Alternatively you can mince it in the blender.

-3 cups of grated potatoes (I prefer sweet potatoes but you can use white too, or even a combination of both)

-455g Ground Beef or pork (you can skip this if your vegetarian)

-1 teaspoon Cumin

-1 teaspoon Onion Powder

-1 tablespoon of minced garlic

-1/3 cup tomato sauce

-2 – 3 tablespoons of flour

-250g cubed cheddar cheese

-¼ cup oil for shallow frying

Method:

1) Cook the ground meat of choice on a medium high heat using a wooden spoon to break up the meat into small bits.

2) Add in the cumin, onion powder, garlic and salt and pepper to taste (optional) and stir until evenly combined

3) Add in the tomato sauce and cook the meat all the way through.

4) Remove the pan from heat and drain any excess fats. Remember not to drain fats into a sink – we try to be environmentally friendly, besides who wants a clogged kitchen sink from fat residue? You can use paper toweling to remove any excess fats, just place the meat on toweling.

5) In a bowl, combine cauliflower and potatoes. Add flower and a pinch of salt and toss to combine.

6) Using the palm of your hand, spread 1 tablespoon of the potato mix into a thin pancake.

7) Add 1 teaspoon of the meat mix and 1 cube of cheese in the centre and fold potato mix over the stuffing, create a fist around the tot using your other hand to flatten either end.

8) Heat your oil in a deep pan over a high heat (wait for the oil to get to searing hot)

9) Fry the tots evenly on all sides until golden brown (usually about 5 minutes total)

10) Tots to a plate lined with paper towel and wait for them to cool down before serving them to your fussy eater.

I served mine with a side of frozen berries and some savory troll biscuits. My son licked the plate clean. You can freeze these tots for another time as well, just put them in an airtight container and chuck them in the freezer prior to cooking.

Good luck!

With Love

Anni