Lauren Pope shares favourite one-pot recipe for new parents and weaning babies
In the first few weeks, adjusting to parenthood can skew our usual routines.
People who enjoyed spending hours cooking might find themselves with less time at the beginning, and that’s what makes one-pot recipes so good.
Former The Only Way Is Essex star, Lauren Pope, has revealed her favourite recipe for those early days and it can also be used for weaning.
The 37-year-old, who is 34 weeks pregnant, shared the Mexican pulled chicken recipe from Gingr Kitchen on Yahoo UK’s The Baby Bump with Lauren Pope.
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Owner of Gingr Kitchen, Jen, explains: “You can go from midweek supper to baby weaning in one pan.
“I’m going to show you how to make the dish and how to prepare it for baby,” she continues.
The recipe can also be frozen, so the chef recommends cooking it in bulk to make your week-night routine slightly easier in those early days.
Method
In one pot, put in the following ingredients:
Cubed chicken
Diced carrots
1 tbsp paprika
A tin of chopped tomatoes
1 heaped tbsp of tomato puree
Mix everything in the pan well, so it’s all combined and then place tin foil over it. Next, put it in the oven for two hours at 160°c in a fan oven (180°c in a non-fan oven).
When you get it out of the oven, you should be able to shred the chicken easily to create that pulled Mexican effect.
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Depending on what stage your baby’s at in their weaning journey, you can move some of the food into a smaller bowl for a baby and leave it textured, or if they’re still on pureed food, it’s possible to simply blend well with a handheld blender.
Then, fill freezable weaning tubs with the blended food to create a number of portions for over the course of the week.
If the meal is just as a treat for you, there’s a couple of extra steps you can try.
Season the finished dish with salt and a tbsp of smoked paprika and mix well.
Serve it alongside guacamole and tortilla wraps for a real Mexican date night treat. Who needs to go to a restaurant?
You can even add the chicken in baby gem lettuce for a slightly healthier take on the recipe.
