Anyone who knows me well knows that I am something of a lazy cook; after all, here in the land of helpers, why would any self-respecting Tai-Tai risk chipping a nail slaving over a hot ready-meal to produce a nutritious meal for her offspring?

Add into the mix (ha!) a husband who knows his thyme from his basil and is handy with a saucepan, and frankly, any attempt to rustle up a snack becomes a wasted effort for this Tai-Tai. As Mr T-T so frequently reminds me, “On the internationally recognised* Ainsley Harriott scale, you’re definitely a “Won’t Cook””.

*(Not so internationally recognised; non-Brits – Google is your friend).

So I’m not entirely sure what came over me yesterday morning when, in my usual pre-caffeinated stumble around the cupboard we call a Hong Kong kitchen I took it upon myself to rustle up a delicious and nutritious brekkie for myself and Baby T-T FROM SCRATCH, as opposed to the usual “Find Shreddies/Pour Shreddies/Munch” style of eating we typically favour here before 8am.

So if like me you’re basically pretty slovenly, but want to appear to the outside world like a fully-functioning adult parent who feeds their child actual fruit, I give you…

Accidental Tai-Tai’s lazy Bircher Museli!

Ingredients:

• Whatever you have kicking about in the cupboard, namely oats, dried fruit, nuts, and anything else you fancy.
  (Note: allowing your toddler to add whatever they like to the mix in the spirit of good parenting is AN ERROR. Do NOT let them anywhere near the kitchen with you unless you really, really love canned-sardine-and-Tabasco-museli. You have been warned).
• Some apples, grated (we used 2)
• An undefined quantity of apple juice that’s more than a splash but less than a carton. Umm, a cupful-ish?
• A couple of spoonfuls of plain yoghurt (organic, if you’re one of those parents, or the least old one in the fridge if you’re like me)
• Sprinkle of cinnamon.

Method:

• Wang it all in a bowl.
• Leave it for the exact amount of time that it takes you to pop on a Thomas The Tank Engine* DVD, have a shower, get dressed, clear up a puddle of wee from the floor and wrestle your mobile phone out of a toddlers’ vice-like grip.
  *(can substitute for Peppa Pig if Thomas unavailable).
• Eat

And do you know what? It tasted really nice too. Baby T-T was so enamoured that he demanded a second bowl and only picked out around 70% of the grated apple. #parentingwin!