Friend of Part&Parcel
Boob To Food
We’re honoured to introduce you to Luka McCabe, a friend of Part&Parcel and the founder of Boob To Food, an online community and clinic dedicated to nurturing baby's introduction to and journey with food.
Luka is a midwife, nurse, birth & parenting educator, author, podcaster and certified nutrition consultant (she clearly certainly likes to keep busy!). She is extremely passionate about supporting parents to nourish their kids through a holistic approach to eating.
Her team consists of nutritionists, naturopaths, dietitians and paediatric therapists who are all importantly also mothers themselves, so have experienced the ups and downs of starting solids and feeding a family.
With a focus on whole foods that benefit all aspects of your little one's well-being, Boob To Food provides nutrition guidance, education and inspiration to make the shift to solids as easy as it is exciting — for both you and your baby.
They can also provide support for parents on everything from fertility to supplementation advice and postpartum care.
Read on for Boob To Food’s favourite P&P staples for little ones, carefully curated and approved by Luka.
Explore Boob To Food
Website & Instagram. Explore their website & Instagram for recipes, tips and guidance, or to book a free discovery call with one of their team of experts.
Book. Luka has also written an amazing book called ‘Milk to Meals’ (which can be found on the website), a comprehensive guide and recipe book for starting solids.
Tray Baked Meatballs & Sauce Recipe
Serves: 4 adults
Ingredients
For meatballs
- 1 sprig rosemary or thyme leaves picked
- 500 grams mince beef, lamb, chicken, pork or turkey
- 1/4 cup grated frozen liver or beef liver powder (optional)
- 1-2 tbsp collagen powder (optional)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp oregano leaves
- 1 small garlic clove minced or garlic powder
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil or ghee
For sauce
For serving
- 100 grams parmesan cheese shaved
- 500 grams pasta of choice (Luka loves using Berkelo khorasan macaroni, emmer twists or spelt shells)
Method
For meatballs
- Add the bread and rosemary or thyme into a food processor and blitz until it turns into breadcrumbs.
- Tip into a large bowl and add the mince, liver and collagen (if using), cumin, oregano, garlic and egg yolk. Season well with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
- Mix well with a wooden spoon, then with wet hands, roll meatballs into approximately 1 tablespoon-sized balls.
- Place a heavy-bottomed casserole pot or oven-proof frying pan over medium heat with the olive oil or ghee.
- Add the meatballs, and cook for 5 minutes, tossing regularly, until browned all over. Transfer meatballs to a plate with any of the pan juices.
For sauce
- Place the casserole pot or frying pan back over the cooktop and reduce to a low heat and add the olive oil or ghee.
- Add the garlic and oregano, stirring frequently until golden and fragrant. Add the tomatoes and bone broth or water.
- Increase heat to medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and gently simmer for 45 minutes, but if you’re in a rush, it can be ready in 10 minutes!
- While the sauce is simmering, preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced.
- Once the sauce has reduced to your liking, add the vinegar, basil leaves and season well with salt and pepper.
- Add the reserved meatballs and resting juices back into the pan with the sauce. Top with the reserved basil leaves, and press the slices of fresh mozzarella just into the sauce. Grate over the parmesan cheese and drizzle the top with olive oil.
- Place into the oven and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until the cheese is golden and melted and the sauce is bubbling.
- Serve the meatballs on top of cooked pasta, sourdough or with some mashed cauliflower.
Notes:
These meatballs keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Gluten-free option: Use gluten-free bread instead of sourdough. You can also swap for 1/2 cup almond meal.
Dairy-free option: Omit the cheese or swap for cashew cheese.
Egg-free option: Lamb mince works really well without egg due to the fat content. Or you can use mustard in place of the egg!
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