Have picky eaters at home? Share this amplified, healthy, free-range roast chicken recipe with your family, including the young ones, at the dinner table.

I'm Cristie from Little Big H, the toddler friendly food blog dedicated to healthy, simple and delicious recipes.

I believe that by exposing your child to complex flavors and a wide variety of food early on, you will be well on your way to avoiding a fussy eater. This is the approach I took with my son Harry and now there isn’t anything he won’t try.

I don’t believe in ‘toddler food’ as such. Little Big H is a family food blog featuring recipes that are simple to make and toddler friendly in that they are nutritious, low in sugar, salt and all other nasties and are therefore suitable for the entire family.

My hope is to share and encourage parents to make their own baby food at home, to be adventurous with their cooking and to help raise adventurous eaters that appreciate good food – it’s never too early or late to start.

Ingredients

  • 1.8kg free-range chicken
  • 2 tablespoons sage; finely chopped
  • 1 lemon; halved
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 50 grams butter; softened + 10-20 grams extra to rub on flesh
  • Pinch of salt

Preparation:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Rinse the chicken and pat dry
  2. Using your fingers, separate the skin from the breast so you have a pocket to add your herb butter
  3. Combine the 50 grams of butter with the chopped sage and place the entire amount under the skin. Use your hands to spread it around fairly evenly
  4. Place the chopped lemon inside the chicken and tie the legs together with string Rub the extra softened butter on the skin and sprinkle generously with salt
  5. Place into a large baking dish and add the chicken stock to the dish. Cook for an hour and a half

Allow to rest for 15 minutes or so and serve

Notes:
I served the chicken with sweet potato, carrots, parsnips and eggplants. Toss in olive oil and roast when there's about 40 minutes remaining.