Navigating the weaning journey can be tricky and tiring. These are all recipes which you can cook up for all the family, even the tiniest, and will hopefully offer some inspiration to an occasionally frazzled brain.

​

​As early as possible, I was keen to feed our son whatever we were eating. For so many reasons. Obviously, time is key. If you're all eating the same thing, you only have one meal to prepare. Also, it was so important for me to establish meal times as family, social time. Thirdly, he seems to want to take a bite out of anything I'm eating in any case, so it seems sensible to be eating things which I won't feel guilty about giving him. Fourthly, setting a good example in terms of eating habits. His eyes are EVERYWHERE. Yes, for the moment he is still little enough that we have dinner once he's in bed, when we can indulge in the naughtier things if we want to. Phew. 

​

Key things to note - I haven't gone through each recipe to adapt them. If you are cooking for baby, leave out all salt from the recipe. You can add it to your portion at the table. This includes when cooking with stock - use unsalted varieties (or better yet, home made). If the recipe includes frying or roasting, use just a teaspoon of fat - it's enough. I occasionally include a teaspoon of sugar into some of my recipes - use maple syrup or date syrup for an unrefined variety if you prefer. When serving meat, babe only needs a couple of teaspoons with his portion. At this stage vegetables, fruit and carbs should be the front runners.

​

Please take the lead from your pediatrician about introducing new foods. I don't claim to be a child nutritionist. Theoretically these are all good from seven months onwards. Depending on their age, you can be more or less liberal with the hand blender. AS is now ten months old and I rarely blend anything these days. You'll know what consistencies and sized pieces they can handle. 

​