When your little one is 0-6 months old, breast milk (or formula) will be the sole nutrition needed. After that, it’s ok to start introducing food as a compliment to the milk, with specially made for first feeds. They’re super mushy mixes of vegetables and fruit or room-temp baby oatmeal with added iron.

Here’s an article by Nestle Baby about the importance for iron in your baby’s diet.

Then, depending on how many teeth the baby has, it’s ok to start trying out new things in a little larger portion sizes. By 12 months, my daughter has almost all her teeth and was trying out strips of toast with peanut butter and nibbling on blocks of watermelon. If yours is still working on her chompers, just cook vegetables a little longer so they don’t have any issue.

As the ratio of milk-to-food in their diet gradually changes, the meals need to be more thought-out and, hopefully prepared ahead of time.

Finding things that are good for them, and food they’ll actually eat is hard enough. Then you have to alter their diet depending on their habits, play patterns and poop schedules!

Can’t poo? If they’re having trouble with their number two’s, cut up pitted prunes or pears (if they have teeth and are used to chewing), or give them prune baby food. I like the Ella’s Kitchen pouches as they’re easy to reseal and pop in the fridge for a day or so.

Diaper explosions? Yikes! If your kid is going too much, keep an eye on their hydration and give them some banana to slow things down.

Nuts are important. The first time you give a child a new type of food, but mainly a nut butter, keep an eye out for any allergic reactions. These can consist of anything from blotchy skin to swelling of the throat. With peanut butter, put it on some toast and cut it up or in some yogurt. A spoonful can be a choking hazard. According to a recent study from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, foods which are often the causes of a reaction like seafood, dairy, eggs, and nuts may actually reduce the risk of children becoming allergic to these foods when they’re older.

Just a side note, stick to nut butter with nuts as their only ingredient and get organic if possible. Avoid products like Skippy, which are full of added oils, sugar, and chemical preservatives.

I’ve found for some meals, she’ll only touch food if it’s in separate sections of the tray, and sometimes it’ll if it’s not mixed together, then her food goes to waste.

Here are a few of my go-to recipes for meals that you can cook for you and baby, plus scoop the left-overs into extra large silicon ice cube trays, which once frozen can be put into a large freezer zip-lock bag for handy portions.

Tip – If you’ve over-microwaved the frozen leftovers, stir in some frozen peas. It’ll simultaneously thaw the peas and cool down the food.

Easy Spaghetti Bolognese with extra veggies

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 table spoon of olive oil
• 500g minced beef
• 3 large carrots
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 500g dried wholewheat spaghetti
• 1 jar of organic tomato and basil pasta sauce
• 2 table spoons Worcester sauce

Directions:

1. Dice the onions and peeled carrots
2. Pour the oil in a big pot
3. Throw in the onions, stir until they’ve softened
4. Add carrots
5. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring
6. Add the meat
7. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan and keep going until it’s all cooked through.
8. Add the frozen peas and stir
9. Stir in the tomato sauce
10. Splash in the Worcester sauce to taste
11. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer. Stir every few minutes to avoid burning.
12. Cook the pasta (directions on the box)
13. Ensure the carrots are cooked enough that they’re softened up for your baby
14. Eat. mmm

Mac n Cheese with Cauliflower

Ingredients:

• 1 onion- diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 head of cauliflower – cut into smaller chunks
• 1 cup of cream
• 2 cups of shredded cheese
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 cup of wholewheat macaroni
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 cup of breadcrumbs (optional)

Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil and add the pasta – cook until almost done
2. Drain the water
3. Add the oil and return to the heat
4. Throw in the onions, stir until they’ve softened
5. Add the cauliflower and feel free to pre-cook this in the microwave to make it mushy
6. Be a little rough with your stirring so it gets nice and mushed
7. Add cheese and cream, keep stirring
8. Add frozen peas
9. Serve once it’s all melted and thoroughly cooked, or add to a baking dish, sprinkle with some breadcrumbs or Panko and put in the oven at 350.F for about 20 mins.

Non-Spicy Chilli with Kidney Beans

This is a lot like the Spaghetti recipe above, but instead of the tomato pasta sauce, you add tomato puree, pre-soaked kidney beans and a dash of cumin or MILD taco seasoning. Remember, the baby isn’t used to spice, so go easy!

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 table spoon of olive oil
• 1 small can of tomato puree
• 1 can of tinned tomatoes – diced
• 500g minced beef
• 1 cup of pre-soaked kidney beans
• Pinch of cumin or non-spicy organic taco seasoning

Directions:

1. Dice the onions
2. Pour the oil in a big pot
3. Throw in the onions, stir until they’ve softened
4. Add kidney beans
5. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring
6. Add the meat
7. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan and keep going until it’s all cooked through.
8. Sprinkle on the spices (keep tasting so you don’t overdo it)
9. Add the tomato puree and tinned diced tinned tomatoes
10. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer. Stir every few minutes to avoid burning.
11. Ensure the beans are cooked enough that they’re softened up for your baby
12. Serve with a bag of 90-second microwavable rice. I really like the Seeds of Change rice.

N.B. As with all my blogs, this is what worked for me and my baby. The Canada Health Website has lots of super-useful information and data to help you out.

Pin this!