10 Recipes for Weaning Babies

Our third baby- our first little girl - is due in seven weeks time. Even though it's a little way off, I have already started thinking about weaning and how we will handle it this time. My eldest happily chomped down everything but mealtimes were a battle with child number two, which was a nightmare.

I have been asking the mums and dads on my Facebook page their advice, based on their experiences, about weaning. The overall opinion was that the best thing to do is to follow your child and offer them lots of different flavours and textures as soon as they are ready. 

This week, Organix launched 'The Little Book of Weaning' which is packed with with advice and top tips on every stage of weaning to help make it an enjoyable experience for everyone. Organix put this together after speaking to mums and dads about their worries, concerns and experiences of weaning their own children. The advice is very practical, very helpful and very real. 

You can download a copy of The Little Book of Weaning for free. I've got mine already, and even as a third time mum I'm finding it interesting and helpful. There's also lots of weaning recipes and information on the Organix website as well as a helpful food planner. 

If you're about to wean your baby, here's 10 recipe ideas which you may find helpful. I have included some nice purée recipes from the Organix website for the early stages as well as more textured and finger food for older babies.

1. Carrot, Red Lentil & Garam Masala Purée

This carrot, red lentil and garam masala purée recipe from Organix is great for introducing spice to your little ones. Red lentils are a great souce of protein, inexpensive and very easy to use. Top, tail, peel and slice up two carrots into 1cm slices and place is a saucepan with 50g of rinsed red lentils. Cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes until tender. Blend together with the garam masala until smooth.

2. Roasted Butternut Squash, Sage & Quinoa Purée

This roasted butternut squash, sage and quinoa puree recipe from Organix offers an interesting new texture for your little one. Peel and dice the half a butternut squash into 2cm size pieces and place on a baking sheet with a few fresh sage leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 25-30 minutes until roasted. Place 50g quinoa in a saucepan, cover in boiling water, simmer for about 15-20 minutes until cooked and drain. Blend the butternut with a few sage leaves until smooth and stir into the quinoa.

3. Minty Pea and Goat’s Cheese Purée

This minty pea and goat’s cheese purée from Organix has is a fantastic colour and is a great recipe for introducing sharp flavours to your baby. Simmer 100g frozen peas in water for about 10 minutes or until cooked and blend with 50g soft goat’s cheese and 5-6 fresh mint leaves. This purée is ideal for mixing into a risotto halfway through cooking. You can add some whole peas and grated parmesan for additional textures and flavours later on.

4. Spiced Apple and Pear Purée

This spiced apple and pear purée from Organix is a great recipe for early weaning. Peel, core and quarter 1 apple and 1 pear, steam or boil for around 15 minutes until soft and then blend with 1 tsp cinnamon until smooth. To make a simple crumble, mix together 170g oats, 50g melted butter and 3 tbsp maple syrup or fruit syrup to make a crumble mix. Put the purée into the bottom of a 10x15cm dish, sprinkle over the mix and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.

5. Strawberry and Greek Yoghurt

Mixing strawberry and Greek yoghurt is so simple and a much more healthy choice than sugar-crammed shop bought yoghurts. Wash and hull a handful of strawberries and blend with three tablespoons of Greek yoghurt. Make it as lumpy or as smooth as your little one would like. Swap strawberries for mango or raspberries for a change. Sieve out the seeds if your little one is not keen. Recipe from Organix. 

6. Tuna and Sweet Potato Cakes

This recipe for tuna and sweet potato cakes from The Gingerbread Mum makes great nutritious finger food for the next stage of weaning. Bake a medium sized sweet potato and mash the flesh together with half a small tin of tuna, 2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs and a beaten egg. Shape into 12 balls and dry fry over a med-low heat for a few minutes on each side until cooked through. Flatten the balls in the pan as you cook them. Swap tuna for salmon or add veg such as sweetcorn to vary flavours and textures.

7. Two Ingredient Banana Cookies

I make these two ingredient banana cookies all the time with brown bananas and the kids can't get enough of them. They also make great finger food for weaning babies to suck on. Mash two ripe bananas with 100g rolled oats until smooth. Roll into 8 balls and flatten. Pop onto an oiled baking tray and bake for at 180 C / gas mark 5 for 15 minutes until firm but springy and a little coloured. Eat within 24 hours or freeze. Check out the full recipe for variations older kids will enjoy.

8. Broccoli Pasta

This broccoli pasta recipe from the lovely ladies at Crumbs (who have recently published The Crumbs Family Cookbook which is fantastic) is a quick and easy meal for babies moving onto more chunky textures. You literally need broccoli, pasta, grated cheese, garlic and a dollop or Greek yoghurt to make it. Snip it up with scissors or mash to the desired consistency for your baby. Add some finely chopped chicken for older babies.

9. Veg-packed Cottage Pie

My easy cottage pie recipe has lots of vegetables mixed in with the mince as well as a sweet potato topping which kids love. It's very healthy and also a recipe the whole family can enjoy. Cottage pie is great for batch cooking and freezing. It can be pureed for younger babies or mashed for older babies. Vary the vegetables you use to allow your little one to explore new flavours and textures.

10. Quick Chicken and Leek Risotto

This quick chicken and leek risotto is lovely and creamy and also very easy to make. It's a nice recipe for older babies but it can easily be pureed and used to introduce protein at the earlier stages of weaning. Simply pan fry chicken, leeks and peas before mixing with soft cheese and cooked rice. Use flavoured soft cheese for new flavours and add a splash of milk for a looser consistency. Grown ups will enjoy this too.

This is a sponsored post in in association with Organix