Baby Weaning Ideas #3
Here are some easy ideas that you can try at home with your little one. Austin is getting on well with textures in his food and these meals have gone down well. In the case of the sauce and the fritters, they freeze well, so by cooking up a batch you can then easily portion them up and freeze them for a store of tasty home-cooked meals.
Tomato and Carrot (Pasta) Sauce
- Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- Pinch of dried oregano
- 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Fry the onion in the oil over a medium heat. After a few minutes add the garlic and carrot. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the tomatoes and oregano, along with the balsamic vinegar. Cook for 10-15 minutes on a low heat. Blend to a purée. Portion and eat/freeze. Austin has enjoyed this with orzo pasta, or mashed potato, with some cooked mixed vegetables stirred through.
Courgette and Sweet Potato Cheesy Fritters
- Ingredients:
- 1 large courgette, grated
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated
- 80g cheddar, grated
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- Pinch black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 100g plain flour
- 2 eggs
- 50ml whole milk
Take your grated courgette and sweet potato and squeeze as much of the excess water as you can from them. You could do this in a clean tea towel or in a handful at a time. Put them in a bowl with the grated cheddar, paprika, garlic, oregano and pepper and mix.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, eggs and milk together to make a thick batter. Then pour this in to the grated mixture and use a spoon to combine.
Heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and add a little oil (I used a spray oil). Drop a heaped tablespoon sized amount of the mix on to the pan, and use the back of the spoon to flatten it lightly. Cook for a few minutes until browned and set, and then carefully turn over and cook the other side for a few more minutes. I made 14 fritters from the mix, cooking three or four at a time, and Austin ate two for his meal. I simply wrapped the remaining fritters in pairs in grease proof paper and then put them in a freezer bag and will take them out for meals when I need them. They should reheat in the oven in about 10-15 minutes at 180c.
Spring Onion, Cream Cheese and Ham Omelette
- Ingredients:
- Butter
- 1 spring onion
- 2 eggs
- 30g full fat cream cheese
- 1 slice of ham
On a medium low heat, melt a knob of butter in a non-stick frying pan, and using a pair of scissors snip the spring onion into small pieces directly into the melted butter. Let this soften for a couple of minutes whilst you beat the 2 eggs with the cream cheese (the cream cheese will be lumpy but this is good – it leaves puddles of soft cheese in the omelette!)
Add the beaten egg to the pan and then snip the slice of ham into small pieces with the scissors directly on top of the egg, moving the ham as you do so, so you have a good covering. Continue to cook until the egg is cooked through, fold in half and remove from the heat. I served half of it, chopped into pieces so Austin could pick it up and feed himself. He enjoyed the other half for lunch the next day!