Baby Weaning – Page 5 – The Food Wife

Baby Weaning Ideas #4

23rd June 201825th June 2018
by thefoodwife

So this time round I thought Iâ€™d focus on some of the meals Austin has been wolfing down that have been siphoned off from meals the food husband and I have been eating.

As a general rule, I simply take three or four portions out for Austin before I add the salt. With the recipes below you’ll find a link to a previous blog post and a note of what I left out/altered to make it baby-friendly. I would say that Austin likes a bit of spice – I think he must have got used to it in the womb and from my breast milk!

Katsu curry sauce

So I left the soy sauce and sugar in the recipe (it is such a small amount considering the volume of sauce produced) and he had the full amount of curry powder, but it is such a sweet and fruity sauce from the apples and carrots that the heat is tempered. I just took out the portions for the food baby before I added any extra salt.

Austin has had this with couscous but it would be good with rice or pasta too, along with some extra veg (and chicken if you like!).

Pizza

When I made a batch of dough for the food husband and me, I took one of the portions (this amount of dough made eight medium pizzas) and quartered it. I simply wrapped each quarter in clingfilm and froze them ready to make an easy meal for Austin. I defrosted the dough in the fridge over night (but you could get it out a couple of hours before you need it and let it defrost at room temperature), rolled it out thinly on a floured surface and then topped it with a small amount of the tomato and carrot (pasta) sauce in my last baby weaning blog post, some fresh mozzarella and torn basil leaves. I cooked it on an oiled oven tray at 220c for seven or eight minutes. Yum.

Apricot Yogurt

And finally a quick pudding idea. I whizzed up a drained can of apricots to a purÃ©e and froze portions. I simply defrost a portion and stir it through some full fat yogurt to make a fruity yogurt for pudding.

Baby Weaning Ideas #3

9th June 20189th June 2018
by thefoodwife

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 purÃ©e. 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!

Baby Weaning Ideas #2

18th May 201820th May 2018
by thefoodwife

Austin has started trying meat, fish and gluten over the past few weeks. But here are some of the things he has been enjoying over the last fortnight.

Thai-style Aubergine

Ingredients:
1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 aubergine, diced
1/4 courgette, diced
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 cm dice
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 garlic clove, finely diced
25g creamed coconut
1 lemongrass, halved and crushed with the back of a knife
3 lime leaves
1 tbsp chopped coriander

Step 1: Heat the coconut oil and add the onion and soften for a few minutes.

Step 2: Add the garlic, aubergine, sweet potato and courgette and stir for a couple of minutes.

Step 3: Add the lime leaves and lemongrass along with the creamed coconut and enough water to just cover the vegetables.

Step 4: Cook for 10-15 minutes on a gentle heat until the vegetables are softened.

Step 5: Remove the lemongrass and lime leaves and add the coriander, then blend to a thick purÃ©e.

Step 6: Divide into portions (this freezes well).

Fish with a creamy sauce

Ingredients:
200g boneless fish cut in to 2 inch pieces (I used fish pie mix from the fresh fish counter in the supermarket which included salmon, pollock and smoked haddock)
1 pint whole milk
6 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
3 tsp slackened cornflour
1 heaped tsp whole grain mustard
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Step 1: Place the milk, peppercorns, bay leaves and fish in a pan (I used a frying pan) and bring to a simmer for a few minutes until the fish is cooked.

Step 2: Remove the fish and break into small flakes. Remove the bay leaves and peppercorns and discard.

Step 3: With the milk still on the heat, add the slackened cornflour and use a wooden spoon or a whisk to stir until thickened.

Step 4: Return the flaked fish to the sauce and stir in the mustard and parsley.

Step 5: Divide into portions (I made 8) and this can be frozen.

Serve with pasta, rice or mashed potato.

Lemon and Blueberry Yogurt

Ingredients:
1 tsp lemon curd
4 heaped tsp full fat natural/Greek yogurt
5 blueberries, quartered

Step 1: Combine the three ingredients and serve.

Baby Weaning Ideas #1

30th April 20181st May 2018
by thefoodwife

Hereâ€™s a little round up of what Austin has been enjoying over the last week… for anyone weaning their baby this might give you some new ideas. He approves of them all.

Cheesy scrambled egg

Ingredients:
Knob of butter
1 large free range egg
Splash of full fat milk
Pinch of smoked paprika
15g mature cheddar, grated

Step 1: Whisk the egg and milk together

Step 2: Melt the butter in a small saucepan on a medium low heat.

Step 3: Add the whisked egg to the pan and gently fold the cooked layers into the raw until it is a soft scrambled consistency.

Step 4: Add the paprika and grated cheese and fold through. Serve immediately.

Banana Yogurt with Cinnamon

Ingredients:
1/3 banana
3-4 heaped tea spoons of full fat Greek yogurt
A pinch of ground cinnamon

Step 1: Roughly mash the banana

Step 2: Add the Greek yogurt and cinnamon.

Step 3: Mix together until combined.

Sweet Potato and Coconut Curry

Ingredients:
1 tsp coconut oil
1/2 onion diced
1/2 garlic clove finely diced
1/2 inch ginger, peeled and diced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
Pinch of curry leaves (optional)
50ml coconut milk
1 sweet potato peeled and cut into one-inch cubes

Step 1: Melt the coconut oil on a medium heat and add the diced onion, garlic and ginger. Soften for a couple of minutes and then add each of the spices, stirring to ensure they donâ€™t burn.

Step 2: Add the cubed sweet potato and add the coconut milk along with enough water to just cover the potato.

Step 3: Simmer until tender (this should take about 10 minutes).

Step 4: Blend the mixture until smooth. Divide into portions.

If you have used whole spices these will remain but should be small enough not to cause an issue. I simply blend the curry leaves too but you may wish to omit them. I freeze this in portions and defrost it when needed. Iâ€™ve also added tinned chickpeas, lightly mashed with a fork to add more texture.