dinner/tea ideas for 8 month old

[breadandhoney]

hi

just wondering what everyone feeds their babies for tea. my dd gets her main meal at lunchtime - spal bol, chicken casserole, etc. followed by a yogurt or fromage frais. at teatime she'll usually get baby cereal mixed with fruit puree. she's been having this since we started weaning. i'm sort of at a loss as to what else to feed her at this time. want something rich in carbohydrates so it'll fill her up so she'll continue to sleep through the night. tried her on pureed baked potato and beans a couple of nights but she wasn't too keen. she's starting to take to lumps but still won't eat much finger food. i'll give her breadsticks, rice cakes and cooked veg but more often than not she'll just play with it rather than eating much of it so couldn't rely on finger food as a main component of a meal.

do you generally give another main meal like at lunchtime or something different? ideas much appreciated. thanks!

Well my dd now 1, hadfrom about 8 mths the following:

lunch: spag bol, beef casserole, sausage and mash , lamb casserole all followed by yogart or fromage frais

tea: chicken casserole,fish pie,baby pastabake, risotto again followed by yogart

I have always given my two whatever we have just if curry mild version etc

i have only just started to introduce a lighter lunch ie finger sandwiches or pitta fingers and a heaver tea

Dont worry if not too good with finger food,just keep offering things like cooked carrot/ broccoli etc from you meal if she is sat with you and let her get used to holding things or even playing with it and she will get used to it

thanks lemonadegirl. dh and i generally eat after dd is in bed due to him not getting home from work til nearer her bedtime, sometimes after, but i guess i could keep some of our meal in fridge to give to dd the next day.

another question, do you give your baby food that you make from jars? i don't mean baby jars but like if you make a pasta bake using dolmio, etc.? or am i the only one not cooking from scratch every night? i cook from scratch often but there are always times when a loyd grossman jalfrezi or pasta sauce is handy to have around!!

Hi Breadandhoney - the problem with the jars is the salt! So keep cooking from scratch as much as possible. Boots and Health food shops even do special salt free / low salt stock cubes

yes i use the reduced-salt stock cubes in my cooking now and don't add salt to anything. just curious as to how other people do it as mealtime i always seem to find thinking of meal ideas quite stressful - even for myself and dh!

I do generally cook from scratch but just make larger portions so can freeze some for dd as it does save time and i do use the low salt stock cubes due to salt levels

i tend to avoid jars for this reason too, perhaps do a large batch of pasta sauce in advance and then just freeze and defrost as and when

it does get easier though when you can all sit down together

Mashed potato/baked potato (cooked in the microwave and scooped out) forked/mixed with butter, cheese, or gravy and bits of veg? Enriched with egg? finely chopped pasta? I never did deserts for babies except for fruits/ stewed fruit and plain yogurt. Cooked veg as finger food, as suggested by others is a good idea and keeps them occupied Veg is quite sweet too.