wahey I'm first!

[squirmyworm]

I have a juicer. It's great and I do all that carrot apple and ginger stuff they say is really good for you. The other day, I was desparate to use up some natural yog that had been knocking round the fridge for a bit so in a moment of madness I whizzed in it thinking carrot and yog would not be a match made in heaven. It was great! This has to be the lamest start to this wonderful new topic but heyo I declare it ooopen

Congratulations Squirmyworm!
I have nothing to add just now but Wahey, I'm 2nd

Actually you were 3rd, Posey

Was I?

i cheat when it comes to making baby meals i make ours then think can i blend it if i think yes then a portion of ours gets blended portioned out for the baby then froze ready made meals lol cheese and potatoe mash is about the easyest ive done but then i got a bit extravagant i was making chicken with a tomatoe and basil sauce with chips so i blended his with some sweet potatoe and he loved it and trust me he can be the fussiest eater going if he wants to be and before then he refused to eat meat then again hes only six months old so i cant moan if any one want the recipe please read on

two large sweet potatoes
ten slithers of chicken boneless (we dont want to work to hard now lol)
1 tin of plum tomatoes
tea spoon of dried basil
baby rice as and when needed

right lets cook
peel and chop sweet potatoe into small chunks
put into a pan of boiling warter to cook
add chicken to water and cook at the same time
cook tomatoes and basil
throw it all in a blender and blitz
meals for close on two weeks done
can be frozen for over a month

for us adults
fry the chicken in a frying pan with a touch of oil
cook the tomatoes with the basil and blend once cooked
pour the tomatoes over the chicken and serve with rice or pasta or chips or salad
i cheated i got the recipe off one of those frozen ready meals and mine come out better made it looked like i spent hours in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove when it actualy only took me less then ten minuites and i was told if i ever had a dinner party to serve that because it looked fancy well i wasnt going to tell them any different if my partner wants to think that i would spend hours slaving over a hot stove with a baby to look after he dont know me that well
well i hope this helps some mothers out there working or not because kids can be full time on there own
lisa

great stuff!

Is this baby food?

A fave with dd and now ds (6 months) is butternut squash, creme fraishe (sp?) and cheese. You could use cream or natural yoghurt.

For bigger babies and toddlers; Baked beans with a cube or two of frozen spinach (get the healthy stuff in with the not-so-good-but-always-eaten stuff.

My fave, particularly on cold winter days, is leek and potato soup, so thick you can practically stand a spoon in it. For my dd I leave it much chunkier, mix in creme fraiche, frozen peas and grated cheese. Yum.
Dead easy: saute sliced leeks for about 5 - 10 mins in butter. Add chopped potatoes (about twice as much as leeks), boiled water (just enough to cover mixture at first but maybe more later) and a tiny bit of stock. I use the liquid bouillon you can buy (chicken) but I suppose any would do, especially frozen or fresh unsalted chicken stock. Really, just tiny quantity, and you could prob get away with none, or only season your own meal and not use any for the children's portions. Freezes really well (obviously not if using previously cooked and frozen stock). Cover the pan/casserole dish and then when all is soft and squishy, mash or blend depending on the destination.

Does anyone know any recipes involving fish and/or pasta for 6 month old? Also, how long can food (simple individual no milk added veg or fruit) be kept in the freezer for - I thought 3 months but have heard reference to one month only?

I'm not great with fish, but I gave dd plaice mixed with mashed potato and cheese when she was 6 months. How about fish pie, as well?

Plaice is a really good first fish because it is so mild and easily checked for bones. Just buy a fillet, cover with milk (not too much, though) and clingfilm and bung in the microwave until flakes off easily. Then mix with whatever.

For fish pie, make a cheese or white sauce, mix in fish chunks and any veg i.e. broccoli or peas and cover with mashed potato and bung in the oven. Annabel Karmel has quite good fishy recipes in her cookery book. Also, I used unsalted tinned salmon mixed, again, with mashed potato (dd has mash coming out of her ears) or cous cous, and that's good because the lumpiness is easily controlled.

I never know how long things last in the freezer, I'm afraid. Need a good clear out really, because is jam-packed and I'm sure there's stuff in there that's been kept for AGES. My problem is I buy lots of lovely fish and meat and then don't cook them by the expiry date, and so shove them into the freezer for another time, which never comes round as can't be bothered cooking if can't freeze up a batch for dd.

my 12 month ds loves pasta so I made a large batch of macaroni cheese with carrot and broccoli and froze in different size containers... then to vary his dinners I just add tin tuna (pref in spring water), cooked salmon or chicken. As Annabel says, it's texture not taste that makes protein difficult, so whizz round with a hand blender before mixing into the pasta.