running out of ideas for 7 month old.

[ionesmum]

Hi, I hope that you won't mind me asking fotr help again! Dd is now on 3 meals a day - fromage frais for breakfast, fruit puree for lunch, and vegetables with apple and rice for dinner. Every day. She isn't keen on savoury things but will demolish fruity rice pudding! I was wondering if there is something else that I could be introducing now to make things more interesting e.g. cottage cheese, finger foods etc. I don't want to introduce meat but am happy for her to have fish.

BTW we must be getting something right as dd has moved up a percentile, from the 50th to the 75th!

There's loads of organic pots with different tastes to try even within the discriptions you've used, like apricots, figgy compote, cinnamon apple.... each will give your dd a taste of something new. But if you're wanting to stick to home made then these are some that ds likes - he also has a sweet tooth (we use a wizzer to puree them as he still gags on lumpy stuff):

• pasta with tomato & veg sauce (usually courgette or aubergine) - toms are slightly sweet and a good way to bring in savouries
• macarony cheese (pasta, milk & mild cheese well cooked & wizzed) - creamy taste might appeal
• mashed sweet potato or parsnip with mild cheese (some milk to loosen) - creamy tasting and slightly sweet
• mashed lentils or beans flavoured with roasted sweet peppers (minus skins), mind the stains though

Custards are also good (I tend to buy these, and put 1/2 pot with some fruit puree). One thing I've found with ds is that if we serve savoury followed by sweet, he'll hold out for pud. So we've stopped doing two course meals and are trying to treat each taste as just a different experience (if that makes sense).

I tend to use packet porridges or babyrice for breakfast (generally with extra fruit puree) - fills him up better to start the day.

My ds (now 9 months)loves fish - i made him cod and sweet potato from annabel carmel book. its really easy - esp if you have a microwave! Just get portion of frozen cod (can buy in packs in tesco) and add bit of butter and milk and microwave until cooked. Mash sweet potato and mix together with fish and juice of an orange and then puree until right consistency - really sweet so goes down really well.

There is also a really good lentil recipe which is basically lentils, onions, sweet potato and carrot - i usually add some grated cheese as well. Another good thing i have just discovered is soup pasta - tiny pasta shapes so you can just make up some veggie sauces or use a jar and add the cooked pasta and it doesnt need to be pureed.

Hope this gives you some more ideas! it is hard trying to get lots of variety into their diets. Home made rice pudding is another good one - Tesco do rice pudding flakes so you dont have to bake it. my childminder makes this a lot for my ds and he loves it!!

my ds (nearly 9 months) isn't too keen on savoury foods either, but loves cheese on toast! Also loves scrambled eggs on toast. We've found he'll eat almost anything that's got a banana in with it - so it's Weetabix with banana in the mornings! He's starting to eat mainly what we eat, only mushed up a bit - so pasta with tomato sauce + cheese is good, and we tried him on fishfingers this week which went down well!

DS loved pureed cauliflower or brocolli cheese. Also at that age I gave him rice cakes to nibble on and toast was a great favourite. Thats just for fun and a new experience probably at first.

I agree rice cakes are a good one - although just looking at them makes me feel like I'm on a diet!!

ds really likes rice cakes with a bit of almond butter on - apparently almond butter is OK re: allergies.

Don't worry about following the traditional savoury then pudding route. Our ds would often have his yoghurt first and then his savoury dish and then the remainder of his yoghurt! Also don't be afraid to do spicy dishes - curry or chilli, garlic bread etc. Some savoury can be a bit bland, babies want interesting food just the same as an adult! I discovered our ds was a real curry fiend from an early age. Now at 3½ having an Indian take away together is a real pleasure, he loves being able to help himself to the naan bread and poppadums and mopping them around his plate.

Thank you so much for all the lovely ideas, I will print this off and keep it. Dd's got such a sweet tooth, she rejects many savoury things that I've tried but there are lots of new ideas here so that you.

BTW dd has tried rice cakes, she sucks them to a pulp and then drops them over the side of the highchair for the dog (who is her best friend!) Oh well, saves on vacuuming!

Ah yes, the magic dhal. It's a big hit in our house. The sluglet eats absolutly anything, but if a bit reluctant, can always be tempted by mashed sweet potato (4 mins in microwave) with cheese/spinach/chicken/whatever's lurking in the fridge. You would be surprised what they will eat. We took her to a Turkish restaurant at 6 months and watched in awe as she ate a bit of absolutly everything we ordered. I have watched her eat potatoes with chilli and mustard seeds, and ask for more. Try halved grapes.

Thank you. I had a massive surprise tonight - I put tomato in with carrot and courgette, added some milk, rice and herbs - and she cleared the lot! I'd never have tried it ATM if I hadn't read this thread. I'm already devising all sorts of great things to do with a tomato! Perhaps we'll try the Turkish resturant next week

Go for it - Ionesmum!! Just be careful that with anything spicy she doesn't rub it in her eyes. Although I suppose you're not really at that stage yet.

My ds loves tuna and mashed potato with butter. And so do I! We discovered this when having a pub lunch and he ate most of the filling of my tuna mayo baguette. It seems the more I like something, the more he likes it - eg he prefers a bit of flavour to something bland, and seems to adore garlic. He ate mashed M&S aubergine parmagiana the other day - he had half and I had half!

Well done on the weight gain, Ionesmum! Great news.

Thank you!