Feeding 8 month old baby

[GodspeedJune]

Hello, I’m looking for ideas for healthy meals for my young DD. She has three meals a day alongside breastfeeding. I’d like her to have homemade food, but she’s often having shop bought baby pouches for lunch.

I have a chronic health condition that causes fatigue so anything that can be batch cooked and divided into small portions would be great too.

Breakfast examples: Toast with peanut butter/ baby porridge/ yoghurt with fruit.

Lunch: A pouch (not a whole one), sometimes followed with a framage frais.

Dinner: Whatever we are eating. She manages most meals now from roast dinners to BBQs.

I just feel like I need to do better for her, especially at lunchtime.

Many thanks in advance.

I bought the 'Joe Wicks - Wean in 15' book and have found it so useful. Lots of recipes that my daughters love.

My daughter turns 9 months tomorrow so is the same age as your DD.

In terms of batch cooking the main ones I make are chilli and bolognese which I freeze into little portions then I just take them out to defrost in the morning and zap in the microwave before serving. I also have a 3 year old and often tend to have random portions of mash/cooked pasta in the fridge which I can serve with them. Sometimes I add grated cheese.

I also make a quick 'fish pie' using leftover mash. I just oven cook a fish fillet (I freeze individually), flake and mix with the mash and some frozen veg (spinach/peas) and an additional bit of milk to loosen it.

Toast is also your friend for a quick lunch or dinner as can be topped with so many things: soft cheese/eggs/smashed avocado. Alongside some fruit or veg sticks.

If you're struggling to come up with 2 cooked meals a day I'd just aim for one (cottage pie/fish pie/bolognese/chilli/chicken curry are some of my favourites) and then do a cold option with toast fingers, cubes of cheese, fruit, veg sticks etc and let her feed herself while you rest.

Also nothing wrong with a bowl of porridge or weetabix with fruit/peanut butter/yogurt etc in the evening if you're knackered!

You're doing a great job don't worry!

What do you have for lunch?

I only do one proper cooked meal a day. Porridge/toast/yoghurt /fruit for breakfast, toast/omelette fingers for lunch and then something cooked for tea. The 'What Mummy Makes' cookbook, despite it's awful title, has lots of simple recipes that are designed to feed everyone in the family. My little one loves the courgette eggy fingers and they take literally 5 mins to prep, 30 mins in the oven and then you can freeze them as well.

Just make extra dinner and give her left overs for lunch.

Breakfast- normal porridge rather than baby porridge, egg - scrambled, boiled, omelette. Yogurt, fruit, bagel, toast.

Lunch: homemade soup, sandwich, cheese, carrot, cucumber etc

Dinner: great stuff to batch cook
Bolognaise
Chilli
Casserole
Curries
Lasagne

And then any pasta dish or stir fry for something quick

SarahLHs Thanks, I’ll have a look at that book.

MrsSamR Thank you for the meal ideas and kind words! The chilli, bolognaise and fish pie are all good ideas I hadn’t thought of, probably because they aren’t things I eat or make usually. I’ll try not to feel guilty for not managing two cooked meals now.

PinkPlantCase I don’t really, I usually have a bowl of cereal or toast mid morning, a snack in the afternoon and then evening meal.

onlyamam Thanks for another book recommendation, I’ll have to get hold of that one too. Five minutes prep and can be frozen sounds ideal.

Caravanvirgin We don’t usually have leftovers but good idea to scale up when possible to make leftovers.

DinnaeFashYersel Thank you for the ideas too.