BLW and vegetarian -- protein ideas please!

[MegBusset]

I am gearing myself up for the start of BLW when DS is 6mo in three weeks. We are vegetarian (eat fish 'n' chips on occasion but never cook fish at home) but I want to make sure DS gets enough protein etc -- what BLW-friendly foods can I give him that will give what he needs?

Also how long would you just give fruit & veg for before introducting stuff like cheese, toast, pasta etc...?

ugh. quorn goes Too Far. i'd rather eat vegetables!

Aitch I'm sure you can serve quinoa on the side if you want but you might want to do it with some kind of dressing, or in a salad -- could be a bit bland otherwise (bit like cous cous).

that's what i'd been told to do with it before, with roast veggies. i'm much more intrigued by the idea of adding it to something, tbh. any other recipes?

IME the best thing to do with quinoa is to fry an onion, add the quinoa, add a lot of fancy ingredients (ideally expensive), top up with stock and cook for a while, then serve directly into the bin as no matter what I do with it it always tastes the same - like grit, but without the flavour.

Sorry Megbusset, I didn't mean to be rude to you I might actually try your recipe as quinoa is supposed to be so good for you. It's just I have never found it edible yet.

Lol 9unlikelytales - that's my experience of quinoa too. The stew looks amazing tho, must try it.

Great thread. We are past weaning but always looking for food ideas for veggie 3yo dd - she seems to eat pasta pasta and more pasta atm.

I seem to remember a phase around 9 mo when dd ate naan/chapatis dipped in lentil dhal all the time. Still gets a lot of protein from pulses - she will still happily eat kidney beans/chickpeas with some oil and vinegar on them, just with her fingers.

Oh and I would second the fried tofu cubes - dd has always loved tofu.

NineUnlikelyTales - no offense taken!

You could try the stew and add barley, millet or cous cous instead, maybe? Or maybe even lentils -- though the beauty of the quinoa is it helps soak up any excess sauce.

Sorry if you are, but are you rinsing the quinoa well before you cook it? This is really important because it has a bitter coating.

Also I have not tried it myself yet but this quinoa and buttered squash gratin recipe looks amazing.

I mean butterNUT squash

No I have never rinsed it that I can remember - maybe that is where I have been going wrong.

I found Jenny Maizels Finger Food for Babies and Toddlers really good for veggie BLW type food. I would highly recommend it, DD loves the veggie meatballs and the lentil croquettes:

Finger Food for Babies and Toddler

oops, must remember to read thread before posting what was thought of as excellent original tip. sorry