Weaning meal ideas and thoughts on pouches for warmer weather

[pinkdollyworld]

We’ve been doing veggies over the past couple of weeks, baby led & puree side by side on a suction plate. However I’m wanting some ideas for meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner. I’m not sure if to bother buying a book?? But ideally I would like her to have what we have for convenience. Also I know most of recipes are like casseroles, stew, curry etc but as it’s getting warmer it’s not something me & my husband would eat. Also, thoughts & experience on pouches

What do you eat in the summer? Just give her that! If all else fails, a scrambled egg on toast is a good back up.

Pouches are expensive, nutritionally limited, too smooth to teach good mouth use, terrible for their mouths if you let them suck them and the limited range will get boring very fast. Fine for travelling and emergencies.

I’d not buy prepared food. I don’t think the nutrition in them is good and watch out for salt and sugar. I’d use in an emergency! In the summer mine had a bit of white fish and mild cheese sauce, scrambled eggs, chicken and veg, Pasta with tomato and cheese, quiche filling, fish cakes, but we avoided curry!

You could try pasta pesto with steamed veggies and bits of whatever meat you have. Cous cous mixed with a little Greek yoghurt makes it easier for them to grab, chuck in some corriander and cumin powder for a bit of flavour. You could look up a frittata recipe and add what you want to that as well. Scrambled eggs on toast is also our fall back meal! Both of mine also love canned tuna, but I realise this might be an outlier.

I gave our eldest pouches, the fancy organic ones. Then I tried a bit and it tasted vile. With the youngest I didn’t bother, he just got yoghurt, cucumber and crackers if I couldn’t be bothered!

Some of DS favourites were fritata or crustless quiche cut into little squares, hot or cold pasta with pesto, slices of apple, pear plum, berries cut in half, veggie sticks and dip, crackers with soft cheese, cheese on toast cut into fingers.

I have a friend who specialises in child nutrition- she confirmed to me that pouches are really not worth it. As pp say, fine in an emergency or every now and again, but they’re nutritionally poor and lousy on texture which is one of the most important bits of introduction to food. Much easier to give them some fruit, strips of toast, bits of what you’re eating.

I found the River cottage kids cookbook v handy

I'm also a couple of weeks into weaning just now.

Just giving her some kind of version of what we are eating, and one day a week (before shopping day) cooking all the random veggies and fruit leftover and mashing / pulsing down and freezing to use for days we are having something she can't have. Whenever I cook anything I keep bits aside for her.

I have pouches too in her changing bag for if we go out, because too much faffing to make sure it's the right temp and doesn't spoil in the heat etc.

I suppose it depends what you usually cook. I don't have time to cook something separate for DD really. For example last night we had fish and I made a white sauce with parsley and chives, potatoes, and green beans. I took out some fish, some white sauce before I added any salt to it, and green beans, pots and pulsed it in blender. This was dinner and lunch for DD today. Then we had a dinner out with family so I gave her a pouch this evening.

If it’s warmer weather some things you could try are:

Banana for breakfast. You can split them into 3 from the top which makes it much easier to hold for little fingers.

A sandwich for lunch with some cut up veg on the side. Solid Start has good guides on how to cut the veg up in a way that is appropriate for their age.

DD was a big lover of French Toast when she was little. You could also try a one egg omelette cut into strips?

Mashed avocado on toast?

Cold chicken with salad and bread & butter?

For dinner I’d just give pretty much what you’re eating as long as it’s not too high in salt or sugar. What do you like to eat?