BLW - suggestions for more foods

[monkeysmama]

Dd is 7 months old and we've been doing BLW since she was 6 months. She's loving it and eating everything but, though I love cooking, I feel like we've hit a barrier and need some more suggestions for what to give her.

I have the Gill Rapley book and started with the foods she suggested. Dd LOVES cucumber and enjoys asparagus, baby corn, broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, potato, green beans, rice cakes, bread sticks with hummus, brown bread, cheese (cheddar), penne, pear, banana, melon, apple, nectarine.

I haven't tried meat yet and am a bit nervous about it but am generally lost for what else to give her.

I am also worried (perhaps stupidly) that she isn't having eough carbs and protein.

I cook fresh organic food almost every evening though about once a week we have a ready meal (M&S so not the worst type)

Also, someone suggested I start giving her diluted organic baby juice (I have seen some in Boots). I think it is unnecessary, no?

Any suggestions much appreciated.

MM

scrambled egg, potato wedges, meat is fine - try mince beef, meatballs, roast chicken.

no need for juice at all, water is fine if you feel she needs anything extra

i would just give her whatever you're having

Meat-wise, the one and only thing my baby will eat is chicken balls: blend up some chicken thigh fillets with some breadcrumbs, herbs and grated apple, form into balls, coat in flour then fry. They are quite yummy with pasta with a creamy sauce.

If you haven't tried meat yet then you could perhaps give her white fish first, as it's meant to be easier to digest. So you could do something like a lemon sole fillet poached in milk,then mixed with mashed potato to make a fishcake. It's fine like that,or otherwise you could just coat it in flour and fry it.

pulses for protein - there's a lentil wedges recipe around that is v good

tbh if you cook well for yourselves I'd start giving her what you're eating (though not on ready-meal night )

Protein ideas:

Potato cakes -mashed potato with leftover veg, peas, small lumps of cheese, or tinned salmon -then fried. Always a hit here.

Mince blended with a little chopped onion to make a smooth paste, formed into rissoles and fried.

Shepherd's pie gets picked up in handfuls- you can get loads of extra veg in and I usually make the mince go further by putting lentils in as well.

Spanish omelette/frittata -popular with peas/peppers/spinach as well as potato and onion.

Homemade baked beans on toast.

Don't give her diluted organic baby juice from boots, please.

If you want her to have juice, give her organic (if that's important to you) NORMAL juice with water from the tap. There is no need for special juice, or really, any juice.

Home made beef burgers (mince made into a burger and baked in the oven) are VERY good for first finger protein. As are fish, eggs and cheese.

As long as you are bf or ff on demand then she should not be lacking in anything nutritionally. Juice is not necessary, but if you are ff then water with meals is a good idea. I have 'finger food for babies and toddlers' (Jennie Maizels)and it has some nice ideas but really I would just give some of whatever you are having (so long as appropriate).

Hi MM!

How do people cook their potato wedges? And by green beans do you mean the little thin ones like runner beans?

Am I missing something? I just read the Gill Rapley book as I will be starting BLW with ds3 in Jan. (purees was the way I did it with the other two). I thought you didn't make any special food but just gave them some of what you are eating? I was certainly not going to look for special ideas for food, but just put some of our dinner on out for him. AM I missing something?

you're not missing anything, ilana.
but a lot of people like to have a few recipes for easy finger food stuff to keep around the place for those occasions when you're not wanting to eat at the same time or when you and dh have rung for a curry...

btw OP, forget about the nutritional side of things, that's what milk's for.

and for QUICK potato wedges i've part-baked the pots in the microwave first, then sliced them, put some oil (and soy sauce in our case but dd is 3 now) and then whack in oven on a tray for 20 mins.

the long way cuts out the micro and takes about 40-45 mins imo. experience has taught me that if you cut them up into quarters or sixths then they'll lay nicely on their backs (skin side down iykwim?) and cook better. (that's after experimenting with grill trays and everything...)

Hi. Aitch, I've been trying to register on your fab BLW forum but made a stupid mistake about age and now can't re register...have sent you an e mail about it.

Thanks for clarifying. Can I have a lnk to your forum too please?

We stopped cooking with salt or oxo cubes (we use kallo very low stock salt cubes instead, and less than we used to) and give DS essentially whatever we eat (at 11mo).

Initially we did do a lot more meals with chip shaped veg, but he had things like spag bol (bolognaise sauce on a rice cake for him) from the start and has always loved it.

His first full meal was roast chicken on his 6 month birthday ( see here) - he'd been having some veggies from around 23 weeks too. As you can see, he managed it all quite well - and it was just what we ate! (he still prefers courgette in strips too - he ate a whole one and half a slice of toast for his tea the other day!)

but when you ring dh for a curry, the baby eats that too

I am also thinkin it is just extrawork for you with recipe books and the like
just serve up whatever your eating and some quick and east stuff when you aren't eating at the same time

Aitch's site

cheers macaco, and yes chairman, imo the chip shaped phase is v short.

Fusilli pasta is the perfect carb for BLW, as it holds all sorts of things in sauces. It's easy to get meat into them this way if you cook up and puree some meat/veg sauce (unless you're a puree snob ) and then you can swirl he pasta around in it and hey presto, a perfect BLW meal!

The lentil croquettes in the Jennie Maizels is excellent - DD loves them. Always handy to have in freezer if you've had a take away the night before.

Pasta with Philly mixed in is a good one as well.

Toasted pita bread with cheese, or hummus, or whatever it is that your DD likes is brilliant and quite tidy.

A roast on a weekend is common place here now - DD loves to chew on the leg bone... freaks out DP who thinks that meat comes from Waitrose

Here's a few to try. Our son is a fan of roast dinners too! Loved roast turkey at Christmas and loved roast beef the other night.
He seems to love toast and eggy bread.