Need ideas for exciting home made food for 7 month old

[Jelliebaby]

My DD is 7 months old, I didnt realise how much it would cost to jar feed her everymeal so I am trying to make my own.

I tried Potatoes, Carrots and brocoli and she hated it.

Anyone got any ideas for something a bit more exciting?

I am not much of a veg lover so dont really know what taste good etc.

If you are spoon feeding and lacking inspiration then I have friends who swear by Annabel Karmel's books. I'm not a fan personally. You could always look at her website first I think that has a few ideas so you could see if it's what you fancy.

I cant seem to remember what they are and aren't allowed at this age so will go and check and get back to you with some of the things I would make DS!

OK - there is a section on here containing weaning recipes from other MNers, maybe have a look under the weaning section which will give you a bit of advice.

Have you only given jars so far? Has she had any finger food or textures (lumps in other words?. What kind of jars do you give her? If you are giving her a jar of, lets say vegetable spaghetti, could you not try and make your own homemade version? You can buy really little pasta shapes from Boots or Waitrose which are handy.

Annabel Karmel books are good. She does a recipe of fish with carrots and orange - it's quite tangy but mild with the fish. My DD loves it. I can't remember what age it was suitable for though, so you would need to check, but you could always do it without the fish if too early for fish (I can't remember the rules!)

Also, sweet potato is a winner with mine. Went to a wedding the other day where they served 'apple mash' which would probably be nice for babies too, as it has a sweet edge to it.

IME, fruit went down better than veg from the start, and there are quite a few nice fruit/veg combos that work.

Also adding grated/melted cheese can make veg more tasty. Used to work for my DD.

From 6 months - 1 year they can have anything except honey and whole nuts (also chop round things like grapes, cherry tomatoes etc and be aware of choking risks) - you also need to make sure they don't have too much salt, which is easy if you make your own food, just don't add salt to cooking and if you use stock use low salt cubes, Kallo make some (Sainsbury's sell them) and Boots do special baby ones. You can also buy ready made stock which is less salty but it's quite expensive. Also make sure they don't have too much sugar, which is for their teeth.

Annabel Karmel is good for inspiration. You don't need to buy all her equipment though, especially the pointless "foon"!!

Also, here is Mumsnet baby recipes section:

www.mumsnet.com/Recipes?call=IndexPage&DO_SEARCH=1&mealType=Baby

finger food finger food finger food

and leftovers

I made potatoes,carrots and broccoli yesterday but I stirred in a spoon of cream cheese when I mashed it. My DD seems to eat everything that she's offered though.
I give her toast, cut into thirds which she loves.
Porridge with banana mashed into it.
If we're eating something that's suitable for her, I'll give her that eg a small piece of salmon or chicken, home made wedges, some veges.
I also give her jars of food when I'm out of fresh ingredients or out and about