Baby food should be REAL food

A friend of mine was going away for a few days and leaving, her son, my godson, with the ever capable grandparents. However, to make their lives a little easier for the 4 day sleepover, she wanted to take the hassle out of them having to deal with his food.  So she called me up to ask for 4 day’s worth of baby meals, ready to go.

Whilst I was preparing them for her, I began to think about how other people feed their babies and what ingredients do they use.  So I wanted to write a blog about it to give you all some recipe ideas and show you what a really nutritiously balanced few days look like!  I’ve also added the ‘grown up’ version, using the same ingredients, to help you only have to cook one meal for the whole family!

So here we go … pictures above are left to right, top to bottom
(Note the baby in question wasn’t fully weaned so some foods weren’t included i.e. eggs, red meat)

1.Quinoa flake porridge with apple puree

2.Quinoa with roast sweet potatoes and courgette

3.Chicken, cous cous and Mediterranean veg

4. Flaxseed and linseed with pureed berries

5.Red lentils, faro, spinach and beetroot

6. Salmon, courgette and quinoa

7. Mashed avocado with buckwheat porridge

8.Red lentil, and feta croquettes with peas and beetroot

9.Chicken, brown basmati rice & stir fried veg

10. Chia seed pudding with coconut milk and mixed berry puree

11.  Red lentil, spinach and brown basmati rice

12.  Cod with brown basmati rice and carrot

This is what it looked like when it was ready to go!

As you can see from the picture i’ve used REAL grown up food, that can easily be cooked for the whole family with a few aded sauces, or extra flavours to make a delicious family supper.  You’ll just have to remember to take out baby’s portion before you add in the chillies!

With that in mind, the family meal list would be …

1. Quinoa flake porridge with apple puree – add some nuts, seeds, and berries

2. Quinoa with roast sweet potatoes and courgette – Add some eggs to make this a spanish omelette

3. Chicken, cous cous and Mediterranean veg – Add a tin of tomatoes, some peppers, smoked paprika, garlic and chilli to the chicken to make a mexican stew

4. Flaxseed and linseed with pureed berries – add some almond milk, a banana and a dollop of almond butter to make a protein smoothie

5. Red lentils, faro, spinach and beetroot  – Add an egg to the lentils to make little fritters, to have with the vegetables and grains

6. Salmon, courgette and quinoa – Add lemon, herbs and garlic to the quinoa to make a tabbouleh, add pumpkin seeds to the courgette and a lemon herb crust to the salmon

7. Mashed avocado with buckwheat porridge – Alter the buckwheat porridge to rye bread and smash the avo with herbs and olive oil to make a guacamole

8. Red lentil, and feta croquettes with peas and beetroot – Throw in some garlic sweet potato wedges, and a nice big salad to have with the beetroot

9. Chicken, brown basmati rice & stir fried veg – Make a thai nutty sauce with soy sauce, cashew nut butter, garlic, brown rice vinegar, and lime juice

10. Chia seed pudding with coconut milk and mixed berry puree – add some toasted chopped nuts

11.  Red lentil, spinach and brown basmati rice – Add smoked haddock, courgette, turmeric and boiled eggs to make it a kedgeree

12.  Cod with brown basmati rice and carrot – Blend the ingredients with garlic, ginger and spring onions, add an egg, then make the mixture into patties to make thai cod fritters

There you go.  12 recipe ideas for the all the family members from bambino to grandma!  The whole family can eat the same ingredients it’s as easy as that!If you would like baby food preparing and delivering for a trip away or on a regular weekly basis, please contact me for a quote.

For full recipes please email me, and sign up to my blog!

love, eat, nourish x