Baby Recipes

At Nectarina we know how important it is to feed your baby boys and girls well from an early age to ensure they are healthy children. We believe that, once babies are on are on solids, they should be encouraged to try a variety of healthy food so they get used to different flavours and textures. I have a baby girl and I know how difficult it is to think of appealing and nutritious meals every day. I weaned her when she was 6 months old (which is the recommended age for babies to start on solids) and after a few weeks of making simple vegetable purees, I started experimenting with more ingredients, and gradually introducing chicken, meat and fish (I waited until she was 9 months old, but check with your health visitor, as every baby is different). I have put together a few recipes that went down a treat with my daughter. All of them include a variety of vegetables and a source of protein. I hope your baby enjoys them as much as mine did! (She has now moved on to finger foods, and I wish she was still eating my purees , at least I knew for sure what she was eating at every meal!)

All these recipes will give you about 2-3 portions, which can be frozen.

Mediterranean Lamb with dried fruit

This recipe was one of my baby daughter’s favourites. The sweetness of the dried fruit and sweet potato combines very well with the meat and aubergine, which makes it especially tasty. Chickpeas are a very good source of protein and fibre. Finally, a little touch of spice makes it more adventurous and will get your baby used to different flavours.

Ingredients

A few chunks of lean lamb meat

One small, firm aubergine cut in chunks

One sweet potato cut in chunks

A quarter of an onion, chopped

Half a can of chopped tomatoes

Half a can of chickpeas

5-6 dried peaches

5-6 dried prunes

A pinch of freshly grated ginger

A pinch of ground cumin

Half a stick of cinnamon

A teaspoon of olive oil

Heat the olive oil and fry the onion until soft. Add the lamb and spices and stir until it turns brown, then add the aubergine and sweet potato, stir for a bit longer, and add the tomatoes, cinnamon stick and enough boiling water to cover everything. Leave to simmer for half an hour. Add the chickpeas, dried prunes and peaches, mix everything well, add more water if needed and leave to simmer for another 20 min or until all the ingredients are well cooked. Take out the cinnamon stick and puree the rest of the ingredients with some of the cooking water to the required consistency discarding some of the cooking water. For older babies, make it softer and more watery. For older babies and toddler, make it a bit chunkier, so they can practice chewing!

Sweet chicken puree

I found that my daughter didn’t really like chicken that much. I suppose she just found it a bit bland. And then I came up with the following recipe and she just loved it! The apple and apple juice add natural sweetness which made it more appealing.

Ingredients

A chicken breast cut in small cubes

A small stalk of celery, chopped

2-3 spring onions, chopped

A few strips of green pepper

A potato chopped into small chunks

A cooking apple peeled and chopped into small cubes

4 tablespoons of apple juice

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Heat the olive oil and fry the spring onions, celery and green pepper for a minute or so. Add the chicken and mix well. When the chicken is white all over, add the potato and keep stirring. Finally add the apple and the apple juice. Stir and cover with boiling water. Let it simmer until the chicken is cooked and the vegetables are soft (approximately 20 – 25 min). Puree to the required consistency discarding some of the cooking water.

Tarragon fish

Fish is so good for babies, but they normally tend to dislike its strong flavour. In this recipe I have added some sweet potatoes and fresh tarragon, which go surprisingly well together.

Ingredients

A fillet of white fish (haddock or cod) – make sure there are no bones!

A large sweet potato chopped into cubes

A courgette, sliced

A tomato, skinned and chopped

3-4 spring onions, chopped

A few tarragon leaves

Olive oil

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and fry the spring onions slightly. Add the potato and courgette and stir throughout. After a few minutes add the tomato and keep stirring. When the vegetables are a bit soft, put the fish on top and cover everything with boiling water.  Leave to simmer for 10-15 min or until everything is cooked well. Discard some of the cooking water and puree all the ingredients to the required consistency, together with the fresh tarragon and a few drops of olive oil.

(Note – the courgette is quite watery, so make sure you discard most of the cooking water. You can always add a bit more later if the puree is too dry).

Spanish lentils

Lentils are very popular in Spain and they are eaten regularly as a family meal. They are a good source of iron and babies usually love their nutty flavour. This is the traditional Spanish recipe which I have been eating myself since I remember!

Ingredients

A good handful of dried green lentils

A potato chopped into cubes

A small stalk of celery chopped

A quarter of an onion chopped

4-6 green beans chopped

A tomato skinned and chopped

A few strips of green or red pepper

A sweet potato chopped into cubes

A pinch of ground cumin

A bay leaf

Olive oil

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan and stir fry the onion and celery for a minute or two. Add the tomato, the pepper and green beans stirring through. Add both the potato and sweet potato, mix well and add the lentils, bay leaf and cumin. Cover everything with boiling water and leave to simmer for approximately half an hour, or until the lentils are soft. Puree to the desired consistency discarding some of the cooking water.

WARNING: Ensure you always take care when preparing food for babies, children and toddlers. Meat should always be cooked properly. Ensure you baby, child or toddler does not have any allergies to any of the ingredients in any of the recipes above. These recipes are suggestions and Nectarina accepts no responsibility for any harm caused during or in course of their use.