by Joe Wicks
Keeps for up to 2 days covered in the fridge.
COURGETTE, SARDINE AND BARLEY MINESTRONE SOUP
I won’t go near sardines. No chance. BUT this doesn’t mean Indie has to avoid them too. It’s so important to not let our own food preferences limit what we give our babies.
MAKES 2 ADULT AND 2 BABY PORTIONS | FAMILY MEAL
F
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium courgette, cut into cubes
1 × 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
200ml homemade vegetable stock (see here) or water
200g tinned cooked barley
1 tin sardines in oil or water
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan then add the onion and rosemary and cook for 2–3 minutes over a medium heat until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and courgette and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, stock or water and barley and continue cooking for around 10 minutes to develop the flavours and soften the courgette. Flake in the sardines and serve.
Keeps for 2–3 days in the fridge.
TIP
Serve with bread and cheese. Add a sprinkling of chopped fresh basil or parsley and a squeeze of lemon for extra flavour.
VERY GREEN CURRY
Life is so much easier when one meal can be shared by the whole family. This is a great one for batch cooking and enjoying together.
MAKES 2 ADULT AND 1 BABY PORTIONS | FAMILY MEAL
F CURRY ONLY GF
3 kaffir lime leaves
2 large handfuls of spinach
25g bunch of coriander, including stems
4 spring onions, roughly chopped
4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
2 cloves garlic
1 × 400ml tin of coconut milk
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 chicken breasts, sliced into thin pieces
1 large courgette, cut into bite-sized chunks
6 baby sweetcorn, cut into small rounds
200g frozen peas
cooked jasmine rice, to serve
Strip out the stems from the lime leaves and discard. Add the leaves to a blender along with the spinach, coriander leaves and stems, spring onions, ginger, garlic and coconut milk. Blend until smooth.
Melt the coconut oil in a large frying pan set over a medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and fry for 3 minutes until cooked through. Check by slicing into one of the larger pieces to make sure the meat is white all the way through, with no raw pink bits left. Add the courgette and corn and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Pour the green sauce into the frying pan along with the peas and heat through for about 5 minutes or until the peas are defrosted and the vegetables have softened a little. Serve with jasmine rice.
Keeps for 2 days covered in the fridge.
IMAGE OF RECIPE OVER THE PAGE
TURKEY AND RED LENTIL NUGGETS
These delicious homemade nuggets will go down a storm. They make a great finger food with plenty of protein- and iron-rich lentils.
MAKES ABOUT 20 NUGGETS | LONGER RECIPE
F
90g red lentils, rinsed
2 large eggs
500g turkey thigh mince
140g breadcrumbs
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage or 1 tbsp dried sage
½ tsp garlic granules
1 tsp onion granules olive oil, for greasing
3 tbsp plain flour
Cover the lentils with hot water and cook over a moderate heat for 8–10 minutes or until cooked through. Drain and chill in the fridge until cold.
Whisk one egg, transfer to a shallow plate and set aside. Whisk the other egg in a mixing bowl. Add the turkey mince, half the breadcrumbs, the lentils, sage and the garlic and onion granules to the bowl and mix everything together with your hands.
Shape into twenty nuggets and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180˚C (fan 160˚C/gas mark 4).
Line a baking tray with foil and lightly oil the tray.
Place the flour and remaining breadcrumbs on two separate shallow plates. Dust each nugget with a little flour, dip in the egg wash and roll in the breadcrumbs. (You can also freeze them at this point, spread out in single layers – defrost completely before cooking in the oven.) Place on your prepared baking tray and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden and crisp on the outside and fully cooked through.
Keeps for up to 2 days covered in the fridge.
RAINBOW QUINOA SALAD
Weaning should be fun and full of colour and this healthy, bright and tasty dish is exactly that.
MAKES 1 ADULT AND 1 BABY PORTION | FAMILY MEAL
V
1 × 250g pouch cooked quinoa
20g pumpkin seeds, finely chopped
1 vacuum-packed cooked beetroot, grated
50g tinned sweetcorn
50g cooked edamame, roughly chopped
1 small carrot, grated
small bunch of coriander or parsley, finely chopped
100g raspberries, any large ones cut in half
For the dressing
4 tsp lime juice
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
Warm the quinoa as per packet instructions. Place the pumpkin seeds in a small frying pan over a medium heat to toast for a couple of minutes until they begin to pop in the pan. Skip this step if you don’t have time.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients until combined. Place all the salad ingredients together in a bowl and drizzle over the dressing. Toss everything together gently to combine.
Keeps for up to 2 days covered in the fridge.
KEDGEREE WITH CHOPPED EGG AND GREEN BEANS
There is so much flavour and goodness in this recipe thanks to the oily fish. Never be afraid to try something new.
MAKES 2 PORTIONS
GF
1 egg
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp mild curry powder
3 spring onions, finely chopped
100g quick-cook basmati rice
250ml hot water or homemade vegetable stock (see here)
50g green beans, cut into small pieces or left whole as a finger food
1 × 80g tin of mackerel fillets, in water or oil
juice of ½ lemon
1 tbsp chopped parsley – optional
Set two saucepans on the hob. Fill one with boiling hot water and use it to boil the egg for 10 minutes until hard-boiled.
Melt the butter in the other pan over a medium heat. Add the curry powder, spring onions and rice, stirring for 2 minutes to coat the rice in the melted butter and toast the grains. Pour in the hot water or homemade stock, stir once to release any of the rice from the bottom of the pan and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Lower the heat and cook for 10–12 minutes, adding in the green beans halfway through the cooking time.
Peel the boiled egg and roughly chop. Flake the mackerel fillets. Stir the lemon juice and parsley, if using, through the rice and spoon onto plates. Top with the mackerel and chopped egg to serve.
Keeps for up to 2 days covered in the fridge.
RATATOUILLE WITH KIDNEY BEANS, PEPPER, COURGETTE, AUBERGINE AND TOMATO
This is one of Indie’s all-time favourite recipes – which is great because it is so packed with veg. If your baby refuses it the first time around, let them build up an appetite and simply try again.
MAKES 2 ADULT AND 1 BABY PORTIONS | FAMILY MEAL | LONGER RECIPE
VE F GF
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small aubergine, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small courgette, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
300g good-quality passata
1 tbsp oregano
1 jarred red pepper, drained and cut into 1cm slices
1 × 400g
tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the aubergine, red onion, garlic and courgette and sauté over a low heat until soft; this should take about 10–15 minutes. Stir through the passata, oregano, chopped roasted pepper and kidney beans and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes.
Keeps for up to 2 days covered in the fridge.
TIP
Serve with couscous, rice or a baked potato and a sprinkle of cheese. You can also use it to make my ratatouille parcel recipe
(see overleaf).
RATATOUILLE PARCELS WITH MOZZARELLA
This is a brilliant way to use up leftover Ratatouille (see previous page). They are an easy-to-grab feast for your baby.
MAKES 4 PARCELS
V F
2 flour tortilla wraps
½ quantity ratatouille (see previous recipe)
70g mozzarella, cut into 1cm cubes
2 tsp flour mixed with 2 tsp water to make a paste
oil, for brushing
Preheat the oven to 180˚C (fan 160˚C/gas mark 4). Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Cut the wraps in half and roll into a cone shape. Spoon in a tablespoon of ratatouille followed by a cube of mozzarella. Repeat with another spoonful of ratatouille and another cube of mozzarella.
Seal any seams shut using the flour paste and your fingers, pinching the curved outer seam together gently. Place on the prepared baking tray. (If freezing, freeze the parcels at this stage, ahead of baking.)
Brush the parcels with a little oil and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Leave to cool a little before serving.
Keeps for up to 2 days covered in the fridge.
MEXICAN CORN AND BLACK BEAN RICE WITH SMASHED AVOCADO
Keep being adventurous with added spices and textures if you want to grow your very own little foodie.
MAKES 1 ADULT AND 1 BABY PORTION | FAMILY MEAL
V GF
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 × 250g pouch of cooked brown or white rice
1 ripe beef tomato, diced
juice of 1 lime, plus slices of lime to serve – optional
200g tinned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 × 80g tin of sweetcorn
small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
1 small avocado, plus extra slices to serve – optional
grated cheddar and a dollop of yoghurt to serve MEALS | 10–12 MONTHS +
Heat the olive oil in a medium non-stick frying pan.
Add the onion, garlic, cumin and smoked paprika and sauté over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until soft.
Microwave the rice as per packet instructions and add to the frying pan along with the remaining ingredients except the avocado and cheese.
Peel the avocado and remove the flesh. Mash with a fork in a small bowl.
Serve the rice with the smashed avocado, a sprinkling of cheese and a dollop of yoghurt. Add another few slices of avocado if you like.
Keeps for up to 2 days covered in the fridge.
IMAGES OF RECIPE OVER THE PAGE
EATING LIKE A BOSS
At 12 months mealtimes were really fun. Indie became more adventurous and started trying to feed herself more often. She enjoyed a really wide variety of foods. It’s great to think about what we want to eat and adapt a meal for Indie off the back of that.
At this age it’s fine to give most foods. It’s important to still be mindful that sugar and salt aren’t ideal in children’s diets and we should still try to keep them to a minimum.
You also may still need to be careful with certain foods such as whole nuts, whole grapes too – these are still a choking hazard for young children.
By this stage, hopefully your baby will be eating a really wide variety of foods similar to that of adults and in similar textures but just smaller portions. If your little one is still having breast milk you can carry on offering this as long as you and baby want to continue.
At 12 months, if you’re formula feeding you can switch to full-fat cow’s milk as your baby’s main drink from now on. Offering this in an open cup is best for your baby’s teeth, and around 400ml of milk is recommended. Once your baby gets to 12 months of age, you might also want to start offering nutrient-rich snacks in between meals. It’s important to try and choose snacks that are balanced, and much smaller than an actual meal so that your baby doesn’t fill up on these and refuse the food you offer at mealtimes. Thinking of snacks as ‘mini meals’ and having a structure around them, rather than letting children graze, is important.
Focus on including foods from each of the four main food groups at most meals and as some snacks. These include:
• vegetables and fruits
• carbohydrates such as potatoes, oats, grains, rice, pasta and other starchy foods
• proteins such as beans, lentils, pulses, fish, eggs and meat
• dairy such as cow’s milk, cheese, yoghurt (or alternatives)
CHARLOTTE’S RAINBOW BIRTHDAY PANCAKE STACK
Nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed created this recipe for her son Raffy’s birthday, as parents often ask her for no-added-sugar cake ideas. Raffy had a lot of fun tearing it apart with his hands!
MAKES 1
V
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
200ml whole milk
1 clementine
150g raspberries
knob of butter
150g Greek yoghurt
4 strawberries, sliced
handful of blueberries
½ small mango, sliced
½ kiwi, sliced
Special equipment
1 bamboo skewer
Add the flour and baking powder to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre of the flour, crack in the egg and add half the milk. Whisk together, incorporating the flour. Using a zester remove the zest from the clementine and add to the bowl. Add the remaining milk and whisk to a smooth batter. Rest the batter for 5 minutes.
Blitz the raspberries in a mini blender until smooth, then pass them through a sieve to remove the seeds, and set the sauce aside for later.
Grease a non-stick frying pan with the butter and set over a moderate heat. Use the batter to make five pancakes around 10–12cm in diameter, cooking them in batches and flipping to cook the reverse side when bubbles appear on the surface.
To assemble the stack, top four of the pancakes with the Greek yoghurt and then top with the strawberries, blueberries, mango and kiwi, setting aside a few choice pieces to decorate the top. Stack all the pancakes neatly on top of each other, inserting a bamboo skewer through the middle to keep the whole thing together.
Thread the remaining fruit onto the skewer to create a rainbow effect. Drizzle the stack with the raspberry sauce to serve. Don’t forget to remove the sharp skewer when little hands get close!
TERIYAKI SALMON RICE BOWL STEAMED WITH MANGE TOUT
It’s surprising just how short the early weaning stages are. Before you know it you will all be enjoying grown-up meals like this.
MAKES 2 ADULT AND 2 CHILD PORTIONS | FAMILY MEAL
280g sushi rice
2 × 140g skinless salmon fillets, plus 2 × 40g child portions
150g mange tout
1 tbsp water
100g cucumber, cut into ribbons with a peeler
For the teriyaki sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
20ml reduced-sodium soy sauce
30ml water
juice of ½ lime
½ tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tsp water
Preheat the oven to 200˚C (fan 180˚C/gas mark 6). Line a baking tray with foil.
Wash the sushi rice under cold running water. Place the rice in a saucepan and cover wi
th 450ml cold water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and cook covered for 10–12 minutes until cooked through.
Whisk together the teriyaki sauce ingredients until combined. Place the salmon fillets on the prepared baking tray and tip over the teriyaki sauce. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes until cooked through. You can check this by slicing into the thick end of a fillet to make sure the flesh has turned matt pink in colour.
Place the mange tout in a bowl with the water, cover with a plate or cling film and microwave for 2–3 minutes until soft.
Serve the salmon with the sushi rice, mange tout and cucumber ribbons on the side.
WHITE FISH WITH TOMATO SAUCE PASTA BOWS AND GRATED CHEESE
Pasta is often a winner with kids. You can experiment with herbs and flavours and this one with fish is just delicious.
MAKES 1 ADULT AND 1 CHILD PORTION | FAMILY MEAL
70g pasta bows
1 tbsp olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely grated
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped
1 × 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
80g peas
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
140g skinless, boneless white fish (haddock, cod, pollock or coley)
100g cheddar, grated
Preheat the grill.
Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water for
10–12 minutes. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking heat the olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and thyme and sauté for 2–3 minutes until soft. Add the tinned tomatoes, peas and balsamic vinegar. Stir together and top with the fish. Cook for a further 8 minutes.
Add the drained pasta bows to the sauce around the fish, sprinkle everything with the cheese and place under a hot grill for 2 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
BARLEY AND COURGETTE RISOTTO
Risottos are one of the best textures for weaning and adding in your veg. This one uses barley for a change and is nice and creamy.
