Baby Weaning Recipes Steps 4 - 5

Carrots and Peas (from 8 - 9 months)

Ingredients

Method

De-hull the peas, wash and grate the carrots, cook in boiling unsalted water (remember to reduce heat after boiling and let the veggies gently simmer) until soft. Mash with a fork. Boil the pasta until tender (if necessary a bit softer), drain and mix everything together. Serve with finely chopped parsley and/or chives.
 
Tip: Of course fresh peas are not available all year round. Frozen peas are a perfect out of season alternative.

Quinoa* and Broccoli (from 12 months)

(when already taking part in family meals. Also good as a family meal).

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1 cups water or vegetable stock from the cooked vegetables
  • 1/4 cup red lentils
  • Broccoli, cauliflower or any other vegetable your baby likes
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh herbs
  • Butter (optional)
  • Grated cheese (optional)

Cook the vegetables until soft, drain (but keep the stock), keep warm on one side. Use the stock to cook the quinoa together with the red lentils until soft and the water is completely absorbed. Add a bit of water if needed. Stir occasionally.
 
Once cooled, add the butter and herbs. Serve with the vegetables and cheese.
 
Note: *Quinoa (Keen' wa.) is an annual herb from the Andes Mountains of South America, where it has been cultivated, for 3000 years and was a staple of the Inca Empire. The Inca's considered it a "gift from the gods", in that it helped to sustain and nourish their peoples through the generations. It is a high protein, gluten free grain and a good source of fibre, complex carbohydrates and vitamins. Quinoa provides people, especially those with gluten intolerance, a nutritional, economical, easy to prepare and flavoursome food source. Quinoa can be eaten as a hot breakfast cereal; an infant cereal; a rice replacement; a nutritional thickener for soups, chillis and stews; in salads, casseroles and desserts; and more.


 

Basic Bulgur Recipe

Bulgur is very easy to prepare, can be used to make sweet or savoury meals and the basic recipe for all ErdmannHAUSER varieties is as follows:
Place 40g of bulgur per person in boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. Leave to swell for about 15-20 minutes.

 

Spelt Bulgur Burgers (from about 24 months)

Delicious and healthy burgers which can be enjoyed by all the family. They make great picnic food too, weather permitting!

Ingredients

  • 250 g ErdmannHAUSER spelt bulgur
  • 350 ml water or low-salt vegetable salt
  • 1 - 2 onions, chopped
  • 1 - 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 small organic eggs
  • 100 g Gruyere cheese, finely grated
  • marjoram, a pinch
  • handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • a little oil

Method

Prepare the bulgur according to the basic recipe above and put aside to cool. Add all the other ingredients to the spelt bulgur, mix well and season to taste. Wet your hands and form the mixture into medium-sized burger shapes. Fry them on both sides over a medium heat. If you don’t want to fry them, they can be cooked in the oven or placed under a grill. Serve with a salad of your choice. For a fresh summer idea, try them with a serving of mint yogurt. Delicious!

Lebkuchen with Dates and Nuts (from about 24 months)

Ingredients

  • 200g pitted, unsulphured dates
  • 100g currants
  • Juice of one organic orange
  • 400g ground hazelnuts (best fresh ground in a coffee grinder)
  • 150g spelt flour or a flour of your choice
  • 1 teaspoon Cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • Zest of one organic lemon
  • 8 egg whites (use the yokes for scrambled eggs with your next meal)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 200g Demerera caster sugar
  • Butter for greasing the baking tin
  • Organic cooking chocolate for icing

Method

Cut the dates into small cubes, add currants and soak them in the orange juice while you prepare the other ingredients.
Grind the hazelnuts in a food processor and mix with flour, cream of tartar, vanilla and lemon zest.
Beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt in a separate bowl until firm, then gradually add sugar.
Add the dates and currants with the remaining juice to the nut and flour mixture and fold in the egg whites.
Grease the baking tin with butter and spread dough evenly. Mark squares with a knife and bake in a preheated oven on the middle shelf at 170℃ for about 35 minutes.
After baking cut pre-marked pieces and turn out onto a rack to cool. Use cooking chocolate for icing. Also nice with lemon icing (100g icing sugar, a quick one: ground demerera sugar in a coffee grinder, add gradually 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice).
Store in tin or airtight container in a cool place.

Cookies with Currants (from about 24 months)

Makes approximately 40 cookies

Ingredients

  • 200g currants
  • Cloudy apple juice to cover the currants
  • 250g organic plain flour
  • 100g rice flour (if not in your cupboard, just grind some rice fresh in a coffee grinder)
  • 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
  • 200g cold butter (unsalted)
  • 100g Demerara sugar
  • 2 small eggs
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 pinch of all spice
  • Have at hand some more flour and cocoa/carob powder

Method

Wash the currants in hot water, drain well, mix with apple juice and leave covered in the fridge.
Mix both flour with the cream of tartar in a bowl.
Cut butter into small pieces and mix with sugar, eggs, salt, all spice.
Mix everything together and add the currants with the remaining liquid.
If the liquid is not fully absorbed by the mixture add some more flour and cocoa or carob powder to the dough. The dough should be soft but not runny.
Cover a baking tray with baking paper. Place one tablespoon of dough onto the tray, leave enough space between the plops as they will expend. Bake at 170℃ for about 13 min. While baking prepare the next tray until all dough is used.
Leave to cool on the rack. If you prefer icing please feel free to do so. Otherwise they are delicious as they are. We rather prefer them freshly eaten. With older children in the house it is difficult to hide them anyway!

 

Over to You!

If you would like to share your baby’s favourite first weaning recipes with other parents, please contact us.