Most babies become familiar with the taste of simple fruit and vegetable purées within a few weeks of starting weaning and then it’s time to move on to:
Puréed meat or chicken
Purées of rice, very soft cooked pasta
Full-fat dairy products such as fromage frais, yoghurt, and small amounts of cheese in meals
Your growing baby will also welcome meals that are more textured and chewy than the smooth purées you prepared at the start of weaning so use your Braun Multiquick hand blender to purée food on slower speeds and for shorter times to provide a thicker, chewier texture. Chewing food helps the muscles of the mouth to develop and this in turn can help your baby’s speech development.
Although breast or formula milk remains an important part of a small baby’s diet, by this stage the quantity of solids will be increasing and three meals a day will be taken. By now most babies like well cooked, soft pasta pieces. Puréed sauces are also particular favourites and go well with so many other vegetables.
By around 8 months, babies are happy holding food and love ‘finger foods’ like sticks of soft fruits and cooked vegetables. Roasted vegetable sticks are especially tasty. Remember children must be supervised at all times when eating in case of choking.
Does it have to be organic?
Some mums prefer to offer only organic meals, others mix and match. It all depends on what you want to eat and what you can afford. Whatever you choose, it is important to make sure you wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly and observe good standards of hygiene in
Spinach potato purée
Makes approx. 400 g / 4-8 portions Cooking time: approx. 20 mins
Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
40 g leek 1 potato, peeled
175 ml water
60 g fresh baby spinach, washed and stalks removed
Preparation
Cut the leek into chunks and chop it in the chopper accessory.
Stew the leek in vegetable oil until soft.
Cut the potato into pieces, and then add to softened leek.
Pour on water, then bring to boil, cover and simmer for 6 mins.
Add spinach and cook for 3 mins.
Allow the mixture to cool and place in the beaker, then purée using the MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender.
Beef potato carrot purée
Makes approx. 400 g / 8-10 portions Cooking time: 60 mins
Ingredients
200 g beef steak, cubed
2 tsp olive oil
1 carrot peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
250 ml water
Preparation
Place the beef in a pot with a small amount of water and cook for 30 mins until almost tender.
Place the oil in the pot and add the carrots, potatoes and water, stir and bring to the boil. Then, reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently until the beef and vegetables are tender.
Purée in the pot using your MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender until you achieve the required texture for your baby.
