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Recipe Book
Weaning
Introducing a healthy, varied weaning diet will improve your little one’s eating habits for life. Have a read of the articles in this section to find out how to begin weaning, which foods you should include and avoid and try out some tasty weaning recipes.
Professor Mike Gibney recognises the importance of the First 1000 Days
The importance of brain development in the First 1,000 Days is reflected in the extent to which the brain uses the energy consumed by infants.
Baby – Chickpea and Coriander Stew
“Full of interesting flavours.”
Michelle Skelly, Clinical Dietician, Laois
Tip! Chickpeas are so handy and are a great source of iron for your baby. It’s always good to have a few tins of chickpeas in the cupboard. Don’t be afraid to add in vegetables of your choice to this recipe.
Baby – Easy Peasy Homemade Hummus
“Hummus is perfect to use as a dip for small pieces of fresh fruit and vegetables, or as a spread instead of butter. Infants love the savoury fresh taste and it’s a great way to encourage them to self-feed which develops their hand and eye co-ordination and feeding autonomy.”
Ruth Charles, Paediatric Dietician, Westmeath
Serves 12, suitable from 6 months on;
Tip! Why not set aside some of this mixture for the adults in the family and spice things up by blending in some chopped red chilli if you dare!
Baby – Lamb and Sweet Potato Purée
3 little ingredients for little ones to tuck into.
Makes 6 -10 portions:
Change things up a little by adding different vegetables to this recipe e.g. carrots, peas,broccoli or spinach.
Baby – Kiwi-Cado
“A quick and simple, nutritious and delicious snack for the little ones”
Jessica Schram, Paediatric Dietician, Dublin
Serves 6
Tip!
An avocado is ripe when its skin turns from green to a dark brown/green color.
A ripe avocado should “give” slightly when it is gently squeezed.
Never refrigerate unripened (hard) avocados because they will not ripen in cold temperatures.
Unripened avocados are best stored in a cool dark place until they have ripened.
To speed up the ripening process you can put the avocado in a brown paper bag and it should ripen in 3-6 days.
If you add a tomato, apple or banana to a paper bag in which you have placed an avocado this will speed up the ripening process and will usually only take one to three days to ripen.
Weaning
In the first 1000 days, introducing a varied, healthy diet will improve eating habits for life.
Baby – Chicken & Vegetable Soup with Barley
“One of the very first soups I cooked with my mother Vera. This is full of goodness and nutrition and, as they say in Cavan, there is eating and drinking in it! I make it for the twins but I replace the barley with Orzo which is a rice shaped pasta and they love it.”
Neven Maguire, Chef and Father
Tip! Once your baby is taking soft finger foods you can cut up small soldiers of brown bread for them to eat with their soup.
Foods to include and avoid
Foods to include, and foods to avoid and limit in the weaning diet.
Freezing and Storing Weaning Foods
Remember in the First 1000 days, it’s important to introduce a variety of healthy foods to your baby’s weaning diet as this will improve their eating habits later in life.
Baby – Pear and Avocado Puree
“Avocados are often over looked by parents when it comes to preparing baby foods but they are a fast, heart healthy easy to prepare food”
Deborah Griffin, Senior Paediatric and Neonatal Dietician, Waterford.
Serves 8:
Avocado are a brilliant first food for your baby due to it’s
nutritional value and also it’s creamy texture. You can make
variations of this recipe by using other fruits to blend with
the avocado such as bananas, peaches, or mango.
