As parents, one of the child milestones we most eagerly anticipate is the start of eating solid foods. Being able to watch our little ones experience tastes and textures for the first time and witness their corresponding reactions can bring smiles, laughter and on occasion tears, from both sides! It’s certainly an exciting time. But whatever weaning method you choose; it can be hard work too.
If you choose to follow parent led weaning, you will usually follow a series of food stages commencing with purees. This is a well-established method that has long been advocated by the likes of Annabel Karmel, though pureeing food can mean that you may find you have some extra clearing up and preparation to do at meal times. In contrast, those following baby led weaning are more likely to be preparing one meal for all the family to enjoy. Both methods are based on adding complementary foods alongside the baby’s normal milk, which is the main source of nutrition up to one year.
Baby led weaning is becoming more popular and can mean fewer foods to prepare, but for busy mums who have a tendency to grab their own food when they can, it often leads to a review of what they are eating themselves. You may find sharing your foods with baby kick starts you into healthier eating or leads you to re-examine your current breakfast routine. With this in mind, this post covers three key tips for preparing better breakfasts for mum and baby.
Don’t be harsh on yourself
Like every aspect of childcare, it can be easy to worry and be self-critical when it comes to weaning. It’s only natural to want to give your baby the best start but if you do find you need to use some pre-prepared baby food or that sometimes you and your little one have toast for breakfast, don’t beat yourself up. Just be mindful of choosing foods that don’t have high levels of salt or sugar. This does means limiting the amount of bread they eat per day as it can have a high salt content. If you usually steer clear of white bread you’ll be interested to know it’s often recommended to use this for little ones, this is because brown bread can be harder for them to process due to the higher fiber content.
Menu plan and prep ahead
Many mums swear by meal planning to keep meals and the shopping budget on track during weaning. You don’t have to search far online to find meal planning blog links that provide lots of ideas for nutritious and easy prep meals including breakfast. The key to meal planning is to consider which ingredients can be used across several meals in the week. By writing down what you plan to eat when, you’ll also be able to figure out where you can eat or freeze leftovers for future use or prep meals ahead. Great prep-ahead breakfasts both baby and mum can enjoy include porridge bars and mini muffins. You could also serve up a natural yogurt with a small fruit salad of soft, ripe fruits or mashed or pureed fruits if you prefer.
Create family favorites
If you’re in the habit of eating the same breakfast cereal, toast and spread or even grabbing a banana on the go, you could take weaning as a window of opportunity to discover new foods that you can all enjoy together. You may well be surprised to find that many recipes can be easily adapted for little hands. These pancakes recipes are a prime example. Choose vegetable based recipes and omit any sugar or make three ingredient banana pancakes in small drop scone size and you have ideal finger foods.
If you don’t have one already, adding a breakfast hash to your repertoire can help you pack in lots of vitamins and nutrients before the day gets started. Choose something like butternut squash or sweet potato chunks as a base, along with spinach for iron and perhaps a little cheese too. Hash is the type of meal you can really make your own based on your family’s favorite things, so you may find it out lives weaning and becomes a go-to recipe for years to come.
Whatever route you go down with weaning, you should speak to your health visitor before you get started and may find that they arrange to visit you at home to discuss the process.
