When baby starts with first solid food some parents may find themselves tempted to buy ready made jars. In all fairness, baby convenience food comes in ready-to-eat portions, with no added salt and minimal added sugar. The food is consistent in taste and texture and the nutritional value is reliably high. However, home-made food will always taste different and it comes with the added benefit of knowing where it comes from and exactly what it is made of. Getting baby used to family food and family meals is more likely to produce a more contented eater who likes to join in with at mealtimes.

To make you and your baby’s start on to solid food easier, we have collected some easy recipes.

Four to eight months

After you have introduced baby rice successfully, you can add a peeled and boiled carrot and mash a little into the baby rice. This way you introduce the new taste of carrot very gently.

Apply the same method with a baked or stewed apple, or other raw fruits such as banana or pear.

Once your baby gets used to a “vegetable only” or a “fruit only” diet you can introduce vegetable and fruit combinations such as:

- Butternut squash and sweet potato

- Carrot and potato

- Broccoli and potato

- Peas and sweet potato

- Lentils, carrot and potato

- Apple and carrot

- Apple and pear

- Peach and banana

- Apple and plum

This list surely shows that keeping it simple is the best start! The amount and varieties will change according to your baby’s appetite. After some time, you will be able to take a portion out of your family’s dinner for your baby (before adding salt or stock!) and blend it.

If you struggle to find time to prepare home-made food for your little one, you can prepare his meals in advance and freeze the portions.

Tip: If your baby is too hungry to wait for his dinner give him a piece of rice cake or a spoon to chew on – it will calm baby down and take away the stress of preparing the meals.