I loved doing Baby Led Weaning with my kids. With my first born I tried doing purees too but frankly by the time I reached my second child being weaned I had neither the time to make loads of purees nor the cash to buy lots of ready made ones. Also, my favourite bit about baby led weaning? I got to eat at the same time as my kids and actually use both hands to eat! Don’t knock it, I’m sure most of us mums are fully used to luke warm dinners eaten with one hand by the time our child reaches six months old. At the beginning of this year I shared 40+ things my daughter could eat before she had teeth and more recently I shared 10 baby led weaning dinner ideas that my whole family loved. As they’ve both been so popular I put my head together with one of my friends and together we came up with 10 more baby lead dinner ideas that we loved as much as our kids did!
Baby with a spoon image via Shutterstock
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A Few Pointers
NHS Choices has a good list of foods to avoid giving your baby. Number one of these is salt as it’s not good for their kidneys. I never add salt to anything anymore, if you want to make stock and you live in the UK then Boots do some really good baby stock cubes.
Baby Led Weaning is messy. Really messy in fact. Some of the best things I’ve found to help are these bibs which are awesome
What You'll Find on This Page
Finger food ideas
If you’re doing baby led weaning then the chances are that you’re always on the lookout for easy finger food ideas – check out the video below for some of our favourite finger food snack ideas!
Baby Led Weaning Dinner Ideas
Chicken Casserole
Preferubly made in the slow cooker, I do a recipe similar to this but removing the gravy granules and stock and using baby stock instead. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out some meat and veg for your kids bowl if you don’t trust them with too much liquid!
Pork Ribs with Potato Wedges and Sweetcorn
Pork ribs are great for little hands to hold and gnaw away at the meat, homemade potato wedges are a great healthy alternative to chips (keep the skin on too) and sweetcorn can be served on the cob or not depending on how you and your little one like it.
Shepherds Pie
Kids can pick up handfulls of mince and soft mash and it’s a great way to get some extra veg into a meal
Fusilli with Pesto, Salmon and Sweetcorn
My kids found fusilli to be the easiest pasta to hold and you can add more pesto to your dinner than your childs.
Toad in the Hole
Toad in the hole is nice and easy for kids to pick up, we like serving this with lots of brocolli.
Baby eating dinner image via Shutterstock
Beef Stew
Again a great one for a slow cooker!
Chilli Con Carne
Chilli is the one meal that I can guarantee everyone in my household will love! With tomatoes, kidney beans, onions and peppers it’s also a great way to fill your kids with vegetables and my kids love the rice too. Grate some cheese and let your little ones sprinkle it on themselves.
Lamb Meatballs with Rice and Peas
I use this fabulous recipe from Recipe Junkie (minus the stock) and serve it with rice and peas instead of cous cous (purely becuase rice is easier to clean up). It’s delicious!
Frittata
This recipe is from The River Cottage Baby and Toddler Cookbook (which is fab by the way!) and it can be easily changed to add whatever you happen to have in the fridge.
Sausage Casserole
Pop sausages, a chopped onion, baked beans, a tin of tomatoes and any other vegetables you have such as sweetcorn, mushrooms and courgettes into a slowcooker or casserole dish and cook (180c for 1 hour in the oven). Serve with french bread or toast for your little one.
You may also like:
- Family Recipes for Baby Led Weaning
- 20 Delicious Baby Led Weaning Dinner Ideas
- 20 Finger Food Ideas for Baby Led Weaning
- 10 Baby Led Weaning Dinner Ideas Your Whole Family Will Love
- What is Baby Led Weaning and Is It Right For Your Family?
- 40+ Foods Your Child Can Eat Before They Have Teeth
- 9 Ways To Calm Teething For You and Your Child
Fab ideas Kate – glad to know not just me in love with their e-cloth mop