Breast milk is still the most important food for your baby until they are 1 year of age, however you can now introduce nutrient dense foods to your baby more often to provide them nourishment. Look here for simple recipes to wean your infant!
1. Apple Vegetable Soup - 5 months+
Ingredients:
• ½ apple , deseeded , peeled and diced
• 1 medium sized carrot , tomato, peeled and diced
• ¼ beetroot, peeled and diced
• 1 small potato , peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1 cm stick of cinnamon
• ¼ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp butter
Method:
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the cumin and cinnamon and cook for 2 mins.
2. Add water to saucepan and boil apple and vegetables until they become tender.
3. Remove the cinnamon stick and puree all together.
2. Mixed fruit smoothie - 6 months+
Ingredients:
• ½ cup fresh strawberries
• 1 no. banana
• 3-4 cherries (optional)
• 1 cup skim milk
• ½ cup yogurt
• 2 tsp honey / sugar
Method:
Deseed the cherries. Put all ingredients in a blender until you make it to a smooth consistency.
3. Ragi idli - 7 months+
Ingredients:
• Malted Ragi flour - 2 cups
• Black gram dal - 1 cup
• Salt - to taste
Method:
1. Soak black gram dal for 4 hours in water. Grind the dal nicely in a blender.
2. Mix the Black gram dal batter, Ragi flour and Salt with 2 to 2.5 cups of water. The consistency of the batter should be the consistency that you prepare for normal idli.
3. Leave the batter to ferment overnight in a warm place.
4. After fermentation, the batter will be raised.
5. Prepare idlis. You can also make small idlis to attract the kids.
4. Jaggery rice kheer recipe -7 months +
Ingredients:
• 1 cup Rice
• ¼ cup Moong dal
• ½ cup Jaggery
• 2 cups Milk
• 2-3 Fried cashews, coarsely powdered
• 1-2 No.s Raisins
• 2 No. Cardamum powdered
• 3 tbsp Ghee
Method:
1. Roast moong dal in a pan for 5-10 minutes.
2. Pressure cook rice, moong dal, milk and 3 cups of water till they are cooked.
3. Melt jaggery, by boiling it little water, and add the above cooked.
4. Add ghee and keep stirring until everything blends well.
5. Add the powdered cashews, cardamum powder and raisins to the above.