Discovering Food Through Baby Led Feeding

Aileen Cox Blundell has launched her amazing new book Baby Led Feeding. Aileen has created over 150 delicious recipes specifically designed for babies. Her method allows babies to discover nutritious and healthy foods for themselves. Not only will your babies love them the whole family will love them too.

All of Aileen’s nutritious recipes are free from refined sugar and salt, and aimed at starting your child on a life-long food adventure. Every recipe has been developed with health and nutrition in mind and will appeal to the whole family, making mealtimes a pleasure rather than a chore.

Baby-led feeding works from the same principles as baby-led weaning. It begins when your little one is around the six-month mark and has started to show signs of being able to pick up food. But with baby-led feeding, your baby eats what you eat. There is no mashing concoctions of foods you probably wouldn’t eat yourself: you simply cook healthy, delicious food for your family and then let your baby get to work on it on their own. Find out more about what baby led feeding entails here or check out her website here.

Wave goodbye to weekends lost to pureeing and freezing food for your baby!

Here are some of our favourite recipes from Baby Led Feeding:

Blueberry & Coconut Oat Bars

Ingredients:

• 180g oats
• 140g buckwheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 40g desiccated coconut
• 120g coconut oil
• 2 bananas mashed
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 280g blueberries
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC
2. Add the oats, flour, baking powder and 3/4’s of the desiccated coconut to a bowl. Give it a good stir that make a well in the middle and add in the coconut oil, bananas, maple syrup, egg and vanilla. Stir well until it is fully combined and has formed into a dough.
3. Line a tin with parchment paper then pour in 3/4’s of the mixture, then press it down with a spoon.
4. Make the blueberry compote by adding the blueberries and water to a saucepan. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down to low and using a wooden spoon or masher, mash until they have broken apart, then add the chia seeds and give it a good stir.
5. Pour the blueberry compote over the oat mixture, then dollop over the remaining mixture in small clumps until it is gone.
6. Sprinkle over the remaining desiccated coconut then bake for 15 minutes.
7. Cool fully before removing from the oven then slice into small baby bites and serve.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC
2. Chop your sweet potato in large chunks, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast for about 30-40minutes or until soft, then purée and set aside for later.
3. Add your flour and baking powder to a large bowl.
4. In a separate jug mix together the flaxseed and warm water and leave for about 5 minutes.
5. To the jug add your milk (I used almond milk) and rapeseed oil and whisk together.
6. Make a well in the middle of your flour mixture and slowly whisk in your liquid slowly until fully combined.
7. Fold in your sweet potato purée, cocoa and maple syrup.
8. Spoon your mixture into a lightly oiled mini muffin tin and bake for about 20-25 minutes. You know they are done if you stick a fork into one the prongs come out clean.

Healthy Snicker Bars

For this yummy recipe you will have to buy her book! Available in all good book stores or Amazon.