Baby-Led Weaning: Annabel Karmel’s Top Tips on Getting Started

While lots of parents start out with smooth purees for spoon feeding, baby-led weaning has never been more popular.

The idea behind this (fairly new) feeding technique is that you allow your baby to decide what foods they want to eat, when and how much. It’s all about allowing them to go at their own pace and explore a variety of foods, tastes and textures for themselves. The thinking behind this approach is that when a wide variety of foods are presented at an early age, it can help to combat fussiness later on as well as helping to build confidence and make mealtimes a social occasion.

However, with so much conflicting advice surrounding the topic, it’s natural to feel a little anxious and apprehensive when getting started. So, here are my top tips for parents looking to get started on their baby-lead weaning adventure!
     Read More: 10 Tips for Overcoming Picky Eating in Kids

Is your baby ready?

There are some key signs that indicate that your baby is ready to start feeding herself:

• They can sit in a highchair unassisted.
• They have developed sufficient hand-to-eye coordination to pick up food and put it in their mouth.
• They have lost the tongue-thrust reflex (automatically pushing solids out of their mouth with their tongue).
• They are able to chew even if they have few or no teeth.
• They are showing signs that they want to join in family mealtimes.

Start with soft finger foods

First foods should be a size that your baby can manage. Babies around six months tend to use their whole hand to pick things up so they need to be able to close their hand around the food. Fairly long pieces stand a better chance of being picked up (roughly 5–6cm is a good guide). Batons and sticks of steamed or roasted carrot, sweet potato and broccoli or pieces of pear, mango, banana and avocado are great first foods to try.
It’s also important to make yourself aware of the foods which your baby shouldn’t eat under the age of 12 months. You can find out more here.

Don’t forget milk

Babies should be given breast or formula milk for the entire first year. They’ll gradually consume less breast milk or formula in favour of solid foods. Although between six months and one year, your baby will still need 500-600ml of breastmilk or formula each day.

Eating together

Baby-led weaning is about making family mealtimes a social experience. While finger foods are important (particularly soft foods at the beginning), you might want to also try offering them a small portion of a meal you are eating as a family such as a mild curry, cottage pie or spaghetti Bolognese (just be sure to leave out the salt).

Let them take control

Baby-led weaning is all about your baby being in control so you need to ensure you allow them to go at their own pace. Although it might take a little bit of getting used to, it’s important not to rush your baby. They must learn to move foods safely around their mouth so make sure you let your baby pick up food themselves. Don’t be tempted to put food in their mouth. This way they will only pick up what they can manage. The important thing is not to overwhelm them with too many options at the start. It’s a success if they try even just a couple of pieces of food, or a small portion of a family meal!

Be flexible

No ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to weaning, it’s all about adopting the right approach for you and your baby. Offering a mix of pureed foods as well as soft fingers foods at the beginning is advocated by the likes of the Department of Health and the NHS and the British Nutrition Foundation. Both baby-led weaning and spoon-feeding allow your baby to explore a variety of different tastes, flavours and textures. The important thing is to ensure a variety of foods (particularly much loved family foods) and allow your baby to go at their own pace.

Click through the slideshow to check out some of Annabel Karmel’s favourite recipes…

Read More: 10 Tips for Overcoming Picky Eating in Kids

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Makes: 25 balls (about 5 portions)
Dairy-free, suitable for freezing

Ingredients
50 g/2 oz trimmed kale
100 g/4 oz fresh breadcrumbs
500 g/1 lb 1 oz skinless, boneless chicken thighs, chopped
100 g/4 oz carrots, peeled and grated
1½ teaspoons grated fresh root ginger
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon soy sauce (for babies over 12 months)
4 tablespoons plain flour
3 tablespoons rapeseed
Sunflower or light olive oil

Method

1. Cook the kale in a pan of boiling water for 4 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold running water. Squeeze out the water and finely chop the kale.
2. Place the chicken thighs in the bowl of a food processor with the breadcrumbs and blitz until roughly chopped (you don’t want it too fine).
3. Transfer to a bowl, add the chopped kale and the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Shape the mixture into 25 equal-sized balls.
4. Place the flour on a large plate and roll each ball in the flour. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the balls for 8–10 minutes (in 2–3 batches) until golden and cooked through

Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Makes: 4 child portions
Suitable for freezing

Ingredients
225 g/8 oz potatoes, peeled and diced
225 g/8 oz carrots, peeled and diced
20 g/¾ oz butter
2 small leeks, trimmed and roughly chopped
185 g/6 oz cooked chicken meat, cubed (or 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 cm/¾ in cubes)
3 mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons plain flour
200 ml/7 fl oz whole milk
50 g/2 oz grated Cheddar cheese
25 g/1 oz tinned drained sweetcorn
A little salt and pepper (for babies over 12 months old)

Method

1. Put the potatoes and carrots in a saucepan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10–12 minutes until soft. Drain, then mash until smooth.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the leeks and sauté for 5 minutes, until just soft, then add the chicken and fry for 2 minutes. Next, add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle over the plain flour, stir for 1 minute, then gradually stir in the milk and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. While it’s simmering, preheat the grill.
3. Add three-quarters of the grated cheese to the sauce, season with salt and pepper (if using) and add the sweetcorn. Divide the mixture between 4 ramekins.
4. Spoon the potato and carrot mash on top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
5. Place under the grill for 4–5 minutes, until lightly golden on top and bubbling

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25-30 minutes
Makes: 6 child portions
Suitable for freezing

Ingredients
200 g/7 oz skinless, boneless salmon fillet
A knob of butter
150 g/5 oz mini shell pasta
150 g/5 oz broccoli florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
200 g/7 oz peeled butternut squash, deseeded and diced
250 ml/9 fl oz unsalted or weak vegetable stock
200 g/7 oz full-fat crème fraîche
150 g/5 oz cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
50 g/2 oz grated Parmesan cheese
A squeeze of lemon juice
A little salt and pepper (for babies over 12 months old)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
2. Put the salmon in the centre of a piece of foil, top with the butter and season with salt and pepper (optional!). Fold the foil over the fish to make parcel, place it on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven, unwrap and flake the fish into large pieces.
3. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, adding the broccoli florets 2 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
4. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, add the onion, garlic and squash and fry for 5 minutes, then add the stock, cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until the squash is tender. Remove the lid and stir in the crème fraiche and salmon. Stir in the pasta and broccoli until heated through, then remove from the heat. Add the tomatoes, Parmesan and lemon juice and serve.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Makes: 20 small fritters

Ingredients

198g / 7oz tin sweetcorn, drained
100g / 4oz wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
4 spring onions, roughly chopped
Handful of basil, chopped
10 cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
100g /4oz grated halloumi cheese
Sunflower oil for frying

Method

1. Blend 100 g/4 oz of the sweetcorn in the bowl of a food processor, or in a mixing bowl with a stick blender, until finely chopped.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and eggs in a bowl. Whisk in the sweet chilli sauce and finely chopped sweetcorn. Add the remaining ingredients including the remaining whole, unblended sweetcorn kernels. Season to taste.
3. Heat a little oil in a frying pan. When hot, fry heaped tablespoonfuls of the fritter mixture for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to kitchen paper.

Prep time: 20 minutes (excluding chill time)
Cook time: 5 minutes
Makes: 30 balls
Dairy-free

Ingredients
200g / 7oz pitted dates
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
40g / 1½oz desiccated coconut
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
125g / 4½oz porridge oats
40g / 1½oz raisins
20g /¾oz pecans, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon chia seeds
20g /¾oz Rice Krispies
A pinch of salt (for babies over 12 months old)

Method

1. Put the dates in a saucepan with 100 ml/4 fl oz boiling water. Cover with a lid, bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Transfer the soaked date mixture to a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth (or blend in a bowl using a stick blender).
3. Place the peanut butter and date mixture in a saucepan and melt over a low heat until smooth. Remove from the heat and add the remaining ingredients to the pan. Mix well, then shape into 30 equal-sized little balls. Place the balls on a plate and chill for 1 hour before eating.
4. The balls will keep in the fridge, stored in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.

Prep time: 10 minutes (excluding chill time)
Cook time: 15 minutes
Makes: 6 child portions
Dairy Free

Ingredients
250g /9oz cooked red and white quinoa (or 150 g/5 oz dried quinoa)
198g / 7oz tin sweetcorn, drained
½ sweet red pepper, deseeded and diced
4 spring onions, finely sliced
4 tablespoons chopped cashew nuts (optional)
30g / 1oz sultanas or raisins
freshly chopped parsley, to garnish

Dressing Ingredients

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ garlic clove, crushed
a pinch of sugar
6 tablespoons light olive oil

Method

1. If using dried quinoa, rinse it in a sieve under cold running water before following the instructions on the packet. Once it is cooked and all the water has been absorbed, remove from the heat and leave uncovered for about 5 minutes, then fluff up the quinoa with a fork.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the quinoa and season with salt and pepper (optional!).
3. Mix all of the dressing ingredients together in a bowl, pour it over the salad and mix to combine.
4. Chill for 30 minutes then garnish with parsley to serve

Read more: Children’s Food Allergies: Early Signs and How to Manage

Whether you’re thinking about beginning the baby-led weaning approach, or simply looking for new baby-friendly finger foods and family meals to liven up your mealtimes, Annabel Karmel’s new Baby-Led Weaning Recipe Book is out now and filled with 120 quick, easy and nutritious recipes, essential advice and tips to let your baby take the lead. Visit www.annabelkarmel.com for more information.