cheap date

[mummyb]

hi
have any of you wonderful mums or grans got recipe ideas for baby food (over 6months) that are money savers ? cant belive how much our little ds eats .
i am being eaten out of house and home :o he loves everything so any recipes would be just so helpfull all my friends are ajr feeding and while we are at the moment its just costing way to much.thanks all

[Lachlan's Mum]

Hi mummyb

I have had to come up with some interesting/different food ideas lately for my 8+mth old as he was "bored" with jar food (which I resorted to after he was "bored" of my homemade pureed veges)......anyway couple of things he loves lately which when I thought about it were not expensive are:-

1. steamed and lightly mashed (a bit chunky still) veges with baked beans (just a tablespoon full) - the sauce off the beans gives a flavour to the veges and the beans are FULL of iron - I buy the salt reduced tiny cans and they last for 3-4 meals. I usually do 3 veg. eg potato, sweet potato and peas, or potato, pumpkin and zucchini.

2. same veges as above with a spoonful of tinned tuna (in natural springwater)

and I also sometimes add some grated cheese on top of both these meals esp if Lachlan hasn't had cheese or yoghurt that day.

Also - you can substitute the baked beans for "oops" spagetti but of course not as good for them! but a nice change.

I have found that Lachlan will eat almost anything with baked beans mixed in....and after all they are "natures super food"!! ;)

[Chickadee]

You could try any cooked mixed veggies, but instead of making a smooth puree start leaving some lumps. I mixed mine in two parts, the first half very smooth and then add the rest of the veg and only give a light blend so that it's still got some lumps. Or use a potato masher. Add parsley or other herbs to change the flavour a bit. Add leftover meat or stock/gravy from your dinner for another change. If you're making spagetti or pasta for yourself you can mash it up for ds (avoid commercial sauces with high salt).

Have you tried yogurt? I guess that depends on how soon you want to start dairy.

I never bothered buying the jars of baby fruit purree. If you look in the regular tinned fruit section of the supermarket you should be able to find applesauce or other jars of fruit which are made with no added sugar or preservatives, and much cheaper than the baby stuff.

You might be surprised at the range of veggies he'll like. I stuck with root veg (potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc) for too long and was surprised when DD demanded bits of the tomato and capsicum I was having and liked them. Also broccoli!

My dd got bored of my puree's at around 10 months. It won't be long till you can start on finger foods, which opens up a whole new range of possibilities. Bits of thinly sliced ham promote some finger co-ordination and are easy to chew/swallow.

DD will eat nearly anything with potatoes and always has liked homemade french fries: Quarter some potatoes, toss in olive oil, a bit of salt and roast them till tender, let them cool to serve. Another favorite is pizzas: use a pita bread or similar for the base, some tomato sauce and bits of ham & tomato (or whatever ds likes), topped with some cheese. Cook at around 200o for around 15 min, cool & cut into small triangles. They tend to come apart once dd gets at them but she enjoys it.

[mummyb]

thankyou both for your help my little guy is growing so fat on your ideas and my bank balance is looking much healthier .
thankyou so much for helping me be amore confident mum. :D

[Mandi]

Glad to see you are wanting to cook for bub! My freezer is full of food for my little girl - works out cheaper, tastes better, you know what's in there...now I'm raving aren't I!

If you want more recipes email me - I have a great book and cook up heaps of stuff - T is almost 9 months now so have tried lots of stuff for 6-9mth bracket. Can email you some recipes no prob.
mandimcintosh@hotmail.com

Hope you are enjoying experimenting a bit. :)
Mandi