1. Fresh Pear Puree

Fruit Purees make great first meals and are the perfect way to start weaning your baby onto solids. Start with a single sweet fruit like pears or sweet apples and as your baby grows accustomed to individual tastes you can mix fruits to create new flavours.

Ingredients for 6 portions:

• 2 ripe pears
• 3 tablespoons boiled water

1. Chop the pears into small pieces and place into a saucepan with the water.
2. Cover the saucepan and cook over a low heat until the fruit is tender.
3. Remove the fruit from the saucepan and blend with a blender until completely smooth. You can add a little pure (unsweetened) apple juice to thin the puree if you wish.
4. The puree can be given to your baby lukewarm or alternatively it can be frozen and defrosted for future use.

2. Creamy Pear Puree

Baby rice is an excellent first food. Your baby will feel right at home with its milky taste while it is very easy to digest and perfect for baby’s fledgling system. It can be eaten on its own or mixed with the fruit puree you made above.

Ingredients for 1 portion:

• 1 tablespoon Baby Rice
• 3 tablespoons breast milk or formula milk
  
• 3 tablespoons of fruit puree from above

1. Mix the baby rice and the milk as per the instructions on the packet.
2. Stir in the fruit puree until the overall texture is smooth and creamy.
3. Serve lukewarm – or freeze for future use.

Variations: Pears, apples, plums and peaches are ideal fruits to use for pureeing and work very well with baby rice.

3. Vegetable Puree – Carrot

Puree a mild flavoured vegetable, such as a carrot, and use one ingredient at a time and for a period of a few days initially – just to ensure that your baby doesn’t have an allergic reaction to any of these new, exciting foods.

Ingredients for 8 portions:

• 8 oz of carrots – peeled and cleaned thoroughly.

1. Boil some water in a saucepan and place a colander above the water.
2. Chop the peeled and cleaned carrots into small, evenly sized pieces.
3. Place the carrots in the colander and steam over the boiling water for 20 minutes.
4. When tender remove and blend with a blender. You may need to add some of the water from the pan if the puree is too thick. Aim for a thickness similar to that of a runny yogurt!
5. Serve to your baby lukewarm.
6. This puree can also be frozen – best to use ice-cube trays for this in the early stages of weaning. You can place the ice cube tray in a freezer bag to protect the puree.

Variations. Initially, try pureeing carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash or normal potatoes (all peeled of course). After the first couple of weeks you can start to blend flavours and add other root vegetables.

4. Creamy Carrot Puree

The strong flavour of root vegetables may not appeal to your baby. One way to encourage new tastes like these is to mix with baby rice – just as we did with the fruit puree above.

Ingredients for 1 portion:

• 1 tablespoon baby rice
• 3 tablespoons breast milk or formula
• 3 tablespoons of carrot puree from above

1. Mix the baby rice and the milk as per the instructions on the packet.
2. Stir in the carrot puree until the overall texture is smooth and creamy.
3. Serve lukewarm – or freeze for future use.

Variations: Any of the vegetables mentioned above also combine well with baby rice.