We had a few weeks of feeding Evander simple veg and then started offering combinations. This is when the pre-frozen cubes came in handy.

I then started offering bits of what we were eating, either blended or mushed with some of the frozen veg. Things like flaked cod or salmon, veg stews, soups etc worked well.

I was keen to have a mix of spoon fed and baby led so tried to always offer some kind of finger food. This helps hand eye coordination, introduces different textures and the biggest benefit for me; gives us a chance to get some dinner ourselves!

Breakfast finger foods

For breakfast we tend to give Evander porridge but some finger foods that have gone down well are:

• Toast -lightly toasted bread with butters or cream cheese. Toast is also good for testing for some of the main allergies (using nut butters)
• French toast – went down really well with some fruit compotes. You can make these sugar free by mashing a banana, adding an egg, a splash of milk and flavouring with some cinnamon or nutmeg.
• Crumpets – toasted with the harder rind at the back cut off. You can then just butter or add nut butters. Evander loves the texture of crumpets so is a popular breakie treat!
• Pancakes – I’ve tried a few baby friendly, sugar-free recipes, cut up into fingers and served with a fruit compote or yogurt.

Fruits are also a good option for breakfast and we’ve tried:

• Strawberries cut into wedges
• Peach/nectarine, pear and banana
• Melon – we’ve tried a few different types but watermelon was the most successful. Be prepared for a lot of mess! However, it was a great way of getting some more fluids into Evander before he got used to having drinks from the beaker.
• We’ve also tried some smaller berries (slightly squashed or cut in half to reduce choking risk) such as blueberries and raspberries. These weren’t as easy to pick up and eat though so they were mostly played with and smashed into the high chair tray!
• I have also offered pineapple and mango fingers which Evander loved. However i since attended a child first aid course and they recommended against offering these unless pureed due to them both being more fibrous and there’s an increased risk of choking. I’ve since offered these blended or cut finely. Or you can also use fruit mesh/silicone feeders. I especially love these for frozen milk/yogurt or fruit when Evander is teething. Great in summer too! I bought the Nature Bond Baby Fruit Feeder on Amazon and will do a review of it in another blog post.

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Lunch and Dinner

• Cucumber fingers – Evander seems to love cucumber and I was surprised at just how much of it he manages to eat. If it’s just out the fridge, it’s great for teething too.
• Mozzarella strips
• Sweet potato fries
• Bigger bits of the veg that is part of the meal – carrot batons, cauliflower, broccoli etc
• Roasted pepper strips
• Boiled egg cut into long quarters although this has been pretty much the only thing he’s turned his nose up at. He likes scrambled egg so it’s probably the texture he doesn’t like.
• Crispy Avocado
• Frozen Yogurt with fruits
• Courgette and cheddar muffins, Sweetcorn Fritters and Salmon fishcakes from the Young Gums book – tasty savouries that can be served as a snack or alongside a main. I’ve made a few of the recipes from this book and lots are handy finger foods so I’ll do a separate post with a bit of a review.

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Of course there are also plenty of ready made snacks available in the baby isle of supermarkets – melty puffs, rice cakes and biscotti biscuits. Loads of different tastes and textures and really handy when you’re out and about!