Weaning with meat - help for a newbie

[HannahsMammy]

Hi everyone, I am an AK virgin - I have a beautiful 6 1/2 month old who enjoys her food immensely, sadly much preferring jar / packet food rather than anything homemade But I would much prefer to make her meals myself from scratch.

I would LOVE to try some of the fab receipes (Chicken Sliders etc) - my problem is, my hubby is vegetarian and isn't too happy that I'm forcefeeding his Princess with animal products - am being a complete idiot but I am TERRIFIED in case I give her food poisoning - I imagine that receipes such as these need reheating, but whats the best method to do this - I'm soo

Thanks ladies

[DrP]

Does your LO eat finger food yet ? The chicken sliders might be a bit advanced for her atm. Has she had any meat yet ?

You could try Chicken with Sweet Potato and Apricots. It's a huge favourite with loads of people here. My LO still enjoys it, unpureed now ofc. I also made this (and still make it) as a curry by adding a little bit of mild curry powder and some carrot.

If I make things like the chicken sliders then yes you do need to make sure they are properly reheated before giving them to her. If you make a batch and freeze them you can take out a few and let them defrost overnight in the fridge then reheat in the oven (or microwave) - heating them till they are hot through and then letting them cool down enough for her to eat. You could also freeze them uncooked and just cook them in the oven (from frozen is okay) till piping hot through. For the first time it's often best to take out a couple of extras and then you can check how cooked they are and find out what works best for your oven. In my oven they take 15-20 mins at 180.

[HannahsMammy]

Thanks so much for your response DrP - H is just starting off with finger food, well, she likes dairylea cheese strings, but I am keen to give her some cooked chicken and veggies/fruit.
She's had organic jar foods containing meat - but I'd really prefer to do her meals myself...and she can help when she's older

I'll certainly try the chicken, sweetpotato with apricots - the receipe sounds really easy...and yummy

...its been too long for our family to have a baby to celebrate - so I badly need help - after waiting 16 years for this little one, I just want to do everything I possibly can to give her the best start in life

Will have a good root around this lovely site and have a rummage around - am bound to pick up some golden titbits of info

[DrP]

Have a good browse through the recipes sections, there are loads of really great dishes in there. If you can spare the time once a week or so it's worth cooking up some batches of food for the freezer.

Even though my LO now eats what we do a lot of the time I still keep a few batches of stuff cooked up for those days that I need to organise something for him in a hurry or when it just doesn't suit for him to eat with us.

BTW just noticed that the chicken sliders have ketchup and soy sauce in them, so I wouldn't make them till your LO is at least 1 (due to the salt content). Try chicken patties instead (I've linked to another thread where the recipe is given as the link on the AK recipe page doesn't seem to come up properly). They are really nice. You could also just do some Grilled Chicken Breast Strips with steamed veggies as finger food.