As a very protective father, I found that managing my son’s food intake as he transitioned into solids a real challenge. I mean, what do I give him? Do I give him chicken? How well cooked? Thigh or breast? Do I give him fish? What about the bones?  

Sid’s breakfast

 You can see where I’m going with this…

So anyway, I started off light… Fresh mash with a little fresh steamed fish… Then it all took off….

Here are he top 5 meals I’ve made for my 1 year old in order of his preference… Enjoy! 

1. Fish pie with cheesy potatoe mash sauce

• Oven bake frozen mackerel fillets with a little butter and lemon 
• Meanwhile, boil potatoes for the mash sauce. 
• Once boiled, drain off the water , leaving a little in the pan with the potatoes and return to the cooker. 
• Add to the potatoes, a good splash of milk, butter, and grate some mature cheese and whisk together to make a smooth paste. 
• Take out the fish, flake and remove any bones and add to the sauce mix. 
• Serve…

2. Steamed fish with spinach and broccoli mash 

• Bake haddock with lemon and butter
• Boil some broccoli and chopped potatoes and wilt some spinach 
• Once the veg are cooked, remove the brocollli to a chopping board and chop up, adding the wilted spinach which should also be chopped up. 
• Once you’re happy that it’s fine enough for the little one, add to the boiled potatoes and pop in some butter and milk. Whisk together and top with the cooked fish. 

If you want a sauce for this dish, there are 2 options below that you may like. I use these a lot. 

3. Potatoe and spinach curry 

• Par boil potatoes and remove from water. 
• In a non stick pan, add the following in order 
• A glug of olive/coconut oil, heat it up 
• Finely chopped garlic (1 clove)- don’t burn it
• Finely chopped onion- stir and cook till golden 
• Add a little ginger, turmeric and black pepper. 
• Cook for a minute until the mixture is a rich orange. 
• Add a little pasatta and stir until the mixture loses a little of its water. 
• Add the potatoes and chop in spinach. Cover and cook on a low heat stiring occasionally. 
• Cool and serve.

4. Cottage pie

• Heat some oil in a pan, add to it some minced lamb and cook until brown
• Add finely chopped onions, a little garlic, some frozen veg, the ones with peas, chopped carrots, green beans, and sweet corn is a good bag to have in your freezer!
• Make up some low salt stock and add to the cooking meat and veg. 
• Cook through and add thickening agent such as cornflour or plain flour. 
• Meanwhile make up some mash as in the above recipes and separate the mixture into small storage containers, top with the mash. Cool and serve. 

5. Spanish omelette 

•  Whisk 2 eggs, adding a splash of milk and seasoning. 
• In a non stick pan heat up some olive oil, add chopped tomatoes, chopped mushrooms, par boiled small chopped potatoes. 
• Heat up in the oil and once the mixture is hot, add the eggs. 
• Stir the veg around to make it even and turn the heat to medium. 
• Flip the mixture cooking the eggs thoroughly