Truly Scrumptious Baby: My complete feeding and weaning plan for 6 months and beyond. Holly Willoughby
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and they’ll begin to feel part of the mealtime experience.
I guess every parent’s dream is to have the whole family seated around the dining table, all happily tucking into the same meal you’ve lovingly (albeit somewhat frantically!) prepared. Basically, not having to create half a dozen different dishes to please everyone! I was really lucky growing up to have both of my parents around a lot of the time. My dad was, and still is, a salesman. His working hours used to revolve around when his customers were at home, so most days it was he who would collect me and my sister from school. We’d then all have an early dinner together as a family before he had to go out to his evening appointments.
As with so many of the good things in your own childhood, I think you only properly appreciate them when you become a parent yourself. If I’m honest, it’s only since becoming a mum that I realize how lucky we were to have as much time with both our parents as we did, which is what I try to replicate for my own children. Sitting down together for a family meal is part of this. So even though Dan and my working days can be lengthy at times, we both make every effort to sit down to a family meal as often as we can and have tried to do so even during the earliest stages of weaning.
DEVELOPING GOOD EATING HABITS
In an ideal world, children will develop positive associations with everything they eat, and sharing family mealtimes as much as possible from the word go certainly helps. If you can establish this attitude from an early age, they’ll by more likely to enjoy a balanced, healthy diet as they grow up. Here are a few other suggestions to encourage a good approach to eating.
VARIETY
Variety is key – the spice of life, as they say. The wider the range of different flavours, colours and textures you can introduce to children when they are young, the healthier and happier they’ll be in life. Encouraging your children to be open-minded from the earliest age will help get them off to the best start nutritionally. Most babies begin with basic vegetable and fruit purées, but don’t be afraid to introduce herbs, garlic and spices to widen their palate. (Not hot spices! And remember that chilli should only be introduced once your baby reaches one year old). I feel so proud of Harry and Belle now in restaurants with how receptive they are to new foods, willing to a bit more adventurous and try out other dishes rather than sticking with chicken nuggets on the kids’ menu. Even when we’re abroad, they always try local foods and are as partial to a seafood paella as a (not too spicy!) Thai curry.
FUSSINESS
At some point during the weaning process, you’ll feel like you’ve got a fussy little person on your hands, and it can be frustrating, especially when the toddler stage is reached and your child suddenly realizes she can exercise control over her life. There are many reasons why this might be happening, depending on the age of your child, so before you fling some butternut squash at the kitchen wall yourself, ask yourself a few key questions:
Babies
• Is my baby hungry enough?
• Has she had too much milk at around the same time as solid feeds?
• Is she too distracted by other things at mealtime, such as the TV, toys or a busy household?
• Is she coming down with an illness?
• Is she teething?
• Is she bored of me offering the same flavours?
• Is the purée too thick for first tastes?
• Should I try mixing some of her familiar milk into the solids?
Toddlers
• Is the portion size too big and overwhelming?
• Should I try including her in meal preparation and cooking?
• Shall I try making up a meal by mixing a food I know she loves with a completely new food?
• As she rejected broccoli purée last week, should I try it a few more times? Remember that it can take up to ten goes before any given food is finally deemed acceptable!
• Shall I sit down to eat with her and let her see me eat what I’m offering her, to build up trust?
Older children
• Should I let her serve herself?
• Shall I give her the opportunity to do some cooking?
• Should I get her input for the week’s meal planning?
• Shall I involve her in choosing different foods at the supermarket?
Bribery
In the same way that one plonks the kids in front of the TV for entertainment in order to get some chores done, it’s all too easy to offer something sweet as a bribe for eating a healthy main course. It’s really tempting, especially if it works and gets them to eat all their veggies, and indeed needs must sometimes. But if you introduce your little one to the concept that sweet things are a reward, she might start getting the wrong attitude towards food. I regularly reward myself with junk food, for example. I think, Ooh, I’ve worked really hard today – I deserve a nice piece of cake! And I’m sure that attitude must stem from when I was a child, so I’m quite wary about doing the same with my kids. Somehow, I’ve managed to convince them that any kind of fruit or raw veg are a real treat when they’re chopped up. Mango, for example, chopped-up cucumber or a peeled, sliced apple are particular favourites. They really do like those things, and not just because we don’t have some fruit, such as mangoes, all the time. So, when a little bowl is offered, I can say truthfully that they find it an exciting prospect!
This is not to say my children are devoid of treats! (Indeed, Chapter 7 is all about a bit of indulgence for a special occasion.) A hot summer’s day or trip to the beach needs ice cream. A cinema visit isn’t the same without a tub of popcorn, and Christmas and birthdays go hand in hand with a few sweets and chocolates. But everything in moderation. If children aren’t completely deprived of this sort of thing, they won’t crave it and then binge once they’re in the driving seat. A little bit of what you fancy does you good!
DON’T FORGET TO FEED YOURSELF HEALTHILY TOO!
Throughout the messy, time-consuming and often tiring process of weaning your baby, it can be easy to forget to look after yourself. It’s crucial to remember that if you’re not eating nutritionally balanced meals yourself, then you won’t be getting all the energy you need.
The recipes in this book are all nutritionally balanced and, from Chapter 3 onwards, can be made for the whole family. If you’re able (as much as possible) to enjoy meals together, then you can be certain that every member of your family (including yourself!) is getting what they need. Snacking is a slightly different matter – in times of need, when my little ones were causing havoc and it was only mid-morning – I’d sometimes be tempted by whatever cake or leftover crisps were lying around. Just try to remember that your children learn by example, so if they see you snaffling doughnuts on the sly, they might be less inclined to wolf down those veggie sticks you’re offering them. You’ll feel much better and more energy-filled for not turning to the high-sugar or high-salt options in times of need (although understandably it will happen now and again!)
WHEN TO START AND HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR BABY IS READY
Now before we embark on this journey together, the one thing I must stress is that there is no ‘correct’ time for you to begin the weaning process. Every baby is different, after all! And there is no rush to start your baby on solids. Equally, you should be mindful of not leaving it too late, as learning to eat solids