I’ve been feeding my tiny, itsy bitsy daughter solids since she was 4 months old.

The doctor looked at my daughter who may have been around 6 pounds at that point ( she was born 3 lbs 14 oz) and cheerfully said ‘time for solids!’.  Did he see what I saw?  Did he see what the world saw?!  I mean, my daughter could technically still fit in my stomach and I was going to start to feed her solids?  Simply put, I was skeptical.  Perhaps this was the end game to happiness, weight gain and sleeping the night?

I should learn that things are not that easy and that introducing solids at whatever age is tricky but I had to hit a wall before I could appreciate this new found wisdom.   I had to cook and cook and cook and read and read and read before I set up some ground rules for my beloved, darling, fusspot of a daughter.  So friends, here they are:

Rule #1- Sanity comes first.  This means that everyone in my house eats the same thing as soon as everyone is able to eat a combination of foods and not just single items. For us, this happened at 6 months . Everyone eats the same meal… to varying degrees.  For example, my husband likes hot and spicy food so I take out my daughter’s food before I spice it up.  This is the kind of thing I’m talking about. Taking things out and devising a menu everyone can eat is far easier in my books than ‘double cooking’ as it is known in the toddler world. Try double, triple and quadruple cooking.  I’ve seen it all and I say that it isn’t good for anyone.  Sanity is #1.

Rule #2- One pot and one process.  I’m not steaming to sauté to roast to ferment.  I’m making food the way I know how and with the ease that I bring to every meal prior to and post having a baby.  Food rejection doesn’t hurt quite so much if you haven’t spend 4 hours making a meal of tiny proportions.  Pureeing to the desired consistency is a simple thing to do with hand blender. No need for all those ‘baby specific’ mechanisms that will clutter your kitchen in 6 months. Food is a social activity in many respects.  Your baby will enjoy the challenge of new tastes and sensations and even if they don’t, they will enjoy the ‘collectives’ of a family meal. One pot for all.

Rule #3- This is a personal one but bear with me. My baby will be the one to tell me what she likes and doesn’t like.  I  will never utter the words ‘you won’t like this’ to my little one.  She may hate certain food in certain contexts but I will continue to try, to navigate her through the exciting world of food and show her just how colourful and delicious this world can be.

At the end of the weaning process, your child will be a reflection of you and your attitude towards food.  Therefore rule #3 is about having a happy, healthy and open-minded attitude towards food so that you can impart this on your child.  Sometimes I think I should make this rule 1.  It will make all the difference in the world.

Rule #4- Show no fear.  Puréeing past prime because of choking fears? Worrying about allergies that have no hereditary basis? Not you and not me. We are going to introduce as many foods in the safety of our homes as possible.  We are not going to wait until the child has a full mouth of teeth to introduce solid meats. Playing it too safe does nothing good for your child.  Go to it together.

Rule #5- Three natural and wholesome food groups with every meal. Fat, carbs and protein are what you will find in my recipes.  In many instances, all three will appear in one dish and one spoon.  That makes my life easy and it usually tastes pretty good too!

Rule #6- Three meals a day, in one designated spot for a designated amount of time.  There will be no chasing your little one around the house and no ‘sitting until x food is finished’. This is not the stage for that.  If your baby hates food, making meals hours long and all over the house is just going to create ongoing, long-term problems.  I recommend 3 meals a day, in the highchair for no longer than 1/2 hour at a time.  Snacks can be on the go but meals are more structured.

These are my rules.  Everything I have made for my daughter since pledging this to myself have been devised of these rules.  Enjoy these recipes.  They are thought starters more than anything else.  You may love them or hate them. One way or another, let me know.