the vegetarian child: part III

This is part three of a three part entry.

Part I: The vegetarian child: values and ethics

Part II: The vegetarian child: things to think about, who to talk to and how to explain to others

Part III: The vegetarian child: basic recipes for babies to toddlers

8 months and beyond

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

any vegetable you have in the fridge, I usually use the following cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 zucchini

1/2 carrot

2 tbs frozen peas

1 sm potato

and/or depending what I have in the fridge- broccoli or sweet potato

1/4 can kidney beans

1 tsp salt reduced vegetable stock

1 tsp tomato paste

dash of tamari (**young babies should not have any added salt to their diet. Tamari is high in sodium. I only add a tiny dash of it for flavour, but you can opt this ingredient out)

4 tbs baby pasta (iron-fortified)

1 1/2 cups water

Directions

Dissolve vegetable stock and tomato paste the water in a small pot on medium high heat.

Add tamari, root vegetables (minus broccoli, zucchini and peas) and baby pasta.

Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat and let the vegetables soften for 10 minutes.

Add the beans and any softer vegetables you have for 5 more minutes until soft.

Let it cool and serve with a baby scone (see ‘snack and sides’ below). Teach you baby how to dip the scone into the soup. Your baby should be encouraged to pick the veggies up with her fingers if she’s having trouble with the spoon.

(make a larger batch with onions, a can of diced tomatoes, adult pasta and much more tamari for the whole family at the same time if you want to, but use mini pot for bubs so that you can make veggie chunks smaller and control the salt intake)

Baked Beans and Rice

Ingredients

1 mini can salt-reduced baked beans

1/4 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 carrot and 1/2 zuccini

1 olive oil or 1 tsp butter

1/2 ounce grated organic cheese

Directions

Boil or steam the veggies until soft (if you’re baby can’t handle soft finger sized pieces, you can grate them instead), then saute the briefly in olive oil or butter. Add beans to the pan of veggies until warm, then add in the rice and sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Stir until cheese has melted.

This is a great fast, healthy, easy lunch.

Baked Omelette

Ingredients

diced veggies. I usually use:

zucchini, broccoli, carrot, red capsicum and shredded spinach

1 egg

3 tbs bread crumbs

1/2 ounce grated cheese

2 tbs whole milk

Directions

Saute the carrot and capsicum in a pan for 2-3 minutes so that they are soft

Crack the egg into a small bowl.

Add milk, diced veggies, bread crumbs and grated cheese and stir together.

Grease a mini casserole dish and pour mixture into it.

Put in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 180˚

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie (see my entry in fork-worthy here)

Hearty Yang Casserole (without the red wine- see my entry in fork-worthy here)

Chewing Confidently (around 6-8 teeth)

Veggie Fajitas with Guacamole

Ingredients

left-over minestrone soup OR fried diced onion, diced tomatoes, diced zucchini and kidney beans

diced tomato

grated cheese

1/4 avocado

1 tortilla

Directions

Drain left-over minestrone soup so you are left with veggies and beans

Cut tortilla into little finger sized triangles

Place minestrone mix in triangle, sprinkle with cheese, put another triangle on top

Fry in greased pan until tortillas are golden and cheese has melted

Mash avocado and serve as a dip (Babies LOVE dipping- it makes their eating experience more fun and nutritious)

Baked Veggie Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

Baby Macaroni (I love spelt pasta by Bellamys)

1 ounce grated organic cheese

1/2 carrot

2 broccoli florets OR 2 cauliflower florets

1/4 zucchini or shredded spinach

1/4 cup milk

1 tbs corn flour

1 tbs butter

4 tbs breadcrumbs

Directions

Make a white sauce: put butter in a hot pan, once melted add milk and cornflour stirring continuously until the sauce is smooth and thick

Fry or boil hard veggies until they are soft

Mix together white sauce, veggies, grated cheese and breadcrumbs and Pour into a greased mini casserole dish

Cover and put in oven at 180˚ for 15-20 minutes

Tofu Fingers with steamed veggies and mashed potato

Ingredients

3 pieces of tofu sliced into rectangular finger strips

1 egg beaten

breadcrumbs

1 potato

veggies of your choice

Directions

Dip tofu into egg, then coat with breadcrumbs and fry or bake until golden on the outside

Boil potato and mash with butter (you could add boiled spinach to this to increase green intake)

Steam veggies and serve plain or with a dash of olive oil

Sweeter Snacks and Savory Side Dishes

Baby Banana muffins

Ingredients

1 banana

1/2 tsp vanilla (try to find non-alcoholic vanilla essence)

1 tbs butter

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup self-raising wholewheat flour

Directions

Combine milk, egg, butter, vanilla and banana until mushy and somewhat smooth

Add flour and sugar

Pour into mini muffin tin lined with mini cupcake papers and greased

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 180˚

Mini Wholewheat Scones

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups self-raising wholewheat flour

dash of salt

1/2 tbs sugar

80 grams cubed butter

1/2 cup of milk

Directions

Combine dry ingredients and then add butter with your fingertips until the mixture has a breadcrumb like consistency

Add the milk to form a soft dough (you can add more flour if needed )

knead on a lightly floured surface

Flatten and make the mini rounds about 2cm thick

Place on greased baking tray and brush with milk

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 230˚

Special Occasion Desserts

Creamy Apricot and Tofu

Ingredients

1/4 block of tofu

4 blanched apricots

1/4 cup of milk

Directions

puree ingredients together and serve cooled

Banana Custard

Ingredients

1 egg yolk

1tbs corn flour

1 cup milk

1 tbs sugar

1/2 banana

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Directions

Whisk egg, corn flour and a bit of milk into a smooth paste

Bring remaining milk and sugar to a boil on stovetop

Add the paste and stir until smooth

Add mashed banana and whisk until thick

Add vanilla essence last