BABY-LED WEANING: first tastes

I've been thinking a lot about control. I like to be in control of my finances, our kitchen cupboards and of course, my bodily functions. We're not talking freakishly controlling, just enthusiatically organsied. So the core principle of baby-led weaning could be challenging for me - your baby is in control of what she eats, when and how much, and you sit on your hands.

A common weaning question is 'when should I start weaning my baby?'. But there ain't no 'I' in the BLW. You simply watch baby watching you eat. When they look very interested and try and grab the food out of your hand, that's the cue to introduce solids.

Gracie is an observer. People often comment on how alert she is so my every action is quietly noted, from drying my hair to peeling carrots. And to start with eating was just another spectator sport until the sandwich incident at five and half months.

While I was eating a supermarket cheese and pickle sarnie (I'd prefer not to reveal which supermarket, we had to do a smash and grab while on the road), she lunged forward and clamped down on the malted granary bread, sucking eagerly on the mild cheddar. A few days later, she excitedly nibbled on a bread roll and then on a park outing, attacked my ham and cheese baguette.

The baby has given the nod. Give me food and make it snappy. And who am I to argue.  

PREGNANCY RECIPE: mushroom pâté

My friend Anna says I should eat more protein. She's training to be a pregnancy nutritionist so I'm happy to take her word for it. And she's right - I find myself chowing down on carbs at most meal times but the carb-high or carb-coma depending on which way it takes me doesn't last. Protein is the key to feeling fuller for longer and helping your baby build essential tissues (am I becoming a protein-bore? I seem to talk about it in every posting).

The biggest protein dilemma is at lunchtimes. Yes, I could cook off chicken breasts or salmon steaks and take them to the office but I never seem to get round to it. And certainly, I could take in last-night's leftovers, but I'm a sandwich girl at heart. So the solution to my protein problems appeared to lay in a sandwich filling and seeing as I had a load of mushrooms in my veg box, a mushroom pâté seemed the answer. 

Having done a bit of research on the pregnancy health benefits of mushrooms, I discovered that they're a good source of folate (the naturally occuring form of folic acid) as well as my heart throb, protein. Put together with soft cheese (the low-fat tub I bought oddly had more protein than the full-fat stuff) and a bit of tarragon for extra flavour and you've got a sandwich spread to make your lunchbox sing. I hope it hits your p-spot.

Mushroom and tarragon pâté

Serve with brown bread doorsteps and a bit of green for iron – lamb’s lettuce, pea shoots or spinach all work well

Makes 6-8 servings

10g unsalted butter
Good dash EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
150g low fat soft cheese
1 sprig fresh tarragon

1. Gently heat the butter and EVOO in a frying pan then add the mushrooms. Season well with sea salt and black pepper. Allow the mushrooms to sweat for 10-15 minutes until softened but without browning. Remove from the heat, pour off a little liquid then allow them to cool.

2. Remove the leaves from a sprig of tarragon and finely chop. When the mushrooms have cooled, put them in a blender with the soft cheese and tarragon and blitz until smooth. Taste and season again if needed.