Baby led weaning first foods – Pasta Pesto

let’s natter about ‘baby led weaning’ (BLW), shall we? It’s that stage where our little munchkins take their first curious steps into the big wide world of solids. Remember them eyeing your avocado toast like it’s the last piece of cake at a party? Totally relatable.

It is natural to be proud of your children, to be amazed at the new skills they have learned and to share this with the people you love. I do this publicly every month with my ‘Wilf at __ months’ posts, ‘Wilf now rolls over, sits up, crawls..etc’ (which makes him sound a little like a trained dog now I write that down!). I don’t consider that to be ‘boasting’ and I hope it is taken as I write it just simply a record of my baby’s newfound skills to look back on and reminisce, sure I am very proud of Wilf but I would be proud of his ability to ‘roll over’ whether he did it at three months or six months.

Baby Led Weaning

SO I know eating is often a subject of stress for many and also one used to compete with other parents. When I thought about introducing Wilf to food I was very much prepared for him not to care about it too much. I even read about the benefits of delaying introducing solids until 7 or 8 months and so was very prepared to do this if he didn’t seem interested. But instead Wilf has enjoying pretty much everything we offer him with gusto.

I know my mum was really surprised to see him gobble down (baby friendly) quiches and frittata and other baby led weaning foods when she was visiting!

My point of the above was, that I am sharing some of the things we make Wilf in the hope of it being on interest to other parents cooking for young children but not to boast about how well or how much he eats. That being said I am including some full bowls/empty bowls as I find it both interesting from my point of view and aesthetically pleasing!

BLW is messy, girl, I won’t sugarcoat it. You’ll find bits of broccoli in places you didn’t know food could reach. But it’s the kind of mess that’s dotted with giggles and wide-eyed ‘oohs’ as they discover a taste they love. Plus, it’s real life, isn’t it? A testament to how they’re learning, growing, tasting their way through life. It’s not just about swallowing food; it’s about experiencing food.

And while seeing them chomp on a chunk of cucumber with just two teeth may bring a mini heart attack, it’s all pretty safe. You start with soft foods, nothing too tiny or too hard, and they’ll mash it with their gums like a boss. It’s fascinating watching their little paws mastering the pincer grip, chasing a slippery slice of pear around the high chair tray.

Baby Led Weaning Ideas

What’s lovely about baby-led weaning is it invites the babes to mealtimes as a part of the family. There’s no separate cooking – they eat what you eat, and within reason, spices toned down. And it sometimes means they grow into less fussy eaters because they’ve explored so many flavors from the get-go.

In a nutshell, darling, baby led weaning is a celebration of food and growing up. It’s watching those mini-milestones unfold before your eyes at the kitchen table, covered in a bit of spaghetti, perhaps, but always with a side of wonder. It’s raw, real, and refreshingly connected – and isn’t that just the best way to learn? 🌟💛

OK OK you are probably thinking, all the above just to post about how to make pesto?? But hey I didn’t know how to make it before so I’m guessing/hoping someone out there was in the same boat as me.

Baby friendly Pasta Pesto

 PESTO:
makes 200ml (enough for three people)
50g pine nuts or breadcrumbs
50g bunch of basil leaves
1 garlic clove
35g parmesan or other hard cheese (we used a hard goats cheese)
100ml of extra virgin olive oil
a squeeze of lemon juice
a little pepper

Preheat the oven to 180c/gas 4 spread the pine nuts or breadcrumbs on a tray and toast them for 5-10minutes, leave to cool (we used have pine nuts half breadcrumbs)
Put the pine nuts/breadcrumbs into a food processor (or whizz it with a hand whizzer thing) along with the basil, garlic and cheese. Blitz to a paste then slowly pour in the oil until you have a think sloppy puree.
Scrape the pesto out into a bowl and season with the lemon and pepper. This will keep for a few days in the fridge.

(if you have a baby like Wilf you will have to do the whizzing when he is not in the room otherwise he finds the noise scary and cries)
Cook ‘some’ spaghetti..and you are done, simples…yum (i forgot to show how much Wilf ate but it was quite a bit..and quite a bit for our fat cat on the floor)

Tom and I added goats cheese (and a little salt)  to ours after we had served it out

This recipe was from the River Cottage baby and toddler cook book (this isn’t a spesific baby led weaning book but has some great recipies in there).

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River cottage baby cookbook