Self-confessed foodie, Emily Dupuche of Melbourne, was in the kitchen with her twins, Sophie and Louis, one day wondering what to feed them when she realised her lack of confidence in what solid foods to prepare may not be unusual.
“Having a baby, or babies, can be pretty confusing and stressful. Once you have the milk feeds and sleeping part down pat, they start to roll, crawl, get teeth and grow up. Then there’s the introduction of solids.”
Emily says she loved mucking around in the kitchen and preparing meals but she really didn’t know much about what to give babies.
So she experimented; pushed through her confusion and self-doubt; and began earning rave recipe reviews from her local parents’ group – or rather the mini-tester babies in the parents’ group.
Emily said that gave her the idea for her next ‘baby’ – a cookbook called Food Babies Love.
“It’s a collection of deliciously simple recipes and anecdotes from my family adventures on the journey to solids and beyond,” Emily says. “I created it to share my love of food and encourage other families to cook good, fresh, tasty food for their babies.”
The introduction of solids is an important stage in a child’s development as parents lay the foundations for a lifetime of food enjoyment for their kids, but Emily acknowledges it’s not always easy to do.
The recipes in Food Babies Love are designed to expose little ones to a wide variety of flavours to help them develop an appreciation for food, for diversity in flavour as well as colour and texture, they are also quick and easy to replicate.
“My recipes are mainly adaptations of family favourites created specifically for little palates, whilst still exposing them to wonderful tastes and food experiences through the use of fresh herbs and gentle spices,” Emily explains.
“I don’t intend to preach and I don’t pretend to know it all. What I do want is to show that baby food needn’t be boring and to help inspire mums when it can all feel a bit like groundhog day in the kitchen.”
Food Babies Love takes readers on a journey from preparing themselves and their kitchens for the onslaught of baby food preparation, to easy recipes and common sense hints covering ‘the first few weeks’, ‘the next few months’, ‘no looking back’ and ’12 months plus’. The recipes cover breakfast, lunch and dinner and include baby baking, snacks and drinks.
“I believe that parents have a duty to their children to educate them and ensure they have a positive relationship with food,” Emily says.
“Kids need an understanding of good food, to know when enough is enough and to appreciate diversity in food. Do I always get it right? No. Are my kids perfect eaters? No. But they are happy and healthy and ultimately eat a well-balanced diet.”
As well as Sophie and Louis, almost 5 years of age, Emily is also mum to 15 month old GiGi.
Emily shares with us one of the foods babies love from her cookbook which you can purchase online.
Chicken Nuggets
Age: fifth month of eating +
Suitable for freezing
Makes: 24 nuggets
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
100g chicken mince or tenderloins
1 rasher bacon (optional)
½ onion, finely diced
1 small garlic clove, minced
½ cup zucchini, roughly chopped
1 slice brown or multigrain bread
30ml full cream milk
¼ cup grated tasty cheese
1 egg
2 teaspoons cornflour
These delicious nuggets make great finger food and can be served with dips, diced vegies or just about anything you fancy. The use of the bread soaked in milk lightens the end result making them particularly pleasing to babies who don’t always seem to enjoy the texture or taste of meat. Being baked not fried they are much healthier than commercially prepared options. For older children you can replace the bread and milk with another 100g of chicken
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
Dice bread, crusts and all, and soak in milk. Combine chicken, bacon, onion, garlic and zucchini in a food processor and whiz for 10 seconds, scraping down bowl and repeating if necessary.
Add soaked bread, cheese, egg and cornflour and whiz for another 20 secondss until well combined.
Dollop teaspoonfuls of mixture onto a lined tray and oven bake for 10-15 minutes until star ting to turn golden brown.
Serve as finger food with your choice of vegies and accompaniments. Remaining nuggets can be frozen and thawed at your convenience.
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