15 Brilliant Baby Led Weaning Hacks

As this is The Motherload® and none of us like the idea of being tied to the oven, so we asked our endlessly inventive MOLOs how they make BLW work for them:

The Motherload®’s Top 15 BLW Hacks

1. Stock up on pre-cut fruit and veg from the supermarket.  We like: broccoli/cauli florets, mango fingers, watermelon chunks, sweet potato chips.  If you’re lucky you get the packs that you just pop straight in the microwave.
2. Don’t forget the ready-to-eat whole fruits: banana and strawberries go down very well in our house.
3. And perfectly sized veg that just needs bunging in the microwave: new potatoes, baby corn and tenderstem broccoli for tea?  And repeat.
4. Hunt out the no salt cereals: Shredded Wheat minis softened with milk, or Kallo Rice Puffs mixed with a mashed banana are winners
5. Invest in some silicon muffin moulds: Louise Marie Rogers and Joanna Milne suggest pouring eggs into the mould with a filling of your choice: chopped veg, herbs, meat, any leftovers you have and slam them in a 180c oven until brown!  Put ham or pastry or a rolled out piece of bread at the bottom of the mould to make them easier to get out! Fave combos: frozen peas, mint and ham; Basil, cherry tomato and Brie; Apple bits and leftover pulled pork.
6. Discover the genius of fresh filled pasta.  Emma Bradley. Sam Whyld and Rowan Lawfull couldn’t live without this!  “Takes 3 minutes to cook and its good to go!  So many different flavours. And it freezes!! So you can literally freeze it in bags and get out a few bits at a time. And just cook it from frozen for 5 mins instead of three!! “
7. Learn to love Jus Roll Puff Pastry: Priya S and Siobhan Best both suggested using it to make tuna pinwheels! Blend tuna, red pepper, onion and cottage cheese and oregano and spread the paste on Jus Roll puff pastry. Roll up, cut into 1.5cm slices and bake! Best next day (less crumbly)
8. Fishcakes the MOLO way.  Anouska Dove, we salute you: “’Young’s cod straight from freezer, microwaved in 3 mins – a dream!  I flake it down as paranoid about bones, then squash into little balls when still moist from the microwave.  They go back together into perfect little Jewels of healthy eating!!”
9. Make the most of leftovers with Porridge Fingers:  This tip comes from Axela Butterscotch: “bake leftover porridge in the oven and then cut into strips/bars. A few times when I was trying to get a mother of the year award I grated carrot & cheese into it. Baby loved it.”
10. Shove all everything & anything in a pot in the oven for a meal in 30 minutes: Marxiel Robson suggests stuffing a stew with carrots, parsnips, peas and sweetcorn and shoving it in the oven. “Our little ones love it. It takes 30 minutes, I don’t cook anything for my kids that takes more than that. Too much effort. “
11. Who needs Dominoes when you’ve got pizza toast? Lisa James is a fan of this speedy meal – “grill one side of bread, turn it over, spread tomato purée on the no grilled side, top with grated cheese and herbs or Worcester sauce.”
12. Dig out an old school crinkle cutter.  Top tip from Helen Davies who suggests using it to chop fresh veg and fruit, making it easier to hold for tiny hands.
13. If in doubt, head to the baby aisle: Organix Rice Cakes, Organix Cheese Stars, Kiddilicious Blueberry Wafers and Organix Carrot Sticks are basically Wotsits in disguise!
14. As for clearing up afterwards, Lorna Endsor and Priya Nagda-Swainson have some clean up tips – Put a plastic sheet under the high chair – loads easier to wipe clean rather than mopping the floor each time – and strip baby off for messy meals before chucking them straight in the bath.
15. And as MOLO Léonie Cormack-Cook says, the best thing about BLW “is that babies don’t mind couscous, strawberries and avocado together (i.e. what’s in the fridge!)” #winning

 What are your awesome BLW hacks?  Share them in the comments below…

To read more about baby led weaning click here or if you’re interesting in weaning via the puree route, click here

About Heather

Heather Davies-Mahoney is a radio producer, who can’t help producing in her spare time too. So far she has produced a marriage, a mortgage, a mini-me and a mountain of possety muslins. In her NCT group she is the instigator of Boobs & Boxsets afternoons.

Twitter: @heatherrhian

Blog: heatherrhian.wordpress.com