Flavoursome Christmas Day Weaning Tips
Weaning at Christmas is an exciting time for parents, it’s an opportunity to introduce your little one to his or her first taste of Christmas, allowing those magical memories to begin. Christmas is a time for family. A time for everyone to sit around the dinner table and enjoy Christmas dinner together regardless of age. Whilst Christmas isn’t the main festival in our home (being Muslim), we always have Christmas dinner on Christmas day – a British tradition that we never miss!
So, what are you planning to feed your little one on Christmas day? Have a read of my handy tips below to help you decide.
Christmas day is a great time to introduce your little one to finger foods.
Most of Christmas dinner can be offered to baby as individual elements without having to worry about cooking different meals – turkey pieces, chicken pieces, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, broccoli, swede and other veggies. Just remember to ensure there is no salt or sugar on your little ones finger food, and steer clear of the gravy and stuffing as these two accompaniments can have a high salt content.
Spice up those Christmas veggies
If you don’t want to feed your little one bland finger foods on Christmas Day (as turkey can be), try coating your accompanying vegetables in a little festive baby-friendly seasoning:
- Carrots coated in a little olive oil and ground cinnamon
- Brussel sprouts teamed with garlic and rosemary
- Parsnips go well with basil and parsley
So get creative… not only will these flavours be delicious for baby to try, they’ll also taste great for the adults too.
IMPORTANT: Remember to steer clear of any honey-glazing, as honey is not suitable for babies under 1 year.
Not ready for finger foods? Try a festive puree instead
No need to cook up special purees on Christmas day, take a little cooked meat (i.e. turkey, chicken etc.), and a selection of vegetables from your Christmas dinner and whizz them up in a blender to create soft lumps or a puree. The warm spices used to cook the vegetables with will add an extra aromatic taste to the puree. Add a little water to loosen the puree if necessary.
Christmas dinner is later than baby’s feeding time
Try to keep to your little one’s schedule and offer a meal or snack before Christmas dinner.
Cooking a separate meal for bubba on Christmas Day.
If you prefer to cook a separate meal for your little one, you can cook a festive meal that’ll still allow your little one to experience those delicious, aromatic winter and Christmas flavours - cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, rosemary. Try some of my recipes below:
So there you have it – all of my tips for a not-so-bland Christmas dinner for baby. I hope you find them useful. And here are some extra Christmas weaning tips and advice from my mummy friends:
Emma– mum of two and blogs at Mellow Mummy
“If you can convince a weaning baby to try a sprout from 6 months old while they are exploring new tastes and textures then they'll never have known anything else. Both of my girls love sprouts and I'm sure it’s because they discovered them before they discovered sweeter things.”
Shona – mum of one and blogs at Training Mummy
“Molly will be 10 and a half months then so she will be able to have a taste of everything we have. She might get a bit of soup to start with at her usual time (around 12noon). We will have broth so it will be very healthy for her, full of vegetables. We will spoon feed her this so we know she is getting food and will feel fed.”
“For her main meal we will give her a bit of everything as finger foods so she can try everything out as we wants (including Brussel Sprouts). She will get this when we have out dinner”
Sarah – mum of one and blogs at Knott Bump and Us
“I am planning to mix it up a bit and change Isla's mealtime routine on Christmas day to be more in line with how we'll be eating.”
“I think we will offer her the same Christmas dinner as everyone else but perhaps not some of the most unhealthy items!!”
Do you have any Christmas weaning tips to share? Feel free to leave comments below.
