12–18 months
Fork-mashed white beans
Main mealPrep 22 minCook 65 minPortions: 3
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons of dried white beans
- 1 ripe tomato
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
- Cooking water
Method
- Sort through the white beans and rinse them.
- Follow the soaking and cooking instructions on the packet; throw the soaking water away if the packet asks you to cook them in fresh water.
- With no salt added, cook until they are completely soft and crush between your fingers; do not use a slow cooker in place of the soaking and boiling the packet requires.
- Let them cool a little, then slip off the skins and throw them away.
- Cook the peeled, deseeded tomato with the olive oil until soft, combine with the beans and fork-mash.
Texture
Creamy fork-mashed beans, with no whole bean and no firm skin left.
Serving
Serve warm and let your child try eating it with a fork.
Preparing for choking safety
Undercooked or firm beans are never served. Dried bean skins stay firm even when cooked, so none is served before the skins are slipped off. The tomato must be peeled.
Key nutrients
ProteinIronFolateFibre
Storage
Cool within 1 to 2 hours of cooking, then refrigerate or freeze in small portions. Use a refrigerated portion within 2 days. Eat a defrosted portion within 24 hours. When reheating, heat until steaming hot all the way through, then let it cool before serving, and reheat any portion only once. Throw away a half-eaten portion rather than storing or reheating it.
Safety
Your child should be sitting upright and someone should stay with them while they eat. No salt or sugar is added to these recipes; honey is not given before one year. Their back teeth may not be through yet, so every piece must be soft enough to squash with gums and cut to a safe size. Children do not all manage the same texture at the same age — follow your child's pace rather than pushing. If your child has an allergy, eczema, or a family history of allergy, talk to your GP or health visitor before introducing new foods. Introduce foods that can trigger an allergic reaction one at a time and in small amounts, so you can spot any reaction.
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Recipes are a suggestion; they do not replace breast milk, formula, or your child's own feeding plan. If there is an allergy or a specific dietary situation, speak with a health professional.