Sweet potato and red lentil mash

A soft fork-mashed mixture; small soft pieces are fine, with no firm sweet potato cubes or hard lentils left.

Serve warm and let your child eat it with a spoon.

The sweet potato must be soft enough to mash with a fork; firm cubes can be swallowed whole. The lentils must collapse completely — undercooked pulses leave firm grains.

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.

Your child should be sitting upright and someone should stay with them while they eat — never while walking, running or in a moving car. No salt or sugar is added to these recipes. Their back teeth may not be fully through, so every piece must be soft enough to squash with gums and cut to a safe size. Round foods such as grapes and cherry tomatoes are always quartered lengthways. Whole nuts and popcorn are never given. Egg, meat and fish must be cooked all the way through, and unpasteurised dairy is not used. 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.