12–18 months
White beans with rice
Main mealPrep 22 minCook 65 minPortions: 4
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons of dried white beans
- 4 tablespoons of rice
- 1 ripe tomato
- 300 ml water
Method
- Sort through the 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, slip off the skins, throw the skins away and fork-mash them.
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear and cook it with the peeled, deseeded tomato until the grains are completely soft; stir the beans through and serve once warm.
Texture
Mashed beans among soft grains of rice, with no firm grain, no whole bean and no firm skin left.
Serving
Serve warm. Do not leave cooked rice standing — its storage rules are stricter than the other recipes.
Preparing for choking safety
Undercooked or firm beans are never served; dried pulses must be soaked and cooked as the packet instructs. Dried bean skins stay firm even when cooked and none is served before they are slipped off. The tomato must be peeled.
Key nutrients
ProteinIronFolateFibre
Storage
Cooked rice has its own stricter rule: cool it within 1 hour, refrigerate it and eat it within 24 hours. Never reheat rice more than once; when you do reheat it, heat until steaming hot all the way through, then let it cool before serving. 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.