​​​​​​​Between 9 and 12 months, your baby is likely to have developed a few favourite foods and may also have started to feed unaided. Smooth purées are likely to be less popular now. You may also notice that your baby starts refusing to eat, becoming interested in the exciting world around it. This may coincide with a refusal to be spoon-fed. While this can be challenging, be patient—it is a positive stage of development and a step towards your baby enjoying the same foods as the rest of the family. As the months pass, you should continue to broaden your baby’s palate with new tastes. Vegetables and hard fruit should all be well cooked and cut into sticks or roughly blended using your Braun Multiquick hand blender on a low speed. Meats should also be given cooked and roughly puréed or finely chopped. Around 12 months, a small amount of harder cheese such as cheddar can be given as finger food as it is rich in protein, packed with calcium for healthy teeth and bones and offers plenty of energy-giving fat to use at this age. Whole eggs (which should be well cooked) can also be included and are full of protein and essential vitamins.                                                                   ​​​​​​​                                                    ​​​​​​​                                                                                                                                                  

Makes 3 portions Makes approx. 250 ml Cooking time: 3 mins Ingredients ​​​​​​​ 100 ml yoghurt – either plain, vanilla or flavored 1/2 peach, skinned and diced 100 ml milk Preparation ​​​​​​​ Place all ingredients together in the beaker and blend using the MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          ​​​​​​​

Makes approx. 700 g / 3-4 portions Cooking time: 30 mins Ingredients ​​​​​​​ 1 skinless chicken breast, diced 1 pear, cored and diced 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced 120 g courgette, finely chopped 250 ml low salt vegetable or chicken stock Preparation ​​​​​​​ Place the stock in a small pot and bring to boil. Add the chicken, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 mins. Add the sweet potato and pear and simmer for another 10 mins. Add the courgette and simmer for 5 more mins, until all ingredients are cooked and tender. Purée in the pot using your MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ​​​​​​​

Makes approx. 300 g / 4 portions Cooking time: 15 mins Ingredients 2 courgettes, chopped into chunks 75 g cream cheese Tiny pinch of paprika Tiny pinch of fresh dill Preparation Boil or steam the courgettes until soft (6-8 mins). Then purée them in a beaker using the MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender and leave to cool. Mix in the cream cheese, add herbs, then serve. Serve with pieces of toast.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ​​​​​​​

Makes approx. 250 g / 4 portions Cooking time: 25 mins Ingredients 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 garlic clove 30 g carrots, cut into pieces 200 g canned tomatoes 1 tbsp tomato purée pinch of sugar 2-3 basil leaves Preparation Stew the garlic and carrot until soft in a small pot with vegetable oil and a small amount of water, then add the canned tomatoes, tomato purée and sugar. Simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally, then add the basil and blend in the pot using the MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender, just before serving. Serve with pieces of toast or rice cakes. Note Garlic is optional, depending on baby’s preferences.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ​​​​​​​

Makes approx. 450 g / 4-5 portions Cooking time: 20 mins Ingredients ​​​​​​​ 1/2 tsp butter 20 g onions 160 g carrots 200 g tinned lentils 200 ml water Preparation ​​​​​​​ Quarter and finely chop the onions using the chopper accessory. Melt the butter in a pot over a moderate heat then add the onions and cook until softened. Dice and chop the carrots with the chopper accessory (in two batches if necessary) and put them into the pot together with the lentils, stirring well to mix. Add the and simmer for approx. 10 mins over a medium heat until the carrots are tender. Once cooked, take the pot off the heat and allow to stand until it has cooked slightly, then blend to a textured purée using the MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              ​​​​​​​

Makes 3 servings Prep time: 8 minutes Cooking time: 20 mins Ingredients ​​​​​​​ 3 beetroots, peeled 1 medium potato, peeled 1 slice of onion 1/8 tsp ground caraway 450 ml thin vegetable broth 3 tsp rapeseed oil 50 g yoghurt, 3.5% fat Preparation ​​​​​​​ Wearing single-use rubber gloves, cut the peeled beetroots into small pieces and place in a suitable pot with the vegetable broth (450 ml) and bring to the boil. At the same time, add the potato, onion and caraway and simmer for 20 minutes over a reduced heat. Add the rapeseed oil to the cooled vegetable mixture and purée into a consistent mixture in the beaker using the MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender. Stir in the yoghurt with a spoon. Tip When buying the vegetable broth, make sure it contains iodised salt.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ​​​​​​​

Makes 6 servings (for children under 1 year) Prep time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 20 mins Ingredients   ½ of an onion 4 medium mushrooms 40 g bread crumbs 250 g ground meat (half beef, half pork) 2 egg yolks 1 tbsp olive oil 250 g tomato flesh, peeled and seeded 150 ml thin vegetable broth 1 tbsp tomato purée 10 g flat leaf parsley Preparation   Peel the onion, quarter and finely chop in the MultiQuick 5 Baby MQ 20 chopper accessory. Clean the mushrooms, quarter and add to the beaker. Add the bread crumbs, ground meat and egg yolks and purée into a uniform mixture with the MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender. Cut the mixture into walnut-sized balls and roll with wetted palms. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Meanwhile, heat the tomatoes, vegetable broth and tomato paste in a small pot and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. Wash the parsley, pat it dry and finely chop in the MultiQuick 5 Baby MQ 20 chopper accessory. Transfer the tomato sauce to the beaker and finely purée with the MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender. Season to taste with parsley. Tip Two to three meatballs with little tomato sauce and four tablespoons of pasta is a child-appropriate serving.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            ​​​​​​​

Makes 2 servings Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 mins Ingredients   60 g rice ¼ of a red onion 60 g chicken breast fillet 2 tbsp rapeseed oil 100 g apple 100 g parsnips, peeled 150 ml water 1 tbsp raisins Pinch of curry powder Pinch of cumin ¼ tsp thyme Preparation   First cook the rice according to the instructions on the package, without adding salt. Peel the red onion and finely chop in the MultiQuick 5 Baby MQ 20 chopper accessory. Rinse the chicken breast under cold water, pat dry and slice into strips. Heat the rapeseed oil in a non-stick pan and sauté the onion and chicken breast strips. Meanwhile, cut the apple and parsnips into chunks and add to the pan. Deglaze with the water (150 ml). Add the raisins and spices and simmer everything over a low heat for about 15 minutes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ​​​​​​​

Makes 2 servings Prep time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 10-12 mins Ingredients   50 g pasta, e.g. fusilli 70 g peeled parsnips 120 g peeled carrots 200 ml water 1 tbsp rapeseed oil 2 tbsp orange juice 30 g frozen peas Preparation   Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package, without adding salt. Cut the parsnips and carrots into small pieces and place in a suitable pot with a little water (200 ml) and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to the beaker. Add the rapeseed oil and orange juice and purée with the MultiQuick 5 Baby hand blender. Allow the peas to thaw and mash them with a fork. Mix them into the purée along with the drained pasta. Tip This purée is training for eating the same food as the rest of the family. In earlier stages, you could also purée this dish entirely for your baby.