6-7 Months

Baby Muesli

1 pear, pealed and chopped
5 dried apricots, simmered in a little water until soft
150 ml fortified soya milk e.g. Plamil
15g oats

Place oats and soya milk in saucepan. Simmer for 3-4 mins or until mixture thickens. Cool a little and place in a blender with cooked apricots and pear chunks. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Vegetable Purée

1 large potato, peeled and chopped
florets removed from 1 broccoli stalk
1 courgette, sliced
2 or more tbs soya milk

Steam or boil all vegetables for 10 mins or until cooked. Cool a little and place in a blender with soya milk. Blend until smooth and creamy. Other vegetables can be used instead of those listed.

8-10 Months

Lentil Stew

25g dried red lentils
1 small potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 tsp tomato purée or tomato juice
1 small carrot, cubed

Place all ingredients in saucepan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil slowly and simmer until all liquid is absorbed and vegetables are softened. Cool a little and blend until smooth and creamy.

Baby's First Casserole

1 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium potato, diced
75g dried red lentils
1 tsp mixed dried herbs
50g tinned peas or beans
400ml vegetable stock
1-2 tbs vegetable oil for frying

Fry the onion in a little vegetable oil until tender. Add the remaining ingredients and place in a casserole dish with lid. Place in a preheated oven at 180C, 350F or gas mark 4 for approx 1 hour or until cooked. Cool a little before blending.

Quick Vegetable Stock

1 heaped tbs yeast extract or 1 tbs Marigold vegan bouillon mixed with approx 500-750ml boiling water

10+ Months

Quick Rusks

Cut a thick slice from a loaf of wholemeal bread. Cut into thick strips. Place on baking tray and bake for 15 mins at 180C, 350F or gas mark 4.

Minestrone Soup

1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium potato
1 medium carrot
1/2 large tin tomatoes, chopped
1/2 stick celery
50g cabbage, finely chopped
50g peas
1 small tin haricot beans
75g dried pasta shapes
vegetable oil for frying
1 litre of vegetable stock

Fry onion and garlic in vegetable oil. Add celery and fry for a little longer. Add remaining ingredients except pasta and simmer for 20 mins. Add pasta and simmer for a further 10 mins.

Lentil Soup

50g dried red lentils
1 small carrot, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
280ml soya milk
280ml vegetable stock
1/2 tsp mixed herbs
little seasoning - depending on age

Place all ingredients in a pan and simmer for 45 mins. Allow to cool a little, then blend.

Pasta

There are many ready-made pasta sauces on the market, and they're much quicker to use if time is of the essence. If time allows, freshly made sauces are, of course, a better option. The Vegan Society's Animal Free Shopper provides a list of pasta sauces suitable for vegans. To make a ready-made basic sauce more interesting, you can add a variety of finely chopped and lightly fried vegetables e.g. mushrooms, red peppers, or onions. Wheat-free and gluten-free pasta is available for those with sensitivities, and can usually be found in whole/health food shops. These are usually made from rice, millet or maize.

Pasta and Tomato Sauce

350g jar of pasta sauce
450g firm plain tofu
3 tbs soya sauce
2-3 adult portions of small dried pasta shells, bows or twists
lightly fried vegetables of your choice
boiling water to cook pasta

Cut tofu into small cubes, cover in soya sauce and marinade for 30 mins. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and place pasta in boiling water. Simmer until tender for approx 10 mins. Wholemeal pasta takes slightly longer. Heat pasta sauce in another pan with cubes of tofu. When pasta has finished cooking, drain thoroughly and add to the sauce along with lightly fried vegetables. Mix thoroughly and serve. This should make enough for about 2 adults, depending on appetites.

Shepherd's Pie

750g potatoes, peeled and cubed
25g-50g vegan margarine
50ml or more soya milk
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
75g dried red lentils, cooked in water until tender
1 x 400g tin tomatoes, chopped
150ml vegetable stock
vegetable oil for frying

Steam potatoes until soft. Place in separate bowl and add margarine. Mash thoroughly, adding soya milk until potato is smooth and creamy. Place aside. Heat vegetable oil in frying pan and add onions and celery. Fry until tender. Add carrot, chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock. Simmer for 20 mins or until lentils are cooked and liquid is absorbed. Place in casserole dish and spread creamed potato on top. Heat in oven at 180C, 350F or gas mark 4 for 15-20 mins until potato is browned on top.

Bean Stew

75g dried peas and beans, soaked overnight
1 dsp dried lentils
1 carrot, diced
1 small parsnip, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
15g plain flour
1 dsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp mixed herbs
1/2 litre vegetable stock
vegetable oil for frying

Fry onion lightly in vegetable oil. Add remaining ingredients except flour, bring to the boil, and simmer gently for approx 1 hr until vegetables are cooked. Add 1 tbs cold water to flour and mix to a paste. Add this to stew and cook for few mins until it thickens. Purée or serve as it is if child is older.

Vegetable Pasties

100g dried brown lentils
275ml water for cooking lentils
3 medium carrots, diced
1 stick celery, finely chopped
220g potatoes, diced
150g peas, tinned or fresh
2 tsp yeast extract
1 tbs tomato puree
1/2 tsp mixed herbs
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
450g shortcrust pastry (home-made or frozen)
soya milk to glaze

Wash lentils and boil in water with celery for approx 40 mins until tender. Drain well. Steam or boil peas, carrots and potatoes until tender. Place all ingredients except pastry in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Allow to cool. Roll out pastry and cut out rounds to make pasties. Make very small pasties so the child can easily hold them. Place spoonful of filling in middle of pastry round and moisten edges with soya milk. Bring edges together and press firmly to seal. Brush with soya milk to glaze, and poke holes with fork to allow hot air to escape. Bake for 15-20 mins at 200C, 400F or gas mark 6. Remove from oven when brown on top. Allow to cool. May be served hot or cold.

Fruit Tofu Dessert

75g mixed dried fruit
75g silken tofu
50g live soya yoghurt

Gently cook dried fruit in a little water until soft and tender. Cool a little. Blend with yoghurt and silken tofu until smooth and creamy.

Milky Fruit Jelly

1 heaped tsp agar agar
250ml pineapple or other sweet juice
250ml concentrated fortified soya milk e.g. Plamil

Heat soya milk and juice. Add agar agar and boil for 2-3 mins. Place in mould and allow to set in fridge.

Plain Fruit Jelly

500-750ml sweet fruit juice e.g. pineapple and mango
2 heaped tsp agar agar powder

Heat fruit juice until boiling. Add agar agar and allow to cook for 2-3 mins. Pour into a jelly mould and allow to set in the fridge overnight. Serve with soya cream.

Trifle

500-750ml jelly (use recipe above)
500-750ml custard (made with custard powder, soya milk and sugar)
cake (use half of the Birthday Sponge Cake recipe below)
Rich's Whip Topping (frozen whipped vegan cream)
banana or other fresh fruit, diced (optional)
grated chocolate for decoration

Make jelly (adding fruit if desired) and allow to set firmly in bowl in fridge. A clear deep glass bowl allows all the layers to be seen. In the meantime, make custard using instructions on tin. When cooked, allow to cool by placing saucepan in cold water in sink. Do not allow water into pan. Either keep stirring or place clingfilm over pan to prevent skin forming. When completely cool, spread over jelly. Whip up cream and spread over custard layer. Fork into peaks. Sprinkle with grated chocolate for decoration. Stand in fridge for a couple of hours (or overnight) to set completely.

Birthday Cakes

These two recipes can either be made as described, or used as a basis for creative birthday cake making e.g. bake in square cake tins, cut into blocks and over with coloured icing to make cars or trains. Add vegan chocolate biscuits for wheels, liquorice for bumpers, Whizzers (Smarties look-alikes) for door handles, etc. Alternatively, bake in a round tin and decorate with coloured icing to make a clown's face. Vegan cakes can be as imaginative and exciting as any non-vegan counterpart!

Plain Sponge Cake

250g self raising wholemeal flour, sieved
75-100g raw cane sugar
125g margarine
3 tsp baking powder
275ml vanilla soya dessert or custard
1/4 tsp almond essence and/or vanilla essence
pinch of sea salt
soya milk

Over a low heat dissolve margarine and sugar. Allow to cool. In separate bowl mix together dry ingredients. Add margarine mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. Add soya dessert or custard and essence. A soft dropping consistency is required, so add extra soya milk if necessary. Place in two square baking tins and bake at 180F for 25-35 mins or until cooked. Remove from oven and cool a little before removing from tins. Remove from tins and cool completely on wire tray. Sandwich with jam or 'butter' icing made with vegan margarine and icing sugar (see recipe below). Cover with Regalice ready-to-roll icing, which is available in different colours. Place animal or cartoon character shapes on top.

Chocolate Cake

200g self raising wholemeal flour
2 heaped tsp baking powder
25g cocoa
75g Barbados sugar
100ml vegetable oil
550-750ml cold water
1 bar Chocolate Patissier Menier
1 packet Whizzers dairy Free Chocolate Beans (Smarties look-alikes)

Place all ingredients except chocolate and Whizzers in food processor. Mix thoroughly for a few seconds. Place mixture in greased tin and bake for 30 mins at 180C in two round cake tins. Remove from oven and allow to cool a little before removing from tin. Remove from tin and cool completely on wire rack. Melt bar of chocolate in a double bowl and spread on top of cake. Allow to set overnight for best results. Mix icing sugar with a little hot water to a soft consistency. Ice top of the cake with HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Place Whizzers around the edge of top of cake.

'Butter' Icing

75g margarine
100g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat margarine and icing sugar until creamy. Add flavouring and beat again. Use as filling for sponge cakes.