Turkey and Vegetable Meatballs for Baby

All my babies started out on solids at 6 months old and started only with purees, all except my youngest. She is new to eating and doesn't seem to love purees as much as the others did. As a result, I’ve decided to try a mix of purees and baby led weaning (BLW), which means I am giving her larger pieces of food to hold onto and feed herself. So far, she seems to like feeding herself.

All of my babies were also vegetarians for the first 12-18 months, they ate plenty of high protein and high iron foods such as tofu, beans, lentils and peas but I didn't serve them meat, fish or poultry until they started to show interest in the meat my husband had on his plate. I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 25 years and was hoping I might have a buddy here at home because I’ve always been the only vegetarian in the house. My littlest one has shown an interest in meat and chicken from day one and these seem to be her most favourite foods, chicken soup and beef stew being at the top of the list. While making meatballs for the crew the other day, I decided to take out a portion before adding the salt and formed them into a longer patty so that it would be easier for her to hold. These are a great food for baby, easy for baby to hold, soft and high in iron while also having some vegetables added in. The rest of the family loves these meatballs cooked in a pot of tomato sauce and served on top of a big bowl of spaghetti.

Turkey Meatballs for Baby

Makes 15 meatballs

1 pkg (454g) of ground Turkey

1/4 cup quick oats

1/4 cup grated carrot

1/4 cup grated zucchini

1 tbsp grated onion

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 egg

2 tbsp tomato paste or puree

1 tsp oregano

Directions: