Join us for a live chat with Annabel Karmel

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Hands up if you’re an Annabel Karmel fan. Boy, do we have some exciting news for you! Well, two exciting bits of news, actually.

If your kids are as fussy as mine when it comes to food (and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone here), you’ll know Annabel is a bit of a children’s culinary genius. I can’t count the number of times I’ve turned to her books for an easy, healthy meal and both my girls have actually eaten it. In fact, Annabel’s Complete Baby & Toddler Meal Planner has sold three million copies, making it the second best-selling non-fiction hardback of all time.

So like me, you’ll be delighted to hear that she’s just launched a new book, Quick & Easy Weaning. It’s a guide to introducing solids that is full of delicious, nutritious and simple recipes that will have your baby eagerly reaching for the spoon.

And even more exciting? You’ll be able to ask Annabel about all things weaning and children’s nutrition directly, right here at Babyology. Yep, that’s right, Annabel will be here to answer all your questions personally in our live Q&A session on Monday, August 18. Annabel is coming to Australia to celebrate the launch of Quick & Easy Weaning and Annabel’s Family Cookbook, which Babyology covered in June.

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Starting solids can be tricky and surprisingly stressful, but Annabel’s book promises to make it a doddle. It has 100 step-by-step recipes from first purees – such as banana and blueberry, or baked sweet potato and butternut squash – to more adventurous flavours such as salmon with carrot and orange, or chicken curry. It also has weaning advice for baby’s first year and helpful meal planners, a lifesaver for busy families.

We’ll bring you more details on our live Q&A with Annabel next week, but keep Monday, August 18, free. In the meantime, Annabel’s given us a sneak peak at four recipes from Quick & Easy Weaning. Enjoy!

Tasty Beef Tagine with Sweet Potato

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MAKES 5 PORTIONS

Ingredients
1 tsp oil
75g onion, chopped
30g red pepper, diced
100g courgette, diced
100g carrot, diced
75g sweet potato, diced
100g lean minced beef
400g chopped tomatoes
½ tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp apple juice
100ml water

Method
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the vegetables and fry for 3 minutes. Add the beef and brown with the vegetables. Sprinkle in the cumin, then blend in the tomatoes, water and apple juice. Bring up to the boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until tender. Blend until smooth.

Mediterranean Vegetable Puree

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MAKES 5 PORTIONS (suitable for freezing)

Ingredients
100g red onion, chopped
150g courgette, diced
100g yellow pepper, diced
175g aubergine, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
400g tin chopped tomatoes
200ml unsalted vegetable stock
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
30g Cheddar, grated

Method
Put all  the ingredients except the basil and cheese into a saucepan. Cover with a lid and bring up to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes until soft. Add the basil then blend until smooth. Stir in the cheese until melted.

Chicken, Apricot and Butternut Squash

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MAKES 5 PORTIONS  (Suitable for Freezing)

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
50g onion, chopped
50g apple, chopped
75g carrot, peeled and diced
200g butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 dried apricots, chopped
1 chicken breast, diced
½ tsp garam masala
400g tin chopped tomatoes
100ml water

Method
Heat the oil. Add the onion, apple, carrot, squash, garlic and apricots and stir over the heat for 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring up to the boil. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Blend until smooth.

Blueberry, Pear and Banana

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MAKES 3 PORTIONS

Ingredients
2 pears, peeled and diced
150g blueberries
1 banana, sliced

Method
Put the pears and blueberries into a saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes until soft. Add the banana and blend until smooth.

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