From around 8 months old my son became fascinated with touching and exploring his food. I came up with this recipe when I was planning on making him some regular mince in a pan and thought about how much more fun he would have if I gave him little meatballs instead. He absolutely loves holding these in his tiny hands and taking small nibbles.
This is a great way for your baby to develop a multi-sensory relationship with food, not to mention that this recipe is packed with protein, iron and flavour.
They are ideal for babies with teeth or toddlers and a fun way to encourage dipping.
What you’ll need:
- 250 grams lamb mince (beef or ostrich will also do)
- 1/3 cup toasted breadcrumbs
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 tomato finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbs parsley finely chopped
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp thyme
- Juice of half a lemon
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius
- Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl (mix with your hands to best distribute the ingredients evenly)
- Grease an oven tray
- Roll about 2 Tbs of the mixture into balls (about the size of frikkadels).
- Evenly distribute the balls on the oven tray
- Place the oven tray into the oven for 20 minutes
- Remove from the oven once cooking is finished and allow to cool
The mixture should make around 20 balls
Serve with yoghurt, hummus or even some mashed up avocado for your baba to dip into.
Unless you are catering for a small army or you don’t have a husband lurking around to eat any remaining morsels, these can also be frozen once cooked (provided that the mince had not been frozen and thawed previously).
When you are ready to use them simply thaw in the fridge and then heat before serving.
Note:
- Never leave your baby or toddler unsupervised while eating.
- The above may need to be adapted if your child has an allergy to any of the above mentioned ingredients.
Hungry Little Monkey 