Get cooking with baby feeding expert Annabel Karmel's delicious recipes for babies and toddlers as well as meals you can adapt for the whole family

• Lovely lentils
• Fillets of plaice with carrots, cheese and tomato
• Annabel's Bolognese sauce
• Pasta stars with carrot and tomato
• Apple and pear
• Yoghurt with apricot and banana

Lovely Lentils

Lentils feature high up in the list of 'superfoods'. They are an excellent source of protein, iron, zinc and potassium. Iron from non-animal sources like lentils is not easy to absorb. In order to boost iron absorption you need to give vitamin C-rich fruit or diluted juice during the same meal.

It's easy to prepare home made baby food in bulk and freeze extra portions so you don't have to cook every day.

I have recently launched a range of equipment called 'Make Your Own' in Boots which includes covered ice-cube trays, pots for freezing baby food and blenders.

You can transform this tasty puree into a soup for the family simply by adding more stock and some seasoning.

50g finely chopped onion
1 medium carrot (approx 100g), peeled and chopped
20g chopped celery
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp split red lentils
250g sweet potato, peeled and chopped
400ml unsalted vegetable stock or water

Heat the vegetable oil and saute the onion, carrot and celery for about five minutes or until softened. Rinse the lentils and saute for one minute. Add the sweet potato and pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer, covered with a lid for 20 minutes. Puree with an electric blender.

Makes 5 portions

Recipe from Annabel Karmel's New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner, published by Ebury. For more on nutrition and feeding your baby and toddler visit www.annabelkarmel.com

Fillets of plaice with carrots, cheese and tomato

Fish is an excellent low-fat source of protein and it is important to encourage a liking for fish early on. I find that one of the best fish to introduce to young babies is plaice as it purees to a smooth consistency. Here, I have mixed it with a tasty cheese and tomato sauce and carrots, so this recipe provides a good source of protein, calcium and vitamins.

250g carrots, peeled and sliced
225g plaice fillets, skinned
2 tbsp milk
40g unsalted butter
2 medium ripe tomatoes, skinned de-seeded and chopped
40g grated Cheddar cheese

Steam the carrots for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, place the fish in a microwave dish, add the milk, dot with about 15g butter and cover, leaving an air vent. Microwave on high for two to three minutes. Alternatively, put the fish in a pan, cover with a little milk and simmer for about three to four minutes or until cooked.

Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan, add the tomatoes and saute until mushy. Stir in the grated cheese until melted. Blend or mash the cooked carrots together with the tomato mixture. Remove the fish from the cooking liquor and flake, checking to make sure there are no bones. Mix the fish together with the carrots and tomatoes. For younger babies you can blend the fish together with the carrots and tomato for a smoother texture.

Makes 4 portions

Recipe from Annabel Karmel's Top 100 Baby Purees, published by Ebury. For more on nutrition and feeding your baby and toddler visit www.annabelkarmel.com

Annabel's Bolognese sauce

Babies are born with an iron store that lasts for about six months, and a baby's iron requirements are particularly high between the ages of six months and two years. This is a critical time for the growth of the brain, and a lack of iron can lead to impaired mental and physical development.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
50g finely chopped onion
20g chopped celery
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 medium carrot (approx 85g), peeled and grated
100g lean minced beef
150ml Annabel Karmel's Tomato, Carrot and Cheese Sauce (from Boots)
100ml unsalted stock or boiling water
quarter tsp fresh thyme leaves or a pinch of dried thyme
pinch sugar
3 tbsp Annabel's organic mini pasta shells (from Boots)

Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the onion and celery over a low heat for about five minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the grated carrot and saute for four minutes. In a separate pan, dry fry the minced beef until browned, stirring occasionally. Add to the onion and carrot.

Pour over the tomato and basil sauce, boiling water or stock and add the thyme and pinch of sugar. Cover and cook over a low heat for about 12 minutes. Remove from the pan and pulse for a second or two in a blender to make a smoother texture.

Meanwhile, cook the shell pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain and mix with the Bolognese sauce.

Makes 3 portions

For more on nutrition and feeding your baby and toddler visit www.annabelkarmel.com

Pasta stars with carrot and tomato

Interestingly, carrots are more nutritious when cooked with a little fat, such as a knob of butter, as the betacarotene they contain is absorbed more readily. The same is true of tomatoes. They are rich in lycopene a powerful antioxidant which is better absorbed by our bodies when tomatoes are cooked in a little oil or butter.

125g carrots, peeled and sliced
25g butter
3 medium tomatoes, skinned, de-seeded and quartered
50g grated Cheddar cheese
2 tbsp Annabel Karmel pasta stars (from Boots)

Steam the carrots for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Warm the butter in a separate pan. Add the tomatoes and saute until mushy. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese until melted.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water according to the instructions on the packet, then drain.

Puree the cooked carrots with the electric hand blender together with three tablespoons of the liquid from the bottom of the steamer. Blend together with the tomato and cheese mixture and stir in the pasta stars.

Makes 4 portions

Recipe from Annabel Karmel's Feeding Your Baby and Toddler, published by Dorling Kindersley. For more on nutrition and feeding your baby and toddler visit www.annabelkarmel.com

Apple and pear

Apple and pear puree is an ideal first food being easy to digest and unlikely to cause allergies. Choose sweet apples like the Pink Lady variety or Royal Gala. Apples and pears contain pectin which can slow things down if your baby has loose stools.

2 dessert apples
2 ripe pears (eg Conference pears)
4 tbsp pure unsweetened apple juice or water
pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)

Put the fruit into a saucepan together with the apple juice or water, cover and cook over a low heat until tender (about six to eight minutes). If you like, you could add a pinch of cinnamon. Blend the fruit to a smooth puree.

Makes 4 portions

Recipe from Annabel Karmel's Superfoods For Babies and Children

Yoghurt with apricot and banana

Recipe from Annabel Karmel's Top 100 Baby Purees, published by Ebury. For more on nutrition and feeding your baby and toddler visit www.annabelkarmel.com