Healthy Recipes for Babies from 12 to 24 Months Old

If your child is between 12 and 24 months old and you want them to grow up in a healthy way, here are some healthy recipes that can surely be very useful.

Reviewed and approved by the nutritionist Saúl Sánchez Arias.

Written by Saúl Sánchez Arias

Last update: 11 August, 2023

Here are some healthy recipes that are ideal for babies from the age of 12 to 24 months.

When our babies are just beginning to discover new ingredients and flavors, we can make them healthy homemade dishes that include fruits and vegetables.

When we don’t have a lot of time, it may be tempting to resort to foods that aren’t exactly healthy for our children. But the intake of junk food can have a negative effect on a child’s health.

Keep in mind that unhealthy eating habits during childhood can continue into adulthood, leading to life-long illness.

Therefore, it’s important for you to incorporate healthy recipes for your children, as they can bring along multiple benefits.

Benefits of healthy eating habits for babies

• Healthy foods provide energy.
• Healthy diets help maintain a healthy weight.
• Healthy eating allows the body to function properly.
• Healthy diets promote good moods.

8 healthy recipes for babies from the age of 12 to 24 months

Here are some healthy and balanced recipes that you can offer your baby:

1. Omelets with mushrooms

Ingredients

• Eggs.
• Mushrooms.
• Juice from 1 lemon.
• 2 tablespoons of milk.

Preparation

• The first thing you should do is clean the mushrooms properly.
• Next, add a few drops of lemon juice and the egg and milk. Proceed to mix all the ingredients together.
• In order to cook the omelet homogeneously prepare it in a pan.
• Next, cover the pan.
• Finally, steam the omelet for 15 minutes

2. Rice with vegetables

Vegetable intake is important at all stages of life. On the one hand, they represent an important source of many nutrients. But in addition, it is known that higher consumption helps to reduce the risk of chronic problems.

Therefore, it is worth introducing them from an early age to achieve better acceptance in the future.

Ingredients:

• 300 grams of round rice, it can be integral
• 3/4 liter of vegetable broth without salt
• 150 grams of red pepper
• 1 carrot
• 120 grams of peas
• 120 grams of crushed natural tomato
• Olive oil

Preparation:

• If you are going to use brown rice, start the preparation by cooking the rice in boiling water. After half an hour strain and reserve.
• While preparing the vegetables. Wash the pepper and carrot and cut into small cubes. Remove the peas from the freezer.
• In a wide casserole, add a little olive oil and sauté the carrot and pepper for about 5 minutes. Then add the peas and the crushed tomato and cook 10 more minutes over low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking
• At this time add the rice, cover with the broth and let it finish cooking everything together for 15 to 18 minutes.

If the recipe is prepared with white rice, this is added in the last step and left to cook for the last 15-18 minutes. In this case, it may be necessary to add a little more broth.

3. Chicken Burgers

A different way of preparing and presenting meat for the little ones. Chicken and turkey are easy to eat and highly digestible.

Ingredients:

• 250 grams of chicken breast
• 100 grams of zucchini
• A pinch of garlic powder (optional)
• Olive oil

Preparation:

• Wash the zucchini well, cut into small cubes and chop it in a food processor. Then put it in a clean cloth and squeeze to drain and remove excess water.
• Chop the chicken breast and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Divide the dough into 5 portions, shape it into a compact ball, and then flatten it into the shape of a hamburger.
• Heat a frying pan with a little olive oil and brown the hamburger. In principle, 5 minutes per side should be enough, but the final time will depend on its thickness.

With this amount, 5 portions are made, according to the recommended amounts of meat consumption for children. The rest can be distributed among other people or frozen to cook at another time.

4. Chickpea meatballs

So that they can eat legumes in a varied way, you can make delicious purees, hummus, hamburgers or meatballs like the ones we are detailing right now.

Ingredients:

• 1 jar of chickpeas cooked without salt
• Half an onion
• Parsley
• Vegetable or chicken broth without salt
• A little bit of sweet paprika
• Flour
• Olive oil

Preparation:

• To start, drain the chickpeas and rinse with a little water. Crush, pour into a bowl and reserve.
• Then heat a little oil in a pan or casserole and add a pinch of paprika. Integrate this mixture with the chickpeas.
• In the same frying pan, fry the diced onion and, when golden, add it to the bowl with the vegetables. Mix everything well and make a compact dough (if it is very soft you can add a little breadcrumb).
• Take small portions and make the meatballs. Pass through the flour and then brown them in a little oil. Then pour a cup of broth (and a few tablespoons of optional crushed tomato). Let everything cook together for a few minutes until the liquid reduces a little.

5. Carrot and egg puree

Ingredients

• Eggs.
• Potatoes.
• Carrots.
• Butter.
• 2 teaspoons of milk.

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 210°C and wash the potatoes and carrots.
• Next, peel and grate the potatoes and carrots and add a pinch of salt.
• Mix everything together with milk and mash the mixture with a fork.
• Place an individual serving in an oven safe bowl.
• Mold a hole in the center of the bowl and break the egg into it.
• Finally, sprinkle the bowl with slices of butter and bake for 8 minutes.

6. Boiled artichoke

Ingredients

• Artichoke.
• Potatoes.
• 20g of jam.
• White cheese and grated cheese.

Preparation

• First, dice the potatoes and then boil them for 15 minutes with the artichoke. Add a pinch of salt.
• After boiling, mash the potato with a fork.
• Add the white cheese and ham (cut into small cubes).
• Place the mixture on the bottom of the artichoke.
• Finally, sprinkle the grated cheese on the artichoke and then bake.

7. Chocolate banana mousse

Ingredients

• Banana.
• Sugar.
• Eggs.
• Dark chocolate (search for chocolate with the highest percentage of cocoa).

Preparation

• Peel the banana and cut it into slices.
• Then cook in a pot with 4 teaspoons of water and sugar and a piece of dark chocolate.
• Beat the egg white. Mix the egg with the banana puree, then put it into the fridge to cool.
• After it’s cool, it’s ready to serve.

8. Fish with a raw spinach puree

Ingredients

• 30g of fish.
• 100g of potatoes.
• 50g of raw spinach.
• Butter.

Preparation

• Steam the potatoes for 20 minutes.
• Add the fish to the steamer.
• Finally, place all of the ingredients into the blender and blend.

There are many healthy recipes for babies from the age of 12 to 24 months that you can offer your child.

You just need to be adventurous to try them out, play with the ingredients in order to prevent the dishes from becoming monotonous.

9. Macaroni with vegetables

Pasta is an adequate source of carbohydrates. As young children tend to like it quite a bit and it is easy to eat, it can be mixed with all kinds of ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 40 or 50 grams of macaroni (they can be whole grain if the baby is used to it)
• 3 or 4 broccoli florets
• Half carrot
• Some pumpkin cubes
• Olive oil

Preparation:

• Wash, peel and cut all the vegetables into small pieces. Then fry in a pan with a little olive oil. Optionally you can add a little tomato.
• Cover the vegetables with water and cook for about 15 minutes.
• On the other hand, boil the pasta to taste. Drain and reserve.
• When the vegetables are ready, mix with the macaroni. If you want you can add a little fresh cheese or cottage cheese.
• This recipe can be made with your favorite vegetables or those that are on hand: aubergines, peppers, zucchini, asparagus, etc. The amounts are just right for a small child, but larger amounts can be made for the whole family.