Baby led weaning is so much fun. And easy! I loved prepping easy and nutritious food for my babies to fed themselves. These quinoa cakes were made because I had leftover quinoa, a baby led weaning baby, and a desire to feed my kids new foods. What started as a simple way to serve leftovers ended up being a stable in our home. All three of my kiddos loved these quinoa fritters for babies.

How we got into baby-led weaning

Back in 2014 when my oldest was only 9 months old, he insisted on feeding himself. I made tons of purees when he first started eating solids and he like the head-strong first child he was, he did not like me feeding him.  You know I’m not one to waste food (learn more about food waste here) so I had to figure out another way to use these purees.  This little quinoa cakes were the perfect way to incorporate my leftover purees.

What is baby-led weaning?

We offered all of our kids soft bites of food since they started eating.  This is considered baby-led weaning.  We did a mix of BLW and purees, but have found that they each liked the BLW foods much better.  The coolest part about BLW is that I was able to give them most of the food we ate instead of purchasing store bought foods.  I find this to be cheaper and less time consuming than preparing a special meal for the kids.

Now that the kids are older, I can even tell you that this has made them good eaters in the long run. They aren’t afraid to pick foods themselves and they seem to know when they are full because they have always regulated that part of feeding.

Why make quinoa cakes or quinoa fritters instead of serving plan quinoa?

I tried giving my kids the quinoa straight from my leftovers bowl, but it made a huge mess.  These little cakes are much easier to clean up!

Plus, it’s best to make something that the kids can easily pick up. It doesn’t frustrate them as easily.

Baby Led Weaning Quinoa Cakes Recipe

• 1 C. cooked quinoa
• 1/4 C. vegetable puree or baby food- we used green beans
• 2 eggs or egg substitute-  (1 tbsp. flax + 3 tbsp. water = one egg)

Mix it all together and form patties.  Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350* for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes 12 patties.

Robert wasn’t too sure about these at first back in 2014, but he finally got the hang of eating them. My other two boys loved eating them too!

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