Soups for Babies 6 to 12 Months

Soups are a tasty, healthy and wholesome meal for your baby. Here are a few recipes for healthy soups that your baby/children is sure to enjoy! All these soups are healthy and nutritious. These recipes are also suitable for children above 1 year and can be had as part of family meals with added seasoning, flavoring and herbs. Please feel free to make appropriate changes and additions to suit your palate and requirement.

1. Lentil soup

Ingredients

1 cup filtered water or Vegetable stock

2 tablespoon split yellow gram (moong dal) or split red lentils(masoor dal)

A Pinch of turmeric (haldi)

Method

Boil the lentils in half a cup of water with a pinch of turmeric (haldi) until it is completely cooked and soft. Mash the dal and add the remaining water. Boil again for a few minutes and strain through a wire-meshed sieve to get a clear dal soup.

You can gradually reduce the quantity of water to the mashed dal to make it a thicker and more wholesome meal for your baby.

Recipe Courtesy: Babycenter.in

2. Carrot and Beetroot Soup

Ingredients

1/4 of a beetroot; peeled and chopped

1 carrot; peeled and chopped

2 cups filtered water or Vegetable stock

A slice of lemon

Method

Add the water to the chopped beetroot and carrot. Pressure cook till the vegetables are completely cooked and soft. Mash the mixture. Strain through a wire-meshed sieve to get a clear vegetable soup.

Initially offer your baby the water alone, then gradually include the mashed vegetables as well. You can also add potatoes for an interesting variation in taste as well as to make the soup thicker.

Variations:

You can also do different veggie combinations to prepare this soup.

Notes:

a) 1/2 cup beetroot + 1/4 cup carrot + 1/4 cup cauliflower

b) 1/2 cup bottlegourd + 1/4 cup cauliflower + 1/4 cup potato

c) 1/4 cup potato + 1/4 cup carrot + 1/4 cup French beans + 1/4 cup cauliflower

d) 1/2 cup cauliflower + 1/2 cup bottlegourd + 1/2 cup carrot + 1/4 cup tomatoes

Recipe Courtesy: My lovely sister; Sharon

3. Apple and Carrot Soup with Potatoes

  

Ingredients

1/4 cup apple; peeled, cored and chopped

2 tablespoons carrot; peeled and chopped

1/4 cup potato; peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon onion; finely chopped

½ teaspoon oil/ghee

1 cup filtered water or Vegetable stock

Method

Heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker and sauté chopped onions for 2 minutes. Add chopped apple, carrot and potato and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the water and cover and cook for 2 to 3 whistles. Cool and puree. Strain and reheat. Serve warm.

Notes:

Once the baby is used to the flavors of this soup, you don’t need to strain it. Add a dash of pepper and a few drops of lemon juice.

Recipe Courtesy: My sister, Sharon

4. Tomato and Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

1 medium size Onion; sliced lengthwise

1/2 cup Carrots; coarsely chopped

1/2 cup Cauliflower; cut into florets

1/4 cup French Beans; coarsely chopped

2 big Tomatoes; coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon Butter (you can substitute this with vegetable or olive oil)

2 cups Water or Vegetable stock

Method

Take a pressure cooker and add the butter/oil into it. Add the onions and sauté for a minute on low flame, do not let the onions turn brown. Add the rest of the vegetables except the tomatoes, and sauté for another minute. Add the tomatoes the last. Mix well. Add water/stock and cover and cook for 10 minutes or till done. (the veggies need to be soft and mushy) Once cooked and the pressure dropped, open the pressure cooker and cool the mixture. Using a hand held blender, blend the mixture into a smooth mix. You can alternatively do this in a mixer/grinder. Adjust the water, if the mixture is too thick, make it thin by adding water or stock, the consistency is your wish. Serve warm with breadsticks/soupsticks/toast.

Notes:

You can also add 1 or 2 peppercorns and a bay leaf into the pressure cooker while cooking the veggies for added flavor. Just remember to take them out while blending or liquidizing.

5. Mixed Vegetable Soup

This vegetable soup can be included in your baby's diet once you've introduced a couple of vegetables to her. You can make the soup thick or watery.

Ingredients

1/4 piece of a medium-sized carrot, peeled and chopped

1/4 piece of a medium-sized potato, peeled and chopped

a small piece of bottle gourd (lauki or doodhi), peeled and chopped

1/4 piece of medium-sized tomato, peeled and chopped

A small part of a medium-sized cabbage (patta gobhi), chopped

3 cups of filtered water

Method

Cook all the vegetables in the water till they are soft. Mash the mixture and strain through a wire-meshed sieve to get a thick soup or strain only the water to get a clear soup.

You can use the clear soup as a base for the baby's rice cereal mix as well.

Recipe Courtesy: Babycenter.in

6. Baby’s Little Pasta Soup

Ingredients

1 & 1/2 cups vegetable/chicken stock

2 tablespoon uncooked pastina

Method

Bring the broth to a gentle boil and add pastina. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 7 to 8 minutes or until pastina is cooked well. Serve warm with breadsticks/soupsticks/toast.

Notes:

a) You can also add veggies like finely chopped or mashed carrots, creamy spinach, tiny bits of broccoli, chicken etc.)

7. Chicken Soup

Ingredients

1/4 cup to 1/2  cup Chicken; cooked & shredded)

1 & 1/2 cups Chicken stock

1 to 2 cloves Garlic; crushed

2 Shallots/Pearl onions/Small onions; crushed

1 small size Carrot

3 to 4 florets Cauliflower

Salt; to taste (optional)

1 teaspoon Pepper

1 teaspoon Oil

Method

Heat oil in a soup pot and sauté garlic and shallots for about 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame. Add chicken stock and water (if necessary) and let it boil. When it comes to a boil, add carrot and cauliflower; cover and cook for a few minutes. Once the veggies have been cooked, add the cooked chicken along with pepper and salt and cover and cook again for about 1 minute on a medium flame and 1 or 2 minutes on a gentle sim with the lid open.

Notes:

Cook the chicken with pepper and a small piece of ginger because ginger enhances flavor of the stock and also aids digestion.

8. Creamy Onion and Chicken Soup

Ingredients

1 small size Big Onion; finely chopped

1 teaspoon Butter

1 teaspoon Cornflour (optional)

1 soup bowl Milk; boiled

3 to 4 tablespoon Vegetable stock (refer notes)

Salt; to taste (optional)

1/4 teaspoon Pepper (black or white)

2 teaspoon Cream Cheese

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Fresh Parsely/Coriander; finely chopped

Method

Heat butter in a pot and add chopped onions and saut'e till golden brown. (make sure it is browned and caramelized well) Add boiled milk and simmer for a few minutes. Add cheese along with pepper, salt and freshly chopped parsely and stir well. Now add vegetable stock and mix well. At this time, add cornflour and stir well till it starts thickening. (be sure to get rid of any lumps) Serve warm with breadsticks/soupsticks/toast.

9. Roasted Pumpkin & Carrot Soup

Ingredients

1/4 portion of 1 Pie Pumpkin

1 small size Carrot; roughly chopped

2 tablespoon Onion; finely sliced

1 cup Vegetable/Chicken Stock

1 small piece Cinnamon stick

1 Clove

Salt; to taste (optional)

Cracked pepper; to taste

1/2 teaspoon Brown Sugar (optional)

A little Olive oil

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius. Cut pumpkin into medium sized chunks. Scoop out seeds. Clean carrot and cut into medium size chunks. Place pumpkin (cut side up) and chopped carrot on a greased baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and bake until golden and roasted through. (best way to know if the pumpkin is cooked – check and see if fork tender)

Once the pumpkin has cooled slightly, scoop the pumpkin and keep aside.

Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté cinnamon and clove for a few minutes. Add sliced onion along with brown sugar. Sauté till onion turns golden brown and is caramelized well. Add the roasted pumpkin and carrot and stir for a few minutes. Now add the vegetable/chicken stock to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Puree with a stick blender or a normal blender/liquidizer. Place the saucepan back on the stove and turn onto a medium heat. Heat through for a few minutes. Add enough salt and cracked pepper.

Serve warm with breadsticks/soupsticks/toast.

Notes:

1. To lift up this soup a little, you can add a little milk to it. A mixture of milk and cream cheese will also taste yummy!

2. You can also substitute pumpkin with bell peppers. Roasted bell peppers are super healthy too.

10. Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients

For Tomato Soup

2 plump Fresh Tomatoes; roughly chopped

1/2 tablespoon Tomato Paste

1 tablespoon Tomato Sauce

1 small size Carrot; roughly chopped

1 small size Big Onion; roughly chopped

2 small cloves of Garlic; crushed

1/2 a Bay Leaf; coarsely crushed

300 ml Stock (veg/chicken/beef)

1/2 tablespoon Fresh Thyme leaves OR 1/2  teaspoon of dried thyme

1 or teaspoon Brown Sugar (optional)

300 ml Boiled Milk

A pinch of Salt (optional)

A pinch of Pepper

2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive oil OR any refined oil

For Croutons

Ingredients

1 slice of Bread; ends cut; cut into small cubes

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Olive oil OR any refined oil

Method

Preparation of Soup

Heat oil in a soup pot and add crushed garlic, bay leaf and chopped onions into it. Saut'e until onions have turned transparent and light brown. Add the chopped carrots and saut'e for a few minutes till carrots turn soft and start losing it's colour. Add roughly chopped fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, sauce, stock, thyme leaves (or dried thyme), sugar and salt and stir till combined well. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Cover and cook and allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Switch off the stove and leave the mixture to cool. Finely puree the soup in a pureeing machine or blender.

Run the soup through a sieve and return the liquid back into the stock pot. Add the milk into it. Season with salt and pepper. Gently bring the soup to a boil. (do not boil the soup too much) Switch off the flame. Keep warm.

Preparation of Croutons

Heat oil in a pan and add the bread cubes into it. Fry till golden brown and crisp. Your yummy croutons are ready!

Serve soup with a sprinkling of bread croutons in it.

Photo Courtesy: google.com