How do I serve peas for baby-led weaning?

Peas are a great option for your little one to eat some veggies. Plus, they're easy to serve for baby-led weaning.

When my son first started eating solids, he loved peas. For months they were the only green vegetable he would consistently eat. I didn't have any issue with his strong preference for peas. My job as a parent was to give my son healthy options and let him choose what he wanted to eat. So if he didn't vibe with broccoli, well that was just fine by me. But I was pretty glad that peas were the vegetable he decided to like. Why are peas great for baby-led weaning?

First, they're extremely easy to cook. My son was perfectly happy to just eat defrosted peas with no seasoning or any other effort required. Throwing some peas in the microwave really stretches the definition of "cooking", but that level of effort was perfect for me as a parent of an infant. Even when my wife and I did decide to actually cook peas, a quick saute with garlic and lemon zest makes for a very fast and very delicious vegetable side dish.

Second, they're extremely easy to prepare for baby-led weaning. I'll get into the details of how to do this later in the article, but suffice it to say that all you need is a plate, a fork, and about a minute of time to get the job done. No dirty kitchen knives to hand-wash sounds great to me.

Third, they're a good plant based source of iron (1.2 mg per 1/2 cup, according to USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans). While iron from plant based sources is not absorbed as well as from animal sources, this is still a helpful way to get some extra iron in your little one's diet. This is especially useful if your little one, like my son, isn't too keen on most animal sources like beef (shrimp being the exception).

So if you are feeling enthusiastic about peas—and I think you should be—then the rest of this article will give you an overview of how to prepare them safely for baby-led weaning.

How do you prepare peas for baby-led weaning?

As I mentioned above, preparing peas for baby-led weaning is easy. Not only is it easy but there also isn't a lot to remember, which is a big added bonus for tired parents. The key is that peas cannot be served as-is until your little one's first birthday.

6-9 months

At this age your child probably doesn't have the pincer grasp yet, so you will need to get the peas into a format that they can easily be scooped. Using the back of a fork, mash peas. Then you can

• mix them into other mushy foods like yogurt
• spread them onto bread, pita, or tortillas

This video gives an example of mashing peas for baby-led weaning for a 6-9 month old based on the instructions above.

9-12 months

Your little one's pincer grasp should be developing at this age, so peas can be served as a finger food. Using the back of a fork, press down on a pea until it is flattened. The pea may pop, and this is fine too. Repeat for however many peas you want to serve.

This video gives an example of flattening peas for baby-led weaning for a 9-12 month old based on the instructions above.

12+ months

Peas can be served as-is.

Conclusion

Peas are easy to cook, easy to prepare for baby-led weaning, and nutritious. Plus, they are a veggie that a lot of little ones really enjoy.

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