It’s a titillating moment for every parent, including me – the baby’s very first toothless bite.

I was completely in favour of breastfeeding on demand, at least till the baby was a year old. But starting external food would hopefully bring down the established two hourly feeding rituals we shared, or so I believed. We waited for our baby’s lead and his longing drools made it only obvious that it was time.

With excitement I discussed the possible first foods with the paediatrician and was all set to begin experimenting with varieties. Little did I know that the rest of the world was ready with advice on what’s and how’s of first foods. Keeping my decision firm, I followed the paediatric diet chart which mostly suggested one type of food for a week, just to see how the baby’s poop reacts to it. Well, it’s a parenting reality – you never take as much interest in the color or texture of the poop till you have a baby!

It was only logical that you begin with a mashed banana or likes – it’s tasty, soft and toothless friendly. But one advice did come out interestingly true – don’t grind the food, just mash with a spoon, else the child will never learn to chew. Even with the minor chunks my baby gagged in the beginning. He was still learning how to eat and we both reacted with our natural instincts – I freaked out and he promptly spat out what he couldn’t swallow, all without my help! It also didn’t take long to realize that no matter how much he ate or didn’t, he still wished for his all-time any-time favorite dessert – breastmilk, and I always granted his wish.

Soon enough the new found excitement he shared for food died. His tiny stomach could eat very little or at times nothing through the day. He had also started teething which increased the frequency of his comfort feeds. Forcing food against his wish was not an option unless I would rather have him develop aversion to eating altogether. Even his babbles were persuasive, leaving me with no alternative but to let him choose how much he wished to eat – after all babies will never stay hungry, neither will they over eat.

As weeks passed, he found new interest in grabbing the food by himself. I took his lead and changed the all-spoon menu I proposed. I started offering finger foods, par-boiled carrot and skinless thin fruit slices were his new favorites. It did wonders – his love for food returned and we accidently found a healthy teether toy in his finger foods! His gums, as sharp as his new teeth, pierced through them with ease. The ‘no spoon feeding’ move was backed by many, affirming he will be a healthy eater with no obesity concerns.

Well this path had its forks, he made a complete mess, explored the various textures by tearing/throwing/mashing on the floor and maybe taking a bite in the middle of this fun play time. But at least he had finally started relishing the concept of eating and watching him enjoy made me smile. Somehow, the after cleaning didn’t. But with little patience I soon realized how he grew up to be an independent eater who would demand food when hungry. Running behind him was always for play, never for food. His taste buds uniquely identified the eatables, picking varieties in a single meal and soon enough he started self-weaning from feeds. He now shared love for food like a connoisseur – what more would a parent ask for!

I love to cook; always different varieties for the various meals of the day. But after the baby, most of my time was consumed in feeding the baby, just about finishing the house chores and possibly catching a quick nap in between all the chaos. My hubby took over, but the super dad ‘chef’ hated cooking by the book.

And so began his new project, ‘experimenting with paratha’. We all mostly try out the different fillings – such as fruits, eggs, veggies or a combination, or at most replace ghee with oil while pan frying the paratha. But he came up with some brilliant and tasty ideas I had never thought of before – no wonder all the best chefs we know are mostly men!

After a lot of persuasion, my chef finally revealed his secret ingredients in his own unique style, by making me his assistant during his dinner cooking session! The ‘paratha formula’, as we call it, now held a special place not only in my appetite but also in my recipe book…

**The Multi Flour Trick** – wheat, gram (besan), millets (ragi, jowar, bajra), oats – name it and he would have thought of adding it in different combinations. The most basic yet nutritious way of making the dough healthier!

Excitedly I tried my hands on it later the same day. My first dough came out sticky while using gram flour. I missed reducing the usual water quantity while kneading, a mistake I’ll never forget because it took forever to flatten the parathas without tearing them. The second dough was a combination of millets. This was easier to flatten with hands as it could break easily if rolled. It somehow felt drier after cooking, but with a spread of ghee on it, it was absolutely perfect and tasty!

**Crunchier is Tastier** Yes, we have all thought of adding carom seeds (ajwain) or fennel seeds (sonf). But he would coarse grind flax seeds or dry fruits and add it to the dough while kneading, making it crunchy. He would at times add mint (pudina) /curry (kadipatta) /fenugreek (methi) or even coriander (dhanya) leaves/flakes making it even tastier!

The true ‘Mineral’ Water – Finally to knead the dough he used pulses (daal) water, rice water or milk sharing a nutritive ‘mineral’ water in its true essence!

**Blend in the ‘Blend’** – Now this one took me by complete surprise! We had recently tasted a ‘beetroot’ flavoured pizza base, but it can only take a good eye to realize its application in Indian breads! All he did was blend veggies/fruits into purees and use this mash to knead the dough – nutritive and unique color/flavour every day!

These ideas did great when I eventually had to start finger foods for my baby since he had limited attention span, or for a fact appetite, to take interest in multiple meals or varieties. It became our family favorite – the one dish that could be a complete package in itself.

Kids need to eat every few hours. We can use snack time to get good nutrients to the child! Here are some fun snack ideas which are not only cute but can also be made in advance so you can grab them and..GO!

**Sugar free Caramelized Nuts**

• Heat a large frying pan,
• Add 1 cup sugar or jaggery with 3 – 4 tbs of water
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon,
• ¼ cup water and stir occasionally.
• Once the sugar melts and starts to caramelize, add 3 cups nuts of choice (cashews, almonds and Brazil nuts) and mix until fully incorporated.
• Stir often until most of the sugar gets coated.
• Remove pan from the heat and allow to sit for 1-2 minutes.
• Using a spatula, stir the nuts once more to avoid overly large clusters and
• Set on a plate to cool it completely.

These nuts will definitely make your tot’s mouth and tummies a lot happier.

**Crispy Parmesan Cauliflower “Poppers”**:

• Take a handful of cauliflower florets, cut into small, bite-size popper pieces.
• Blanch the florets and pat dry with paper towel and set aside for a moment.
• Add ½ cup flour into a large zip lock bag along with a pinch of salt.
• Next, beat 2 eggs in large bowl.
• Add 1 cup breadcrumbs, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, pinch of pepper and salt into another zip lock bag.
• Add the blanched cauliflower pieces to the bag with the flour, and gently shake to coat the pieces.
• Toss these pieces to the bowl with beaten eggs to coat them with eggs; Add the pieces to parmesan mixture and gently shake.
• Finally to fry, heat enough cooking oil of your choice to shallow fry.
• Fry for 5-7 minutes, until crispy and golden brown on all sides.
• Remove and drain on a paper towel, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and garnish with some chopped green onion.

It’s a nutritious, delicious and perfectly fun “after play” snack option.