I love Baby Led Weaning for many reasons.  I used it to introduce solids to my third baby and am very happy to recommend it to families who would like to try to skip purees.

But I am aware that one of the potential culprits of this approach is that a baby can be getting too much sodium from the family foods.

It is best to avoid table salt altogether or at least cut on it the best you can until your baby is 1 year old and his kidneys are mature enough to handle the extra sodium from table salt.

It can be hard to avoid added salt completely but you can try reducing it to the maximum by cooking from scratch and being mindful about salty condiments and seasonings when cooking a family meal a baby will be sharing. You can always keep a salt shaker on the table for adults and older children.

How much salt is safe for babies?

But when it comes to taking away meals, it is harder to stay in control of how much salt your baby is getting. Did you know that a slice of a typical takeaway pizza can contain more added salt than a grown-up can handle safely? Most of the added salt in pizza comes from the crust, tomato sauce and piles and piles of cheese.

But who needs a takeaway if you can make your own salt-free pizza dough and stay in control of what’s going on top?

I made this no added salt Greek yogurt pizza for the whole family many times and it was always a success. For the baby, I just added sliced tomatoes and a little bit of cheese (cheese is also pretty high in salt).

I also made a more robust version with a store-bought tomato sauce and spicy salami but both types of pizza were equally popular both with grown-ups and kids.

If you have a couple of hours and would like to get all the steps of starting solids with your baby in a safe and nutritious way, check my Stress-Free Solids program – it’s completely online, straight-to-the-point and has videos of babies eating both finger foods and purees, in addition to recipes, schedules, nutritional guides and the latest scientific advice on introducing allergens. 

Homemade Greek yogurt pizza

Ingredients:

1/2 cup full fat plain Greek yogurt
1 cup self-rising flour
Olive oil for greasing the baking sheet
1/4 pounds shredded mixed cheddar and mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sliced tomatoes

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 F
Grease a pan or a baking sheet with olive oil
Mix the yogurt and flour in a food processor using a dough blade. Mix until it the dough forms a ball, scraping the sides if necessary.
You can also mix the yogurt and flour in a bowl and then knead it on a floured surface until soft and not sticky.
Add water if the dough is too dry or more flour if it is too sticky.
Roll the dough until very thin with a rolling pin.
Place it on a greased pan or baking sheet.
Scatter the cheese on top, followed by sliced tomatoes.
Bake until browned and bubbly, for 12-15 minutes.
Let it cool slightly, cut in triangles or sticks and serve.

TIME-SAVING TIP: Assemble the pizza and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, no thawing is required, just place it into the oven at 450F and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Starting solids the easy, safe and stress-free way!

Let me show you how to feed your baby using the mixed approach, so you can be guided by your baby and not by a rigid philosophy.