Curbing that sweet tooth with Babyled Food [gifted]

I last collaborated with Babyled Food back in October, just after Alfie had turned one – so we were by no means at the start of our weaning journey and he already had quite the reputation of being the un-fussiest eater ever. We sampled Babyled Food’s range of savoury spreads and I’m pleased to announce the range has expanded further, and sweet spreads are now on offer. At the time of writing, we’ve only tried three (make that four!) of these, so this will be an introductory post and I’ll include a part two soon!

First up, the flavours are: apple & pumpkin, tangy blueberry, mango & apricot, raspberry & beetroot, rhubarb & fig and yummy strawberry. The spreads are aimed at babies aged six months or older, and the basic flavours are ideal for those beginning the weaning process. The jars label clearly that the spreads are low sugar and contain less sugar than adult jams, for example - 10% less sugar, in fact!

The jars and packaging are pretty much the same as the savoury range, which I love. The design is so simple and you can see clearly what the product is. They would certainly stand out on the shelves amongst other similar products.

Raspberry & beetroot

The raspberry & beetroot spread smelt like raspberry and you could clearly see the seeds of the fruit in the spread, but it also had this really earthy flavour from the beetroot. I’d probably call it an acquired taste, because I didn’t mind it, but Alfie wasn’t so keen. It wasn’t that sweet, but had a nice balance of sweet and tartness from the fruit. When I was younger, I didn’t like beetroot and Alfie has tried it before, roasted, but clearly isn’t a fan. I used this in a dessert, putting a couple of teaspoons in some warm rice pudding and while he loved watching me mix it in, seeing the pudding turn pink, after a few mouthfuls, he gave up... leaving me to finish it off!

Rhubarb & fig

Despite individually being unfamiliar and unique tastes, the rhubarb & fig spread was delicious. You could taste both fruits, but the addition of cinnamon gives a dominant aftertaste. This spread was slightly sweeter, due to the nature of the fruits. I made pastry pinwheels as a weekend breakfast treat and they went down well with everyone, including Alfie’s nanny (my mum). They must have been good, as Alfie had two at a time, on both occasions. I put the recipe on my Instastory and you can find it on my grid, under ‘Babyled Collab’ – but basically all you need is a jar of Babyled Spread and a sheet of Jus Rol pastry! The cinnamon makes them taste exactly like cinnamon Danish pastries (which are one of my weaknesses) – but healthier!

Yummy strawberry

We tried yummy strawberry first and it was exactly that – really yummy! The texture of the spread was slightly thinner than jam; whereas jams can be quite gelatinous; this was more of a puree. Basically, it’s the ideal texture for little mouths. I decided to get creative and make a brioche pudding – so I don’t know whether it was the spread that was most popular, or the dessert as a whole.

This recipe serves 4 (well 3 adult portions and 2 baby portions). You will need:

·         1 jar of Babyled yummy strawberry spread

·         6 slices of brioche

·         1 egg and 1 additional yolk

·         2 dessert spoons caster sugar

·         125ml double cream

·         Butter for greasing/spreading

You will need to:

·         Pre-heat the oven to 170C (fan) and grease your chosen ramekin/dish

·         Spread butter and Babyled yummy strawberry spread on one side of each slice of brioche

·         Sandwich the brioche together, to create three sandwiches and spread butter on other sides

·         Cut into halves or quarters (your choice) and arrange in your ramekin/dish, long sides down

·         Meanwhile, whisk the sugar and eggs until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the cream and then pour over the brioche, in stages, ensuring it completely covers the brioche

·         Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes

I served mine with some Tesco white chocolate & raspberry ice cream, but you could serve as is, with additional custard or cream, or ice cream. I found the ice cream was needed, or else it was a little dry around the edges.

So first impressions of the Babyled Spreads are good – I have liked the three I included in this post, while Alfie liked two out of three (which isn’t bad). I did sample each of the spreads from a spoon before using them in cookery and I have to say, despite being low sugar, it doesn’t compensate for flavour and you can taste the fruits in each.

Keep an eye out for part two of my collab and in the meantime, you can purchase the spreads through the Babyled Food website or find your local stockist.

Love, Lucy xx

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*Babyled Food sent me the BabyLed Spreads FOC for review purposes but images and opinions are 100% my own.