Can I have a snack?

Crudités like carrot batons, cucumber sticks and sugar snap peas are easy, but you might need to give them a little steam for less toothy toddlers. Also consider using snacktime to expose babies to foods they’ve overlooked at the table.

A little pot of lightly steamed tenderstem, asparagus or petits pois might surprise you. Sliced butternut squash is a great time-saver, roasts beautifully and is the perfect shape for little hands.

Our mango, melon and watermelon fingers are practically purpose-built, as are our sticks of sugar loaf pineapple. These green apple slices come with a peanut butter pot: a complete snack if ever there was one (more on nuts below).

The NHS recommends “milk products such as yoghurt, fromage frais or custard” and states that “full-fat, unsweetened or plain yogurts are a good choice because they do not contain added sugars”.

To keep it interesting, mix it with fork-mashed banana or raspberry or any pureed fruit, or spoon some homemade compote over the top.

If your baby has a cow’s milk allergy or you simply want to add some dairy alternatives into their diet, there are so many more options now than there were even three years ago. Plain unsweetened coconut, soy, oat or almond yogurts all serve the same purpose – but make sure you choose a fortified version.

Cheese can be introduced as part of your babies weaning journey from six months, but it must be full-fat and pasteurised (to avoid food-borne illness).

Good options include cheddar, emmental, parmesan, red leicester, cream cheese and mozzarella. Get them enjoying different cheese types from an early age and snacking will always be a breeze. Cut cubes of the hard cheeses and carry them with you, or buy miniatures.

Eggs can be hard-boiled and cooled and packed away in a cool bag, or they can be made into omelettes and cut into strips.

Dips like houmous and tzatziki are excellent, but keep an eye on foods with added salt. As a guide, the NHS suggests no more than 1g of salt per day for under ones, and no more than 2g of salt for one to three-year-olds.