Avocado yogurt dip

Name: Avocado yogurt dip
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2–3 baby portions, plus dippers
Ingredients: ½ ripe avocado; 3 tbsp plain, unsweetened, full-fat yogurt; 1 medium carrot; 1 small head broccoli

Ripe avocado mashed into plain, full-fat yogurt for a cool, creamy green dip, served with soft-cooked carrot and broccoli. Contains milk: offer it once your baby has had dairy on its own without a reaction.

From: 6 months
Time: 20 min
Makes: 2–3 baby portions, plus dippers

Contains milk

Ingredients

½ripe avocadosoft enough to squash easily with a fork
3 tbspplain, unsweetened, full-fat yogurtmade from pasteurized milk, with no added sugar or sweeteners
1 mediumcarrotfor dipping
1 small headbroccolifor dipping

Steps

1Wash your hands. Scrub the carrot under running water and peel it. Rinse the broccoli and the avocado skin under running water, so the knife doesn't carry dirt into the flesh.
2Cut the carrot lengthwise into sticks about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in), never round coins. Cut the broccoli into large florets with a long stem to hold, and peel the tough outer layer off thick stems. Steam the carrot for about 10 to 15 minutes and the broccoli for about 5 to 8 minutes, until very soft. Squash a carrot stick and a floret between your thumb and finger: both should flatten easily. Let them cool.
3Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash it with a fork until smooth.
4Spoon the yogurt into the bowl, rather than dipping into the pot, and stir it into the avocado until evenly green. Don't add salt, sugar or honey. Serve straight away, because avocado turns brown quickly.

How to serve it by age

6 months+

Offer only after dairy has been introduced on its own. Serve it on a pre-loaded spoon your baby can hold, or let them dip the soft carrot sticks and broccoli florets. Once wheat has been introduced, strips of lightly toasted plain bread (no seeds or honey) about the size of an adult finger work too. No crackers, chips or raw vegetable sticks: they're hard and a choking hazard.

9 months+

Offer it as a dip for soft finger foods, or cut the cooked vegetables into pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) and stir them in.

12 months+

Serve it as a family dip with soft-cooked vegetables and, once wheat has been introduced, soft pita or toast fingers. Keep vegetables for dipping cooked soft: raw carrot and other hard raw vegetables are a choking hazard.

Where US and UK guidance differ on this recipe

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

For babies under 1, the AAP says that apart from mashed banana, most fruits should be cooked until soft. This recipe mashes ripe avocado smooth. If you follow US advice closely, use only fully ripe avocado that squashes easily and mash it well, or ask your pediatrician. The CDC says yogurt without added sugars can be given before 12 months; it's only cow's milk as a drink that waits.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS lists grabbable bits of avocado among first finger foods from around 6 months, and says full-fat plain yogurt can be given from around 6 months, choosing products with no added sugar. Use fully ripe avocado that squashes easily.

We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.

If your baby reacts

This recipe contains milk. Introduce one new allergen at a time, mixed into a food your baby already eats, before serving it in a dish with other new foods. Contact your pediatrician, GP or health visitor if you notice mild signs after eating, such as a few hives or a little vomiting. See signs of a reaction.

Call 911999your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia) now if your baby has trouble breathing, wheezing, can't cough or cry, has lips, mouth, tongue or throat that suddenly swell, or becomes pale, bluish, floppy or unresponsive. Also call if hives come with repeated vomiting.

Leftovers and the rest of the family

Storing it

Best served fresh, because avocado turns brown quickly. Dip that hasn't been served can be covered, put in the fridge right away and eaten the same day. Keep the yogurt in the fridge and check the date on the pot. Cooked vegetable sticks keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge; serve them cold, or reheat them only once, until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C), then let them cool completely before dipping. Throw away anything left in your baby's bowl, and any dip your baby has dipped into. Don't leave the dip at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F (32°C).

For the grown-ups

Spoon out your baby's portion first, then add lime juice, crushed garlic, chopped herbs and a pinch of salt to the rest for an adult dip or a sauce for tacos.