Plain yogurt dip with soft veggie sticks

Name: Plain yogurt dip with soft veggie sticks
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2–3 baby portions
Ingredients: 3–4 tbsp plain, unsweetened, full-fat yogurt; 1 medium carrot; ½ small sweet potato

Cool, plain, full-fat yogurt as a dip for soft-cooked carrot and sweet potato sticks, an easy way to offer dairy. Milk is the only new food here: offer the vegetables on their own first. Once your baby has had yogurt without a reaction, keep dairy in their diet regularly.

Plain yogurt dip with soft veggie sticks in a bowl

From: 6 months
Time: 25 min
Makes: 2–3 baby portions

Contains milk

Ingredients

3–4 tbspplain, unsweetened, full-fat yogurtmade from pasteurized milk, with no added sugar or sweeteners
1 mediumcarrot
½ smallsweet potato

Steps

1Wash your hands. Scrub the carrot and sweet potato under running water, then peel them.
2Cut them lengthwise into sticks about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
3Steam or boil the sticks for about 10 to 15 minutes, until very soft. Don't add salt. Squash a carrot stick and a sweet potato stick between your thumb and finger: both should flatten easily. If the carrot is still firm, cook it a few minutes longer.
4Let the sticks cool completely. Spoon your baby's portion of yogurt into a small bowl, rather than dipping into the pot. Don't add sugar or honey.

How to serve it by age

6 months+

Pick a day your baby is well, at home, when you can watch them for a couple of hours afterward. Start small: a spoonful or two of yogurt on a pre-loaded spoon, or as a dip for the soft sticks. Most reactions show up within 2 hours, but with milk, symptoms can take up to 3 days to appear. If there's no reaction, offer more next time.

9 months+

Keep offering the dip with soft sticks, or cut the cooked vegetables into pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) and stir them into the yogurt.

12 months+

Serve it as a family dip with soft-cooked vegetables. Keep the vegetables 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

The CDC says yogurt without added sugars can be given before 12 months; it's only cow's milk as a drink that waits. The AAP says to talk to your pediatrician first if your baby has severe, persistent eczema or has had an immediate allergic reaction to any food.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says full-fat plain yogurt can be given from around 6 months. Talk to your GP or health visitor first if your baby has eczema or a food allergy, or there's a family history of food allergies, eczema, asthma or hay fever.

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

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, or freeze them for 3 to 4 months. Serve them cold, or reheat only once, until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C), then let them cool before serving. Throw away anything left in your baby's bowl. 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).