baby nutrition Iron-rich · batch & freeze
Red meat & veggie balls
Iron-packed little balls of red meat and softly hidden veg — batch a tray, freeze in portions, and an iron-rich lunch is ready on the busiest day.
Ingredients
- Cooked red meat (beef), diced150 g
- Carrot40 g
- Broccoli florets40 g
- Rolled oats (binder)30 g
- Egg (or 7 g ground flax + 45 ml water)1
Method
- Making it egg-free? Stir 7 g ground flax into 45 ml water and leave it for 5 minutes to gel into a flax egg. No added salt goes in anywhere.
- Add the carrot and broccoli florets to the mixing bowl and chop them small: 6 Sek. / Stufe 5. Scrape down the sides.
- Pour 400 g water into the bowl, sit the chopped veg in the Varoma and steam until very soft: Varoma / 15 Min. / Stufe 1. Tip away the cooking water and let the veg steam-dry for a minute.
- Add the cooked, diced beef to the bowl and mince it fine: 8 Sek. / Stufe 5.
- Return the steamed veg and add the oats and egg (or flax egg). Mix on the reverse blade so it stays textured, not pasty: 6 Sek. / Stufe 4 / Linkslauf. It should hold together when you press it.
- With clean, damp hands, roll into about 12 slightly flattened ovals. Squish-test each one between finger and thumb — it should give easily.
- Bake on a lined tray at 180°C for about 15 minutes, turning once, until set and warm through. (The Thermomix has no fry function, so cooking happens in the oven or pan.) Prefer the stovetop? Pan-fry on medium-low for 8–10 minutes, turning, until golden. Cool to serving temperature before offering.
Finger-food safe: shape into slightly flattened ovals — never round balls — and squish-test each one between your finger and thumb before serving; it should give easily. Always stay within arm's reach and keep baby seated upright, never eating on the move.
Allergen note: this recipe contains egg. Swap it for a flax egg (7 g ground flax + 45 ml water) to make it egg-free. If egg is new for your baby, offer it on its own first, in a tiny amount, and watch for any reaction over about 3 days before combining. One new food at a time is the golden rule.
Why red meat: beef gives highly absorbable haem iron — one of the best iron sources for babies at this stage, when their own iron stores are running low. No added salt keeps it right for little kidneys.
Storage & freezing: freezer-friendly. Cool the balls fully, then freeze in a single layer for up to about 1 month. Reheat until piping hot all the way through, then cool to serving temperature before offering.
Cooking with a Thermomix? Every mixing step shows the exact TM6 setting for guided cooking. Older models — follow the same settings without on-screen guidance.
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