Support infant growth and development with nutritious baby meals.
Babies receive adequate nutrition from breast milk or formula up to the age of about 6 months. Earlier weaning, before the age of 4 months, can place babies under increased risk of allergies and infections. Foods that commonly cause allergic reactions are wheat, eggs, nuts, fish and shellfish, so introduce these foods one a time, and at intervals of at least a week to observe any adverse reactions. Do not add salt or sugar to baby meals. Professor Elisabeth Schafer at the National Network for Child Care advises you to introduce cereals from the age of 4 months, vegetables from 7 months, fruits from 8 months, and meats, fish, eggs and cheese from the age of 10 months.
First Foods
Rice cereal is gluten-free and presents a low-allergy risk for weaning babies. Mix a few teaspoons of rice cereal with baby's usual breast milk or formula to make a smooth consistency. Introduce other cereals, such as wheat cereals, in a similar way. Stimulate baby's developing taste buds with vegetables and fruits. The Healthy Start website recommends broccoli, cauliflower and potato mash: use one small, peeled potato and a couple of florets of broccoli and cauliflower. Boil the vegetables until soft, drain, and mash with a fork or potato masher. Allow to cool before serving. Make carrot mash by replacing the florets with a couple of peeled carrots. For a nutritious pudding, mash together half a banana with half an avocado and a little breast or formula milk.
Finger Foods
Once babies have achieved fine-motor control skills that enable them to pick up food with their fingers, they usually enjoy feeding themselves. Introduce nutritious, soft finger foods that have a variety of tastes and textures. For example, offer cooked, cooled vegetables such as carrot sticks and green beans, small cubes of soft cheese, and well-cooked pasta, such as macaroni. Introduce soft, ripe fruits such as bananas, pears, peaches and grapes that you have sliced into small pieces. Ensure that pips or seeds are removed from fruits such as oranges because they present a choking hazard. You may wish to limit citrus fruits in your baby's diet because the acid content may upset his digestion and cause discomfort from diaper rash.
Protein Foods
As your baby matures, he may begin to refuse milk feeds in preference for drinks of water or juice. Replace milk with protein foods to ensure healthy growth and development. Meat, fish and eggs are sources of complete protein. Introduce pieces of chicken, ham or other cooked meats, and sliced, hard-boiled eggs. Annabel Karmel, author of "Top 100 Baby Purees," recommends oily fish, such as salmon, for babies because it contains omega-3 essential fatty acids that support healthy brain development. Make Karmel's "Salmon Puree" by placing 125 g of salmon fillet, 60 ml of orange juice, and 40 g grated cheese into a dish and microwave on high for about two minutes. Flake the fish, remove any bones and mix with 200 g sliced, cooked carrots, 2 tbsp. breast milk or formula, and a knob of butter. Spoon-feed the puree to your baby or spread onto pieces of wholemeal bread as finger foods.
Vegetarian Baby Meals
Nutritional advice from the Baby Centre website for vegetarian babies is to offer them a variety of foods from the four main food groups: carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta; fruit and vegetables; dairy foods; and non-dairy protein sources, such as eggs, beans, soy, pulses, nuts and seeds. Avoid feeding babies too much fiber because it may prevent absorption of essential nutrients, such as iron and calcium. For healthy growth and development, babies need both essential and non-essential amino acids. Soy, quinoa, hemp seeds and eggs are the only vegetarian sources of both essential and non-essential amino acids. However, babies can receive all essential amino acids if you combine different protein foods at the same meal; for example, cereal with milk, baked beans on toast, or hummus with pitta bread.
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