Anyone with a healthy solid food recipe??

Hi I am jenet, a mum of a one year old baby girl. I am breastfeeding my baby until now, but I dont think it is enough for her. Sometimes I know she is still hungry but she dont want to be breastfed so I gave her solid foods. Is this the time of weaning???As of now, her usual diet is mashed potato with expressed milk, breads, rice and some soft foods. She is still not used in chewing and got choked sometimes so Im still selective in terms of choosing what to give her. Is there any other healthy recipes I can add to her diet? Thanks!!

Hi Jenet,

My first baby wasn't interested in solids until after she was a year old. I gave her a little before she was one, but it wasn't much.

I'd start introducing different fruits and vegetables to her now. Either purchased babyfood (start with the ones that don't have any noodles or lumpy texture to them). She probably will like fruit like pureed pears, applesauce, bananas and prunes, as she is preferential to breastmilk which is very sweet.

See if she likes any of those and if she does, then I'd move to the sweet vegetables like yams/sweet potatoes and carrots. If she prefers the "sweet" taste, you could mix some pears with green beans, or broccoli, or peas, or other vegetables.

You can steam your own vegetables (or boil the potatoes) and put them in the blender. Add some water, if needed, to create a very soft, easy to swallow food. She should have the ability to swallow this now, without thrusting it out with her tongue.

If she is able to eat breads, then the texture may not be an issue for her. You will definitely want to introduce her to vegetables soon and be sure you're offering it to her each day. She may even be able to eat some soft steamed fish if she can eat bread. Fish and scrambled egg would give her some protein. Meat may be harder for her to handle so I'd offer this after she's eating some other foods regularly.

Oftentimes, we moms can get into a rut of offering the easiest thing to our children, and sometimes that's not the healthiest. It's easier to offer the breast than to prepare and feed other food. It's easier to offer breads and rice than it is to prepare vegetables.

I'd encourage you to do some food preparation all at one time, and then pour the puree into ice cube trays and freeze. This way, you'll have healthy, homemade food available anytime you need it. Just pop a frozen cube out and warm it up.

I hope this gives you some ideas.

Warm regards,

Kate

Hi Jenet,

From 6 months old you can start to give your baby additional food to breast milk (as well as water): this is known as weaning. But many babies don't really start swallowing it until many months later (as Kate mentioned above). However, it is still fun for them to play with the food and learn about the different textures, tastes, shapes and sizes.

Your baby can eat similar food to you as long as you keep the salt content low and there are no chocking hazards (e.g. nuts, small hard food). It's best to make fresh, healthy food rather than buy ready made food. I like the recipes on Gill Rapley's Baby Led Weaning Website. However, if your baby eats mainly purees you can still make many of these recipes and then liquidise them.

Have fun enjoying the new food with your baby,

LJ

Hello,

Kate thanks for the information. And I love the site LJ shared, I was so excited to try the recipies in the site.!!! Thanks a lot!!

Jenet