Vegetables make good solid first foods for your baby. They are an excellent source of nutrients, they are very unlikely to cause an allergic reaction and easily available and inexpensive. Vegetables are increasingly seen by experts as a crucially important part of a healthy diet both for children and adults, and introducing a variety of vegetables early on in life is seen to be particularly valuable because it establishes a pattern of taste and habit which can last a lifetime.
Most babies are ready to start taking some solid food between the ages of 4 to 6 months. Before then it is difficult for a baby to digest foods other than breast or formula milk.
Root vegetables such as carrots, turnips and parsnips are popular first foods, and they are very easy to prepare. Just scrub or peel and cut into small pieces and either steam or boil in unsalted water. Strain the vegetables through a sieve or a clean tea strainer, or you can liquidize them. You can add some of your baby’s usual milk to the puree. The food should be of a fairly smooth liquid consistency.
When your baby is eating solid food at every meal (normally around 7 months) you can start giving him/her solid food first and then their milk afterwards. It is a good idea to include other foods at this stage, to make the meals more balanced, you could include some foods such as cheese, eggs, fish without bones, lentils, as well as other vegetables and fruit. At this stage most of your baby’s food can be the same as the rest of the family, however, add salt and spices after removing your baby’s portion. You should never add sugar, artificial sweeteners or salt to your baby’s food. Too much salt is bad for the kidneys and could lead to dehydration. Remember that foods that may taste bland to you may be an exciting new experience for your baby. Eating with the family will make meals more fun and help your baby develop good social habits.
Here are some ideas that may be useful if you are making meals specially for your baby:
From about the age of 6 months your baby’s stores of iron may be getting low. Try to give her some iron-containing foods such as leafy green vegetables, liver, kidney, well cooked free range egg yolks and lentils.
Vegetables and fruit which contain vitamin C include:
These will all help your baby to absorb iron from non meat foods.
Below are some recipe ideas that the whole family, including baby, from about 7 months, can enjoy:
This can be adapted to suit your baby’s preferences
Method:
1-2 oz pasta twists or shapes
1 tablespoon chopped lean ham, chicken or tuna
a selection of chopped vegetables such as celery, red and green peppers, sweetcorn, watercress, green beans, peas (don’t use tinned as they have a huge amount of sugar and added salt), sliced cabbage.
Mix it all together.
For adults, you could add mayo, couple of dashes of Tabasco, or whatever you fancy.
Suitable for a meal at home, or it’s even portable to take on a picnic
Method:
Chop 2 sticks of celery and 1 onion finely and steam or boil in the minimum of water with 6oz shredded cabbage for about 10 minutes
Allow to cool
Beat 4 free range eggs into 4oz wholemeal self raising flour
Add 1 crushed clove of garlic and 2tbls watercress, 2oz grated cheese to the rest of the ingredients
Pour into a 9 inch pie dish and bake at gas 4 or 350F for 45 minutes, until golden brown
Serve warm or cold with brightly coloured vegetables or pitta bread
Method:
If you have a food processor or blender, mix together 2oz cooked carrots, 2oz soaked dried apricots, 2oz margarine and 1 egg.
If you do not have a food processor, puree the carrots and apricots and then beat in the margarine and the egg
Add 4oz of wholemeal flour, 2oz oatmeal and a good pinch of cinnamon, and mix until it leaves the sides of the bowl.
Roll out to about a quarter of an inch thick. Either cut into finger-sized pieces for a baby or use cutters to make bear, rabbit, stars or other interesting shapes for an older child
Bake in the oven at 375F Gas Mark 5 until just beginning to brown (approximately 12 minutes). To produce harder fingers for teething use a cooler oven for a longer baking time
This article was sourced from The National Childbirth Trust & NFU Leaflet.