This is Day 88 of the Green in 365 series!
So you’re ready to start your baby on solid food, but you might be wondering which foods are best to feed your baby. Based on our experience of feeding two babies the Baby Led Weaning way, here are some of our babies favorite first foods.
Best First Foods for Babies
- Bananas
- Avocados
- Carrots, cooked and soft
- Apples, cooked and soft
- Egg yolks, boiled or scrambled
- Ground Beef
- Shredded Chicken
- Cheese
- Yogurt
- Applesauce
- Sweet Potato
- Broccoli, cooked and soft
We have found that when we’re eating a mostly grain-free diet that we can feed our baby the same foods that our family eats for meals. Eggs, fruit or yogurt for breakfast, avocados and cheese for lunch, meat and cooked veggies for dinner. We start with feeing our babies one meal a day, usually dinner, and then gradually increase their food as they grow and get older.
You may wonder about feeding your baby foods that are seasoned and spiced for your family, and our experience has been that our babies love seasoned foods. Our daughter loves to eat ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning when we’re having taco night. We don’t like to eat bland food, and I think baby’s want their food to taste good too!
I’d encourage you to give Baby Led Weaning a try with your baby as they are ready to start solid foods and you will see how great it is for both you and your baby!
Recommended Resources:
- Baby Led Weaning by Tracey Murkett and Gill Rapley – This is the comprehensive guide for the method of beginning your baby on solid foods and skipping purees and baby food altogether!
- Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck – This book has lots of great advice about first foods for baby and the importance of feeding your baby real, whole foods.
What were your baby’s favorite first foods?
Find all the Green in 365 posts.
Continue reading…
- Breastfeeding: The Greenest Way to Feed Your Baby
- Starting Solids: Benefits of Baby Led Weaning
- Following Baby Led Weaning for Starting Solids
- Baby Led Weaning: Helpful Resources
- Feeding Baby – Breastfeeding and Beyond
- Feeding Baby: Breastfeeding and Beyond, Part II
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Disclaimer: Please remember, I am not a doctor or medical provider, and this post should not be taken as medical advice. Please read and research for yourself to make the best decisions you can for you and your family.
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I think it’s a really good idea to feed baby seasoned foods instead of plain ones. They develop a broader range of acceptable foods that way and are more willing to eat what you eat. One of my son’s favorite baby foods was black beans with spaghetti sauce!
I totally agree that it’s great to start babies on real food and not just cereal or puffs! 🙂
But…. 🙂 I just have to share my experience. When I gave my 6 month old a taste of avocado (just a few bites) he was up all night with gas and burps. I thought it was a fluke. But he continued to have major stomach upset whenever I gave him any table food. Not until he was 8 or 9 months–and started going around picking up stuff on the floor to put into his mouth (he knew when he was ready!)–did he start to tolerate non-milk foods. Also, he did much better with purees than pieces of food–I think it must have been easier for him to digest the purees than the larger pieces.
So anyway, all that to say, watch your baby’s reactions, and don’t be afraid to delay the solid food or go for purees (of real food, of course!) if you need to.
Avocados are the perfect texture, but are a higher risk for food sensitivity (my son’s first food and it made his eczema hot and red while he was still eating it.) He still loves beans, which were an early favorite. Chili and spaghetti were hits too.