Baby Food Basics
Healthy eating is a habit. You can help your child develop that habit from the day they're born by feeding them the right foods at the right time and by being aware of which foods pack the most nutritious punch. This guide gives you tips on what to feed your baby at what ages, as well as how to prepare healthy baby food and what foods to stay away from. Your child's first 2 years set the stage for proper growth and development, so make every bite they take count.
Breast Milk Is Best
Your baby should have breast milk for every meal until they're at least 6 months old and, if possible, until they're 12 months old or older. If breast milk isn't an option, infant formula—which should always be commercial iron-fortified formula—is the next best thing. Don't give babies cow's milk or other plant-based beverages before they're 12 months old. They also shouldn't have solid food before they are 6 months old. Once your baby reaches 6 months, and after you've consulted with your pediatrician, you can start introducing solid foods if your baby has developed certain developmental and gross motor skills (US Department of Agriculture, 2019):
- They seem interested in food—opening their mouth when you offer it to them.
- They can sit up alone or with minimal support and can control their head and neck.
- They can bring objects to their mouth.
- They try to grasp small objects, like toys or food.
- They can swallow (meaning they will be able transfer food from the front of their tongue to the back).
- They don't push the food back out onto their chin.
| Food Group | Good for Baby | Types to Use | Preparation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fruits | Apples, apricots, bananas, cantaloupe, mangoes, melons, nectarines, papayas, peaches, pears, plums | Fresh, frozen, canned | Gently rub the following fresh fruit with your hands under cold, running water: apples, apricots, bananas, mangoes, nectarines, papayas, peaches, pears, plums.
Scrub whole melons with a clean vegetable brush under cold, running water. Soft fresh fruits: Peel then mash. Firmer fresh fruits: Peel then steam, boil, or microwave until tender enough to puree or mash. |
| Vegetables | Asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, green beans, green peas, green peppers, kohlrabi, kale, plantains, potatoes (regular or sweet), spinach, summer or winter squash | Fresh, frozen, canned |
Rinse the following fresh veggies under cold, running water: cabbage, spinach. Gently rub the following fresh veggies with your hands under cold, running water: asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, collard greens, green beans, green peas, green peppers, kale, plantains, summer squash. Scrub the following fresh veggies with a clean vegetable brush under cold, running water: carrots, regular and sweet potatoes, winter squash. Cook and puree to preferred texture—might need 1 tablespoon of water for right consistency. |
| Grains | Bread | Whole-grain varieties | Cut into half-inch or smaller pieces or thin strips before serving (USDA Infant Nutrition and Feeding Guide, 2019). |
| Grains | Infant cereal (oat, rice, wheat, barley) | Iron-fortified | Prepare with breast milk, commercial iron-fortified infant formula, or water. Should be thin enough for infant to swallow. |
| Grains | Pasta | Whole-grain varieties | Cook until soft enough for infant to chew and swallow. |
| Protein Foods | Chicken, turkey, seafood, lean red meat | Fresh, frozen, canned | Remove fat, skin, and bones from meat, poultry, and fish before cooking (USDA Infant Nutrition and Feeding Guide, 2019). Never feed infants raw or partially cooked poultry, seafood, or meat. Once cooked, puree protein. |
| Protein Foods | Eggs | Fresh eggs with clean, noncracked shells (USDA Infant Nutrition and Feeding Guide, 2019) or liquid eggs | Can be prepared multiple ways by pureeing and adding water for right consistency. Never feed infants raw or partially cooked eggs. Cook eggs and egg dishes until they reach 160℉ on a food thermometer. |
| Protein Foods | Cottage cheese, hard cheeses, yogurt. Note: Watch for allergic reactions to milk proteins. | Fat-free or low-fat | Puree to preferred consistency. Slice hard cheeses instead of cutting them into chunks, which are a choking hazard. |
| Protein Foods | Beans, peas, lentils (black beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas/garbanzo beans, kidney beans, navy beans, soybeans) | Dried, canned | Rinse the following in water: dry lentils, beans.
Dried: Cook until soft, then remove skin, if necessary, and mash using a food processor or fork and strainer (USDA Infant Nutrition and Feeding Guide, 2019). Canned: Remove skin, if necessary, then rinse and drain, then mash. |
Solid Food Start
When it's time to add solid food to your baby's diet, start with pureed food in 0.5- to 1-ounce servings (about 1 tablespoon). These small portions will be plenty. An infant's stomach is the size of their fist, so they can eat only so much, and they'll let you know when they've had enough: According to the 2019 US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Infant Nutrition and Feeding Guide, infants will turn their head or push the spoon away. Watch for these and other cues, like when they start acting distracted or closing their mouth.
As you transition to solid food, introduce one new food at a time (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics [AND], 2019). Every time you add a new food to their diet, wait 3 days before you introduce another one, to make sure there's no allergic reaction to the one you just added.
When babies are about 8 months old, they can usually graduate to firmer, bite-size pieces—less than one-half inch in size (USDA, 2019)—but the pieces still should be soft enough to pierce with a fork.
Be patient during this process. It may take as many as ten times for your baby to accept new textures and flavors. And don't stop giving them breast milk or formula until they're at least 12 months old.
Allergenic Foods
One of the biggest benefits of introducing foods one at a time is that it gives you a chance to see if your baby has any food allergies. Once they're 6 months old, they can have small bites of potentially allergenic foods (see list below) along with food they already eat— maybe egg or a thin layer of nut butter on a small piece of toast. Minimal amounts of these foods at this age may benefit your baby's gastrointestinal tract and can keep them from developing a food allergy (USDA Infant Nutrition and Feeding Guide, 2019). Waiting to feed your baby these foods until after they're 6 months old won't protect them from developing a food allergy.
- peanuts
- eggs
- yogurt
- cheese
- tree nuts
- wheat
- crustacean shellfish
- fish
- soy
Solid Food Guide
You can find plenty of nutritious pre-packaged solid baby food at the grocery store, or you can make it from scratch. Making your own does allow you to have more control over what's in the food and can be more economical than store-bought. Whatever you choose, baby's first solid food should be nutrient-dense and simple, with one ingredient, no added sugars or salt, and few if any extra ingredients.
If you decide to make your own baby food, start with clean countertops and utensils and wash your hands first, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water. Once you've made the food, store and label any extra, noting the ingredient you used and the date you made it. It can be stored according to these guidelines (USDA, 2021):
- fruits and vegetables: 2-3 days in the refrigerator, 6-8 months in the freezer
- meats and eggs: 1 day in the refrigerator, 1-2 months in the freezer
- meat and vegetable combination foods: 1-2 days in the refrigerator, 1-2 months in the freezer
When you start giving your baby solid food, make sure they have a balanced diet of nutrient-dense foods from all four of the food groups in the chart on page 2. It's also important to buy and prepare food without added sugars or salt. Canned fruits and some frozen and canned vegetables can be loaded with both. Look for fruit that is canned with "100% juice" and has little or no added sugars and veggies that say "no salt added" and "no sugar added."
Before you cook and serve anything, it's important that certain foods be properly washed. If any pre-packaged produce is pre-washed, you don't need to wash it again. Otherwise, follow the guidelines for cleaning produce, beans, and lentils.
Safety First
Keeping your baby healthy and safe is your number one concern. So, make sure they're secure in a high chair and that they're supervised while they're eating (AND, 2019). Spoon a small amount of food from the main dish into a separate dish before you start feeding them. This prevents any bacteria that is on the baby's mouth or spoon from going back into the main food dish (AND, 2019).
There are some foods and beverages that have no nutritional value for your baby and some that may even be harmful. It's best to steer clear of all of these:
- 100% fruit juice before they're 12 months old (After that, up to 4 ounces a day is okay, but babies don't need juice for a healthy diet.)
- tea or coffee
- soda
- sugar-sweetened juice
- food with added sugars, salt, or fat (Early exposure to these may lead to complications later in life, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure (USDA, 2019)].
- frozen vegetables in sauce (too much sodium)
- soy- and other plant-based beverages (Soy milk is okay for babies older than 12 months.)
- raw or undercooked meat
- bones
- honey (Even as a food sweetener, honey can be toxic or even deadly to infants.)
- unpasteurized food or drink (They may contain harmful bacteria. Infants' and toddlers' immune systems are not fully developed, making them more susceptible to foodborne illnesses.)
It's also critical to be aware of foods that are choking hazards. According to the USDA Infant Nutrition and Feeding Guide (2019), choking is a major cause of death in infants and young children, especially between birth and 4 years of age. Food is associated with 40% of fatal choking incidents and 60% of nonfatal choking incidents in children. Talk to your pediatrician about when your child has the developmental skills to eat certain foods, and don't give them any of the following until they're ready:
- hot dogs or sausage
- nuts or seeds
- hard candy
- raw carrots
- whole grapes
- whole cherry tomatoes
- apple pieces
- popcorn
- chunky peanut butter
- chewing gum
- tough meats
- marshmallows
Just like talking and reading to your child helps them develop good language and people skills, preparing and feeding your child nutritious foods helps them develop the skills they will need to be life-long healthy eaters.
References
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. (2019). Do's and don'ts for baby's first foods.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2021). Food safety for children under 5. 2-5.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Infants. MyPlate.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020). Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. (9th ed.). DietaryGuidelines.gov
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. (April 2019). Infant nutrition and feeding. A guide for use in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
