Baby Led Weaning Lunch Ideas | Baby Led Weaning Lunch Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What should a 6 month old eat during led weaning? ›

You can start weaning with single vegetables and fruits – try blended, mashed, or soft cooked sticks of parsnip, broccoli, potato, yam, sweet potato, carrot, apple or pear. You could also try baby rice mixed with your baby's usual milk.

Beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and lamb all offer exceptional nutrition for babies including protein, fat, iron, zinc, and other essential nutrients. If your baby is on a diet of only breastmilk (or formula), fruits, grains, and veggies, she might miss out on brain-boosting nutrients.

If the idea of feeding your baby 100 foods before one sounds overwhelming…it doesn't have to be. This approach simply involves introducing 1 new food per day, 5 days per week. That's 20 foods per month and in just about 5 months your baby will have tried 100 new foods before turning one.

Foods that are easy for the baby to pick up—they can't pick up small pieces until closer to 9 months when they develop the ability to use their fingers in what's known as a “pincer grasp”. Foods that aren't too slippery—so you can wash and leave some of the peel on fresh foods like bananas, avocado, kiwi, and mango.

A feeding schedule for a 6-month-old can vary depending on their food source. However, generally, infants need to eat every 2-3 hours or 5-6 times per day. A baby's 6-month birthday marks an important transition as many infants are ready to start trying solids at this point.

Start with menu items like pieces of soft cheese; small pieces of pasta or bread; finely chopped soft vegetables; and fruits like bananas, avocado, and ripe peaches or nectarines. These foods should require minimal chewing, as your baby may not yet have teeth.

Top first foods for BLW include iron-rich foods (meat, poultry, beans, lentils, tofu), protein-rich foods (fish, eggs, cheese, yogurt, nut butter), whole grains, fat-rich foods (avocado, yogurt, cheese, nut butter), and various fruits and vegetables.

What should be avoided in the baby's food when weaning? ›

Foods to avoid

Because baby-led weaning exposes babies to foods with different textures, you should avoid serving up foods that are choking hazards. These include: ​Firm, round foods, such as whole berries and whole grapes. Hard, crunchy foods like tortilla or corn chips, popcorn, nuts.

For example, a cooked zucchini stick or floret of broccoli (steamed, boiled, roasted, or stir-fried) can be easy for babies to grab without having to pinch food between their thumb and forefinger, a great BLW first food. Having food that's easy to handle can make things less frustrating (and more fun) for everyone.

First foods: mashed or soft cooked sticks of fruit and vegetables like parsnip, potato, yam, sweet potato, carrot, apple or pear, all cooled before eating. Or try soft peach or melon, or grabbable bits of soft ripe banana or avocado. Or baby rice mixed with your baby's usual milk.

Some examples include small pieces of banana, wafer-type cookies or crackers; scrambled eggs; well-cooked pasta; well-cooked, finely chopped chicken; and well-cooked, cut-up potatoes or peas. At each of your baby's daily meals, they should be eating about 4 ounces, or the amount in one small jar of strained baby food.

Foods cut into small pieces in a variety of flavors, colors, and textures are all great finger foods to try first with your baby. These can include steamed veggies; soft fruits; whole-grain pasta, bread, or crackers; chicken; cheese; and scrambled eggs.