Of course you can start baby off on whatever you think might be suitable, but here are a few things we have tried so far. I will add to the list as we go, and also recommend what I have found the easiest way is to prepare the food to make it suitable for little hands and mouths!
- Broccoli - cut into florets with long stalks for baby to hold onto. Steamed or boiled until just tender, but not too long or it will fall apart when picked up. About 3 to 4 minutes was enough for us.
- Potato/Sweet Potato - cut into wedges or sticks with the skin left on. Most of the nutrients are just under the skin. Also leaving the skin on makes it easier for baby to pick up. Can be steamed, but roasting is easier to begin with because it dries out a bit on the outside and is easier to handle. It can also be given mashed, on a pre-loaded spoon, or put in a bowl and bub can scoop it out with their fingers (if you can bear the mess!!)
- Green beans/snow peas - boiled or steamed for about the same time as broccoli. At first baby probably wont eat a lot of it, but still might suck on it and get a bit of juice, plus get to practice their motor skills.
- Watermelon - cut into thick chunks, seeds removed (or opt for seedless - its easier!)
- Apples/pears - cut into wedges, skin on. If they are particularly hard, you could cook them for a short amount of time to soften them a tiny bit, but not too much or they will fall apart.
- Banana - to begin with you can leave the skin on at the bottom (cut the long bits off) and just leave a couple of centimeters sticking up at the top, so baby can eat it a bit like a lollipop. Later on when their motor skills improve and they develop a pincer grip you will be able to cut it into smaller pieces. If bub has trouble picking it up you can mash it and use a pre-loaded spoon, or even smear it onto a baby rice cake or piece of pita bread.
- Stone fruits: nectarines, plums, peaches - cut in half and remove the stone. Usually bub will eat the pulp and leave the skin. Later on wedges are fine too.
- Avocado - cut into wedges. You could leave skin on half of it to make it easier to hold. Or do the same as with the banana and mash it.
- Cucumber: cut into thin strips (I usually cut a 10 cm section and then quarter it lengthways). At first bub will just scrape the seeds with their gums but later on may bite bits off.
- Capsicum (peppers): sliced into strips. Bub will probably just gum this, and will manage to get a bit of juice out of it at first, but as with the cucumber will eventually figure out how to bite bits off.
- Tomato: raw tomato can be cut into wedges, the inner pulp (seeds etc) removed, just leaving the flesh. It is also good cooked in a sauce for pasta.
- Carrot: raw carrot can be given in sticks - most babies will just gum them, and not bite bits off. It can also be grated, although they won't get much in that way until they start developing a pincer grip. Roasted carrots are good, they caramelise and are nice and sweet, and soft enough for them to chew on and swallow easily.
- Meat: cooked to well done, cut strips of meat along the grain so it doesn't fall apart too easily. Bub will gum it and suck on it for a while, and the juices they ingest will be very nutritious so don't be concerned if they don't swallow any of it. Lamb cutlets a great too - they have a ready made handle after all! Just make sure to check for any small shards of bones first.
- Chicken: Chicken breast pulled off along the grain. Alternatively a drumstick will be easy for your baby to hold, just make sure that you remove any small bits of bones and gristle, and of course take off the skin.
- Weetbix: soak with a one or two tablespoons of milk (breastmilk or formula). They should still hold their shape and the middle should be a little wet.
- Toast: spread with whatever you like (mashed avocado/mashed banana/soft cheese/small amount of unsalted butter etc), cut into soldiers. Wholemeal bread is best - white bread tends to get very doughy when its soggy and can stick to the roof of the mouth easily; grainy bread is a little too high in fibre for young babies)
