This post was reviewed by Dani Rhoades, Certified Nutrition Consultant.
It’s time for solids and the most important thing to remember is that you want to support your baby’s rapid development. Isn’t it crazy how quickly they change and grow in the first year of life? A strong focus on nutrient dense, real food is the best place to start.
And you can really pack a lot of nutrition into baby food purees – way more than what babies get when you follow a baby led weaning approach!
Curious about nutritional deficiencies and baby led weaning? Read our post – Baby Led Weaning + Nutritional Deficiencies.
The Building Blocks
Here are the building blocks for supporting your baby’s growth and development.
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Protein
- Fat
Best first baby foods – what veggies, fruits, proteins and fats to start with
In our course Starting Solids: A gentle approach to introducing real food we teach you exactly what foods to start with to support your baby’s gut health and digestion. We lead you through which foods and also how to cook and serve them.
Here are a few of the best first foods for your baby.
Homemade bone broth
- It’s a a gut healing superfood
Veggies
- Winter squash – butternut, acorn, delicata, etc.
- Zucchini
- Sweet potato
- Carrots
- Onions
Fruits
- Avocado (may contribute to reflux for some babies)
- Banana (may be constipating for some babies)
- Melons*
- Mango*
- Papaya*
- Pear**
- Apple**
- Plum**
- Peaches**
*These fruits are ok to serve raw to babies as young as 6 months old in small, mashed up bits.
**These fruits should be stewed, softened and mashed up before serving to babies as young as 6 months old.
Proteins
- Egg yolk (soft boiled to start)
- Beef
- Chicken thighs
- Ground dark turkey
- Wild caught fish
- Liver
- Elk, bison, wild game
Traditional fats (starting at 6 months)
- Olive oil
- Ghee
- Coconut oil
My 3 favorite first purees for babies
Focusing on gut health and digestibility, here are a few of my favorite first purees for babies.
- Butternut Squash Puree – with and without chicken thighs
- Salmon Puree
- Savory Apple Pear Sauce – this one is great for when baby is constipated, just omit the flax for babies under 1 year old
