Weaning a baby is an interesting stage for both mom and baby as it’s a big step the baby gets into a new world of textures and tastes. The reasonable time to introduce your baby with solids is between 4 and 6 months when nourishing your baby can be handled not only by breast milk. The first foods for baby should be a simple ingredient that is appropriate for his age, which means these foods should give your baby easy digestion without provoking any allergic reactions.

The first foods for baby should be baby rice in combination with a vegetable puree or one kind of fruits instead of other food mixtures. Some suggestions are bananas, sweet potatoes, and tasty and creamy avocados that are healthy and nutritious with a wide range of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and other nutrients essential for the growth of babies. Don’t try to add sugar or salt to a baby’s diet despite being bland because sugar can support a sweet tooth and salt can be harmful to your baby’s kidneys as well.

This time, VKool would like to show you top 20 natural and safe first foods for baby to do at home. There are many kinds of foods as well as specific recipes for you to collect for your babies. For those who don’t know or wonder what kinds of foods or how to make a baby a nutritious diet, just spend a few minutes reading our article to have more experience!

Top 20 Natural & Safe First Foods For Baby

Vegetables are always considered as important foods for the human body also healthy first foods for baby indeed. While the immune system of a baby is not strong enough to receive complicated foods, veggies are highly recommended because they are wholesome and nutritious without causing allergies. Parents, can start with mild yellow or orange ones like sweet potatoes and carrots then move on to the green options of peas and string beans with slightly stronger flavors. There will be some cases in which your baby rejects the foods you give, so you need more than once to introduce them to him so that he become acquainted with outside foods not being his mom’s source.

Following are some kinds of veggies recommended as the first foods for baby:

1. Carrots

Carrots that belong to root vegetables are well known for their source of vitamin A and beta-carotene, which makes ideal to be weaning food because babies occasionally love the naturally sweet taste of carrots more than that of sugar. You should choose darker and older carrots instead of as babies or new ones as they contain more beta-carotene indeed.

2. Butternut Squash

Another of veggies as the first foods for baby is butternut squash which is easily digested and not likely to cause allergies. Also providing a good source of beta-carotene, butternut squash is considered as an excellent weaning food.

Here is the direction of making butternut squash for your baby:

• Cut a butternut squash in half then remove out the seeds
• Place the squash halves in a pan then pour enough water into to slightly cover them then
• Bake the pan in a 400-degree oven for about 40 minutes or until the skin puckers and squash is soft then scoop its meat from the shell
• Begin pureeing the squash meat while adding enough water to achieve a smooth and thin consistency.
• Alternatively, you can peel the squash, remove out the seeds and cut it chunks and boil until tender before pureeing for baby.

3. Zucchini

Zucchini is also a healthy food for baby with a high level of beta-carotene as carrots and butternut squash. You should just remember that almost of nutrients exist in the skin, so you should not peel it.

4. Parsnips

Along with beta-carotene, the baby’s body needs other nutrients like starch and fiber which are presented in parsnips as well. In addition, this type of veggies also contains the antioxidants known as vitamins C and vitamin E.

5. Broccoli

Broccoli is another of the first foods for baby also known as a Superfood indeed. It is because this kind of vegetables contains excellent sources of vitamin C, iron, potassium, beta-carotene, folic acid, and anticancer phytonutrients that are all necessary for the growth of babies. To make broccoli, you should steam or microwave it because boiling it can reduce the vitamin C content. There will be some cases in which your baby rejects to consume its taste, so you should mix it with another sweet-tasting vegetable such as rutabaga, butternut squash, or sweet potato.

6. Sweet Potato

Sweet potato is another of the first foods for baby that comes in 2 groups known as orange-fleshed potato and creamy-fleshed potato. However, they both have red skins and contain good sources of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber that are all necessary for the growth of babies. Orange-fleshed potato is occasionally preferred because it has another source of beta-carotene additionally that helps prevent several types of cancer by removing free radicals out of the body.

You can make sweet potato yam as follows:

• Wash potatoes thoroughly and poke some holes in them putting crushed fork into
• Wrap them with tin foil without peeling for baking or microwaving then bake them in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes or until they are soft.
• Alternatively, wrap sweet potatoes with plastic and cook them on high temperature for 8 minutes or until tender.

 Another choice to make sweet potato for your baby is:

• Peel some sweet potatoes off and cut them into small chunks
• Place those potato chunks into a pan then pour enough water into to slightly cover them
• Boil until tender and keep checking the water levels by reserving leftover water to thin out the sweet potatoes
• If the potatoes have been baked, remove their skins and abuse the liquid of your preferred source
• Begin pureeing your potatoes if you choose and add some reserved water or any liquids to achieve a smooth.

7. Creamy Vegetable Puree

To make the first foods for baby, you can not only use these simple vegetable but also some mixtures of them as the creamy vegetable puree later. For example, stronger-tasting vegetables of carrots, broccoli, and parsnip can be mixed together in combination with some milk and baby rice to give a more creamy taste.

You should make a creamy vegetable puree like that:

• Prepare ¼ cup of your favorite vegetable puree
• Mix 1 tablespoon of baby rice and milk as the instruction on the package
• Add 3 tablespoons of your baby’s usual milk
• Stir all with 1/4 cup vegetable puree above.

Fruits

Similar to vegetables, fruits are also highly recommended as the first foods for baby because they contain naturally taste with a wide range of nutrients essential for the growth of babies.

8. Avocado

Avocado is firstly suggested among the first foods for baby.
This kind of fruits contains essential nutrients and fats that a baby needs such as vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, niacin, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. In addition, avocado is smooth and creamy so that your baby can easily digest and tolerate well.

Avocado should be made for your baby as follows:

• Peel and remove the pits of a ripe avocado
• Cut its meat into small pieces then mash them with a fork (Do not use a machine or cook avocado as it has very soft texture and consistency)
• Add water, formula or breast milk to thicken up.

9. First Foods For Baby – Bananas

Bananas are another excellent first food for baby as well. In fact, bananas are rich sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, calcium, selenium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus besides Research indicates their mucosal properties that help coat the tummy and aid in the digestion. In addition, this kind of fruits is sweet and soft, which makes your baby more readily to accept it as the first food experience.

Bananas should be made for your babies as follows:

• Peel a ripe banana and cut it into smaller pieces
• Place them in a food blender and start pureeing
• Alternatively, mash the banana pieces with a regular fork in a bowl then heat them in microwave just for 25 seconds before mashing to get extra softness
• Add water, cereal, or breast milk to thin or thicken up.

10. Pears

Pears are also considered as good first foods for baby that contain high levels of vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. You can let your baby consume pear fruits as the following way:

• Peel a pear and cut it into chunks removing out little seed portion.
• Steam them gently until tender
• Puree them in a blender or another food processor until smooth (You can just use a fork instead)
• Add some leftover cooking water if necessary to make it thinner or some baby cereal as well.

11. First Foods For Baby – Apples

Apples, as you know, are very popular not only in normal diets of adults but also nutritious ones of children. They contain vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, calcium, potassium, and magnesium.

The follows are steps to make apples for your baby and the recipe can be applied to any amount of apples you want.

• Peel, remove core and cut an apple into chunks
• Place those chunks in a pan then pour enough amount of water to slightly cover them
• Boil or steam them until tender while keeping stirring
• Mash the apple chunks with a potato masher in order to get a smooth applesauce consistency
• In case your masher fails to get a puree type of consistency, you should reserve the leftover water to thin out the apples, place them into your appliance to puree, and add water or cereal in order to thin or thicken the last dish.
• Add some cinnamon if you want more tastes.

12. Mango

Mango is also highly recommended as one of the first foods for baby, especially for those between 6 and 8 months. It is very rich in vitamins including vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, and folate, and additional minerals like calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

You should make mango for your baby as the following way:

• Peel, remove seed and mash a ripe mango until smooth
• Add water, formula or breast milk to thin and add cereal to thicken up.

13. Papaya

Papaya is always recommended for those who have digestive problems as well as for those who want to make the digesting process easier, so it is also ideal to be weaning food. Papaya is rich sources of vitamin C and beta-carotene, which is characterized that a baby just needs 3 ounces of papaya for an adequate amount of vitamin C. In addition, this kind of fruits also contains soluble fiber that is important for proper bowel function along with some certain enzymes good for the digestion.

14. First Foods For Baby – Blueberries

Blueberries are also ranked as good first foods for baby because of their rich sources of vitamin C and beta-carotene. In fact, they are estimated to be fruits with the highest antioxidant capacity. In addition, the blue pigment anthocyanin found in their skin helps protect us from cancer.

15. Peaches

You can add peaches to your baby’s diet because they can provide him with a high level of vitamin C and the soft flesh easy to digest.

16. First Foods For Baby – Apricots

Apricots are also suggested to baby due to its sources of beta-carotene and fiber along with other minerals such as iron and potassium.

17. Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe is also recommended as one of the first foods for baby also known as the most nutritious kind of melon. To be clear, it is rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene while being very sweet which make your baby easier to take in.

18. Baby Rice

Baby rice is considered as one of the first foods for baby also the first cereal to introduce him as it doesn’t have gluten, a protein presented in oats, wheat, barley, or rye that may cause allergy when introduced to babies younger than 6 months. In addition, baby rice is easy to digest with a specific milky taste that makes your baby easier to transfer from a simply milk-based diet to solids. To make your baby’s food tastier, you should thicken it for runny purees with peach, pear, and plum.

19. First Foods For Baby – Red Meat

Along with vegetables, fruits, and rice, you should also supply your baby with red meat that is considered as the best source of iron for him. In fact, it is important to add iron-rich foods to the diet of your baby because the iron source inherited from his mom starts running out at the point of 6 months. Or in other words, breast milk does not contain enough amount of iron for your baby’s growth, so you should add it more by the consumption of some foods like red meat.

20. Cereal

It has been a long time cereal has been considered as the best food to introduce a baby though it is, in fact, the easiest digestible foods. You should know that the first foods for baby cannot be a commercial infant cereal, so homemade rice cereal is always highly recommended along with other vegetables and fruits like bananas, avocado, and sweet potato as well.

If you choose homemade baby cereal to make, you should use organic brown rice or whole grains that are more nutritious and healthy than rice for babies. You should pick a single-grain type of grains such as rice, oat, or barley but not wheat as it occasionally causes allergen for babies. Besides, you should remember not to sweeten the taste of cereal because this can make your baby early acquainted with sweet stuff.
The following is direction of making rice cereal for your baby:

• Boil an adequate amount of water in saucepan
• Add rice powder to the saucepan and keep stirring
• Simmer the saucepan for 10 minutes, constantly whisk, and mix in breast milk or formula and fruits if you want
• Serve warm.

Recommended article: Wholesome Baby Food Recipes

After reading the article on top 20 natural and safe first foods for baby in our main Health page, hope that you can know more foods and certain recipes suitable for your babies then apply them in a suitable way. Please let us know if you have any question by leaving them below and share with us other first foods for baby if you know or experience.

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