Foods in the first year

Food combinations for your baby

The move from drinking to eating is quite a big one and baby has to learn how to eat. As well as learning about new tastes, baby has to get used to various textures (pureed, lumpy, mashed and chopped foods). By 12 months baby should be eating a wide variety of mashed and coarsely chopped foods - even  if he has no teeth.  Babies start to chew by the time they are around 7 months, teeth or no teeth, and they can easily handle mash andsoft lumps with their gums. 

From 9 months baby needs to be learning how to drink from a cup. By 12 months he will be able to hold a cup himself and drink from it. Teaching baby to eat or to drink is a learning experience for you both.

Creamy apricot dip

Babies love dips. This is an easy way to  combine different foos an let baby feed himself. Whole meal toast, pitta bread, cucumber pieces, peeled apple pieces and soft grilled or lightly barbecued vegetables such as zucchini, capsicum, pumpkin or asparagus make great dippers.

Here are some food combinations for your baby:

Creamy apricot dip (from 6 months)

20g plain full-cream yogurt

1 dried apricot, minced

Mash together.

Homemade rusks (from 9 months)

1 loaf unsliced bread (not wholemeal)

Trim crusts from all  sides and ends of loaf. Cut bread into 1,5 cm slices; cut slices into 1,5 cm - thick fingers. Place on oven trays, bake in very slow oven about 1 hour or until bread is dried and crisp.

Chicken liver dip (from 9 months)

20g chicken livers

1/4 teaspoon butter

1 green onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon plain full-cream yogurt

1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley

Cook chiken livers in non-stick frying pan with butter, add green onion and soften. Mash together with yogurt and parsley.

Pikelets (from 9 months)

1 cup (150g) self-raising flour

2 teaspoons caster sugar

1 egg,beaten lightly

3/4 cup (180ml) milk

Combine flour and sugar in medium bowl; gradually whisk in egg and enough milk to make a thick, smooth batter. Drop dessertspoons of mixture into greased heavy-base pan; cook until bubbles begin to appear on surface of pikelet, turn, brown other side. Serve with yogurt and a little stewed or pureed fruit, if desired, or a drizzle of maple syrup for baby's breakfast.

Fruit  muffins (from 9 months)

2cups (300g) self-raising flour

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1/ cup (100g) firmly packed brown sugar

1/22 cup (80g) sultanas

1 cup (250ml) milk

12g butter,melted

1 egg, beaten lightly

Grease three 12-hole small (2-tablespoon/40ml-capacity) muffin pans. Combine flour, spice, sugar and sultanas in large bowl. Stir in milk, butter and egg, do not overmix. Divide mixture among pan holes; bakemuffins in moderately hot oven about 15 minutes or until browned.