Porridge for 6-month-old babies (homemade) that complements breastfeeding

At around five or six months, babies start to need more than just breast milk. When the family is sitting at the dining table, little ones at this age make it unequivocally clear: “I want to eat something different too.”

Initially, the amounts that end up in the baby’s stomach are small. That is perfectly normal. Babies first have to get used to the taste and consistency of solid food and the spoon.

Therefore, it is important that in the first meals don’t offer your child too many different types of fruits and vegetables. Babies and young children prefer to try and experiment. In this way, introducing foods one by one can discover allergies or intolerances.

So it is better to start with a vegetable porridge at noon, in the second step you can offer your child a milk and cereal porridge at night and, finally, add a cereal and fruit porridge in the afternoon.

Buy jars or prepare them yourself?

The selection of prepared jars is huge, but some ingredients leave to be desired. Some contain too much sugar or salt, and may even contain traces of mold that often grows on stored grain.

The best way to ensure the quality of your baby’s food is to prepare it yourself. It’s not difficult, even for parents who don’t like to cook.

It is best to always use regional and seasonal ingredients, preferably organic. In this way, you protect the environment and ensure that the ingredients are free of harmful substances and as many vitamins and nutrients as possible.

On the other hand, think that porridge is just one more dish for your baby, complementary to breast milk and with the bits of soft food that he can eat. The baby-led weaning proposal (it could be translated as “complementary feeding on demand”), in fact, is committed to skipping the porridge stage by offering suitable food in pieces and allowing the child to choose, grab and try, in instead of finding the spoon in the mouth.

1. Vegetable and potato porridge

As the first porridge, it is a good idea to give the little ones a vegetable based porridge for lunch.

Ingredients:

100 g of vegetables of your choice (it is best to start with carrots or parsnips) 50 grams of potatoes 80 ml of water 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil

Elaboration:

Peel the potatoes and the vegetables of your choice and cut them into small pieces. Bring the vegetables to a boil with a little water and cook over low heat for about ten to 15 minutes. Check after ten minutes if it is soft. Puree the vegetables with the hand blender. Finally add the oil.

If your baby is still small, the vegetable puree should be finely ground and without pieces. If your baby has been eating complementary foods for a while, the vegetable puree may also become lumpy. Then you no longer have to puree the vegetables, you can mash them with a fork.

2. Cereal porridge and breast milk

A porridge of cereals and milk It is the classic porridge for the night. Instead of a formula milk, it can be prepared with breast milk.

Ingredients:

200 ml breast milk 20 g infant cereal flakes or oat flakes (if using oat flakes, boil them in water until soft) 20 g unsweetened fruit puree (apple is the best fruit to start with)

Elaboration:

It is best to start by mixing the milk and cereal porridge with breast milk (cow’s milk should not be introduced until the first year of life). Mix with the fruit puree. Cereal flakes contain iron, which is better absorbed with the help of vitamin C from the fruit.

3. Fruit and cereal porridge

This is the typical porridge to give to the little ones at snack time.

Ingredients:

100 ml of water 20 g of cereal flakes (preferably whole grain, for example, oat flakes) 100 grams of fruit 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil

Elaboration:

Wash the fruit well and cut it into small pieces.Briefly boil the fruit in a little water and then puree it.Boil the water and the cereal flakes and let the porridge boil for three to four minutes.Finally mix the porridge with the fruit puree and oil.

What fruit is suitable for baby porridge?

In principle, all types that your baby tolerates are suitable. Apples, bananas, and ripe pears are classic baby fruits.

Low acid varieties such as apricots, blueberries, melon or peach are also easily digestible. Highly acidic fruits, such as citrus or kiwis, can irritate the small’s bottom. You have to carefully test the fruits that your baby tolerates.

When babies are prone to constipation, plums can help. If your baby has loose stools, bananas are recommended. Grated apples are also a good remedy for diarrhea.

What vegetables are suitable for baby porridge?

soft vegetables like carrot, squash, parsnip, or zucchini They are suitable even for the little ones.

In the beginning, vegetables that are difficult to digest, such as aubergines, beans, peppers or cabbage, should not be given to babies.

What should be taken into account when eating vegetarian food?

If you feed your baby purely vegetarian food, the nutrients normally found in meat, such as iron, must be provided by other plant foods, because the deficiency of this mineral can not only cause anemia, but also affect the psychomotor development of the baby.

Therefore, the eating plan should include foods rich in iron such as whole grains (oat flakes, spelt…) and red lentils in combination with vegetables and fruits rich in iron. vitamin C, which enhances the absorption of vegetable iron.

Tips for making your own baby food

Add a teaspoon of oil to each serving of baby food. It is necessary for the baby’s digestive system to break down and absorb fat-soluble vitamins. You can mix extra virgin olive oil and a little linseed oil, which will provide omega-3.