Food Recipes for babies 6 to 12 months old

Your baby has now completed her six months, she can sit without support and has complete control over her head and neck. She is feeling hungry even after having her milk (breast milk or formula), It’s a sign that you can start introducing semi solid / solid food to her.

Introduce the foods which are easy to digest and non-allergenic.

You can start with common fruits like banana, apple, pear and pureed vegetables. No extra salt and sugar require for your baby. Babies don’t have taste buds until they are one year old. Your baby will get sufficient amount of salt and sugar through nursing. She will enjoy blend food which you have prepared for her with love.

New moms are always confused about food selection for their babies. Moms want some quick, healthy and nutritious food recipes for kids. Few babies are fussy eaters which make mom’s job more difficult to find ways to let baby eat his/her food. All babies have different likes and dislikes so you can’t go with same recipes for each baby. Like my son has sweet tooth, he always love to eat desserts especially cakes and ice-creams.

Initially you can start with semi-solid foods like moong dal water or rice water. Once your baby starts having it without any difficulty then you can go for solid foods. But continue mother’s milk or formula supplement along with solid foods until baby is one year old.

I had started to give moong dal water to my son in his 5th month. And continued it for two weeks to check any kind of allergies /  reactions of it. During his first year, I had learnt and tried various recipes which are good and healthy for babies.

Here’s a video for Introductory Food Purees:

Always prefer to give your baby healthy, nutritious, naturally fresh and delicious homemade food.
Sharing some more easy peasy food recipes which you can cook easily without any fuss.

1) Moong Dal Water ( Yellow split pulse)

Ingredients

Moong Dal 2 tbsp

Filtered Water 1 cup

Method

Step 1: First wash 2 tablespoon of dal in fresh running water.

Step 2: Once it’s washed and cleaned. Let it get boiled in sufficient filtered water for 15-20 minutes.

Step 3: Check in-between and stir it well.

Step 4: Once dal is properly cooked and water reduced to half in quantity.

Step 5: Switch off the gas stove and strain the dal water in glass or steel bowl. This dal water has sufficient flavours and nutrition for your baby.

Step 6: Let it get cool down to room temperature and offer to your baby.

2) Chawal ka Paani (Rice Water)

Introducing rice water to your baby after she six months is a good choice. It has good amount of fiber and nutritions. You can use white or brown rice, but recommended is brown rice.

Ingredients

Rice 2 tbsp

Filtered water 1 cup

Method

Step 1: First take rice in a bowl, clean and wash it under running water. Now soak it into filtered water for 20 minutes.

Step2: 20 minutes later, Add water and rice into steel utensil and let it get boil on medium flame. You can cover it up with lid.

Step 3: Switch off the flame after rice nicely cooked.

Step 4: Mash the rice with masher or big spoon So that water content has few chunks of rice.

Step 5: Now take small quantity of rice water in a bowl and feed few spoons of warm rice soup to your baby.

3) Oatmeal Cereal

Oats are rich in fiber, calcium, protein and even some B vitamins.  You can serve Oats in form of cereal or porridge. You can introduce oats cereal as starter cereal for your little one. Oats cereal is less constipating than rice one and easy to digest.

Ingredients

Grounded / powdered Oats ¼ cup

Filtered Water 1 cup

Method

Step 1: For making ground oats, ground ¼ cup oats into blender or food processor.

Step 2: Let water get boiled in a saucepan. Once boiled, add oatmeal powder and stir continuously. Avoid clumping.

Step 3: Low gas flame and let it get cooked for approximately 7- 8 minutes.

Step 4: Once fully cooked, switch off the gas stove. Let it get cool down, mix in formula or breast milk and serve to your baby. You can mix fruit puree if desired.

4) Creamy Banana Oats

Ingredients

Instant oats 2 tbsp

Milk or water 150 ml

Pureed of half banana

Method

Step 1: First mix 2 tablespoon oats and water in a saucepan & switch on the gas stove.

Step 2: Let it cook at low flame for 3-5 minutes. Stir in-between. Avoid clumping.

Step 3: Switch off the flame. Let it thicken for two minutes.

Step 4: Once porridge cools down, mix banana pureed into your oatmeal.

Step 5: It’s ready to serve to your little one.

Note: You can prepare oats porridge into cow’s milk if your baby is older than 1 year of age.

If you are feeding it to baby below one year of age; You can add breastmilk or formula along with banana pureed.

5) Flavoured Yogurt

Ingredients

Yogurt ¼ cup

Fruit puree like banana, apple, pear, peach, plum, berries or sweet potato

Method

Step 1: Make puree of any one fruit like banana, apple, pear, peach, plum or litchi into blender or food processor.

Step 2: Now mix fruit puree with yogurt and feed it to your baby. You can mix two or three fruits together to enhance flavor.

Your baby will love the taste of yogurt and eat it without any fuss. Just check the diary product allergies in your baby.

6) Chiku (Sapota) Or Banana Shake

Chiku or banana shake can be a good option for satisfying your little one’s tummy. It’s nutritious and healthy choice for adults too.

Ingredients

One medium sized chiku   Or   ½ ripe banana

Breastmilk or formula ½ cup

Method

Step 1: Peel the fruit and cut into small pieces.

Step 2: Blend it into blender or mixer to a fine consistency.

Step 3: Now mix it with breastmilk or formula.

Step 4: Your fruit shake is ready to serve to your baby.

7) Seasonal Vegetable Soup (Winter)

Homemade, warm, fresh and seasonal soups are good way to introduce seasonal vegetables to your little one.

Ingredients

Carrot ½ piece

Few peas

3- 4 beans

4-5 leaves of spinach

2 cups filtered water

Method

Step 1: Peel and wash all the vegetables in clean running water.

Step 2: Dice all vegetables in small pieces.

Step 3: Put it in pressure cooker along with 2 cups of water. Close the lid.

Step 4: Let it cook for 4-5 whistles and switch off the stove.

Step 5: Once it’s cooled down, Blend it in blender to make a smooth consistency.

Step 6: Strain it into a bowl and serve warm.

8) Bulgar Wheat Porridge (Daliya)

It’s a cereal food,  made from durum wheat most often. It’s a kind of dried cracked wheat. Bulgur is rich in fiber, protein and has high levels of vitamins.

Ingredients

Bulgar wheat (dalia)  2 tbsp

Dates 2-3 pieces, deseeded

Filtered water 1 cup

Method

Step 1:  First, Take 2 tbsp dalia in a bowl and washed & drained it.

Step 2:  Add half teaspoon desi ghee in a saucepan , roast bulgur wheat into it. Once it’s dark in colour, add one cup water and stir it.

Step 3: Let it get cooked on low flame for 10-12 minutes approximately.

Step 4: Cover it with lip and stir in-between.

Step 5: After 10 minutes, check the consistency. If dalia still looks uncooked and dry then you can add ⅓ cup water.

Step 6: Once dalia seems cooked, switch off the stove. Add dates puree and mix it well.

Step 7: Let it cool down and feed your baby.

Note: If you want to cook dalia in pressure cooker, combine the bulgur wheat, dates puree and 1 cup of water in a pressure cooker, mix well and pressure cook for 3 whistles.

9)  Suji Kheer

Its is one of the very first solid food for your little one.

Ingredients

Suji (Rava) 1 tsp

Water 1/4 cup

formula / mother milk 1/4 cup

Method

Step 1: Take 1 tsp suji in a saucepan and dry roast it for 5 minutes on low gas flame.

Step 2: Now add water and let it cook till it becomes thick in consistency.

Step 3: Switch off the gas stove and mix milk into it.

Step 4: Serve warm to your baby.

10) Khichdi

Once your baby is in her ninth month, you can start giving her khichdi, a great combo of cereal and pulse.

Ingredients

Dhuli moong dal ( Yellow dal) 2 tbsp

Rice 1 tbsp

Pinch of haldi

Desi ghee 1/4 tsp

Water ¾ cup

Method

Step 1 : Wash and soak the moong dal and rice in sufficient water for 15-20 minutes.

Step 2: Mix dal, rice, turmeric and ¾  cup of water into pressure cooker and close it with lid.

Step 3: Pressure cook it for three whistles.

Step 4: Open the cooker after 10 minutes and stir the khichdi with back side of spoon or masher.

Step 5: Mix desi ghee into khichdi and serve to your little one.

11)  Carrot and Apple Soup

Carrot and apple soup is ideal for infants. It’s rich in Vitamin A and quite fulfilling.

Ingredients

Peeled and chopped ½ apple

Peeled, diced and washed ½ carrot

Peeled, diced and washed ½ potato

Black pepper (If your baby is over 11 months old)

Water 1 cup

Method

Step 1: In a pressure cooker, add apple, carrot and potato along with 1 cup water.

Step 2 : Close the lid and pressure cook it for three whistles.

Step 3: Switch off the gas flame after three whistles.

Step 4: When it cools down,  blend it into blender or mixer.

Step 5: Strain it and feed it to your baby through sipper or spoon.

Conclusion

You can try a lot more recipes for your baby based on his/her taste. Variations in shapes and texture of  food always tempts baby as she is growing. Always try to make a connection of food with your baby. Once interest creates, baby will start eating herself without any further efforts.

Do try these food recipes for your infants and let me know how much your baby like it.