Weaning: Baby First Foods, Tips And Recipes

As recommended by health experts, 6 months is usually a good time to start introducing your baby to solid food. This may feel daunting, especially if you’re a first time Mum, but these tips and simple recipes will help. You’ve got this! 

Getting Started

Weaning can be a messy affair, so it can be a good idea to have muslin cloths and bibs handy. Make sure your baby is comfortable and supported in their chair. Use a head and body support to keep them upright and stable.  

Choose a time when your baby is happy and receptive to trying something new. If they are not in the mood or are tired, it’s best to wait.  

Start off with single foods first and then try combining them with others. 

Place a little of the food on your baby’s tray and allow them to examine it. Let them play with it and they may even taste it. This will help them be more receptive when the spoon is offered for the first time. 

Start with just the tiniest amount on the tip of your baby’s tongue. They may pull faces as this is a totally new experience. Once the first taste is swallowed, try again, continue to offer food in very small amounts.  

Your baby has a tiny tummy and will quickly become full. Watch for their cues. When your little one loses interest, they will show it by turning their head, closing their mouth or pushing the spoon away. If this happens, you can save any excess food with our ClevaPortions food containers. 

Once you start weaning, always offer water with their meal.  

Weaning with vegetables, especially ‘green and bitter’ ones, may help your baby develop a liking for different flavours – and a willingness to eat plenty of vegetables as they get older.  

Remember that babies won’t like every food they are offered, so if they reject a particular food, try offering it again a few times but a couple of days apart. This will help them to acquire new tastes.  

First foods and simple recipes 

Pureed vegetables and fruit are usually the best to start off with. Try pureed carrot and sweet potato, before moving on to green vegetables such as peas and broccoli. 

Fruits such as sweet banana, creamy avocado or pureed apple are ideal to start off with. Once they are comfortable with these, you can start to introduce other foods such as legumes, meat, fish, eggs and yoghurt around the 7/8 month mark.  

Recipe 1 – Sweet Potato Puree

Sweet potatoes are an easy, simple first food for when you start weaning your baby. The taste tends to be readily accepted and you can blend in their regular milk for a creamy, easily-digestible purée. When you know they like this, add some broccoli to introduce green foods! 

Recipe 2 – Spiced Apple Puree

Spice up apple fruit puree and tickle your baby’s taste buds by adding a tiny pinch of Nutmeg and Cinnamon. 

Suitable for first weaning from 6 months – yummy!

Recipe 3 – Apple & Beetroot Puree 

This one is quite vibrant so make sure to keep a bib handy! The beetroot adds a lovely, earthy taste to the sweetness of the apple. 

Suitable for use in the first weeks of weaning 

Recipe 4 – Banana Porridge

Add a zing to your baby’s breakfast by adding some mashed banana to their porridge. Or try a little puréed apple.

Suitable from 7 months

Recipe 5 – Mediterranean Fish Stew

Mild-tasting meals for adults can be pureed and fed to babies, like this Mediterranean fish stew. Take a little cod and sautéed Mediterranean vegetables then mash to make a tasty stew. When using fish, always make sure to remove all the bones. 

Suitable from 8 months

You can do this – and we can help

Another helping hand is our ClevaFeed™ which is great for introducing your baby to solids (fruit) and soothing your baby’s teething discomfort.  It’s a win-win weaning solution for Mamas and babies alike and you can fill it with soft fruits and vegetables for your little one to try: Strawberries, Banana, Avocado, boiled chunks of vegetables such as carrot and sweet potato.

After preparing these delicious meals for your little one, we just hope that they don’t end up on the floor! But don’t worry if they do. It’s a journey of trial and error for you and your child so go with the flow and don’t fret if they don’t eat a lot. It’s all about introducing them to new tastes and textures. The rest will come naturally.  

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