Starting Solid Food Recipes for 6-12 Months Old Baby

If you're in a dilemma as to what food to start giving your 6+ months baby, this is the right place to be. Yes, choosing to start solid foods for your precious bundle of joy can be a harrowing task for any new mother. There are some key things you need to keep in mind when starting your child with solid foods. Below are a few tips worth following for new moms.

First, start the solid foods by giving your child only one new fruit/vegetable/cereal in a day. You can introduce your child to age-appropriate infant cereal at this stage. This would help you know if your child is allergic to certain foods. Second, start by offering small portions, as the main objective is to introduce the child to the new foods and not fill his/her stomach. The idea is to let the baby get accustomed to solid food and then slowly increase the portion size. Finally, slowly increase the quantity and number of different foods in the child’s day. [Live-chat Excerpt - How Healthy Solid Foods Are for Your 6 Months Old Baby?]

Initial Solid Foods & Recipes For 6-Month-Old Child 

The following are the foods that one can start their child on after they reach the 6 months milestone: 

1. Cereals & Grains: Rice, Semolina (Sooji), Oatmeal (fresh ground not the instant one), Broken wheat ( Daliya )
2. Fruits: Bananas, Apples, Pumpkin, Peaches and Coconut water
3. Vegetables: Sweet Potato, Potato, Carrots, and Peas
4. Protein: Cottage Cheese, Tofu, Chicken
5. Dairy: Plain Whole Milk Yogurt

Here are a couple of easy foolproof recipes for you to follow for the baby’s entire week: 

1. Recipe #1: Sooji cooked with Milk /Oatmeal cooked in Milk /Broken rice (Daliya) cooked in milk/saboodana cooked in Milk
2. Recipe #2: Sooji Upma / Daliya Upma
3. Recipe #3: Whole milk Yoghurt and fruit smoothie
4. Recipe #4: Khichdi (rice+yellow moong dal) / Khichdi (daliya+red masoor dal)
5. Recipe #5: Mashed Bananas / Boiled and mashed apples
6. Recipe #6: Boiled and mashed Potato or sweet potato or pumpkin with a bit of Butter
7. Recipe #7: Boiled and mashed Eggs with butter
8. Recipe #8: Soups made of a combination of vegetables / Combination of vegetables and masoor dal soup/ combination of vegetables and Daliya soup
9. Recipe #9: Rice cooked with vegetable stock/rice cooked with chicken and vegetable stock)

Recipe #1: Oatmeal Porridge (In milk)

1. Take a cup half water+half milk. Add to it 3-4 tablespoons of Oatmeal (instant one). Combine these in a pot and put it over a slow flame.
2. Keep stirring constantly as it has a tendency to either form lumps or stick to the bottom of the pan.
3. Make sure the consistency is not too thick or else your child might not like how it feels in the mouth. If it gets too thick, add more milk to it.
4. It usually takes 8- 10 minutes for the oats to soften completely and then add honey to taste.

Things to Watch-out:

1. Oatmeal retains the heat for a long time to make sure that it is cooled enough (try eating yourself) for your baby.
2. Oatmeal also has a tendency to burn over a high flame, its best to cook it on a low flame.

Semolina Porridge (Sooji in milk)

1. Take a cup of half water+half milk. Add to it 3-4 tablespoons of Sooji. Combine these in a pot and put it over a slow flame.
2. You could add a cardamom pod for flavor but be sure to take it out before serving to your baby.
3. Add sugar/honey to taste.
4. Keep stirring constantly. 
5. It usually takes 8- 10 minutes for the Sooji to soften completely.

Broken Wheat (Daliya) Porridge (Cooked in milk): 

1. Take Half a Cup of Water and add 2-3 tablespoons of Daliya to it. Mix it in a pot and put it over a slow flame.
2. Cook the Daliya while frequently stirring it till is soft, now add half a cup of milk to it. (it is advisable to cook it in water first because it tends to become very gooey if cooked entirely in milk and also might be difficult for your child to digest)
3. Once it has reached the desired consistency add sugar /salt or jaggery to taste.
4. Make sure it is cooled down before you feed it to your child.  

Saboodana Porridge(Tapioca Sago cooked in Milk)

1. Take 2-3 tablespoons of saboodana and soak them for 3-4 hours in water. You will know that they have soaked enough when the saboodana becomes translucent (and not white) and almost double its size.
2. Now take a cup of milk in a pot and put it to boil on a medium flame, once the milk comes to a boil, add the saboodana to it.
3. Cook it till the milk reduces its quantity by half.
4. Once it has reached the desired consistency add sugar /salt or gur (jaggery) to taste.
5. Make sure it is cooled down before you feed it to your child.

Recipe #2: Sooji (Semolina) Upma

It is very easy to make this tasty & nutritious sooji upma. Here is what you need. 

1. Take a quarter cup of sooji and roast it with 1tsp of ghee till it is slightly golden in color. Set it aside.
2. In a wok take a tsp of oil/ghee and add half a pureed onion to it, once the onion is slightly roasted (or changed color) add half a pureed tomato(fresh) and salt to taste. Cook it all for about a minute.
3. Add one cup of water to the mixture now and let it come to a boil.
4. Add the roasted sooji that was kept aside earlier. Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture and then cook it covered for another 5-7 minutes or till the sooji soaks up all the water.
5. Make sure it is cooled down before feeding it to your child.      

Daliya (broken Wheat) Upma:

1. Take 1/2 cup daliya and dry roast it till it changes color. Set it aside.
2. In a wok take a tsp of oil/ghee and add half a pureed onion to it, once the onion is slightly roasted (or changed color) add half a pureed tomato( fresh ) and salt to taste. Cook it all for about a minute.
3. Add one cup of water to the mixture now and let it come to a boil.
4. Add the roasted daliya that was kept aside earlier. Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture and then cook it covered for another 5-7 minutes or till the daliya soaks up all the water.
5. In case you feel it is very dry, you can some more water to bring it to a consistency that your child may like.
6. Make sure it is cooled down before feeding it to your child.

Recipe #3: Whole milk curd & fruit smoothie: 

It is a fact that curd has a better nutritive value than milk. The digestibility of curd is also greater than that of milk. The calcium and phosphorus are easily assimilated in curd. In little children, curd helps in the digestion process as well. 

1. To make a rich and thick fruit smoothie, you need to beat the curd in a bowl to have a thick consistency (beating it in the blender may make it runny).
2. Add the pureed fruit to the curd and mix well with a spoon.
3. You can use any kind of pureed fruits like apples, bananas, strawberries, grapes, peaches, litchi, mangoes, pears, and other seasonal fruits.
4. Just make sure the curd or the fruit is not too sour, add a bit of sugar to balance out the taste if need be.

Recipe #4: Khichdi (Rice+Yellow Moong Dal)

It is very easy to make healthy & nutritious khichadi comprises of rice, moong dal. Here is what all you needed. 

1. In a pressure cooker take a cup of water and add 2-3 tbsp of rice and 2-3 tbsp of yellow moong dal to it.
2. Add a little butter to enhance the flavor.
3. Pressures cook it for 5-10 minutes or till the cooker whistles twice.
4. Check the salt (while it is recommended that the khichdi should be only mildly salted, you can add a bit more salt if needed). Cool it before feeding it to your baby.
5. In case the khichdi becomes too thick, the addition of a little curd is always a good idea.

Masoor Dal Khichdi (daliya+red masoor dal)

1. In a pressure cooker take a cup of water and add 2-3 tbsp dry roasted daliya & 2-3 tbsp of red masoor dal to it.
2. Make sure to add a little bit of butter to enhance the flavor.
3. Pressure cook it for 5-10 minutes.
4. Check the salt (though it is recommended the khichdi should be only mildly salted but you can add a bit more salt if needed). Cool it before feeding it to your baby.
5. In case the khichdi becomes too thick, the addition of a little curd is always a good idea.
6. This is a great healthy dish for your baby as daliya (broken wheat is very light and fibrous for the baby.

Recipe #5: Mashed Bananas

Bananas are a great source of carbohydrate, vitamin A, iron, and phosphorus. It falls in the category of superfoods and is ideal for babies as it is very easy on the stomach. Fresh ripe banana is ideal for a baby to start solid foods with. You can mash a banana in a blender and watch your baby enjoy it. Make sure that the banana you use is a ripe one (the ripe ones are the sweetest).

Boiled & Mashed Apples

Apples are rich in dietary fiber contains good quantities of vitamin-C and beta-carotene and minerals like potassium, phosphorus, and calcium.

1. Take a ripe apple and peel it, cut small pcs of it (discard the core) and boil it in a pot with half a cup of water.
2. Make sure that you do not put excess water as the water-soluble nutrients might get lost in the water. Boil it with the lid on; on a slow flame.
3. Once boiled, cool it and then run it through a blender making a puree( if you have excess water left after boiling, add it to the puree, it is full of flavor and nutrients)

Recipe #6: Boiled & Mashed Potato or Sweet-Potato

A boiled or baked potato is virtually fat-free food. The main nutrient found in potatoes is Carbohydrate, which is the primary source of energy for the body. Potatoes are a great source of fiber and vitamin C. 

1. Boil a Potato / Sweet Potato and peel the skin off.
2. Mash the boiled potato thoroughly and then add a bit of Butter and salt to taste.
3. Initially, your child might find it a bit dry so you could add a bit of milk to it to make it into a fine/smooth consistency that goes down easily.

Mashed Pumpkin with Butter (pumpkin sauce)

A ripe (bright orange color) pumpkin is loaded with vitamin A and antioxidant carotenoids, particularly alpha and beta-carotene; it is also a good source of Vitamin E, K, and C. It also has a lot of minerals like iron, potassium, and Magnesium and is readily available almost all through the year. 

1. Take a nice ripe Pumpkin (about 150 gms - you will know it is ripe if it has a bright yellowish orange color) and peel the skin off. Cut the pumpkin into ½” cubes.
2. In a pan, put a tablespoon of butter and add the chopped pumpkin to it. Add 2-tablespoons of water to it and cook it covered on a low flame till the pumpkin is tender.
3. Let it cool down and mash it in the pan itself. Cook it again after adding 2-3 tablespoons of milk to it on a slow flame till you have a nice smooth consistency.
4. Let it cool down before you feed it to your child.

Recipe #7: Boiled & Mashed Eggs with Butter

Eggs can cause a severe allergic reaction called Anaphylaxis in infants. So, parents need to be extra careful in administrating well-sourced eggs. They need to feed very small quantity at first & observe for the next 3 days for allergy symptoms. Once you are sure that your child is not allergic, go ahead with this yummy meal option.

The only thing that you need to make sure is that the eggs are fresh and are hard-boiled. Mash the egg along with some butter in a blender, in case it looks dry feel free to add a little milk to make it to a smooth consistency. Cool it before feeding it to your child. [Let's try: Homemade Baby Food Recipes for 6-12 Months Old]

Recipe #8: Vegetable Soups

It is very easy to make healthy, tasty nutritious-rich soups of vegetables. Here is what you need. 

1. Take a combination of vegetables. It is very easy to make a healthy and nutritious vegetable soup. All you need is some chopped vegetables (carrots/potato/tomato/onions/garlic/a bit of ginger/ coriander) in two cups of water in a pot or a pressure cooker. Cook the vegetables till they are soft. Add a bit of salt/ butter to taste.
2. To begin with, you can separate the vegetable mash from the soup and give a clear soup to the baby then slowly, with the time you can start leaving some of the vegetables in the soup so the child gets used to eating vegetables as well.

Vegetables & Masoor Dal Soup

While you are making the soup add 2-3 tablespoons of masoor dal / yellow moong dal to the vegetables in the cooker. It will boil with the vegetables and also make the consistency of the soup a little thicker and it tastes a bit different for the regular vegetable soup.

Vegetables & Daliya Soup

Adding a 3-4 tablespoons o daliya in the soup while it is cooking gives a great flavor and becomes a whole meal for the baby.

Recipe #9: Rice Cooked with Vegetable Stock

It is very easy to make healthy and nutritious vegetable stock. Here is what you need.

1. Few chopped vegetables (carrots/potato/tomato/onions/garlic/a bit of ginger/ coriander) in two cups of water in a pot or a pressure cooker. Cook the vegetables until they are soft. Add a bit of salt to taste
2. Separate the vegetables from the stock that they are cooked in.
3. Run the boiled vegetables through a blender and make a fine puree of
4. Now cook the rice in the stock of the vegetables, add a bit more water if you feel the dry is looking dry.
5. Cool it before feeding it to your baby.
6. You could also add a bit of the pureed vegetables to the rice when it is getting cooked or use the boiled pureed vegetables (add some butter to taste) as a meal option. It will be healthy and full of fiber for your baby.

Soupy Rice: Rice Cooked with Chicken & Vegetable Stock

Use the above recipe as is but add a few pieces of chicken to the vegetables. Do not put the chicken in the blender with the vegetables (it gives a sticky texture that some babies might not like).

Also, make sure that your child is not allergic to chicken (before you add it to the vegetables) by just giving him a very small taste and keeping an eye out for any allergic reaction.

Disclaimer: Exclusive Breastfeeding is best for babies for the first 6 months. Breast milk provides the ideal balanced nutrition and protection. However there maybe individual instances where introducing first foods maybe required depending on the child's needs and issues related to mother's milk supply. Please consult a pediatrician to make a more informed choice.