Encouraging infants to try new tastes, textures and flavors can help accept a broad range of
foods in later life. Research suggests that the earlier and broader experience with food, healthier is the child’s diet.
Some basic principles to follow are:
- Introduce new textures gradually (from pureed to lumpy to normal foods). Start with 1 – 2 teaspoons
of pureed mixed and gradually increase the serving size. Refer to the picture given below. - Variety is the key. Offer your baby different fruits and vegetables during different meals which will
help to introduce broad range of flavours. - Some children need more time to get used to various textures, colours and taste of new foods.
- Don’t be discouraged if your baby repeatedly refuses to eat certain foods. Studies show that most children will try new food after repeated offers of about 11 times!! Be persistent and patient.
- Eating healthily yourself and letting your child see you eating the foods you want them to eat is one of the best things you can do to encourage good diet.
Interesting Facts
Babies who are introduced of fruits and vegetables after 6 months old are more likely to accept a variety of fruits and vegetables at 7 years of age than those who had poor weaning diet. That’s a fact!!! Prevention is better than cure….Now is the time to act, so that your child is not fussy and a picky teenager!
Please refer to the detailed feeding guide for different age in months in the following section
Date on File: Great Foundations – A Nutrition Guide to Feeding your Baby in First Year.
Guidelines for enhancing optimal infant and young child feeding practices, Ministry of health and family welfare, Government of India, 2013.
Guidelines for enhancing optimal infant and young child feeding practices, Ministry of health and family welfare, Government of India, 2013.
SAMPLE MENU FOR INFANTS AFTER 6 MONTHS OF AGE
| Time | 6 months (700 to 800 calories) |
8 months (900 to 1000 calories) |
10 months (Calories around 1100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 am | Mother’s milk | Mother’s milk | Mother’s milk |
| 8:00 am | Mother’s milk | 1 stewed apple small + ¼ tsp ghee |
Boiled and mashed mix veg and dal soup – 1 small cup (Carrot + French beans + moong dal + ¼ tsp ghee) |
| 10:00 am | Malted ragi or Ragi sattu gruel (4 tsp ragi + ¼ tsp ghee + water) OR Rice kanji (4 tsp rice flour + ¼ tsp ghee) |
Mother’s milk | – |
| 10:30 am | – | – | Mother’s milk |
| 12 noon | Mother’s milk | Rice ½ cup + Dal ¼ cup well mixed and mashed with boiled and mashed Carrotand Beetroot ¼ cup + ¼ tsp ghee | – |
| 12:30 pm | – | – | Rice 1 small cup, Dal ¼ cup, Boiled bottle gourd vegetable ½ cup curd 25 ml |
| 2:00 pm | Mother’s milk | Mother’s milk | – |
| 3:30 pm | – | – | Mother’s milk |
| 4:00 pam | 1 small banana mashed | Mother’s milk | – |
| 6:00 pm | 1 small Idli mashed and soaked in curd | Mashed papaya ½ small cup | |
| 7:30 pm | Mother’s milk | – | Plain Upma with ½ tsp ghee with boiled and mashed beetroot |
| 8:00 pm | – | Mother’s milk | – |
| 9:00 pm | Mother’s milk | – | – |
| 10:00 pm | – | Mother’s milk | Mother’s milk |
| 11:00 pm | Mother’s milk | – | – |
Note: Mother’s milk is given based on demand
Disclaimer: The above is suggestive meal plan, please consult with your dietician before following this plan.