Baby Led Weaning Lunch Ideas | Baby Led Weaning Lunch Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What to make for lunch for baby? ›

If you made it here, you're probably familiar with the concept of baby led weaning, but if you're not, baby led weaning (or BLW) is a concept of skipping purees in favor of giving your baby real foods to help stimulate their oral growth, curiosity about different types of food, and joining in during the family meals.

Top first foods for BLW include iron-rich foods (meat, poultry, beans, lentils, tofu), protein-rich foods (fish, eggs, cheese, yogurt, nut butter), whole grains, fat-rich foods (avocado, yogurt, cheese, nut butter), and various fruits and vegetables.

Great first foods

Spears of soft ripe fruits, such as banana, pear, avocado, kiwi and mango. Strips of roasted, baked or steamed vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, carrots and squash. Ground meat or soft, shredded strips of meat that you can move your fingers through.

Baby-led weaning (BLW) involves skipping the spoon-fed purées and letting babies feed themselves finger foods when starting solids.

Eating solid foods is an exciting milestone. But you might wonder what to start with and when to introduce certain foods like Cheerios and other cereals. According to Dr. Whitney Casares, babies start eating Cheerios at about eight months to nine months old.

Start to give your baby solid foods at 6 months of age, just as a breastfed baby would need. Begin with two to three spoonfuls of soft and mashed food four times a day, which will give your baby the nutrients they need without breastmilk.

Good finger foods for babies include soft, easy-to-swallow foods like steamed veggies; soft fruits; whole-grain bread, pasta, or cereal; crackers; chicken; cheese; and scrambled eggs.

How do I pack my 9 month old for lunch? ›

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children be introduced to foods other than breast milk or infant formula when they are about 6 months old.

From about 7 months, your baby will gradually move towards eating 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and tea), in addition to their usual milk feeds, which may be around 4 a day (for example, on waking, after lunch, after tea and before bed).

Be sure your child has a portion of animal foods (milk, dairy, eggs, meat, fish and poultry) each day, plus legumes (like chickpeas, lentils or peas) – or nuts, and orange or green vegetables and fruits. Add a little oil or fat to their food for energy. Be sure your child's snacks are healthy, such as fresh fruit.