When and how to introduce solid foods to babies can cause a lot of stress to parents. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be hard. Simply give your baby bites of whatever you are eating (obvious point, eat healthy!)

To be helpful, I snapped a few pics of a day’s worth of meals that I fed to my baby. When I snapped the pics, she was 7-8 months old and would eat about ½ of what I put on her plate (the rest ended up down the front of the tray or on the floor). Now that she is a year, she eats about 95% of the same serving sizes. The pics show before and after I cut up the food for her so you can accurately see about how much food it really is.

Breakfast:

½ piece of French toast and 2 slices of peaches.

½ slice of cinnamon swirl toast, ½ banana, 1 scrambled egg.

Lunch:

1 slice of deli meat, 3 cherry tomatoes, 1 slice of cheese, 3 slices of avocado, and 2 pieces of watermelon.

Vegetable beef stew (pic with my hand to reference the bowl size), I also gave part of a roll and a few pieces of fruit.

Dinner:

2 slices of pork tenderloin, 3 slices of apples, a few green beans, ½ piece of bread, 2 pieces of potatoes.

2 slices of chicken, a few pieces of pasta, 1 spoonful of peas, 2 slices of peaches, ½ roll.

As I decide what to eat and consequently feed my children, I typically look for a protein, a fruit, and a veggie to make a balanced meal. Add a glass of skim milk to a couple of the meals in the day and you’re good to go!

For more tips see my article, “INTRODUCING SOLIDS: THE MAGIC, THE MYTH.”