From around 6 months

What to start with?

- You can start with single vegetables and fruits – try blended, mashed, or soft cooked sticks of broccoli, potato, sweet potato, carrot, apple . You could also try rice mixed with your baby's usual milk.

- Make sure any cooked food has cooled right down before offering it to your baby.

- Its is preferable to start with 2-3 meals during the day, each consisting of 2-4 tablespoons. 

Vegetables

- Cook to soften them, then mash or blend veggies to a suitable texture for your baby – or give them as finger foods.

*Offer a variety including ones with bitter flavours:

• broccoli

• carrots

• cauliflower

• courgette

• green beans

• kale

• peas

• peppers

• spinach

Fruits

- Mash or blend soft ripe fruits to a suitable texture for your baby, or give them as finger foods. Harder fruits will need to be cooked to soften them, wash and remove any pips, stones and hard skin.

*Fruit includes:

• apples

• bananas

• blueberries

• kiwi

• mango

• melon

• oranges

• papaya

• peach

• pears

• pineapple

• raspberries

• strawberries

Starchy foods

- These can be cooked, where necessary, and mashed or blended to a suitable texture for your baby or offered as finger foods.

- Cereals can be mixed with breast milk or first infant formula – or with pasteurised whole (full-fat) cows' milk 

*Starchy foods include:

• bread

• cornmeal

• maize

• oats

• pasta

• porridge

• potato

• quinoa

• rice

• sweet potato

• toast

Protein foods

-This food group includes meat, fish, eggs, beans and pulses, and is suitable from around 6 months.

-As well as giving your baby protein, these foods contain other useful nutrients, such as iron and zinc, which are important for babies.

**If you have a severely weakened immune system or are on a medically supervised diet prescribed by health professionals, you should cook all eggs thoroughly.

*Protein foods include:

• beans

• beef

• chicken

• egg

• fish (no bones)

• lentils

• pulses, such as chickpeas

• turkey

Dairy

-Pasteurised dairy foods,like pasteurised full-fat yoghurt and cheese, are suitable foods for your baby from around 6 months.

Full-fat, unsweetened or plain yoghurts are a good choice because they do not contain added sugars.

Whole pasteurised (full-fat) cows' milk, or goats' or sheep's milk, can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months old, but not as a drink until your baby is 12 months.

Smooth or lumpy?

- To help your baby get used to different textures and tastes quickly, try moving on to mashed and finger foods (from purées or blended) as soon as they're ready. This helps them learn how to chew, move solid food around their mouth and swallow solid foods.

- Give your baby a spoon and let them try feeding themselves.

- Babies take different amounts of time to get used to lumps, but it's an important skill they need to learn. Just keep offering them lumpy textures from around 6 to 7 months, and stay with them so you can be sure they are swallowing it safely.

- Finger foods help get them used to different textures. They love picking bits of food up and feeding themselves. It's also good for developing their hand-eye co-ordination.

Drinks

- During meal times, offer your baby sips of water (around 10 ml ) from an open or free-flow cup. Using an open cup, or a free-flow cup without a valve, will help your baby learn to sip and is better for their teeth.

- Cow's milk is not a suitable drink until your baby is 12 months old, but it can be used in cooking or mixed with food from 6 months of age.