Pregnancy, Parenting, Mom and Baby Healthcare Tips

Food & Nutrition

Which Are The Best vegetables For Your Child?

Blog
  • October 10, 2020
  • MKB Team

Vegetable Feeding Hacks for Your Children

Playing With A Purpose

Dream day scenario : Your baby is between six to eight months & will probably be ready to start eating vegetables. Super mom, you can now do your ‘less pumping time begins today’ dance.

Now that we have the dance out the way, let’s introduce you to your babies best friends to be, for a healthily ever after : VEGETABLES. Start with sweet, starchy vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, carrots and green peas. When first introducing vegetables to your baby, prepare them as broth, blended soups, and simple purees before you can implement breakfast ideas for healthy food for kids.

Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of the more popular first foods for babies, who tend to like both their sweetness and texture. These colourful root vegetables are packed with beta-carotene, vitamin C, and minerals, including iron and copper.

MKB feeding hack : Serve sweet potato puree alone or swirled into pureed chicken or turkey.

Broccoli

This cruciferous vegetable contains fibre, folate, and calcium, and may even help ward off cancer. Introduce your baby to broccoli's bold flavour early, and you'll be expanding their tastes and encouraging a lifelong love of green vegetables.

MKB feeding hack : Steam until soft, cut into pieces small enough for your child to eat safely, and then chill. Steaming takes the bite out of broccoli, and some babies prefer the texture and taste when it's cold.

Peas

Green peas are a no-brainer for babies aged 4-6 months. A showstopper for nutrients, with vitamins A, C, K, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), folate, iron, and zinc, to name a few. If you’re serving them for family dinner, pop them into the blender and puree. Remember, cooked and pureed fresh veggies have a fresh flavour that your baby will enjoy. Frozen green peas are great for the older baby who has an active pincer grasp, too.

MKB feeding hack : Puree peas in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency. For chunkier pea puree, which is ideal for babies 10 months or older, mash the peas with a potato masher instead of pureeing them.

Green beans

Introduce green beans between 4 and 6 months. Green beans have a mild flavour that babies typically accept. While we think of jarred, pureed green beans from the grocery store, it’s easy to cook them with a little chicken broth, butter, or olive oil to flavour them up and puree them in the blender—especially if you are eating them as a family. As baby gets older, steam them soft, and let baby munch on one bean at a time.

MKB feeding hack : Puree green beans in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency. Once baby is ready for finger foods, typically around 10 months, you can serve her whole green beans cut into tiny pieces.

Carrots

Carrots are also a good source of other vitamins, like vitamin K, which helps blood clot properly, and vitamin B6, which is necessary for skin, hair, eye, and liver health. They're a good source of fibre, which your baby might need more of if you're feeding them a lot of low-fibre foods like baby cereals.

MKB feeding hack : Sweet potato and carrot baby food are one of the best ways to form a tasty puree. Carrots can literally go with every vegetable so experimentation can yield quite interesting results.

The following charts give an overview of which vegetables to introduce and when. The charts also include how frequently to serve these vegetables. Let’s dive into the slideshow below!!

WHAT TO EAT AT 6 TO 8 MONTHS OF AGE?

Your baby will probably be ready to start eating vegetables between six and eight months. Start with sweet, starchy vegetables, such as winter squash, carrots, and green peas. When first introducing vegetables to your baby, prepare them as broth, blended soups, and simple purees.

Playing With A Purpose

WHAT TO EAT AT 7 TO 9 MONTHS OF AGE?

At around seven to nine months, offer cruciferous vegetables that are well-cooked, such as broccoli, bok choy, and others. At around nine months old, once he has learned to gum his food and pick up pieces of food, water sauté or steam the vegetables until soft, and then cut them into pea-sized pieces for finger foods.

Playing With A Purpose

WHAT TO EAT AT 9 TO 12 MONTHS OF AGE?

Soft cooked veggies make for great beginner baby finger foods. Try mixing up a soft cooked and diced veggie medley now. Most paediatricians suggest that beets should be introduced to babies after 8 to 10 months. You can discuss with your baby’s doctor before you add beets to your little one’s diet. Limit the quantity of beetroot to 1 or 2 teaspoons, as it is rich in nitrates which may be hard for your baby to digest. You can cook or steam the beets as they are more beneficial than uncooked beets.

Playing With A Purpose

WHAT TO EAT AT 12 TO 18 MONTHS OF AGE?

Because vegetables like asparagus may not make for an ideal choice as your baby’s first vegetable, asparagus baby led weaning should be done with care. A baby’s tiny tummy which is still in the developing stages can find it a little hard to digest. It can trigger bloating and gassiness in babies. Therefore it is sensible to offer it to babies from the 12 month onwards.

Playing With A Purpose

We hope the above information guides you with the much needed health tips for your baby. Let’s have some fun & exchange some insights from your experience with your baby. Submit your vegetable feeding hacks in the section below!


Published by

MKB Team

200 Articles

MomsKnowBest is a fast-growing vibrant community of moms, for moms, by moms. Motherhood is complex fun, fulfilling, grueling, exhausting and very complex. There’s no handbook to it. And let’s face it – moms are put...

Read More

Share with your friends!

Leave a Comment

Latest Post

Blog Thumbnail

Psychological Effects Of Parental Employment On...

Read
Blog Thumbnail

How To Correctly Introduce Your Toddler To Risky...

Read
Blog Thumbnail

Are You Raising A Yoga Kid?

Read
Blog Thumbnail

Handy Lactation Tips For New Moms

Read

Trending Post

Sleeping Position During Pregnancy | Safest...

Is sleeping on tummy advisable while pregnant?

Read

Myth Buster: Having iron tablets makes your child...

Busting Top 10 Pregnancy Myths about having Iron Tablets

One of the Top 10 pregnancy myths is that...

Read

Health Benefits of Pomelo For Moms To-Be & Kids

During pregnancy, women need proper nutrition to support their health as well as the growth of the...

Read

India's Best Kids Nutritionists & Dieticians

These are the best kid nutritionists in India

Read

Latest Post

Blog Thumbnail

Psychological Effects Of Parental Employment On...

Read
Blog Thumbnail

How To Correctly Introduce Your Toddler To Risky...

Read
Blog Thumbnail

Are You Raising A Yoga Kid?

Read
Blog Thumbnail

Handy Lactation Tips For New Moms

Read