Asparagus, avocado, broccoli, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, courgette, green beans, kale, parsnips, peas, peppers, spinach, and swede.
- 6 Months: It’s a good idea to offer a variety of vegetables from the get-go. They should be cooked until very soft, then mashed or blended into a suitable texture. Alternatively, they can be sliced up and offered as baton-shaped finger foods that can be squashed between your finger and thumb.
- 7 – 9 Months: Cook vegetables to soften them, then mash them to a lumpy texture or chop them into finger foods.
- 10 – 12 Months+: By now, your little one should be able to eat mashed, lumpy, chopped and finger foods. Veggies should be cooked until soft and offered chopped or as hand-held finger foods.
Baby's First Fruits
Apples, bananas, blueberries, kiwi, mango, melon, nectarines, oranges, papaya, peach, pears, pineapple, plums, raspberries, and strawberries.
- 6 Months+: At any stage, you can soften (either blend or mash) ripe fruits to the perfect texture for your baby or chop them up and offer them as baton-shaped finger foods. Please note that fruits that are a little firmer need to be cooked until soft. You should always wash fruit and get rid of pips, stones, and hard skin before offering it to your baby.
Baby's First Proteins
Beans, beef, chicken, eggs, fish with no bones, lamb, lentils, pork, pulses like chickpeas, tofu, and turkey.
- 6 Months+: This food group is suitable for babies from around six months of age, provides protein and contains other nutrients like iron and zinc. When preparing eggs for your baby, make sure they’ve got a British Lion Quality stamp.
Baby's First Dairy Foods
Dairy products like cheese and yoghurt.
- 6 Months+: You can offer your baby pasteurised dairy foods as part of a meal from around six months. Plain yoghurts that are full-fat and unsweetened are best. Full-fat goat’s, sheep’s or cows' milk that’s pasteurised can be used when cooking for your baby from around six months old. However, these shouldn’t be offered as drinks until they’re one years old or over.
Baby's First Starchy Foods
Bread, pasta, porridge oats, potato, quinoa, rice, sweet potato, and toast.
- 6 Months+: These foods can be cooked if needed, and then mashed or blended to a suitable texture for your baby. Alternatively, they can be chopped and offered as finger foods.
Baby weaning schedule
There's no set amount of food that babies should eat during the baby-led weaning process.
The idea of this method of weaning is that it's led by your baby, and they'll tell you when they've had enough. Plus, since they're still having breast milk or formula until they're at least a year old, they'll continue to get all the calories they need.
BLW foods by age
If you're baby-led weaning, your baby's first foods should be firm enough for them to grasp but soft enough for the baby to gum without irritation or difficulty. Then, as they get older and their confidence and motor skills develop, they can expand their palette of flavours and textures.
Here are some of the most popular baby-led weaning foods that parents introduce their baby to at different ages.
BLW foods: 6 months
- Soft, mashed, or blended vegetables and fruits, such as broccoli, carrot, sweet potato, parsnip, apple, and pear.
- Baby rice mixed with breast milk or formula.
- Toast strips.
- Unflavoured Greek yoghurt.
- Soft cheese like ricotta or mozzarella.
- Steamed strips of tofu.
- Unflavoured pureed meat, like chicken, turkey, or beef, that's shaped into sticks or strips.
- Very small amounts of foods that may trigger an allergic reaction (these should be introduced one at a time). These can include cow's milk that has been mixed with food, cooked eggs with a Red Lion stamp, crushed nuts and seeds, soya, cooked shellfish, and fish.
BLW foods: 7-9 months
As well as the foods listed above, from seven months you can introduce...
- Thinly sliced or halved fruits, like strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.
- Harder cheese, like Swiss or cheddar, that's been cubed or grated.
- Cooked whole wheat pasta.
- Cooked pulses and beans.
- Whole grain cereal O-s.
- Minced meat and small meatballs that are cut in half.
BLW foods: 10-12 months
By the age of 10 months, babies should be having three meals a day - with lunch and tea including a main course and pudding of fruit or plain yoghurt.
