How do you transition a 10 month old from creamy smooth baby food to chunky foods?

(June 1, 2010)

Baby Food Recipes

By the time they are 10 months old, most babies set their food preferences and even have a few favorite food items. In fact it is very difficult to feed a 10-month old baby something that he does not want to be fed. As most babies start developing a distaste for thin, pureed or runny food, this is the best time to introduce chunkier, solid foods to them. However, while the food need not be creamy and smooth, it needs to be soft and tender enough for the baby to be able to eat it. Moreover, cutting the food into small, bite-sized, easy to chew pieces, will probably make it more attractive to your toddler. Finger foods are probably the best way to introduce solid, chunky foods, as this is the age when most kids want to feed themselves.

However, if your baby still prefers creamy baby food, the transition process may be a bit different. Every baby has a different preference, when it comes to certain kinds of food and the transition is normally in the following way:

1.   Creamy, semi-liquid cereals
2.   Strained / mashed vegetables and fruit
3.   Finely chopped table food

If you baby enjoys semi-liquid cereal, add a tablespoon or two of chopped fruit or vegetable in the same meal. Foods that you can try this with are - pears, peaches, bananas, carrots, squash and potato. In case you want to introduce different types of meat, you can add pieces of cooked, finely chopped chicken or white-fleshed fish in a blend of soup and rice. Slowly, as the baby gets used to the solid food, reduce the amount of semi-liquid food and before long, your baby will be eating solid food.

To make the solid food more interesting, you could even try adding new flavors and spices, which will appeal to your baby’s taste buds. You could fix pasta with vegetables, cheese and even a little meat. you can try several fruit combinations, to get your baby to develop a liking for more solid foods, however, do ensure that you introduce citrus fruits carefully, watching for any reactions all the while. You could also cook some vegetables till they are soft and dice them into pieces, which can then be used as finger foods. Introduce acidic food like tomatoes after waiting for a while and watching your baby’s reaction.

Submitted by P T on June 1, 2010 at 03:33