When it’s time to introduce your baby to solid foods, a good option to start with is cereal. You can mix a small amount with your baby’s formula or even a small amount of baby food. After starting with plain flavors, you can try offering cereals that have fruit flavors in them, such as apple and banana.
You want to wait until your baby is about four months old before introducing solid foods, such as baby cereal. This is usually the age when babies begin cutting their first teeth and when they begin to sit up better, which helps them swallow foods that are given. Your baby will usually let you know that it’s time for foods other than formula by opening his mouth when a spoon is nearby or by crying because formula isn’t enough to get through feeding times.
Once your baby has started eating cereal, you can usually begin adding more solid foods to the menu. There are even a few recipes that you can make with the cereal so that your baby gets the iron and other nutrients that are in the cereal along with other vitamins and nutrients in the ingredients that you use.
Pancakes are an option to consider if your baby is a little older and has started chewing on teething cookies and similar foods. Mix the cereal with at least two other types of baby food so that you have a healthy pancake to offer. Fruits work well along with sweet potatoes and squash.
If you want to give your baby a healthier teething cookie, you can make oatmeal cookies with the cereal that you have. Avoid putting large pieces of food in the cookies, such as raisins. Older children might enjoy the cookies as well, especially if you add chocolate chips or dried fruits that they can eat. A similar food that you can make is cereal bars. These are made with fresh fruits that are pureed. You can also use baby food in them to give the bars a softer consistency so that it’s easier to eat. Strawberries and bananas are good ingredients to consider when making cookies or bars as most babies tend to like these flavors. When your baby is ready to begin eating foods that you eat, you can top the cookies with banana or strawberry slices.
You’ve probably seen yogurt puffs in the store that almost melt in your mouth. Use the cereal that you have to make your own puffs with any ingredient that your baby likes or that you want to try to give your baby as a new food. Examples would be green peas or squash. After making a batch of the puffs, you can store them in an airtight container so that you have them on hand when you want to give your baby a snack. Before giving your baby a large variety of foods, you want to try one for a few days to see if there are any allergic reactions.
