Last Updated: 28 Jan 2019
Selecting the very first solid food for your baby is very crucial. Before picking the first solid food for your infant, you must remember that “food should be easy to digest, simple home made and full of nutrients“. Always start with one solid food at a time to check the food allergies.
By the age of 6 months, most of the babies are ready to start eating solid foods as a complement to breastmilk or formula milk.
Sharing a list of foods (recommended by experts and moms) which you can start offering to your baby as first solid food.
#1 Stewed Apple
If you want to start solid food for your little one. I would suggest starting with an apple. Apples are non-allergic fruit and easy to start as solid food. It’s very nutritious and easy to prepare for your baby.
Procedure to make stewed apple
- Wash & peel an apple.
- Cut it into small pieces.
- Add cubed apple pieces & water into a saucepan and let it get cooked on low flame for 10 minutes.
- When the apple becomes soft in texture, turn off the heat and leave it to cool down.
- You can mash it with spoon or fork & feed to your baby.
#2 Mashed Banana
Take half banana. Mashed it with spoon or fork. You can add a small quantity of milk/water to make liquid consistency. OR you can feed it your little one without adding milk or water.
#3 Rice Cereal
If you prefer to start with any kind of cereal then go for rice cereal. Rice cereal is hypoallergenic and many pediatric recommend to start with rice cereal as it is single grain, easy to digest and rare to have the rice allergy. Good for babies who have gas problems.
Check out my other article to make home made cereals for your baby.
#4 Dal ka Pani
I had personally started with daal ka pani for my son when he was 5.5 months old. Sharing the recipe for making dal ka pani for your baby.
- Yellow Moong Dal
Moong Dal Recipe for 6 month old baby (dal ka pani)
- Boil 2 tablespoons of yellow moong dal into 1 cup of filtered water.
- Stir in between.
- Once dal is properly cooked. Switch off the gas stove.
- Sieve the dal water in a bowl.
- Let it cool down to room temperature and offer to your baby.
#5 Chawal ka pani ( Rice soup)
Introducing rice water to your baby after fifth months is a good choice. It has the good amount of fiber and very nutritious. Initially, you can start with rice water only then gradually add mashed rice along with water to feed your baby.
Procedure to make chawal ka pani
- First, wash & rinse the two tablespoons of rice under running water.
- Add 1 cup of water & rice into a saucepan
- Let it boil on the medium gas flame for few minutes.
- Switch off the flame once rice nicely cooked.
- Sieve the rice water / rice soup in a bowl.
- Let it cool down to room temperature & offer to your baby.
You can add the mashed rice with a spoon.
#6 Vegetable / fruit puree
You can start with vegetable puree or fruit puree. Start with vegetables like carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin or beans. Fruits which you can use as puree are apple, apricots, peaches, pears.
Pureeing the baby food at home is really simple. Just cook the fruit or vegetable, let it cool down, blend it in food processor or blender and pureed it. you can stock it in the refrigerator for later use.
#7 Spinach & Carrot Soup
Spinach and carrots make a high nutrient healthy recipe for your baby. Carrots & Spinach are a good source of antioxidant agents. Both are rich in protein, fiber, iron, vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, potassium, copper, zinc, magnesium, and manganese.
Start with this amazing & healthy soup spinach and carrot soup for your child. This soup is a healthy choice in winters too.
#8 Ragi with milk
Ragi is very rich food and full of nutrients and minerals like protein, calcium, and minerals. Ragi porridge makes baby feel fuller, nonacidic, easy to digest, improve the immunity. Ragi is very common first food for babies in south Indian families.
Procedure to make Ragi Porridge
- Take ragi powder( homemade or market bought)
- Mix two tablespoons of ragi powder into water.
- Mix it continuously to avoid lumps.
- Let it get boiled over medium flame till ragi powder is well cooked.
- You can add milk into it and serve to your little one.
Tips for introducing solids to your baby
- Don’t worry if your baby doesn’t like food which you introduced to him. You just need to understand your baby and can prepare best food options according to him.
- Breastmilk or Formula-based milk is the most important source of nutrients for baby at this stage.
- Don’t feed your baby forcefully. Each baby has different food and milk needs.
- Don’t add sugar or salt to your baby’s food.
- Honey is not recommended for babies below 1 year of age.
- Don’t heat the breastmilk or formula milk over direct flame.
- Don’t give the cow’s milk to baby below 1 year of age.
If you have any other food option then you can share with me. I would like to add it into my list so that we can help other moms.
Fantastic article.Thanks for the good read and perspective.
Thank you nusrat
exelient article.
Which rice do you use for Chawal ka pani? Brown or white? Basmati?
Elisa, You can use any kind of rice. Brown rice has more nutritional value than white rice. One thing to remember that when you start feeding the rice to the baby, rice should be soft, fully cooked so that child can digest it easily.
Very helpful info.. Thanks a lot
Thank you, I am glad that you found it helpful.
Does we introduce chhena … To 6 month old baby
If I am not wrong then chenna is homemade paneer in cuddled form.
I would suggest to avoid it and introduce it once your baby completed 8 months.
How do we feed the baby, I mean should we use spoon or sipper cup?
What do you want to feed?
All the solid foods, you can feed him with soft baby spoon and water with sipper
Mam I have 6and half month baby can I use jaggry and sugar with ragi malt and rice malt
No sugar and salt till 12 months. You can add fruits puree to add the sweetness
My son is 6month old and he is skinny .. everyone ask me whether he ills 3month baby ..m so tensed … what should I feed him to gain weight ..can u pls give me food chart for solid
Hello, this is an article which I wrote especially for 6 months babies. please read it.
https://www.beinghappymom.com/indian-food-chart-6-months-baby/
Don’t take people’s talk so seriously. Even if your baby is healthy, people have the habit of saying that your child is weak. So just work on good immunune system of your baby. If he is active, happy then he is a healthy baby.
For weight gain foods, please refer this article: https://www.beinghappymom.com/weight-gain-foods-babies/
My baby will be 6 month old after 28th of this month …. My baby is having diarrhea since we had introduced egg yolk to him and gave him glucose biscuit… What food should be introduced? His ped recommended khichri … How to prrprep it?
Egg yolk should be introduced after 8 months. Initial food should be simple to digest like fruit and vegetable purees, khichdi, dal, boiled rice, cereals. This is an article which I wrote especially for 6 months babies. please read it.
https://www.beinghappymom.com/indian-food-chart-6-months-baby/
For recipe, please check this one : https://www.beinghappymom.com/baby-food-recipes-indian/
Very useful article. Can you pls let me know what are the things required when we start solid food? Like spoon,blender
Trupti, You can refer to these articles.
https://www.beinghappymom.com/start-solid-food-items/
https://www.beinghappymom.com/indian-food-chart-6-months-baby/
Hi, I have seen your Dal & Rice cereal. My baby is having some constipation problem till I start solid food. So, My mother in law told me to give Dal& rice cereal instead of only rice cereal. I haven’t started yet. My baby is 7 month running. Is it necessary to give rice cereal first, if I am giving cereal to my baby.
Thanks
Hello Komal,
For constipation, You need to read my article on it https://www.beinghappymom.com/constipation-home-remedies-babies-kids/
It is not mandatory to give rice cereals first, its just rice cereals are more simple than other cereals.
Can we directly give apple puree without steaming?
Why not cow’s milk till one year, trust that is simple to digest?
The excessive protein load in cow’s milk can also overload a baby’s kidneys. It is harder to digest as well, often causing intestinal blood loss. Also, Too much cow’s milk in a child’s diet can put him at risk for iron-deficiency anemia.
Hey just want to know can we make the food & store in jars & then feed to baby warming it up.