Starting Solids: How To Prepare Baby's Food

Starting baby's solids with smooth, runny food

When your baby starts on solids they'll need smooth, runny food.

Making food smooth

To make your baby's food smooth, you can use a blender, a mouli, or you can push the food through a fine sieve with a wooden spoon. Use expressed breastmilk or formula to make food runny enough for your baby to swallow.

Moving from puréed to mashed and other textures

By 7 months, babies will usually have moved on from puréed foods to having mashed or lumpy foods.

It's important to move quickly from the purée stage to mashed and other textures so that your baby develops biting and chewing skills. 

Removing skins

Remove the skins and seeds from fruit and vegetables before you cook or purée them.

Making first foods plain

Babies like the plain taste of milk, so first foods also need to be plain. You don’t need to add salt, sugar, honey, sweeteners, soy sauce, cream, butter or margarine to your baby’s food.

Commercial baby foods

Canned and bottled commercial baby foods have been specially made to meet your baby's needs. When buying baby food, check that it is right for your baby's stage. Always follow the storage instructions on the jar or can.

Avoiding honey until your baby is at least 12 months old

Babies should be at least 12 months old before they eat honey. Honey may contain bacteria that can make young babies sick. Toddlers, children and adults have more developed digestive systems, which can kill the bacteria.

Food safety

Food safety is very important. Take care when buying, preparing, cooking and storing food.

Tips:

• always wash and dry your hands before preparing baby's food
• use a clean plate (or bowl) and spoon
• don't share the spoon with your baby – you can pass on germs to your baby if you do