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Which foods can babies eat early on in baby-led weaning? Most of them! Recapping Baby Sienna’s first 10 days of BLW here in this post for ideas on which foods babies can eat starting from 6 months of age on.
BLW: Which Foods Do I Feed?
It can be overwhelming to know where to start with baby-led weaning.
Which foods are best for baby-led weaning?
What are the best starter foods for BLW?
I have a 5-STEP FEEDING FRAMEWORK that can take the guesswork out of feeding foods to your baby.
Using this 5-STEP FEEDING FRAMEWORK each week we offer 5 new foods to baby:
1 new fruit
1 new vegetable
1 new starchy food
1 new protein
1 new allergenic food
Can My Baby Really Eat All These Foods?
Babies can eat so many more foods than we give them credit for!
In 2016 I created the 100 FIRST FOODS approach to starting solid foods with baby-led weaning.
Using the 5-STEP FEEDING FRAMEWORK you introduce 5 new foods per week, which is 20 new foods per month and in 5 short months, your baby has had 100 new foods.
To learn more about getting your baby to try 100 foods before turning one, register for my free online workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.
Everyone on this workshop gets a copy of my 100 FIRST FOODS list, and you can sign up for this week’s workshop times here.
REGISTER FOR BLW TRAINING WITH 100 FIRST FOODS LIST
BLW Day 1 - Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe is the food we did on Day 1 for Baby Sienna this week. It’s her first day of baby-led weaning and we started out with a simple BLW fruit…cantaloupe.
Cantaloupe be a tricky fruit to make safe…but here’s how I did it for Baby Sienna:
Remove cantaloupe rind, seeds and any hard parts that aren’t tender fruit flesh
Puree cantaloupe with breastmilk or formula and offer from a pre-loaded spoon
Poach strips of cantaloupe to soften if not ripe enough to serve raw
You may have to put the pre-loaded tiny spoon in your baby’s hand for the first few days, but Sienna got the hang of it pretty quick and she instinctively knew to bring the spoon to her mouth!
One thing we learned today was that Baby Sienna has a very sensitive gag reflex. (She still gags on her pacifier at 6 months + 1 week mom says!)
…mom is a nurse and did BLW with their older child, so she knew to stay calm and didn’t intervene. It feels weird to watch, but gagging is actually a good thing when it comes to starting solid foods and babies who are 6 months + showing the other reliable signs of readiness to eat CAN recover from a gag on their own (and they don’t need your help!)
We are using the ezpz Tiny Spoons with Sienna, and they are great for babies who have a tendency to gag.
The Tiny Spoon has sensory bumps on it that teaches the baby not to push the spoon so far into her mouth.
You can get 10% off the ezpz Tiny Spoons and Tiny Bowls pictured here with my affiliate discount code: KATIE10 at ezpzfun.com.
SHOP EZPZ FEEDING GEAR USE CODE KATIE10The key with feeding cantaloupe is that you offer the strips about the size of your adult pinky finger and as soft as you can. If the fruit strips are too hard raw, you can poach for a few minutes in water until fork tender.
Sienna tried a few strips of poached cantaloupe and although she didn’t actually eat that much, that’s fine! She needs lots of time to practice learning HOW to eat…
BLW Day 2 - Cauliflower
Need an easy first vegetable for baby-led weaning: why not try cauliflower?
I’m documenting my friend Christina’s baby Sienna’s first 10 days of baby-led weaning and the second food we tried today was cauliflower.
Here are some basic tips for offering cauliflower safely to babies:
If you can find different colored cauliflower, go for it! Babies are attracted to bright colors and purple or yellow cauliflower is fun to feed (...along with the white stuff!)
When cutting cauliflower into florets, keep the stems as long as possible. Cauliflower stems act as handles for your baby to pick up the food to self-feed.
Don’t be shy about seasoning cauliflower and other vegetables for BLW. Your baby does not have to eat bland food (...just steer clear of added salt and sugar).
Here’s how I prepped roasted cauliflower for Baby Sienna on Day 2 of BLW:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Remove cauliflower outer leaves, rinse under water to clean
Cut cauliflower into florets retaining a long “handle” stem for baby to hold on to
Coat cauliflower pieces in oil (whatever oil you want works fine, I like avocado oil for BLW because of its high smoke point, mild flavor profile and unsaturated fats)
Season with no-salt seasoning (I like the salt free line from SPICE HOUSE, my affiliate discount code for Spice House is KATIE10
Cook cauliflower uncovered for 30 minutes or until soft enough that cauliflower easily “gives” when pressed between your forefinger and thumb (...no crunchy bites for babies!)
Sienna spent about 15 minutes in her high chair exploring the cauliflower. She only took a few bites - and that is fine.
We can’t expect babies to eat much while they are still learning how to eat…but every opportunity with solid food is getting the baby one step closer to becoming an independent eater!
BLW Day 3 - Buckwheat
Do you ever get stuck figuring out which type of carbohydrate food to offer your baby
Your baby’s carbohydrate needs tick up in the 6-12 month range, and it’s easy to get stuck in the pasta, potatoes and rice rut.
…nothing wrong with pasta, potatoes or rice, but there are so many great whole grain options that babies CAN safely learn how to eat.
Like buckwheat.
We did buckwheat today for Baby Sienna’s 3rd day of baby-led weaning and it’s her first starchy food
Here’s a few reasons why I love buckwheat for baby-led weaning:
It’s a whole grain which comes with iron, carbohydrate (energy), fiber and some plant-based protein
It’s wheat free…I chose that for Sienna because she hasn’t had any of the allergenic foods yet (we’ll do her first allergenic food on day 5, so buckwheat is a really unlikely food to cause a reaction
Buckwheat cereal is pretty easy to find at most grocery stores. It only contains one ingredient: buckwheat, and you mix it with water (or formula/breastmilk) so quite simple to prepare
How do you make buckwheat safe for BLW?
For Baby Sienna on day 3 of her baby-led weaning (she’s 6 m + almost 2 weeks now), here’s what I did:
For Buckwheat Hot Cereal (such as Bob's Red Mill Creamy Buckwheat Hot Cereal): Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup cereal, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 2 minutes, then offer to baby using a pre-loaded spoon.
Once some of the buckwheat cereal cools you can also form it into patties about the size of the palm of your hand. Then cut those into strips about your pinky finger size and offer the strips to baby to self-feed.
Baby sienna did have some pretty pronounced gags with buckwheat on Day 3 of BLW.
This baby has quite the sensitive gag reflex (she gags on her pacifier still)...and one particular gag on buckwheat today even led to a little vomiting.
I’ll spare you the gory details, but during the gag mom stayed cool, let Sienna work through the gag, she recovered on her own and went right back to eating.
If gagging on food is holding you back from trying new foods with your baby, I can help you get over your fear of gagging.
Each week on my free BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS workshop I walk parents and caregivers through the difference between gagging and choking..and then how to react when your baby gags on food.
You can sign up for this week’s workshop times here, and start getting over your fear of gagging today.
REGISTER FOR FREE BLW WORKSHOPBLW Day 4 - Beef Brisket
Tell me the truth: does feeding your baby meat freak you out? If so, you are not alone!
On BLW Day 4 we did BEEF BRISKET for Baby Sienna’s 4th day of baby-led weaning, and it was her first time eating any meat.
Brisket is a great, fatty cut of beef for babies. The goal is to get soft, shreddable strips of moist meat that your baby can easily eat (and btw they can do this without teeth).
For safe meat prep I always say, “If you can shred it between your fingers & your thumb, then it’s safe for your baby to eat with their gums.”
For the brisket, we pureed some of the cooked meat with the low-sodium cooking juice and first offered it off of a pre-loaded spoon.
Then after about 5 minutes of letting her explore and taste the pureed meat by pre-loaded spoon, we swapped in a bowl with the strips of meat. Serve the meat strips with broth which helps keeps things moist…and extra moisture and fat lubricates food making it easier for baby to swallow.
For the brisket, we pureed some of the cooked meat with the low-sodium cooking juice and first offered it off of a pre-loaded spoon.
Then after about 5 minutes of letting her explore and taste the pureed meat by pre-loaded spoon, we swapped in a bowl with the strips of meat. Serve the meat strips with broth which helps keeps things moist…and extra moisture and fat lubricates food making it easier for baby to swallow.
The bowls I’m using here are the silicone suction Mini Bowls from ezpz. The Mini Bowls are an 8 oz portion and a bit bigger than ezpz’s 5 oz Tiny Bowl. I find the baby does better with some extra space in the Mini Bowl to move the strips of meat around and scoop them up by herself.
My affiliate discount code for ezpz is KATIE10 and the spoons we use for 6-12 month old babies are called the Tiny Spoons. Click here to shop ezpz BLW feeding gear.
SHOP EZPZ MINI BOWLS CODE KATIE10Brisket is a great, fatty cut of beef for babies. The goal is to get soft, shreddable strips of moist meat that your baby can easily eat (and btw they can do this without teeth).
The brisket is the animal’s breast and is tougher as it is used for movement. This cut does well cooked low and slow or in a pressure cooker in order to tenderize the muscle and make soft, shreddable strips of cooked meat that babies can safely self-feed.
…now for the BLW BEEF BRISKET recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1 beef brisket, about 3 pounds, untrimmed
2 cups beef broth, unsalted or no added salt
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
For the dry rub:
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon fennel seed, ground
INSTRUCTIONS
In a small bowl whisk together dry rub ingredients: chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, black pepper, cumin and fennel seed. Rub dry rub mixture all over the brisket.
Place brisket in the Instant Pot or slow cooker or pressure cooker pot. Add broth and vinegar.
For pressure cooking, cook 90 minutes on high pressure for 3 pound brisket (or 75 minutes on high for 1.5-2 pound brisket). For slow cooking, cook 8-10 hours on low or 6-8 hours on high. Cool, shred and offer shreddable strips of soft meat to baby.
I hope you guys like this recipe!! (...it makes a ton, so freeze portions for future use!)