Best Baby Led Weaning Foods & First Foods To Avoid

Baby rice mixed with your little one's milk is great first food to start their weaning journey. Once ready you can then move on to veggies to get your little one used to trickier tastes. Start with single veggie puree or finger foods to get little tastebuds used to these savoury flavours. Broccoli is one of the best baby led weaning foods there is to try first

Organix Baby Rice

A white plate with a halved avocado next to a whole avocado

Cooked, cooled and mashed vegetables, including:

Broccoli
Cauliflower
Potato
Sweet potato
Parsnip
Carrot
Butternut squash
Courgette
Swede
Spinach

Fruit, either blended or softened with all pips, stones and skin removed, such as:

Avocado
Raspberries
Banana
Pear
Apple
Peach
Melon
Orange
Mango
Blueberries
Strawberries

INTRODUCING NEW TASTES, SHAPES & TEXTURES WHEN WEANING

TASTE

As your little one grows their sense of adventure does too, and from around 6 to 12 months they’ll be open to trying new tastes. This is often called the weaning window.

Research shows that babies who are offered a wide variety of tastes and textures at this age are more likely to eat a range of foods later in childhood. Don’t worry though, it may take 10-15 tries for your baby to get used to new tastes, so keep trying! There will be days when they eat more, some when they eat less, and then days when they reject everything – this is normal.

TEXTURE

Try introducing new textures, colours and variety gradually so your little one can develop the mouth control they need. Creamy avocado or juicy raspberries are great baby-led weaning foods to try or why not cook up some broccoli and cauliflower trees to help your little one get chewing.

SHAPE

Shape up! A slice of cheese, a tube of pasta or an orange segment are all exciting new shapes and your little learner will want to grip and grab. As they do so, they are boosting their hand-eye coordination and motor skills.

A smiling baby sitting in a high chair and being fed

PLAY

At this stage your little one will want to play and experiment with food. This is great for their development so here are some fun ideas to try!

Your baby might like to chew your fingers. Move them to the side of their mouth and watch their tongue move side to side to meet your finger. It’s a skill they’ll need for chewing.
Pop a bit of yogurt on the corner of your baby’s mouth and lips, encourage them to lick it off – if you can show them in a mirror so they can see what they’re doing.
Finger paint with red pepper, hummus or crushed up fruit – lick your fingers and try to get your baby to lick theirs too!

FOODS TO AVOID WHEN WEANING

table with small bowls containing baking ingredients, one of them is sugar

At 6 months, all foods can be included with just a few exceptions. Be careful to avoid sugary foods and don’t add salt to your little one’s meals. There are also a few other weaning foods to avoid:

Honey
Raw or lightly cooked shellfish
Shark, swordfish and marlin
Soft unpasteurised cheese
Whole nuts and peanuts (serve them crushed or ground).
Caffeinated or acidic drinks, including tea, coffee and fizzy drinks

Weaning recipes

6 months +

20 mins

4

10 mins

Baby Fish Pie Recipe

This delicious baby fish pie is one of our most popular recipes, simply pureed or mashed for your little ones - get the recipe here and give it a try today.

View Recipe