After six months of exclusive breastfeeding, it’s time to introduce some solids to your baby. Being a mom, you would always be confused and excited about serving the best to your little one. The first six months ask for breastfeeding, and it indeed is the best food for your baby.
But once the baby grows older than 6 months, she needs more nutrition apart from breast milk. Breast milk alone is not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the baby. That’s why it is highly recommended to introduce semi-solids and mashed food items to your baby after 6 months.
But is your 7-month-old baby ready enough to chew solids? No right, that’s why you need to serve some soft and mashed foods that your little one can easily swallow and ingest without choking. One way to serve them meals is through “Finger Foods”. Today we are here with some great Finger Foods options for your 7-month-old baby.
What Are Finger Foods?
Finger foods are nothing but bite-sized food items that can be easily nibbled upon by a baby. The term is used to indicate the size and quantity of food. The pieces of food that you serve to your baby must be small enough to hold by your baby’s tiny fingers.
Generally, the mother gives small pieces of steamed vegetables, meat, and chicken, drumsticks, cheese, bread, etc. Finger foods make eating an enjoyable experience for the baby and she can learn about different textures, colors, and shapes. It also develops the habit of independent eating and enhances fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination in young babies.
Can you give Finger Foods to a 7-month-old baby?
The ideal age to introduce finger foods to your baby would be around 7 to 8 months, but you can always keep a track if your baby is ready for eating on his own before serving. Signs like using hands to eat food, putting food into the mouth by him/her are enough to prove that your baby wants to move to the next step of self-feeding. This also helps a lot with a “baby-led weaning” where slowly and steadily your baby will move onto solid food and require lesser and lesser breast milk. Please make sure you give very soft and chewable finger foods to the baby to avoid choking hazards.
Here are some easy finger foods in our opinion:
1. Steamed Veggies: This is by far the best option. Very quick and easy to make. Just steam or boil 2-inch pieces of a variety of vegetables and serve them to your baby. They will love the different tastes and the bright colors. Veggies give a chance to babies to get a lot of nutrition too.
2. Cheese: The best cheese that you can serve to your kid is cottage cheese or paneer. There is so much variety available out there in the market, you can try cheddar, mozzarella, and cheese slices also. Make sure you avoid some types of cheese that are heavy and full of fat.
3. Fruits: You can give mango, strawberries, papaya, banana, apple, oranges, kiwi, watermelons, and musk melons. These fruits are soft, easily chewable, and digest
4. Potato fries: Potato fries or veggie fries are again a very option. You can easily make these at home and offer them to your baby. You can use veggies like broccoli, pumpkin, and avocado. This will make your meal a little healthier. For additional benefits, fry the baby’s food in ghee. Know when you can give ghee to the baby
5. Cucumber: A tiny chunk of chilled cucumber can be such a cure for teething. Try giving your baby cucumber pieces to eat. Cut them slightly thick because babies can only swallow the softer, inner part of the cucumber. It is refreshing, cooling, and helps a lot with teething-related pain.
6. Avocado: Rich in antioxidants, avocado is a good source of vitamins and babies usually love the taste of this fruit. You can slice it up and serve it to your baby with a dash of lemon.
7. Boiled Chicken and Eggs: Boiled meat, chicken, and eggs are rich in protein. These food items serve as a complete meal and babies enjoy having the different flavors at mealtime.
8. Boiled Pasta: Boiled Pasta is another good option for finger foods for babies. We all love pasta but you’ll be surprised to see how much your little one loves it. Offer penne or elbow pasta after boiling it till soft. It is easy to chew and requires no teeth. One can easily grasp it with fingers and chew on it.
9. Pancakes: An easy recipe and full of nutrition, pancakes are a good choice as finger foods. All you need is flour, milk, banana & oil. However, please check for any allergies to any ingredients beforehand.
10. Bread: Try giving a toast or freshly baked bread to your baby to eat in the morning for breakfast. You can try roti, idli, parantha as well if they are cooked well and soft. Slightly mash them into chunks and your baby would love to munch on them.
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