6 Months Diet Chart – Traditional Theory

Now that your little one is 6 months old, breastfeeding is not enough to provide the complete nutrition. It’s time for you to introduce some soft and thick semi-solid foods to your baby. We have endless sources of nutrition but its just about how we mix and match. Some grains and some greens or maybe some veggies and berries?
Confused? Don’t worry as I take you along some of the easiest and delicious foods for your 6 months old baby!

UNDERSTANDING YOUR BABY’S NEEDS
As now your baby has crossed the phase of being newborn and now entered its infancy, you moms need to gear up to be creative and calm at the same time! According to ICMR (2010) the particular phase of 6-12 months is specifically the period of breastfeeding along with some nutritious semi-solid foods also known to be complementary foods. Studies suggest that the average weight of a 6-month-old infant is said to be around 7 Kgs. Moreover, the infant is not only growing physically but mentally too! So we need to provide them the right nutrition. Ready to up the level to match up to your infant’s growth and development and enhance it with your magic? Here we go!

EENIE MEENIE MINEY MO, WHAT FOOD WILL HELP MY BABY GROW?

Initially it is both tough and skeptical how you baby will react to being fed new food items, so you may give it a kick-start with some mashed fruits.
WEEK 1
Day 1,2&3 – STEWED APPLE
•It’s as easy as it sounds, take half red apple and wash it thoroughly with water.
•Peel it and deseed it. Cut it into small pieces and keep it aside.
•Pour some water in a container. Add the apple pieces and let it boil for about 5 minutes or till the apple pieces soften completely. Trick to check if its done is using a fork to press it and see if it breaks immediately.
•Then put the apples in a bowl and mash it with a spoon or fork.
•Serve it as it is when it is coarse and semi-solid or,
•You may use a hand blender if its the first or second time and that you want it to be a little softer.
•Serve it while it is warm or at room temperature.

Day 4,5,6&7 – CARROT PUREE
•Want to prep your baby with some vitamin A? Then nothing is better than carrot puree!
•Take 1 carrot and wash it thoroughly. Peel it with the help of a peeler or knife.
•Cut the carrot into small pieces and keep it aside.
•Take some water in a container and add the carrot pieces to it.
•Let it boil till 10 minutes or till the carrots soften a bit.
•Strain the carrots and don’t throw the water.
•Add the water in which you boiled the carrots and blend it into a thick puree. You may add milk too!
•Serve it while it is warm.

With the upcoming days you can even feed them with Ragi porridge .You just need to add milk and a little bit of sugar to it and let it boil to make yummy ragi porridge.

Khichdi is another mouth watering Indian recipe you may have had a lot of times. But for babies, it is even more soft and a lot of ghee is added to it to make it rich in fats.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE FEEDING A 6-MONTH OLD BABY

1. Remember! Our motive is not to only fill in the stomach. We want to provide adequate nutrition too. For that it is important to keep the food a little coarse in texture.
2. Avoid giving them packaged juices as they might have added colors and preservatives.
3. Remember your grandma encouraging you to have food with a lot of ghee in it? Yes, that’s exactly what is important. The food should be rich in fats and sugars.
4. Try using different fruits and vegetables in your baby’s meal to keep a balance.
5. Breastfeeding should constitute 70% while the complementary foods shall constitute 30% of the entire day’s meal.
6. Babies cannot eat much initially because of a small stomach so try feeding them around 1 tbsp-3tbsp in the initial weeks.

Now you are all set to feed your baby with some yummilicious and healthy foods that help them grow and develop.