Your baby is now ready for more raw foods: fresh apricots, apples, melons and cantaloupes, quartered and peeled grapes, sliced kiwi, plums, and watermelon are all good options.
Your baby is also ready to experience mixed flavors, as well as more texture in the food. Dried fruit purees and compotes are great additions to fresh fruits because they contain iron, fiber, and vitamin C from the drying process, which concentrates nutrients and calories, and they have a rich and dense flavor. Choose organic dried fruits without chemicals or additives, if possible.
The goal in this phase is to introduce a broad range of foods so that your child will be ready for a diet consisting mainly of solid foods starting at 12 months. Breast milk or bottled milk will be reduced to approximately 24 ounces a day, depending on your pediatrician’s recommendations, and water or juice will decrease to around 4 ounces a day. Your child will get more and more of her nutrients and vitamins from solids.
Your baby needs between 750 to 900 calories each day, and about 400 to 500 of those should come from breast milk or formula (approximately 24 ounces).*
Feeding Guide: 8 Months:*
•Milk: 3 to 5 feedings per day, 30 to 32 ounces per day
•Cereals: 5 to 8 tablespoons per day
•Fruits: 2 to 3 tablespoons, twice a day
•Vegetables: 2 to 3 tablespoons, twice a day
•Meat and Protein: 1 to 2 tablespoons, twice a day
•Juice: 2 to 4 ounces per day
•Snacks: yogurt, crackers
Sample Menu for 8- to 12-Month-Old:†
Breakfast: ¼ to ½ cup cereal or mashed egg yolk, ¼ to ½ cup fruit, 4 to 6 ounces formula or breast milk
Snack: 4 to 6 ounces juice, ¼ cup diced cheese
Lunch: ¼ to ½ cup yogurt, ¼ to ½ cup yellow vegetable, 4 to 6 ounces formula or breast milk
Snack: ¼ to ½ cup diced cheese
Dinner: ¼ cup diced poultry, ¼ to ½ cup green vegetable, ¼ cup noodles, ¼ cup fruit, 4 to 6 ounces formula or breast milk
Bedtime: 6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula
This is also the time to begin introducing (always in consultation with your pediatrician) ground seeds, such as flaxseeds, and ground nuts. Almond and almond butter‡ can be introduced at this point because almonds are botanically a fruit seed and not a nut.§ Peanuts are different, however; more children are prone to allergies from peanut protein, and most pediatricians recommend waiting until 12 months to introduce them. The AAP has stated that there is no evidence that waiting until later to introduce foods, even peanuts, guarantees allergy prevention. An exciting addition at this phase is kelp and other kinds of seaweeds, which are packed with superfood nutrients like Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
For textures, this is the time to go beyond smoothly pureed food. Try to cut food into small pieces after it is well steamed, in order to introduce new textures. Or, when introducing fruits that you pureed in the beginning (prunes, apricots, etc.), try combining them with textured rice porridge or other kinds of porridge. Slowly and gradually decrease the amount of water you use to prepare them. Your baby may not “get it” and not appreciate those new sensations the first few times he or she tries new textures, but keep at it, and she will soon understand that food comes in different forms, shapes, and sizes. One way to do this is to put food in separate bowls—one bowl with the varied texture of rice, udon noodles, or oatmeal porridge. Add flavors with other bowls of fruit or vegetable purees. This way, if the baby does not eat any of the textured food in the beginning, you can switch mid-meal and offer the pureed food until your baby is comfortable with the new feeling in her mouth when chewing. The idea is to use the textured porridge as a base, integrating different new flavors with the purees.
Each ingredient that is introduced will be a building block for the Smart Bites recipes. Remember to keep following the 4-day rule when introducing new foods to your baby, carefully watching for allergic reactions to any of the foods. For nuts and seeds, consult with your pediatrician first, as many children could be prone to allergies.
You will see that this month I introduce soy sauce. Buy the low-sodium kind, which is available now in most supermarkets, or dilute regular by half with water.
As you begin to introduce more solids, you should be aware of choking dangers. You should never offer peanut butter, raw carrot, whole nuts, whole grapes, popcorn, hard candies, or other hard round foods like hot dogs.*
Foods You Can Introduce at 8 Months:
Ground nuts
Ground seeds
Zucchini
Leeks
Parsnip
Wheat germ
Cheese (mild cheese, like Mozzarella, American, Emmental)
Kelp and other seaweeds
Watermelon
Stone fruits, such as plums and apricots
Grapes
Kiwi
Melon (cantaloupe, honeydew)
Broccoli†
Blueberries
Avocado
porridge and cerealThe rice porridge will be thicker and less soupy than that served at younger ages, as your baby begins to appreciate textures. The rice will begin to look more and more like rice, and less like broth.
½ cup rice
2 cups water
1Wash rice thoroughly in cold water until the water runs clear.
2Put the rice and 2 cups of water in a pot. Bring to a boil, and then lower heat and let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. If a clear film develops on top, remove it with a spoon.
3When the rice has been cooked until it has a soupy texture, yet retains some shape of rice (a puffy round shape), remove it from the heat and let cool before serving.
Similar to the rice porridge, the udon porridge also will begin to take on more texture.
⅓ cup udon rice noodles, chopped
1In a large pot, combine the noodles and 3 to 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Lower the heat to low and simmer until the noodles are very soft, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
2Drain the noodles through the strainer, reserving some of the cooking liquid.
3In a small bowl, mash 3 to 4 tablespoons of noodles lightly with a spoon. Add the cooking liquid to smooth the texture, then mash noodles completely to a mush.
Steel cut oatmeal takes longer to cook than dried whole oats, but it has better flavor and more interesting texture than rolled oats. Make sure the oatmeal is cooked thoroughly and is very tender before serving. Different brands of oatmeal have different consistency, so check the softness before serving because cooking times may differ according to the brands.
⅓ cup steel cut oats
1In a pot, bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Add the oats; reduce the heat to low and simmer for 40 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2Taste to make sure the oats have softened sufficiently and remove from heat. If you find that they are still too hard, you can add another ½ cup water and cook for another 10 minutes.
3Repeat until the oats are sufficiently soft.
4Let cool and serve with a fruit puree.
Couscous originated in North Africa and is still a daily staple in countries like Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt. It has a light grain that fluffs up when cooked and absorbs sauces very well. It is high in protein, folate, and calcium, and has small amounts of Omega-3 fatty acid.
⅓ cup couscous (your choice of variety)
1In a large pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the couscous; lower the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
2The couscous should not be dry, but wet and runny with the grains intact but still very soft—if not, add more water to make it soupy.
3Let cool and serve with a fruit or a vegetable puree.
Pasta porridge adds variety to the basic rice and udon noodle porridge that your baby has been introduced to. I recommend starting with elbow macaroni, as it is the quickest to cook and mashes up nicely.
¼ cup elbow macaroni
1In a large pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the macaroni; lower the heat and simmer until the macaroni is completely tender and soft to the touch, almost silky and fragile, approximately 15 to 18 minutes. It should be very soft.
2Drain the macaroni and mash up lightly with a fork.
3Let cool and serve with tofu or vegetable puree.
Tahini is a smooth paste made of ground sesame seeds. While this can be made from scratch as described below, there are also very good organic pre-blended brands of tahini available. They are usually sold next to the peanut butter.
1½ teaspoons sesame seeds
5 tablespoons rice porridge
1In a blender, food processor, or spice grinder, blend the sesame seeds until finely ground.
2Slowly add ¼ cup of water to the processor until the mixture is smooth. Pour the contents into a small container.
3Mix 1 teaspoon of tahini and 5 tablespoons of rice porridge.
4Serve at room temperature or warm.
stocks and soupThis gentle soup stock can be given to the baby as is, or it can be used with rice porridge or other porridges.
1 leek
2 carrots
1 onion
1 celery rib
1Wash the leeks, carrots, celery, and onion and give them a rough chop.
2In a large pot, add 4 cups of cold water and all of the chopped vegetables. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer until all of the veggies are tender when pierced with a fork, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
3Strain the liquid into a bowl, removing all of the cooked vegetables to a separate bowl.
4The stock can be used to prepare porridge, veggies, or meats. The cooked veggies can be mashed lightly with a fork and served with textured rice porridge.
Dashi means stock in Japanese, and the word is used to describe many kinds of stocks. There are three main stocks that are used for Japanese cooking—kombu dashi (seaweed stock), katsuo dashi (dried bonito fish flakes stock), and shiitake mushroom dashi (rehydrated mushroom stock). At 8 months, both the kombu dashi and the katsuo dashi can be used because they are both mild in flavor and quite neutral to the delicate digestive system of a baby. You can buy kombu at almost all health-food stores, including Whole Foods in their Asian foods section.
3 strips of thick kombu wakame seaweed
1In a large pot, add 4 cups of water and the seaweed and bring to a boil, covered. Lower the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. The seaweed should be plump, and the water should be a bit murky.
2Serve the seaweed with noodles or use as a stock to cook fish, meats, or vegetables.
Katsuo, a.k.a. bonito, is in the tuna family and is rich in flavor. To make the katsuo flakes, the bonito is dried. The flakes are used to make stock, or they can be added as a topping for rice dishes, vegetable, and meat dishes. Dried katsuo flakes or dried bonito flakes are now sold at Whole Foods in the Asian foods section.
½ cup of dry katsuo fish flakes
1In a large pot, add the dried fish to 4 cups of water and let it soak for 1 hour.
2Then bring the water to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes, and strain the water into another bowl, discarding the dried fish.
3Use the stock as a base for soups, noodles, or various protein and vegetable dishes.
This is a nice blend of butternut squash, leeks, and carrots, and can be given as a soup or as a puree.
1 potato
2 carrots
¼ cup cubed butternut squash
½ leek
1Wash and peel the potatoes and carrots and place them in a large pot with 4 cups of water. Add the butternut squash and bring to a boil.
2Meanwhile, wash the leeks carefully (dirt often hides between the layers), and cut them into pieces.
3When the pot comes to a boil, add the leeks and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the vegetables are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, for approximately 20 minutes.
4Remove from the heat and mash up the vegetables with a fork. If you would like a smoother consistency, blend with a hand blender until smooth.
5Serve by itself in a small bowl or with a tablespoon of cooked barley (page 51) mixed in.
fruits and vegetablesPrunes, as well as plums, are extremely nutritious superfoods because they contain unique antioxidants that prevent free radicals that can damage cells. Prunes also have a high concentration of beta-carotene, as well as fiber, copper, and potassium.
½ cup dried prunes
1Soak the prunes in a cup of water for 10 to 15 minutes.
2When the prunes have been rehydrated and are soft, drain them (reserving the soaking water) and put them in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding the water to the desired consistency.
3Serve a small amount at any one time with textured rice or oat cereal.
Apricots are packed with vitamins A and C, as well as fiber. Here I use the dried apricots, which are available all year long, but you can also use fresh apricots when they are in season during the summer months.
½ cup dried apricots
1In a small bowl, combine the apricots with ½ cup of water and let soak for 5 minutes.
2Pour everything into a small pot and cook over medium heat until the apricots are tender when pierced with a tip of a knife, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
3Remove from the heat; puree in a blender until smooth. Thin with breast milk or water to the desired consistency.
4Serve with textured rice porridge or cottage cheese.
Cantaloupe is full of vitamins A, C, B6, and B3, folate, and fiber. Mint is also full of vitamins C and A and is often considered a tummy-soothing element. You can try giving your baby the cantaloupe by itself for 4 days, and then add the mint if you have observed that there has been no allergic reaction.
½ ripe cantaloupe
2 mint leaves
1Cut the cantaloupe into small pieces.
2Put into the blender with the mint leaves and mix until smooth. The mixture should be thin and smooth, but if a thinner consistency is desired, add a teaspoon of water or breast milk.
3This puree can be served with tofu, yogurt, cereal, or rice porridge.
These three fruits blend well together, and as long as your baby has not had any allergic reactions to the first sets of fruits, you can begin to serve different combinations and serve them without pureeing them completely, for more texture.
2 kiwis, peeled
1 banana
1 apple, peeled and cored
1Cut up the kiwis, apple, and banana into small pieces.
2Combine and cook in a steamer until the apples are tender when pierced with a knife tip, approximately 7 to 10 minutes.
3Mash up slightly with a fork.
4This can be served with tofu, yogurt, cereal, or rice porridge.
Almonds are not a nut; they are actually the seeds of the almond fruit, and many consider them a fruit. As such, they don’t trigger the same kind of allergic reaction as other tree nuts and peanuts. They are full of vitamins E and B2, as well as copper and magnesium. Almond butter is sold in many supermarkets, and there are excellent organic brands.
1 tablespoon organic almond butter
3 tablespoons Apple Puree (page 24)
1In a food processor, combine the almond butter with the apple puree and mix until smooth and uniform in color.
2Serve by itself or with textured rice porridge.
This is a sweet tofu mash that combines protein with vitamin C, beta-carotine, and Omega-3.
3 tablespoons Apple Puree (page 24)
2 tablespoons Carrot Puree (page 34)
2 tablespoons Mashed Tofu (page 30)
1 teaspoon ground flaxseeds
1 teaspoon tahini
1Mix the apple and carrot purees and the mashed tofu in a small bowl until well blended.
2Sprinkle with ground flaxseeds and tahini and serve.
Broccoli is an incredible vegetable. It is packed with vitamins A, K, C, E, B6, B2, and B5, folate, fiber, iron, zinc, calcium, and Omega-3 fatty acid. Broccoli can be introduced at 8 months.
Bunch of fresh organic broccoli
1Cut the broccoli florets into small pieces and discard the stems.
2Put into a steamer and cook until the florets are tender, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
3Mash up slightly with a fork. Add a teaspoon of water or breast milk to thin to desired consistency.
4Put 3 tablespoons in a small bowl and serve by itself or with tofu or rice porridge. Store the remainder in the refrigerator for later use.
Daikon radish is a long white radish from Asia with a mild flavor. It has two layers of skin to peel off. Be sure you use a good peeler to scrape off the double layers of skin.
½ daikon radish
1Peel the daikon radish and cut it into small pieces.
2Put them in a steamer and cook until the pieces are tender when pierced, approximately 7 to 10 minutes.
3Drain off the water; put the radish pieces into a food processor and puree until smooth.
4Serve in a small bowl by itself for the 4-day waiting period, after which it can be served with rice porridge, barley, or tofu.
Yams add a natural sweetness, and give rice porridge a nice flavor without adding sugar. In Asia, most traditional snacks and treats are made with the sweetness of yams. It is a good way to provide beta-carotene and fiber as well.
1 yam
4 tablespoons of Rice Porridge (page 41)
1Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2Wash the yam, and then wrap it in foil and roast it in the oven until the middle is tender when pierced, approximately 45 minutes.
3Scoop out the flesh of the yam and puree it in a food processor until completely smooth.
4In a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons of yam and 4 tablespoons of the rice porridge. Mix well and serve.
A great combination of mango and banana for an easy mash, this can be served with yogurt or rice porridge.
3 tablespoons Mango Puree (page 31)
½ ripe banana
1 teaspoon ground flaxseeds
1 teaspoon tahini
1In a small bowl, first mash the banana until soft, and then add the mango puree.
2Sprinkle with ground flaxseeds and tahini and serve.
Seaweed, or sea vegetable, is a true brainfood. It is packed with DHA Omega-3, as well as iron, potassium, calcium, and vitamin B12, which is rarely found in vegetables, vitamins A, C, E, and K, and folates. There is a multitude of varieties in sea vegetables, including wakame—a thin short seaweed most often served in a miso soup, kombu—a thick dark seaweed that is used for stock, and kelp—black stubby seaweeds that are cooked as side dishes (which should be avoided for baby because they have been found to contain heavy metals). These seaweed flakes are made from the light nori seaweed sheets, which are often used to roll sushi. They are now available in most supermarkets.
4 or 5 dried nori seaweed sheets
1With kitchen scissors, cut the seaweed into small, flaky pieces.
2Put the flakes in a food processor and pulse until they become flakes.
3You can use these flakes on rice porridge, oatmeal, or even fruit compotes. Keep in an airtight container for up to 10 days in the refrigerator.
Because seaweed comes in many forms and shapes, it can sometimes be a challenge to figure out which kind best suits a recipe. Seaweed is sold in dried form for rehydration (like dried mushrooms) or in ready-to-eat packages, like the kind that is used for sushi. This seaweed is the dried, short version called wakame, used in miso soups. You can now find it in many grocery stores, such as Whole Foods in their Asian foods section.
3 tablespoons dried seaweed
1Rehydrate the seaweed in 1 cup of water for 20 minutes.
2In a pot, bring the water to a boil with the seaweed and simmer for 5 minutes. It should become moist and slippery in texture. Add a bit more water as desired.
3Puree in a food processor and serve a spoonful mixed with rice, purees, or tofu.
grains, seeds, and nutsWheat germ contains high levels of antioxidants, which are not destroyed by heat and cooking. It is basically the embryo of the wheat kernel that is discarded when making refined flour, and it’s where all of the nutrients are stocked, like folic acid, fiber, iron, protein, potassium, and magnesium. It is a perishable item, so you will need to keep it in the refrigerator after opening and carefully monitor that it does not go rancid by smelling it from time to time; it should smell fresh and nutty, not sour.
1 teaspoon wheat germ
3 tablespoons tofu, washed
1In a small bowl, combine the tofu and the wheat germ. Mash together with a spoon until smooth, and the wheat germ is integrated into the tofu.
2Serve at room temperature.
Pistachio nuts have a mild flavor and are packed with potassium, protein, Omega-3 fatty acid, and vitamins A, E, and K.
¼ cup pistachio nuts, shelled and peeled of the outer brown layer
3 tablespoons Pear Puree (page 32)
1In a food processor or, ideally, a spice grinder, add the nuts and blend until they become powder.
2Slowly add 5 tablespoons of water into the processor and blend until the mixture becomes a paste.
3In a small bowl, mix 1 teaspoon of the paste and the Pear Puree, and mix with a spoon until the paste is fully integrated into the puree.
4Serve by itself or with yogurt or tofu. Store the remainder of the paste in the refrigerator in a small container for later use.
Sesame seeds are very commonly used in Asian cuisine—they are packed with copper, manganese, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, vitamin B, and fiber that are great for your baby. It has a nutty flavor and a deep aroma that will be interesting and stimulating to try with different purees.
¼ cup sesame seeds
3 tablespoons Apple Puree (page 24)
1Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the sesame seeds on the paper and roast for 3 to 5 minutes.
3Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
4In a food processor, mix until the seeds become powder. You should be able to smell the deep scent of the sesame intensified by the roasting.
5Place the apple puree in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the sesame seed powder; mix well.
6Serve at room temperature. Keep the unused ground sesame seeds in a tightly packed container in the refrigerator, where they should keep for up to 10 days.
Walnuts are another incredible brainfood, a very rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, manganese, copper, and other vitamins. The waxy skin is a bit bitter, but it is there that most of the nutrients are stored, so I don’t remove it when serving walnuts to my baby.
2 cups dried walnuts
1Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2On a nonstick baking sheet, spread the walnuts in a single layer and roast them for 3 to 5 minutes until slightly golden, being careful not to burn them.
3Remove them from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes.
4Put the walnuts into a food processor and pulse until they become a fine powder.
5Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (will keep for 1 to 2 weeks). Sprinkle the walnut powder over purees and various dishes.
Pumpkin seed kernels are full of protein, calcium, zinc, and Omega-3 fatty acid. You can sprinkle this on many dishes, and it is neutral enough to blend into most recipes.
2 cups of the inner grains of unsalted pumpkin kernels
1Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2On a nonstick baking sheet, spread the seeds evenly and roast for 10 to 15 minutes until slightly golden (if using dried seeds, the baking time should be shorter—5 to 7 minutes).
3Remove from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes.
4Put the seeds into a food processor and pulse until they become a fine powder.
5Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (can keep for 1 to 2 weeks). Sprinkle the pumpkin seed kernel powder over purees and various dishes.
Flaxseeds, like sea vegetables, are another super brainfood. They are extremely rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, and B vitamins. You can’t rely only on flaxseeds for your Omega-3 intake, but it is a great source in combination with other foods and extremely easy to integrate into recipes.
1 tablespoon organic ground flaxseeds
1 banana
1Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2Peel the banana and cut it in half lengthwise.
3Place the banana on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast it for 10 minutes.
4Remove the banana from the oven, and let it cool for 10 minutes.
5Put banana in a small bowl and mash it with a spoon, adding the flaxseeds and mixing until well blended.
6Serve 3 tablespoons with yogurt or tofu. Store the remainder in a plastic container in the refrigerator, where it will keep for 1 day.
Millet is a fluffy little grain that is nutty in flavor and packed with Omega-3 (1 cup of millet contains 48.7 mg of Omega-3 fatty acid), as well as manganese, magnesium, calcium, iron, and potassium. As a carbohydrate, it really gives you more nutrition than most grains and rice. It is also neutral enough in flavor to use in a variety of savory and sweet dishes.
½ cup millet
1In a pot, bring 1½ cups of water to a boil. Add millet and reduce heat to low; cook for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
2Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes.
3Pour into a blender and puree until smooth, adding a bit of water if necessary.
4Serve with fruit purees or with tofu.
Cooked barley has a smooth slippery texture, and, like millet, has a high amount of Omega-3, as well as folate, vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
¼ cup barley
1In a pot, bring 2½ cups of water to a boil. Add barley and reduce heat to low; cook for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
2Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes.
3Pour into a blender and puree until smooth.
4Serve with fruit purees or with tofu.
proteinThe first fish for your baby should be a very mild white fish, steamed and carefully checked for bones. It is a great way to begin providing protein for your baby.
1 fish fillet (mild white fish, such as cod, hake, sole, or haddock)
1Cut the fillet into small pieces, checking carefully for bones.
2Steam for 3 to 6 minutes until the fish is flaky when touched with a fork.
3Reserve the cooking liquid.
4Put the steamed fish in a food processor and blend, slowly adding cooking liquid until the consistency is not pasty but soft and almost fluffy. Alternatively, you can simply use a fork to mash it up slightly.
5Serve in a small bowl by itself or with barley or millet. Since white fish can sometimes be neutral in flavor, you can liven up the taste by adding a teaspoon of carrot puree, zucchini puree, or yam puree.
Wild-caught salmon is safer than farm-raised salmon due the high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in farm-raised salmon. In addition, I think wild salmon has a lot more flavor with a denser consistency of the flesh. If you can find it, purchase wild-caught salmon.
1 wild-caught salmon fillet
1Cut the fillet into small pieces, checking carefully for bones.
2Steam for 3 to 6 minutes until the fish is flaky when touched with a fork.
3Reserve the cooking liquid.
4Put the steamed fish in a food processor and blend, slowly adding cooking liquid until the consistency is not pasty but soft and almost fluffy. Alternatively, you can mash the steamed salmon lightly with a fork.
5Serve in a small bowl by itself, or serve with tofu, rice porridge, or barley porridge.
Chicken is another great source of protein for new eaters, and it is mild with little fat compared to other meats. It is good to start with chicken tenders because that is the mildest and softest part of the chicken.
2 thin strips of chicken tenders
1Lay the strips flat on a cutting board and check to make sure there are no white veins or ligaments. If there are any, pull them out carefully with the tip of a knife. Then cut the strips into small pieces.
2Place chicken pieces in a steamer and cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until the pieces are completely white with no pink tint in the middle of the flesh.
3Reserve the cooking liquid.
4Place the steamed chicken pieces in a food processor and puree, slowly adding the cooking liquid until the consistency is smooth and not pasty.
5Serve the puree in a small bowl by itself or with tofu, rice porridge, or barley porridge. You can even mix in sweet purees, like mashed banana or apple puree.
An easy recipe that contains protein, calcium, vitamin C and Omega-3.
2 tablespoons cottage cheese
2 tablespoons Apple Puree (page 24)
1 teaspoon ground flaxseeds
1In a small bowl, mix the cheese, Apple Puree, and flaxseeds together until well blended.
2Serve.
This is a great flavor combination and full of vitamins and Omega-3 fatty acids.
3 tablespoons Whipped Avocado (page 32)
½ hard-boiled egg yolk (page 35)
1In a small bowl, combine the avocado and egg yolk, and mix well with a fork until well blended.
2Serve immediately.
* AAP, Ibid., p. 251.
* Lucie Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University, www.lpch.org.
† AAP., Ibid., p. 256.
‡ There is no consensus regarding when nuts should be introduced to the baby. In 2008, AAP issued a Policy Statement that notes, “Although solid foods should not be introduced before 4-6 months of age, there is no current convincing evidence that delaying their introduction beyond this period has significant protective effect on the development of atopic disease. . . . This includes delaying the introduction of foods that are considered to be highly allergic, such as fish, eggs, and foods containing peanut protein.” Frank R. Greer, MD, Scott H. Sicherer, MD, A. Wesley Burks, MD, and the Committee on Nutrition and Section on Allergy and Immunology, Clinical Report, AAP Policy, “Effects of Early Nutritional Interventions on the Development of Atopic Disease in Infants and Children: The Role of Maternal Dietary Restriction, Breastfeeding, Timing of Introduction of Complementary Foods, and Hydrolyzed Formulas,” Pediatrics 121 (January 1, 2008): 183–191.
§ Please check with your pediatrician before introducing all fruit nuts and nuts. While not all children/adults with potential allergies to nuts are also allergic to fruit nuts, it is safer to check first.
* AAP, Ibid., p. 252.
† Broccoli is safe to give to your baby at 8 months. If your baby has had digestive issues, however, it would be better to wait and introduce it at 10 to 12 months.