First Foods

Easy, nutritious recipes for babies and toddlers

A s a new parent, you want to give your recent arrival the best of everything—especially food. Food is your baby’s main source of energy and vitality. In the first six months of life, your baby’s weight doubles. Nourishing food acts like medicine in the body, and can strengthen immunity. It’s important to introduce high-quality food and beverages early to support growing bodies and to set children up for a lifetime of eating real food that’s good for them.

The foods your children eat during their early years can impact their food choices and eating habits throughout life. Realizing and understanding your baby’s hunger and satisfaction cues is important, as is introducing many different flavors and textures to your baby’s diet.

Preparing food for your baby or toddler is also cost effective, and not as time consuming as you might think. Many cereals and purées can be prepared in less than an hour and frozen for later use. The following recipes, created for children 9 to 18 months, were developed in accordance with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dietetic Association.

Try these first food recipes:

• Meatloaf Muffins
• Poached Pears
• Strawberry Mango Smoothie