First Three Important Foods For Toddlers

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It is a milestone for every mother when she shifts her baby from liquids to a semi-solid or solid diet. Although, he is old enough to digest these first foods for toddlers doesn't have the taste for them. But they are essential for him to help him grow as all his dietary needs cannot be met by just the mother’s feed and he needs more nutrients that he can get only from foods.

It is for these nutritional needs that the mother has to feed the child with good first foods for toddlers, but it is also important to add some taste to it so that the child enjoys eating and doesn't have to be forced.

The child uses nutrients such as iron during the first few months of the birth from the mother’s milk and the deposits in his body from the womb. But after 5-6 months the nutrient store in his body runs out and hence, he requires to consume food that would satisfy his body needs for the nutrients.

Along with maintaining the nutrient content, the food should be in a form that the child is able to consume without the need to chew.

However, the consistency of the food should be such that the child should not choke. For such purpose the child is given mashed, squashed or puréed form of the food.

Note: Introduce only one food at a time and feed him/her for a few days to check for food allergies.

1. Raggi Porridge
Good first foods for toddlers could be raggi porridge but it is not necessary that it suits all babies.

Recipe: Wash and dry raggi and the other millets well and then roast it. Let the roasted raggi cool down and then churn it to make the powder. Add water and cook on low flame for some time whenever you want to feed the child.

2. Dal-Carrot-Rice
Carrot is often misunderstood, in fact as per the paediatricians it is one of the best first foods for toddlers.

Recipe: Cook lentils and chopped carrots with a little salt and cumin powder until the carrots are well cooked since carrot chunks might choke the child as he can’t chew. Prepare rice and add the cooked dal-carrot to it and it is ready for the child.

3. Soups
Soups are considered to be good first foods for toddlers because of their high nutrient content and easy to consume consistency. There are a variety of soups that can be made for the child such as vegetable soups, lentil soups, rice soup etc.

For Non-Vegetarian Parents:

1. Grilled Pork With Mashed Potato
Nutrients from meat are more easily digestible by the child than the plant nutrients. Pork and potatoes are extremely nutritious and tasty first foods for toddler.

Recipe: Cook the potatoes and pork chop until they are tender. Mash the potatoes and check for the tenderness of the pork before serving the child with the delicacy.

2. Well Cooked Beef Or Ham
Well cooked ham and beef has a tendency to dissolve in the mouth without chocking. In case you are not sure then it would be best you purée it before feeding it as the first foods for toddlers.

3. Eggs
Boiled and scrambled eggs are considered to extremely healthy & nutritious solid foods for toddlers.