Now that your little one is complementary feeding (eating solid foods alongside breastfeeding or formula milk), you’ll hopefully be enjoying their company at the dinner table. There’s nothing like a warm familial environment to promote positive early associations with food. They may always like everything that’s offered to them, and it will be a little noisy and messy at times, but this is all part of your parenting journey. Your baby is actually learning important social skills and is more likely to try new foods when they observe.

When a baby first begins eating solid foods, you may worry that they are not getting a balanced and varied diet. Parents also wonder about vitamins and nutrients for their baby.

What does a balanced baby diet look like?

The first week or two will be vegetable purees and some fruit purees.

After this, you will introduce protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats.

Your baby will continue to take 500 to 600ml of breast milk or formula milk per day.

Between seven and nine months, a typical day's food will include all the main food groups in 2 or 3 meals a day:

Vegetables & Fruits. They can have more lumpy textures or soft cooked as finger foods

Protein foods. Beans, pulses, eggs, tofu, fish and well cooked meat.

Starchy carbohydrate foods. 2 to 3 portions of grains, potatoes, root vegetables, oats, rice.

Healthy fats. Olive oil, avocado, nut butters, ghee and a little butter

They will also drink a little water alongside the meals.

Your baby can eat most foods, so long as there is no added salt or sugar. However, there are some foods and drinks that are not good for your baby before they are 12 months old.

As well as salt and sugar, try to avoid these when you shop or prepare their meals:

Honey.

Whole nuts (though they can be served crushed or in butter form).

Processed foods such as biscuits and crisps.

Low-fat and fat-free products.

High-fibre breakfast cereals.

Some cheeses, such as blue cheese.

Cow’s milk.

Squash, tea and coffee, and fizzy drinks.

So, we now have a pretty good idea of the foods to serve up to a hungry baby. But why is it important that their diet is varied and balanced?

Why is a balanced diet so important for my baby?

A balanced diet is really important for your baby because their organs and tissues need the proper nutrition to work effectively. Without good nutrition, our bodies and brains are more susceptible to disease, infection, and poor growth and development.

How can we go about achieving a healthy and balanced diet?

How do I make sure my baby is getting a balanced diet?

Keep things simple but offer variety. Baby meals don’t need to be complicated or full of interesting tastes. In fact, they won’t enjoy it if it’s too interesting. But do try a lot of different fruit and veg, protein sources, and healthy starch foods, so as to ensure there’s variety.

Serve up small portions of your own food. If it’s suitable, put aside a portion of your own meal and pop it in the fridge, or serve it to your baby and eat together. Just make sure that theirs doesn’t have too much salt or sugar in it (or any of the other foods that aren’t baby-friendly).

Let them eat as much as they want and be patient. They’ll stop when they’re full, so don’t force them to finish, and let them keep trying different things. On average, it takes young children 15 tries to get used to a particular food!

6 healthy meal options for babies:

Porridge and banana makes for a lovely baby-friendly breakfast.

Well-cooked red meat served with some peas will provide your baby with plenty of iron.

Lentils mixed with chopped and boiled vegetables are nice and easy.

Eggs are a great source of protein and can be served in lots of ways and with a side of veg. Just make sure they’re well-cooked.

Mashed avocado on soft toast.

Small pasta pieces with a bit of grated cheese on top.

And don’t forget that fruit always makes for a lovely dessert option!

How do I know if my baby's diet is balanced?

From Unii’s Baby Nutrition Journey, we share what a balanced diet looks like.