Foods for a 12 month old: Starting Solid Foods – HealthyChildren.org

What to feed over 12 months – Start for Life

1. Around 6 months

2. 7 to 9 months

3. 10 to 12 months

4. Over 12 months

Your child is now ready to eat healthier meals with the rest of the family – just in smaller portions and cut up into smaller pieces!

Feeding at 12 months and over

Now your toddler is 12 months old, they should be having 3 meals a day.

They may also need 2 healthy weaning snacks in between (for example fruit, vegetable sticks, toast, bread or plain yoghurt).

Feeding a 12 monthsneed salt or sugar added to their food or cooking water. Children should not eat salty foods as it is not good for their kidneys, and sugar can cause tooth decay. a

Food groups

Make sure you include a wide variety of the following food groups in your child’s meals. Have a look at our baby weaning recipes and YouTube channel for inspiration!

Vegetables

Your child should now be able to manage mashed, lumpy, chopped and finger foods.

Cook veggies to soften them, where necessary, and offer them as chopped or finger foods. Offer a variety of vegetables, including ones with bitter flavours.

Veggies include:

• asparagus
• avocado
• broccoli
• butternut squash
• cabbage
• carrots
• cauliflower
• courgette
• green beans
• kale
• parsnips
• peas
• peppers
• spinach
• swede

Fruit

Your child should now be able to manage mashed, lumpy, chopped and finger foods.

Wash fruit and remove any pips, stones or hard skin – chop the fruit up or offer as a finger food.

Fruit includes:

• apples
• bananas
• blueberries
• kiwi
• mango
• melon
• nectarines
• oranges
• papaya
• peach
• pears
• pineapple
• plums
• raspberries
• strawberries

Starchy foods

These can be cooked, where necessary, and offered as mashed, chopped or finger foods.

Cereals can be mixed with breast milk, or with pasteurised whole (full-fat) cows’ milk (or goats’ or sheep’s milk) if your child is over 12 months old.

Starchy foods include:

• baby rice
• bread
• chapatti
• cornmeal
• maize
• millet
• oatmeal
• oats
• pasta
• pitta bread
• porridge
• potato
• quinoa
• rice
• sweet potato
• toast

Protein foods

This food group includes meat, fish, eggs, beans and pulses, and is suitable from around 6 months.

As well as giving your baby protein, these foods contain other useful nutrients, such as iron and zinc, which are important for babies.

For eggs, make sure you buy ones stamped with the British Lion stamp mark. There have been improved food safety controls in recent years, so infants, children and pregnant women can now safely eat raw or lightly cooked hen eggs (as long as they have the British Lion stamp), or foods containing them.

If you have a severely weakened immune system or are on a medically supervised diet prescribed by health professionals, you should cook all eggs thoroughly. Read about the healthy way to eat eggs.

Protein foods include:

• beans
• beef
• chicken
• egg
• fish (no bones)
• lamb
• lentils
• pork
• pulses, such as chickpeas
• tofu
• turkey

Dairy

Pasteurised dairy foods,like pasteurised full-fat yoghurt and cheese, are suitable foods for your baby from around 6 months.

Full-fat, unsweetened or plain yoghurts are a good choice because they do not contain added sugars.

Whole pasteurised (full-fat) cows’ milk, or goats’ or sheep’s milk, can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months old, and as a drink once they’re over 12 months.

Chunky, lumpy and tasty

Your child is now ready to eat healthier meals with the rest of the family 0 just in smaller portions and cut up into smaller pieces.

Should I still give my baby breast milk or first infant formula?

You can continue breastfeeding for as long as you both want. As your child eats more solid foods, the amount of milk they want will decrease.

Once they’re 12 months old, first infant formula is not needed – toddler milk, growing up or goodnight milks are also unnecessary.

Drinks

Your child will be using their cup with confidence, helping themselves to sips of water as and when they need it. If you’re breastfeeding, they can carry on having breast milk for as long as you like.

Your toddler can also now drink whole cows’ milk and have full-fat dairy products.

Choose full fat for children under 2, as they need the extra energy. From 2 years onwards, they can have semi-skimmed milk as long as they’re eating and growing well. From 5 years, 1% or skimmed milk is fine.

Sweet drinks like squash, fizzy drinks, milkshakes and fruit juice can have lots of sugar so avoid these to help prevent tooth decay – even baby and toddler drinks can be sugary.

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Baby and toddler meal ideas

If you need some inspiration to help you cook healthy and tasty food for your child, try these meal ideas.

These are not suitable as first foods but are fine once your baby is used to eating a wide range of solid foods. Read more about your baby’s first solid foods.

When preparing food for babies, do not add sugar or salt (including stock cubes and gravy) directly to the food or to the cooking water.

You can find more recipes and meal ideas on the Start4Life website.

Breakfast ideas for babies and young children

• unsweetened porridge or lower-sugar cereal mixed with whole milk and topped with fruit, such as mashed ripe pear or banana
• wholewheat biscuit cereal (choose lower-sugar options) with whole milk and fruit
• lower-sugar breakfast cereal and unsweetened stewed apple with plain, unsweetened yoghurt
• toast fingers with mashed banana and smooth peanut butter (if possible, choose unsalted and no added sugar varieties)
• toast fingers with a hard-boiled egg and slices of tomato, banana or ripe peach
• toast or muffin fingers with scrambled egg and slices of tomato

Lunch ideas for babies and young children

• lamb curry with rice
• cauliflower cheese with cooked pasta pieces
• baked beans (reduced salt and sugar) with toast
• scrambled egg with toast, chapatti or pitta bread served with vegetable finger foods
• cottage cheese (full-fat) dip with pitta bread, cucumber and carrot sticks

Dinner ideas for babies and young children

• mashed sweet potato with chickpeas and cauliflower
• shepherd’s pie (made with beef or lamb and/or lentils or vegetarian mince) with green vegetables
• rice and mashed peas with courgette sticks
• minced chicken and vegetable casserole with mashed potato
• mashed canned salmon with couscous and peas
• fish poached in milk with potato, broccoli and carrot

Finger foods for babies and young children

Finger food is food that’s cut up into pieces big enough for your child to hold in their fist with a bit sticking out. Pieces about the size of your own finger work well.

Examples of finger foods:

• soft-cooked vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, courgette, parsnip and sweet potato
• carrot or cucumber sticks and avocado
• fresh fruits, such as apple (soft-cooked if needed), banana or soft, ripe peeled pear or peach
• toast, pitta or chapatti fingers
• unsalted and unsweetened rice or corn cakes
• strips of meat without bones, such as chicken and lamb
• cheese on toast fingers, made with full-fat cheese, and cucumber
• hard boiled eggs
• omelette fingers

Healthy snacks for young children

Babies under 12 months do not need snacks; if you think your baby is hungry in between meals, offer extra milk feeds instead.

Once your baby is 1 year old, you can introduce 2 healthy snacks in between meals. For example:

• vegetables, such as broccoli florets, carrot sticks or cucumber sticks
• slices of fruit, such as apple, banana or soft, ripe peeled pear or peach
• pasteurised, plain, unsweetened full-fat yoghurt
• toast, pitta or chapatti fingers
• unsalted and unsweetened rice or corn cakes
• small strips of cheese

Getting your child to eat fruit and vegetables

It may take up to 10 tries, or even more, for your child to get used to new foods, flavour and textures.

Be patient and keep offering a variety of fruits and vegetables, including ones with bitter flavours, such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and cabbage.

Try to make sure fruits and vegetables are included in every meal.

To help your child eat more fruit and vegetables:

• give carrot sticks, cucumber sticks or slices of pepper with hummus as a snack
• give apple slices with smooth peanut butter as a snack
• mix chopped or mashed vegetables with rice, mashed potatoes, meat sauces or dhal
• add vegetables to classic savoury dishes such as cottage or shepherd’s pie, spaghetti bolognese or casseroles
• chop prunes or dried apricots into cereal or plain, unsweetened yoghurt, or add them to a stew
• for a tasty dessert, try mixing fruit (fresh, canned or stewed) with plain, unsweetened yoghurt

Read more about helping your baby enjoy new foods and fussy eaters.

Drinks for babies and young children

Find out about drinks and cups for babies and young children.

Page last reviewed: 21 December 2022

Next review due: 21 December 2025

Diet for a child aged 7 months

When compiling a diet for a seven-month-old baby, distribute the products so that you get a certain prototype of the menu of an already grown-up child with breakfast and lunch.

At this age, the yolk of a boiled chicken egg, a valuable source of fat, vitamin B ₁₂ , A, phosphorus and selenium, is introduced into the child’s diet. Chopped yolk can be added to porridge or vegetable puree.

At 7 months, you can already give your child a cracker (in the form of dried bread) and baby cookies.

Fruit purée and juice increase to 70g.

Industrial food is still the best choice given its high safety and variety. If the baby does not perceive a new product the first time, it can be mixed with an already familiar product.

Approximate diet for a 7-month-old child.

* – infant formula
** – dairy-free porridge should be diluted with breast milk or infant formula that the child receives. Milk porridge is diluted with water.

Sample diet for a 7 month old child allergic to cow’s milk proteins:

* – dairy-free porridge should be diluted with breast milk or therapeutic formula for children with intolerance to cow’s milk proteins.
** – you can either alternate porridge or vegetables, or offer a mixed dish – porridge with vegetables.

Child’s diet from 6 months to a year

From 6 to 12 months, your baby develops at an incredible pace. It is during this period that his body needs a sufficient amount of nutrients and trace elements. The right diet will help provide your little one with the necessary nutrients and energize them to explore the world around them and gain new skills! In order to properly build a diet from 6 months old, we have prepared approximate menus for a child, broken down by months, and the feeding table itself from 4 months old can be downloaded here.

Menu at 6 months

Menu at 7 months

Menu at 8 months

Menu at 9 months

Menu at 10 months

Menu at 11 months

Menu at 12 months

Menu at 6 months

At 6 months, the baby’s diet contains monocomponent vegetable purees (broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower), 1-2 types of porridge, monocomponent meat puree and children’s cottage cheese.

Vegetable oil can be added to vegetables and porridge.

Menu at 7 months

By 7 months, the volume of complementary foods increases, new types of meat, vegetables and fruits are introduced. Also in the diet of the child appears yolk.

You can add butter or vegetable oil to vegetables and porridge.

Menu at 8 months

From 8 months you can introduce baby purees with fish and meat purees with the addition of offal. You can also start offering fruit in a nibbler so your little one can scratch their teeth and try new flavors.

A more satisfying dinner with the addition of porridge contributes to sound sleep without frequent awakenings for feeding.

Menu at 9months

The daily menu is filled with new types of products from all categories: fish purees, sour-milk products and cereals.

At 9 months, you can enter baby cookies and up to 10 grams of bread.

10 month menu

At this age, the baby’s menu can be slightly diversified with some dishes from the general table: weak broths, cottage cheese puddings or casseroles, vegetables and fruits, grated on a fine grater.

During the day, you can offer children’s cookies and up to 10 grams of bread.

Menu at 11 months

At this age, the baby makes the first attempts to eat on its own. Parents can help by offering chopped soft fruits and vegetables. Steamed meat dishes are also suitable: meatballs, meatballs, fish fillet or finely chopped boiled chicken.

During the day, you can offer children’s cookies and up to 10 grams of bread.