Adapting a family meal
Baby’s taste buds are quite sensitive. Here are some tips to help you make your family meal suitable for your baby:
- Add more intense spices and herbs such as chilli to your meal after you have removed a serve for your baby.
- Avoid adding salt to your baby’s food so they will learn to enjoy the natural flavours of the food. Be mindful of salt in sauces, flavour sachets or marinades.
- Avoid adding sugar (or honey) to your baby’s meals and use as little sugar as possible in cooking. Be mindful of sugar in sauces, flavour sachets or marinades.
- Consider the texture and size of foods and modify to suit your baby. This may include chopping foods such as cherry tomatoes and grapes into quarters, softening meats or offering finger food versions of the meal.
Make sure you also offer foods in a texture that suits your baby’s development. This may be blended, mashed, finger food or chopped.
Portion sizes
All babies are different with the amount of food they eat at one meal. Serve your baby smaller meals than older siblings or adults. When first starting solids, babies may only eat a teaspoon or two of food at one meal. This amount will increase as your baby gets used to eating solids and grows. Be guided by your baby by watching for their hunger and fullness cues.
Family food meal ideas
Adult or teenager
8-12 months old
