My baby was nearing the 6 months mark. Till now she had been exclusively on breastmilk and life on the ‘food’ front was sorted. Living in a joint family can be quite difficult on the food front. Everyone has a different taste palate or a dietary restriction. It’s actually very stressful catering to everyone. My heart sank at the thought of yet another category of food to start in my kitchen – bland baby food. Also, I had seen friends with babies & they carrying half their house in their suitcase when they travel.
That’s when I decided that my baby was going to eat what we ate. So, on my food journey with my baby girl, this is what I learnt and did.
How To Introduce Indian Staples While Weaning
I introduced solids when my daughter was 6 months old. Weaning food should be easy for the baby to digest. Doctors recommend that salt, sugar and honey not be given till the age of 1 year. This is how I went about introducing my daughter to different kinds of food and texture over the next few months. Introduction of Indian flavours and textures was done slowly by letting her lick or taste a tiny mashed piece of what we were eating. Everything I cooked for her was made in ghee or I added ghee. Ghee is a good fat that is essential for their bones and brain development.
Rice:
Rice can be introduced in a number of ways – Overcooked rice mashed with ghee, Khichdi mixed with different vegetables like carrots, potatoes, peas or rice mixed with rasam/ sambhar water. Brown rice is also extremely healthy. You can try giving your baby brown rice as well.
Roti:
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We started giving her bits of roti topped with ghee dunked into dal to soften it, roti with dahi, alu paratha, dal ka paratha
Dals/ Lentils:
One of her first semi-solid meals was moong dhuli dal soup since that is considered the lightest. We gradually added red masoor dal with rice & jeera tadka. Rajma and the chanas were added to her diet only once she turned one since they are considered a little gassy.
Cereals like Sooji, Dalia & Millets :
Sooji kheer made with a little ghee & dates. To change the flavour so that she wouldn't get bored I would make apple sooji kheer. She really loved Idli with butter/ghee. Different kinds of cheela and dosa made with rice flour, ragi, bajra, moong dal and besan were always gobbled up.
Chicken & Fish:
By the time she turned 10 months old, chicken and fish had also been introduced into her meal plan. She loved fried fish and shredded chicken with loads of lemon and a sprinkling of salt & pepper served with buttered toast
I never shied away from putting a little lal mirch in her food. I believe that their taste buds at this stage are dependent on us. If you give them bland pureed food, then you're going to spend a long time undoing that at a later stage. Getting them to start chewing and enjoying regular food from the beginning will really go a long way to make life easier for you.
Since she started eating pretty much everything, we found it much easier to travel around the country. Dal, rice, dahi, idli, cheela are food which are very easily available in our country. As long as you go easy on the spices, make sure its cooked in a clean hygienic environment I don't see why you and your little one can't enjoy your holiday. Of course, there will be some picky eaters but you can still try your best to introduce them to different textures, spices and cuisines.
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Mansi Zaveri
KSP Team
Rupal Jain
