3 Simple steps for healthy Baby Friendly Meals (+15 baby friendly meals parents love as well!)

Baby friendly meals can be delicious for mom and dad as well!

simple baby friendly meal

When I had my first baby, I went all out with following pediatric nutritionists, making my own purees, and cutting everything to the perfect size. However, I would set up my daughter for dinner, and then realize that I had no idea what I was going to eat myself! Avocado wedges and baby oatmeal didn’t sound as great to me as it did to my daughter.

Especially when we found out I was pregnant again, I knew that this system would not work, so I simplified feeding both the adults and the children in our home. I wanted to provide safe, satisfying nourishment for our entire family, and I’m sure you do to!

Here is a summary of how to make nourishing baby friendly meals that you can enjoy as well.

Delicious Baby Friendly Meals

1. What to remember for safe baby friendly meals

baby friendly options

As a rule of thumb, babies probably should not eat what they cannot feed themselves. For example, if they are not using a pincer grasp, they are probably not ready for small things like rice, or, if they do not have teeth to bit into an apple, then fresh apples are most likely not be the best option. Babies can be very messy when feeding themselves, so you do not have to let them feed themselves, but the question is could they eat it themselves.

To start, try foods that are large enough for a baby to to grasp and chew on the end, but also soft enough for gums to chew. A quick way to analyze a food is to see if it is a bit larger than your adult finger and if you can squish it between your pointer finger and thumb.

2. Designing Nourishing baby friendly meals

easy baby friendly meal
My 5 yr old’s lunch with cherries, savory bread pudding, and chicken breast.

Ensuring your baby is well-nourished comes down to three main things: one ingredient foods, exposure to lots of variety, and supplementing with vitamin D drops and iron-fortified baby oatmeal. I am not a fan of supplements in general, but these are two very common deficiencies that would require a lot foods and time outside for most babies to get naturally. You can technically do it, but, unless your family eats a lot of liver and shellfish, these supplements are very important for your baby’s development!

To make sure your baby is getting a wide variety of nutrients, you want to try to give your baby a good mix of proteins, produce (aka fruits and veggies!), and grains. Maybe your baby is new to solids and is just trying one each day, but, as your baby grows, expect an average of about 1-2 tablespoons of each category per meal. Remember though, babies and young children do not eat consistently day to day, so this is a rough weekly average, not daily! Both my baby and my 5 year old will have days where they barely eat and then seem to make up all those calories over one or two meals the next day, so don’t stress! Your baby knows how to listen to his or her body.

Here are some foods from each category for baby friendly meals:

ProteinProduceGrain
Scrambled EggsSweet PotatoSourdough Toast
Flaked SalmonSteamed BroccoliFusilli Pasta
Shredded ChickenRoasted Adult CarrotsRice Balls
Mashed Black BeansCucumberCorn Tortilla

Scrambled eggs can be cut into strips or given to babies as large clumps. Make sure to include both the white and the yolk!

Salmon is easiest for babies to eat in large flakes, so they are easier to to grasp. I personally prefer fresh or frozen salmon, but you can also use canned if you are looking for something faster! Just make sure all the skin and bones are removed.

Shredded chicken can be made quickly by coating chicken breasts in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then roasting at 425ºF for about 20 minutes. At first, you can do a rough shred or slices so your baby can gnaw on them and gradually provide smaller pieces as your baby gets older and can navigate food in their mouth better.

Black beans are obviously easiest straight from a can, but I like to make a big batch of dried beans in my instant pot with plenty of salt (if you can’t taste it in the water before cooking them, you don’t have enough!) and roughly chopped keilbasa, which gives them some more flavor without being overwhelming for little ones. Then, just mash them a little with a fork to break them up a bit.

Sweet Potatoes are super versatile and are great for your baby in almost any form! They can be roasted, mashed, or steamed, and, if that sounds like too much work, then many stores even carry bags of frozen, steamable sweet potatoes.

Steamed Broccoli may not sound exciting, but it is a fantastic first vegetable! Large stalks are better for younger babies, and, after you give them the larger pieces, you can toss the rest with butter, salt, and pepper for the rest of the family.

Roasted Carrots should be made with big carrots (not baby carrots) to make sure they pass the “size of your finger and can be squished between your fingers” test. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness, so these usually become a big hit!

Cucumbers are more of a fun teething toy to expose young babies to a new taste and texture, but, as they get older you can cut them into long thin slices about the size and thickness of a ruler. THIS POST does a great job describing cucumber prep for babies if you want more details 🙂

Sourdough Toast can be cut in strips, or you can give your baby just the crust. You want to choose the highest quality bread you can, and toasting it helps prevent it from getting gummy while being chewed. As your baby gets older, you can also add spreads to the toast to introduce new flavors.

Fusilli Pasta is a type of spiral pasta, so it’s shape is easier for babies to grab. You want to get pasta made from whole grains when possible! I make homemade pasta with home-milled wheat, but you could also get pasta made with lentils, durum wheat, chickpeas, or other whole grains

Rice Balls can be made with sticky rice (like sushi rice) or by mixing rice with foods with a puree consistency, like hummus or yogurt.

Corn Tortillas, particularly homemade ones, are better for babies than store-bought ones because they don’t get gummy, which can be a choking hazard. I love using Masa Harina, which is even sold at Walmart, because you just need to add water and cook about 30 seconds on each side to make delicious, fresh tortillas! Especially if you have a tortilla press and pancake griddle, they are much quicker to make than you’d expect.

{RELATED POST: The 8 Elements of Both Delicious and Nutritious Meals}

3. Repeat the same foods in different meals

baby friendly meals for picky eaters
Dinner for the kids: lentil sprouts, rice, and ground beef (cooked with onions, salt and pepper)
Dinner for the adults: lentil sprouts, rice, ground beef, cheese sauce, and tortilla chips (baked from leftover tortillas)

Babies need to be exposed to foods many times! Though a 7 month old may accept new foods more easily, babies often get more picky with age, so a toddler may need to be exposed to a new food up to 15 times before accepting it. How does that translate for the rest of the family? Here is where the strategy comes in!

The trick is to mix and match the same foods in different ways for the older family members while providing them in their simplest form for your baby. Below, I have the same chart but added one more column: sauces.

ProteinProduceGrainSauce
Scrambled EggsSweet PotatoSourdough ToastHummus
Flaked SalmonSteamed BroccoliFusilli PastaSesame Ginger Sauce
Shredded ChickenRoasted Adult CarrotsRice BallsItalian Dressing
Mashed Black BeansCucumberHomemade TortillaSalsa

Using these sauces, you can turn these meals into a variety of healthy delicious meals! Here are some examples

  • Eggs
    • Tacos made with eggs mixed with sweet potatoes and salsa
    • Warm rice and sweet potato topped with eggs and a drizzle of sesame ginger sauce (similar to Japanese Sweet Potato Rice)
    • Toast with hummus and a scrambled egg on top with a side of broccoli
    • Rice and chopped cucumber topped with a fried egg and a drizzle of sesame ginger sauce
  • Salmon
    • Salmon topped with hummus served over rice and a side of cucumbers tossed with Italian dressing
    • Salmon on rice with steamed broccoli on the side and everything drizzled with sesame ginger sauce
    • Pasta salad made with salmon, chopped cucumber, and Italian dressing
    • Warm bowl with sweet potato and rice, topped with salmon and Italian dressing
  • Chicken
    • Tacos made with chicken tossed in sesame ginger sauce and diced cucumber.
    • Pasta salad made with shredded chicken, broccoli and carrots (cooked or raw!), and Italian dressing
    • Wrap with chicken, cucumber, and hummus
    • Chicken, broccoli, and rice topped with salsa
  • Black Beans
    • Tacos made with black beans, sweet potatoes, and salsa
    • Smear hummus on the bottom of the plate. Top with beans mixed with rice and eat with sliced cucumbers.
    • Beans on toast topped with salsa (and maybe a fried egg!) and a side of broccoli tossed with butter or Italian dressing

{RELATED POST: 5 Delicious Days of Simple Meal Planning Busy Moms Can Use}

This post was all about making easy Baby Friendly Meals that nourish your entire family.

You might be interested in…

you may also like

Leave a Reply