Growing Up: Baby “Introducing Solids”

I recently had the pleasure of talking with Hayley Zimak on her podcast, Growing Up: Baby, about introducing solids to your baby. Check out the podcast episode here to listen for yourself.

Considerations for Introducing Solids

Age:

  • Typically around 4-6 months of age

Signs of Readiness:

  • Good head and neck control

  • Can sit up with some support and lean forward

  • Developmentally appropriate motor skills

What to offer:

  • Iron-rich foods: iron fortified cereals, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, tofu, beans, lentils, chickpeas

  • Vitamin C-rich foods: berries, kiwi, mango, citrus fruits, tomato, broccoli, sweet potato, squash

  • Energy-dense foods: sources of fat (oils, butter/margarine/ghee, avocado, nut/seed butters or ground nuts/seeds, grains and starches with added fats

Food Texture:

  • You can start with purees, start with table foods like in baby led weaning (BLW), or a combination of purees and BLW

Food portions:

  • The million dollar question - how much? Start with 1-2 tablespoons of a few foods, but watch your baby. If they are interested in more - give more! If they’ve had enough after one or two bites - end the meal

  • Keep offering a wide variety of foods, but allow baby to explore at their own pace. Try not to focus on how much they are eating but if they are having a good experience

What’s Next?

Reach out to book a one-on-one consultation with me to get your baby started on solids! I’ll work through all of the considerations and provide you with resources and support to help with this phase.

Mediterranean Baked Fish

Since becoming a mom of now two little boys, I’m finding that I need faster, simple, kid-friendly, flavourful meals that I can get on the table in a hurry. I developed this recipe because it can be prepped ahead of time (even the night before or whenever you have some spare time in your day) which is a huge time saver when it comes to dinner time. The prep work and the roasting of the tomato and onion mixture can be done well before dinner so all you have to do is cook the fish. Fish is an easy protein for young children to eat because the flesh is so tender and whitefish is really mild, so its a great variety to add into your rotation. All that’s left for you to do is cook a side dish and we really like potatoes, rice, or pasta to pair with this meal.

When I make potatoes for this dish, I often roast them in the oven with oil, vinegar, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pasta and rice can be kept super simple. Plain buttered noodles or steamed rice pairs well with this flavourful dish.

MEDKTERRANEAN BAKED FISH

Author: Andrea Carpenter, RD

Recipe Type: Entree

Serving: 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

  • 14-16 ounces white fish (haddack, halibut, cod)

  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes (whole) or 3 roma tomatoes (roughly chopped)

  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced

  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano

  • salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Remove fish from packaging and allow to air dry in the fridge, for about 4-6 hours, on paper towel, leaving it uncovered. This will help to remove excess moisture from the fish which is especially important if using frozen fish.

  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  3. Layer tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a baking dish. Add oregano, salt, pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Mix everything to combine and then bake in oven for 30-40 minutes. Tomatoes will blister and soften.

  4. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

  5. Place fish on the tomato and onion mixture, allowing some of the mixture to sit around the fish. Add another drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to the flesh of the fish.

  6. Bake fish for 15-20 minutes for haddock, 30-35 minutes for a thicker fish like cod and halibut, and once the internal temperature of the fish reads 145 degrees.

  7. Spoon the fish and tomato and onion mixture onto a plate and serve with rice, potatoes, or pasta.


Mango Creamsicles

It’s only the beginning of summer and so far, it has been HOT! A great way to stay cool and beat the heat with a summer treat is with these creamy, 3-ingredient mango creamsicles. Unlike the store-bought creamsicles, these are sweet without any added sugar, and provide a little protein from the milk. This recipe also takes no time at all to come together. It’s blended up into a silky smooth texture, popped into popsicles molds and then set in the freezer. Make them after your morning smoothie and enjoy them in the afternoon heat.

Mango Creamsicles

Author: Andrea Carpenter, RD

Recipe Type: Smoothies

Serving: 8-10

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fresh or frozen mango

  • 3/4 cup milk (or milk alternative)

  • 1/2 cup 35% heavy cream (or coconut cream)

Directions:

  1. In a high speed blender, add all ingredients and blend for 1-minute or until thoroughly combined.

  2. Fill popsicle molds and add popsicle sticks as needed. Set in the freezer for 4-8 hours or until frozen solid. If using frozen fruit, the creamsicles will freeze faster.