Your baby has just turned 7 months old and at this age his diet is still evolving. Now is the time to introduce new foods and flavors to your meals, such as meat and grains. We take stock of what your toddler can eat at seven months.
Your baby is growing up, he is already 7 months old! At this age, he is making a lot of progress. He begins to expend a lot of energy, he moves constantly, he tries not without difficulty to sit up, to crawl too and he continues to babble while touching everything, even the earth. A real little ball of energy that also needs to eat well. And precisely the food diversification, which began around 4-6 months, intensifies at this stage.
You take your role of parent to heart, you awaken your cherub and introduce him to the pleasure of sitting at the table, in his high chair. From there, he learns to chew solid foods that you crush him, he tastes new flavors and textures.
And if your toddler is not very comfortable with all these new things, don’t worry, take it easy step by step. There’s no point in forcing it. In any case, there is one thing that he does not deviate from yet at 7 months, it is the bottle. Breastfeeding or infant milk are still the order of the day.
New foods to introduce from the age of 7 months
This month, new foods are breaking into your little one’s plate. The basis of his diet at this age remains above all milk. Milk is essential for its growth. He drinks mother’s or infant’s milk, but he can also eat infant dairy products such as petit-suisse, plain or fruit yogurts. However, this is not enough to meet all of its nutritional needs. It also needs its fat ratio. To do this, season the purees you give it with a knob of butter, a touch of crème fraîche or a drizzle of oil rich in omega 3 and 6, such as walnut or rapeseed oil, except in cases of allergies. or intolerance. And remember, always in small quantities and without saltbecause your child’s kidneys are not yet mature.
Another novelty at 7 months: infant cereals, with or without gluten. Often times, they are very high in carbohydrates, iron, zinc, and vitamins A and C. They are also known to satiate children who wake up at night from hunger. From then on, you can easily add a few teaspoons of cereal to her bottle.
In its house purees, on the other hand, you can incorporate half of the starchy foods (potatoes, sweet potato, semolina, bulgur, quinoa etc.). Depending on its development, you can also mix small pasta or vermicelli. These will go very well with the vegetables that make up the other half.
Usually by this point your child’s taste buds have already savored a good number of vegetables in the form of purees. Continue to make him discover seasonal vegetables (artichoke, eggplant, mushrooms, cauliflower, celery, endive, spinach, lettuce, sweet potato, radish etc.) well cooked and mixed or in very small pieces.
Besides, fruits are also very good for your cherub. Apricot, pineapple, cherry, fig, strawberry, raspberry, mango, melon, orange, watermelon … They are particularly rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. In the form of compote or porridge, it is the ideal preparation at this age.
Side protein, the choice is wide after the start of food diversification. Your child is entitled to one portion of meat (rindless ham, ground beef, mixed chicken, mixed veal), white or fatty fish (hake, cod, salmon, sardines, etc.) and egg per day, i.e. at noon or in the evening in addition to the mash. On the other hand, limit at all costs cold meats, offal, breaded fish and frozen products that are often too salty. In his meals, be sure to vary the sources of protein so that he can taste everything and fill up with good nutrients.
Other foods to introduce:
- Cooked seafood. The sooner your little one consumes it, the lower the risk of allergy will be.
- Croutons of bread. As a rule, children love it! Choose small pieces of bread so that they can chew on them more easily.
Reflexes to adopt when feeding a 7 month old baby
A baby’s diet does not change dramatically overnight, it must be done little by little to avoid, on the one hand, rushing it but also to prevent all health risks. As a parent, one must remain vigilant about what he eats and drinks. And for good reason, at 7 months the child still has his extrusion reflex which consists in pushing away with his tongue anything that could suffocate him. Therefore, it is important to always give it small amounts and to be very careful with solid or mixed foods that it puts in the mouth for the first time.
Likewise, teething is not done yet at this age. So do not sensitize his teeth or gums with too hard food or too strong flavors that can irritate.
In addition, the risks of allergy or intolerance to certain products are possible when we pursue food diversification. We must therefore be on the alert. At the beginning, for each new food, offer it alone, a small piece, in order to detect possible allergies.
Of course, it goes without saying, but remember to hydrate your child well with water.
How much milk and food for a 7 month old child?
From the age of 6 months, your toddler’s feeding rate generally stabilizes at 4 meals a day, at regular times. This continues at 7 months in view of the child’s needs. On his 4 meals, plan to breastfeed him at least twice or give him 2 more 240 ml bottles per meal, if he is weaned from breastfeeding. In any case, the amount of milk consumed must not be below 500 ml per day.
For food, your baby still needs very small portions of food.
Typical menu for a 7 month old baby:
- Breakfast : a feeding or a 240 ml bottle with possibly four teaspoons of 2nd age cereals.
- Lunch : a vegetable purée (about 180 g), with a small piece of fresh fish or mixed meat (10-20 g), or ¼ of an egg and for dessert, a piece of fruit or a small Swiss type dairy product. Not to mention a bottle of water.
You can opt for homemade or for special baby jars sold in stores. - Afternoon tea : a small feed or a bottle (about 150 ml), a soft boudoir-type cookie.
- Dinner: a 240 ml bottle, with vegetable puree or mixed fruit in porridge.
A little advice for parents lacking inspiration for meal menus: opt for original and tasty food associations. Carrots-celery, pumpkin-celery, mango-vanilla, pear-prunes… Certain unsuspected mixtures of fruits and vegetables are delicious and excellent for the health of your little one! Vary its vegetable purees and compotes without salt and added sugars.
Some recipe ideas for a baby, from 7 months:
To make a mashed zucchini and potatoes, you will need: 2 zucchini, 2 potatoes and rapeseed oil.
The preparation steps:
- Wash the vegetables. Steam them for 15 minutes then peel them.
- Cut the cooked vegetables into large pieces then mix them with a hand blender until you obtain a smooth puree.
- Add a drizzle of rapeseed oil, mix everything with a spatula. Serve the mash!
Other ideas for mash recipes: Butternut squash puree, peas, broccoli and kale ; mashed broccoli, potatoes and kiri cow.
To make a pear, banana and cookies compote, you will need: 1 banana, 2 tablespoons of water, 4 ripe pears, 2 special baby shortbread cookies.
The preparation steps:
- Peel the banana, and peel the pears.
- In a saucepan, cook the fruit over low heat with a stock of water for 10 minutes.
- At the end of cooking add the cookies, mix everything. Serve !
Another idea for compote recipes: apple, mango and exotic fruit compote ; apple, banana, kiwi compote ; apple-banana yogurt cream for babies.