Meat is a very good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, which your baby needs for growth and development. When your baby is accepting food from a spoon; soft well-cooked meat can be puréed then mixed with vegetables. There is no reason you cannot introduce meat before six month as long as your baby is able for the texture.
When to introduce Meat
As soon as your baby can handle some texture, you can start to introduce meat. It is advisable to start your baby on meat from six months. If you wait any longer it may be hard to introduce as meat has a different texture to vegetable and fruit purées, which could cause your baby may reject it.
How to introduce Meat
Cook thoroughly and purée with your baby’s favourite fruit and vegetables. Check out our Chicken and Vegetable purée where we simply cooked the chicken and vegetables in stock, which your baby will love. In the recipe we have also included information on how to blend for the right stage.
Increasing texture
As your baby becomes more familiar with feeding it is important to start increasing the texture of the foods. The texture of the purée becomes slightly thicker with soft lumps. You can either mash into a purée or use a blender and pulse a few times to get the right consistency.
Finger food
Meat can be a difficult first finger food. We recommend a course purée of the meat so that it is broken down for baby to eat. When they are a little more able for finger foods you can offer meat in cubes for baby to pick up or you can offer a slice of meat from a roast and place it in their hand.
Some red meats such as lamb are difficult to chew so baby usually sucks on the meat. They are actually sucking the blood out of the meat, which contains the iron, and then they usually discard the rest, so don’t be put off by this!
Best Weaning Pot sizes to store your meat Purée
- 7-8 Months Weaning Pots are the perfect size when you are introducing meat.
- 8-9 Months Weaning Pot or 9-12 Months Weaning Pots are perfect for more texture.
- Toddler Pots are great for finger food portions.
