Christmas is a festive time of year and food is a central part to this. If your little one is over 6 months, they will want in on the tasty food, as they will have started solids.
Still bare in mind you should still introduce new foods separately to avoid food aversions and to allow your baby to actually enjoy the food and not feel overwhelmed.
Kate Save Dietitian and Co-Founder of Befitfood says it’s a great idea to include your baby at the sit down dinner.
“Sit your baby in the high chair at the Christmas table. The social aspect of eating is just as important as the food itself!”
Some things to consider for baby’s first Christmas feast, according to Ms Save:
- A good start is to puree your baby’s food to the appropriate consistency depending on what stage of commencing solids (weaning) they are at.
- Try using your baby’s usual milk (breast or formula) to make their Christmas dinner appealing and creamy. Mash or puree the potato and vegetables, and add water or breast milk or formula as desired.
- Turkey is a great source of iron and protein. Try combining the vegetables and meat in a food processor and serve it to your baby pureed. Add a little bit of water until desired consistency is reached.
- If your baby is in the later stages of solids and are enjoying finger foods, try cutting little strips of turkey. If the potato or vegetables are roasted soft rather than crunchy, you can cut the roast potato up into bite size pieces too. You can apply this to other vegetables to give them a whole mini Christmas meal.
- Be careful of added sugar and salt. A lot of Christmas stuffing and gravies can contain added nasties that your baby does not need to eat. Your baby does not know what salt or gravy tastes like so they’re not missing out!
- Before adding salt, sugar, butter or gravy to any of the Christmas foods, plate up your baby’s meal first and set it aside. You can then add sauces, condiments and seasoning to the adult food. As much as Christmas ham is delicious, it is also a little bit too salty for your baby.
“Remember, your baby only has a little stomach so they definitely will not be able to manage a 3-course meal,” says Ms Save.
Food ideas for a first Christmas meal:
- Potato
- Carrots
- Parsnip
- Brussels Sprouts
- Turkey
- Mixed with: their usual milk
Dessert:
- A small amount of pureed fruit, with no added sugar or juice.
- Add some cinnamon or a little spoonful of yoghurt to the pureed fruit.
See video for Recipe idea
Raspberry and Pear Yoghurt | Heinz Baby Basics from Newborn Baby on Vimeo.