Ideas For Baby Breakfast
In a perfect world, your baby will be sleeping throughout the whole night when they reach 6 months, meaning that won’t have had any nutrition for 12 hours or so. Your little one will need refuelling which is where these ideas for baby breakfast come in. At the beginning of the weaning process, it’s best to start the day with a milk feed with food coming later. But around 7 months and onwards, you are going to want to encourage them to have some food first and milk later on during the day. This gives your baby a broader range of nutrients that are more aligned with their growing body needs.
It is often claimed that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, having been linked to a variety of good health outcomes. When children have a healthy breakfast, they are more likely to become kids who do better at school with improved memory and concentration. A well-rounded breakfast has also been said to reduce the likelihood of obesity. Here are some ideas for baby breakfast that your little one is sure to love!
Ideas For Baby Breakfast - 6 Months
Eggs - any way you see fit - I recommend scrambled or an omelette cut into strips!
Almond butter thinned with a little of your baby’s usual milk and spread on rice cakes
Cheese cubes - cheddar is always a safe option!
Banana
Strawberries
Kiwi fruit quartered lengthways
Buttered wholemeal toast
Wholemeal English muffin spread with a soft cheese such as Philadelphia and split in two
Porridge - best to keep it plain to start off with and slowly introduce accompaniments like apple and cinnamon!
Ideas For Baby Breakfast - 7-9 Months
By the time your baby reaches this age, they should be the master of eating three meals a day. This means you’ll need to start making a more conscious effort with their meals so that they receive balanced nutrition! Protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals should all be present in your baby’s breakfast. In terms of how many should be on the plate at once, it is recommended to aim for 3 of the 5 food groups.
What you may not know is that your little one is born with an iron store that is first laid out in the third trimester of your pregnancy. However, by the time they reach around 6 months of age, this will have run out, meaning that iron is a critical nutrient that should be present in their breakfast. While breastmilk and formula do contain some iron, it simply isn’t enough so must come from the food they eat. Low iron has been linked to negative cognitive performance as well as growth and immunodeficiencies, so it’s an integral part of your baby’s diet.
Omega 3, a nutrient present in oily fish such as salmon or mackerel as well as chia seeds and nuts, is also a critical nutrient. Here are some ideas for baby breakfast for 7-9 months old that incorporate the above nutrients so your baby will remain nice and healthy:
Crumpet with almond butter and banana slices
Whole Greek yoghurt topped with a cereal of your choice and sliced fruit
Cheese scone with chopped tomatoes
French toast made with raisin bread served with whole Greek yoghurt
Half a bagel, cold meat, and avocado slices
Weetabix with whole milk and a side of sliced fruit
Porridge made with milk and chopped dried apricots & raisins
Slice of banana bread spread with peanut butter
Half a boiled egg, half a slice of buttered toast and a few slices of kiwi
Spinach and cheese omelette and half an English muffin
Oat pancakes with chopped strawberries on the side
Salmon & sweet potato egg muffins baked in a mini muffin tin
Avocado on buttered wholemeal toast
Baked apples with raisins, mashed and served with natural yoghurt
Slow cooker rice pudding topped with blueberries or fruit compote
Ideas For Baby Breakfast - 10-12 Months
By the time your baby reaches this age, they should be an expert at the pincer grip (using their thumb and forefinger to pick up foods). Their motor skills and dexterity will also be greatly improved so you will be able to give them smaller chunks of food which does wonders for their hand-eye coordination.
At this age, they may also be slightly opposed to sitting in their highchair for extended amounts of time. While it’s okay to let them out for a little walk around, you must never let them eat anywhere but their highchair. Eating while moving increases the risk of gagging and choking so as soon as they indicate they want food, place them back in their highchair and explain to them that eating only happens if they are there. They’ll soon catch on!
Unless your baby has teeth, it’s best not to offer ‘al dente’ foods such as steamed veggies as they won’t be able to yet manage these crunchy textures.
If your baby is gagging, don’t panic as this is completely normal! It is a way for them to learn how to move food around their mouth! Here are some healthy ideas for baby breakfast. Enjoy!
Small breakfast cereals served with whole milk and fruit e.g.
Cheerio’s (look for the low sugar version)
Shreddies,
Shredded Wheat Bite Size
Raisin Wheat’s
Boiled egg and toast soldiers for dipping, chopped cherry tomatoes
French crepe (thin pancake) with creme fraiche and fruit puree
Kale and feta frittata
Fruit bread triangles toasted with peanut butter
Overnight oats with apricots
Sweetcorn fritters
Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast
Breakfast quesadilla with cheese and apple
Smoothie ice lolly - save this one for special occasions!
