The best 6 month food menu for baby growth and development

Stepping around the age of 6 months, your baby can begin to be introduced to the first solid foods as nutritional intake for children. This is the time for parents to think about the best complementary foods (complementary foods) to be given to babies aged 6 months.

For those of you who are confused about what to cook, let's take a look at the inspiration for this 6 months baby solid food menu idea. You can also find a complete guide on how to give your first solid foods.

What kinds of foods are good for babies?

Source: Colourbox

The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that complementary foods or complementary foods for babies can be introduced when the baby is 6 months old. Why is that?

By the age of 6 months, babies generally have shown signs of being ready for solids. The timing of the introduction of complementary foods is important because it can affect the health of the baby in the future.

Provision of complementary foods for 6 months is said to be successful if it can meet the nutritional needs of the baby. In addition, complementary foods are also expected to help train babies to swallow properly (not choking) and not exceed the working capacity of the digestive system.

Based on the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), babies who are learning to eat for the first time should be given a filtered food texture (puree) and gradually increases to be crushed (mashed).

So, try to present a variety of MPASI menu lists that are filtered, crushed, and smooth so that they are easily eaten by 6 months old babies.

Also get used to implementing a baby's eating schedule regularly every day. Only as the baby gets older, you can begin to slowly change the texture.

Usually, at the age of 9-11 months the texture of baby food has turned into finely chopped (minced), roughly chopped (chopped), and finger food baby.

Inspiration for the menu list of solid foods for babies

Making baby food is actually not much different from when the mother prepares food for other family members.

It's just that you should pay more attention to the texture and choice of processed food because your little one's eating ability is not yet perfect.

No need to be confused when providing complementary foods for babies. However, make sure you provide a mixed complementary menu and not single solid foods for babies.

The following is a cheat sheet of inspiration for a menu of complementary foods for babies from 6 to 23 months of age:

Menu of solid food for babies 6 to 8 months

Here are some types of complementary food menu recipes (MPASI) that you can choose for babies aged 6 to 8 months:

1. Rice with a mixed team of mustard greens and chicken

First of all, make a thin porridge out of white rice. Add the boiled mustard greens, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons of shredded chicken, blended until smooth.

Cook the recipe for complementary foods for this 6 months baby's breast milk until boiling.

2. Nasi team with beef stew with carrots and potatoes

As part of the stages of making a complementary food menu recipe for babies for 6 months, the first thing that needs to be done is to boil the beef.

Boil the beef until cooked, then add vegetables for babies such as carrots and potatoes to contribute nutrients, including vitamins for babies.

Stir until all the ingredients are well blended, boil and cooked, then add spices such as salt, sugar, or micin to taste.

Cook the rice until it gets a soft texture while mashing the meat and vegetable soup, then mix the two.

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until it gets a soft texture or according to the baby's ability to eat.

3. Rice mixed with tofu and chicory

To make this menu, boil the tofu and chicory until cooked while cooking the rice until it produces a soft texture as part of making the 6 months baby solid food recipe.

Next, put the tofu and cabbage in a blender or food processor , then mix with rice to produce a complementary food menu for ASI (MPASI).

Menu of solid foods for babies 9 to 11 months

Complementary food menu (MPASI) that you can serve for babies aged 9 to 11 months, such as:

1. Mashed potato with broccoli and bacon

In contrast to the solid food menu for ages 6 months to 8 months, the texture of baby food at the age of 9-11 months has generally improved considerably compared to the previous age.

So, you can start giving babies solid foods with a slightly coarse texture like chopped, but still easy for babies to eat.

Try making mashed potatoes with bacon and broccoli to supplement their nutritional needs.

The way to make it is by steaming potatoes, broccoli, and bacon until cooked then crushing it with a mash or fork.

Then, saute margarine and garlic while adding egg and milk to taste. Add the crushed ingredients and grated cheese.

2. Vegetable red bean soup with meat

Also introduce your little one to complementary food menu recipes (MPASI) made from nuts from an early age, even from the age of 6 months.

However, make sure you have processed it until it is completely smooth so as not to choke on the baby while eating.

Prepare the red bean soup first by sautéing the onions and celery while cooking the rice until it gets the right texture for the baby.

Next, boil the water and meat until it boils, then add the red beans and carrots then wait until everything is cooked.

Then add the sauteed onions and celery and cook again until done.

Combine rice, red bean soup, meat, and vegetables in a blender and food processor then puree until you get the texture you want for your baby.

Complementary food menu for babies 6 to 11 months

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

The following is an example of a menu recipe for complementary foods for breastfeeding or complementary foods for babies from 6 months to 23 months:

1. Puree Mango

Puree the fruit using food processor or a blender. Make sure you puree it until the texture of the MPASI menu is like mush.

You can offer fruit as a snack or as a baby snack. It's just that the fruit given should not be in the form of small or large pieces if the baby is 6-8 months old.

Just like the baby's morning, lunch, and evening meals, you have to blend or mash the fruit until it gets a creamy texture (puree).

Meanwhile, if the baby is already 9 months and over, you can give fruit the size of a baby's finger.

2. Biscuits

Puree the biscuits using food processor or blend until the texture is smooth like mush. If necessary, you can add a little water.

3. Potato and corn chowder

You can prepare complementary foods for babies aged 6 to 23 months by sautéing onions until fragrant then adding broth, corn, and potatoes.

When it is boiling, add the milk, then blend until smooth as part of the recipe for serving the solid foods for babies 6 months to 23 months.

You can adjust the texture of potato and corn cream soup according to the age and ability of the baby to eat.

Is it necessary to provide a single complementary food for babies?

The single MPASI menu is a solid food complementary to breastfeeding which consists of only one type of food.

Here's an example, for example, a baby is given rice porridge continuously for 14 days or about two weeks.

In other words, so every day the baby eats only one food without the addition of other types of food.

Likewise, when you want to give banana pulp, it means that the baby only eats bananas without being accompanied by other types of fruit.

This method of giving a single solid food menu to babies aims to see how the baby reacts to new foods since 6 months.

In short, if it turns out that the baby has diarrhea, constipation, or allergies after eating one of these foods, it can be more easily detected than when the baby eats a variety of foods.

In fact, the nutritional content of complementary foods given to babies must be sufficient for their body needs so that they can help the process of growth and development.

On its website, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that what is meant by "enough" in solid food is the amount (portion), frequency of distribution, consistency of food, and variations in the type of food.

All these components must be sufficient in the MPASI menu to meet the nutritional needs of the baby while still maintaining breastfeeding.

WHO actually does not clearly state that the MPASI menu given to babies from 6 months should be a single menu or not.

However, it is important to note that WHO strongly recommends that infant complementary foods since 6 months of age consist of a variety of food sources.

This is because one type of food is actually not enough to meet the increasing daily nutritional needs of babies.

In this case, a single MPASI menu does not enrich the baby's food intake, but instead limits the choice of food and nutrients.

If the goal is to find out whether the baby has a certain food allergy, you should still provide a varied complementary food menu since 6 months.

Only then can you find out if your child is allergic to certain types of food or not.

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