How to Build A Balanced Meal

I get lots of questions in both my clinic and on Instagram from parents wanting to know how much to feed their little one. It can be so tricky to figure this out, particularly early on in your little one’s solids journey. However, there is no prescribed amount that you should be feeding your little one – every baby is different and puree fed babes will differ from finger food babes.

Instead, I really like to teach parents how to build a balanced meal. This ensure that your little one is getting everything they need in one meal, optimizing nutrient intake for growth and development, but also ensuring they are feeling full for adequate periods of time. If offering exclusively finger foods, I would recommend starting with easy to eat ingredients like sweet potato, banana, avocado etc in the first week as your little one experiments with the skill of self-feeding. After a week or so, begin to offer a balanced meal.

Below, I have detailed each nutrient, and provide some example meals for you.

Nutrients

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are an important component of a meal for anyone, our little ones' included. Our brain and body use carbohydrates for energy and our little one’s are expending huge amounts of energy whilst growing and developing. This is particularly important when our little one’s are utilizing solid foods as their primary source of nutrition, after 12 months of age.

Examples: Vegetables (particularly root vegetables), Fruit, Grains, Legumes and Beans.

Iron/Protein

Iron is a particularly important nutrient, with requirements for 7-12 month olds, more than an adult male. Iron is necessary for adequate growth and development and proper functioning of the body.

Examples: Liver, Lentils, Beans, Sardines, Tofu, Spirulina, Eggs, Fish, Meat/Poultry, Oats, Iron Fortified Breads and Cereals

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is essential to ensure optimal absorption of iron, particularly iron that comes from plant sources. It is also a really powerful antioxidant, essential for proper functioning of the immune system.

Examples: All fruits and vegetables, particularly - Broccoli, Capsicum, Tomatoes, Citrus Fruit, Berries, Kiwi Fruit

Healthy Fats

Breast milk (and formula) is high in fat, however, adding dietary fat to meals will ensure your baby is receiving adequate energy from their meals, particularly when your baby is no longer breast or bottle fed. Omega 3 fats are beneficial to eye and brain development, the creation of hormones and is anti-inflammatory.

Examples: Avocado, Olive Oil, Hemp Seeds, Chia Seeds, Salmon, Sardines, Nuts, Avocado or Flaxseed Oil

Seasoning

Baby food doesn't have to be bland, so don't be afraid to add herbs and spices!! Small amounts of salt are more than appropriate to cook with, however avoid using added salt, as your little one’s tolerance for salt is relatively low.

Puree

If you are puree feeding your little one, aim to include at least one ingredient from each of the above categories, blitzing/mashing to the desired consistency.

Example 1

Carbohydrate: Quinoa

Iron/Protein: Chicken

Vitamin C: Broccoli + Pumpkin

Healthy Fats: Flaxseed oil

Seasoning: Garlic + Cumin

Example 2 - Porridge

Carbohydrate: Oats

Iron/Protein: Oats

Vitamin C: Apple + Raspberry

Healthy Fats: Chia Seeds + Milk

Seasoning: Cinnamon

Finger Foods

When serving finger foods, simply aim to include one food from each of the above groups.

Example 1 – Sardines + Avo on Toast w Broccoli

Carbohydrate: Toast

Iron/Protein: Sardines

Vitamin C: Broccoli

Healthy Fats: Avocado/Sardines

Seasoning: Rosemary

Example 2 – Bolognaise w Pasta

Carbohydrate: Pasta

Iron/Protein: Beef Mince

Vitamin C: Crushed Tomatoes

Healthy Fats: Grated Cheese or Drizzle of Flaxseed Oil

Seasoning: Mixed Herbs + Garlic

Example 3 – Moroccan Lamb Stew

Carbohydrate: Rice

Iron/Protein: Lamb + Chickpeas

Vitamin C: Berries

Healthy Fats: Cooking w Olive Oil

Seasoning: Herbs and Spices

Combination

Combination feeding can be a really wonderful way to optimize nutrient intake, but also ensure your little one is adequately exposed to finger foods too. If you take this approach, you could build a balanced puree meal, with the addition of one or two ingredients as finger foods, for your little one to play with.

Snacks (after 12mo)

Snacks don’t need to be as balanced, as they aren’t a complete meal and are typically a small offering, filling our little ones up just enough to get them through to the next main meal. So, instead of aiming for a completely balanced meal, I like to recommend trying to include ingredients from two of the below groups.

Example 1

Yogurt w Fruit (healthy fats + vitamin C)

Example 2

Cruskit w Nut Butter (carbohydrate + healthy fats)