Your child’s food diversification has been well under way for six to eight months and he is starting to tell you what he likes… or not! New textures appear on his plate and his nutritional needs increase. We take stock.
New textures on baby’s plate
Real revolution of this second year, the progressive change of texture of its food. Normal, his mouth is filled with incisors between 9 and 12 months and first premolars around 18 months.But each child has their own rhythmso no need to force it!
In summary: everything is mixed or ground (from 8 months) up to about 12 months. At this moment : introduce the little ones parts soft fish, eggs, soft cheeses, very ripe fruit mixed with dairy desserts or presented in small pots.
Between 12 and 18 months, introduce them to minced meat or fish, then small pieces for all food categories, finely grated raw vegetables, well-cooked rice.
Nutritional needs: how much should baby eat between 12 and 18 months?
To replenish energy: the child has need 1,000 to 1,100 calories per day, divided into four meals – 25% for breakfast, 35% for lunch, 15% for afternoon tea and 25% for dinner. In the different food families: 50 to 55% carbohydrates (sugars, starches, fibers), 30 to 35% lipids or fats (including those hidden in various foods), 10 to 15% protein ( meat, fish, egg, above all), i.e. 25 g.
Baby also needs vitamins (in particular 60 mg of vitamin C) and minerals: 500 mg of calcium, 360 mg of phosphorus, 7 mg of iron, 80 mg of magnesium…
Varied meals: what does a baby eat at 1 year old?
We awakens his taste maximum: his food preferences began to develop very early, before he was born, but it was around 2 or 3 years oldthat they can be modified and enriched. So you can make him look, smell, touch, food on the market, in the shops, on the plate… In short, introduce them to new flavours.
Do not impose the whole milled or the pieces overnight, but alternate known textures and foods with new ones, accept “rollbacks”, and try again a few days later.
Milk: how many bottles from 12 months?
the growth milk is recommended up to 3 years old baby.It provides a lot of calcium and the right dose of essential fatty acids, an iron supplement, vitamin D (to bind calcium) and less animal protein than conventional milk. Failing that: whole milk but above all not semi-skimmed or milk of vegetable origin. A child of this age should consume 500 ml of milk per day.
Alternating with dairy products: cheeses, source of protein of as good quality as those provided by meat, fish or eggs, fat and above all calcium (20 g of Gruyère provide 200 mg of calcium, such as 45 g of camembert, 1 yoghurt, 3 petit-suisses of 60 g and 200 ml of growth milk.
Those who are the richest: hard cheeses (parmesan, gruyère, beaufort, etc.) which contain more than 1,000 mg per 100 g, followed by cantal, edam and comté (more than 800 mg). And the poorest: “cheese specialities” with more than 60% fat, to spread, and processed cheeses made from fresh dough: around 150 mg.
How much meat and animal protein?
Meat or fish should be eaten once a day at a rate of 25 g, i.e. the value of 5 mixed teaspoons. Preferably choose fish and lean meats (skinless poultry, veal, beef; hake, sole, flounder, whiting, etc.). Prioritize the steam cooking, en papillote, without salt but with a little herbs (lemon for the fish) and a drizzle of oil or a knob of butter. And always present them separately from vegetables and starches, ground then crushed with a fork for fish, finely chopped then in very small pieces for meat.
Dish: eggs in all forms for babies
The egg belongs to the same family of foods, proteins, as meat and fish, of which it is a good alternative. Twice a week maximum. At 1 year, the child eats a third of a hard-boiled egg. Around 18 months, serve him a tablespoon ofscrambled or omelet eggs family preparation, which allows many variations: with tomato, herbs, cheese, mushroom, asparagus, onion… Or even a fried eggmaking sure he doesn’t choke on the crispy fringe of the fried white.
Fruits and vegetables: at all baby meals
All fruits are allowed to him, if they are very ripe, even the kiwi if it is not allergic. As for new vegetables, introduce him to raw and cooked mushrooms, cooked celery (if he is not allergic), mature avocado. Offer him, from 15 months, pulses (lentils, split peas, beans, cooked in two waters and ground).
From the age of 1, introduce them to raw vegetables: young carrots, seeded cucumber, peeled tomatoes (after being boiled for 10 seconds) and seeded, lettuce leaves cut into thin strips. Season with a drizzle of oil, possibly with a little lemon. To serve at lunch so that his intestines have the time to digest the hard fibers.
- At breakfast, a fruit juice or fruit.
- At lunch, a starter of raw vegetables, from time to time. The main course will include a cooked vegetable (200 g) with or in alternation with starchy foods. Sometimes a puree of pulses.
- As a snack, a fruit, a juice or a compote (130 g). For dessert, a compote (130 g) or a fresh fruit in small pieces (soft and tender at first) or a dairy product.
- At dinner, a vegetable soup (200 to 250 ml) or 200 to 250 g of vegetables and/or starches, 130 g of cooked fruit.
What breakfast? Baby bread slices
Infant cereals in the bottle can now be replaced from time to time with a slice of bread: at lunch or as a snack, in breadcrumbs dipped in an egg yolk, with a slice of cheese… Bread provides slow carbohydrates which satisfy. Another advantage: bread promotes chewingwhich activates the first stage of digestion (salivation), effectively trains and shapes the jaws and teeth.