Healthy & Best Foods for 1 Year old

Your one-year-old is just a baby and as a parent, you must be careful about what to feed and not to feed your baby. This is the age when you can try and give your baby all kinds of healthy food but make sure it is not too sugary or spicy. Don’t let your baby binge on junk food or aerated drinks. That’s the worst you could do for your baby as it can cause health issues in future. Let us take a look at what’s best for your one-year-old.

What to feed your baby

At 12 months, your baby can taste everything you eat but you should take care of the nutrition quotient. Each meal should be nutritiously enriched for your baby’s healthy growth.

You should feed healthy food like milk, dairy, eggs, meat, fish, and poultry, legumes like chickpeas, lentils or peas, nuts, orange, green vegetables, and fruits. Add a little oil or desi ghee to baby food for energy and healthy muscle growth.

How much food should your baby eat?

Your baby can eat one cup of food three to four times a day. You can also add one or two snacks between meals.

If you’re not a breastfeeding mom, your baby should eat more often. Milk products are considered healthy food for your baby, so it is very important to make them a part of a child’s diet. Your baby should be fed three cups of milk every day in the morning, evening and at bedtime.

Foods to avoid

Avoid giving junk food and soft drinks to your baby. Fried snacks like crisps, chips, cookies, soda, and candy are not healthy for children. These foods are high in sugar content, salt, fat, and chemicals. Your baby should eat healthy foods for proper growth and development.

Healthy food for a 1-year-old baby 

Here is a list of healthy food to pick from –

1. Peaches, Banana, and other fruits

At 12 months babies start touching and feeling food with their fingertips and tasting it. This is the best time to give finger-friendly foods to your baby. Start giving your baby healthy food like soft, fresh fruits. You can also give sliced bananas, strawberries, peaches, or mango.

2. Yogurt and milk

As your baby may slowly wean off breast milk or formula, it’s a great time to introduce cow’s milk. Milk and yoghurt are high protein-rich healthy food for babies and they also contain bone-building calcium, which helps in developing their teeth. 

You can also give whole-fat dairy milk or yoghurt at mealtimes or as a snack. You can also add diced fresh fruits or honey to yoghurt which is very healthy food for the baby.

3. Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a great option when your baby starts chewing. It’s very easy to swallow and digest and has the high nutritional value of protein, carbs, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.

Oats are also fibre rich that boosts the function of digestive tracts and keep them healthy.

4. Whole-grain pancakes

Pancakes are good for babies, and whole grains have high nutrition value, vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Whole-grain pancakes are a good meal choice for a 1-year-old baby’s diet. Whole grain releases prebiotics, which produces beneficial gut bacteria and boosts digestion. You can also add fresh fruits and honey as a topping.

5. Eggs

Eggs are a very healthy food for babies. They are good for eye health and proper brain development and have high nutrition values such as protein and healthy fats. You can give scrambled eggs and boiled eggs to your baby. 

It is very important to note that eggs are also allergy-causing food. Babies easily get prone to allergy, which may include symptoms such as hives, nasal congestion, digestive issues, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. You need to keep a watch for such indications.

6. Tofu

Tofu has rich nutrition value since it contains iron, calcium, and protein. Tofu can be served as a sweet or savoury dish. Silken tofu can be taken as smoothies or can be mashed into bananas, avocado, or cottage cheese. Tofu is considered a very healthy food for baby growth and development. You can also give tofu with soft vegetables, such as diced bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions to your babies.

7. Chicken or meat

Soft pieces of chicken are a healthy way to add more protein to your baby’s diet for proper growth and development. Avoid giving any hard pieces of chicken, as it will be difficult for your baby to chew or swallow. Also avoid giving spicy food, which might upset their delicate stomachs.

8. Avocados

Avocados are also a very healthy food for babies. Their creamy texture helps to provide high nutritional value for your child’s growth. According to the American Heart Association, 30–40% of your baby’s calories value should come from fat. Avocados contain healthy fats, which helps to grow a baby’s brain and heart.

9. Steamed broccoli, peas, and carrots

You can give steamed vegetables such as broccoli, peas, and carrots to your babies. Steamed vegetables are considered very healthy food for a baby’s growth. Broccoli, carrots, and peas are fibre and vitamin C enriched that help to support eye health, muscle-building.

10. Mashed beans

Mashed beans can be black, kidney, or white beans that have a high content of iron, to keep your baby’s blood cells healthy. 

Feed mashed beans to your babies along with food high in vitamin C, such as broccoli, diced tomatoes, or mashed sweet potatoes which will ease iron absorption efficiently.

Baby feeding tips

Start giving your baby his or her bowl of food that will help your baby to learn to self-feed. Use a baby’s high chair to seat your baby and give them enough time.

Initially, your baby will eat slowly and create a mess. Assist your baby to get most of the food in his or her mouth instead of on himself/herself or the floor. Encourage your baby to finish the food and give your baby lots of love and affection during meal times.

Sit with your baby and maintain eye contact while interacting with your child, give a smile and talk and praise your baby while eating.

Be calm and accepting. Give your child positive attention when he/she does eat, but don’t make it a problem when he/she doesn’t eat. Just take the food away, cover it, and offer it to her again a bit later.

These feeding tips will help you to handle this messy phase when babies learn to feed themselves independently. This milestone will not be reached overnight so you need to go really slow and keep your patience.

FAQ

1. What food should not be given to a 1-year-old baby?

Stop giving junk food and soft drinks to your baby. Fried snacks like crisps, chips, cookies, soda, and candy are not healthy for children. These foods are high sugar content, salt, fat, and chemicals. Your baby should eat healthy food for proper growth and development.

2. What should I feed to 12 months old baby?

You can feed streamed vegetables, broccoli, carrot, peas, mashed beans, yoghurt, milk, chicken, multigrain pancakes, peaches fruits to your baby.

3. Which fruit is best for the 1-year-old baby?

Peaches, bananas, and strawberries are healthy food for babies. Avocados are also very healthy food for babies. Their creamy texture helps to provide high nutritional value for your child’s growth. Avocados contain healthy fat that is good for babies.

4. What food develops a baby’s brain?

Eggs are very healthy food for babies. They are good for eye health and proper brain development and have high nutrition value such as protein, healthy fats. Avocados contain healthy fats, which helps to grow a baby’s brain and heart.

5. At what age can babies eat cooked rice?

Babies as young as six months can be fed cooked rice provided it is properly mashed. You can some butter or ghee, and some dal and boiled vegetables. You can even make a yummy khichdi using rice and moong dal. Cooked rice is a proper meal and you can safely feed this at lunch or dinner.

Healthy growth and development do depend on the diet you provide. It is important to ensure that your baby gets wholesome balanced nutrition so that he or she can grow and achieve developmental milestones. Feeding right is very important if you want a healthy and active baby.