Fruit quantities
Just like with veggies, start with small quantities of about 3ml to 5ml (½ to 1 teaspoon) of one type of fruit. Serve them at lunch and dinner times, and even in the morning with cereal.
Slowly increase from 5ml to 15ml (1 to 3 teaspoons) at every meal, until your child is satiated. Have fruits separately before mixing them together.
As for fruit juices, you can introduce them in your child’s diet as soon as he can drink from a cup. Don’t give more than 60ml to 125ml (2 to 4 oz) of juice per day. Too much juice can interfere with your child’s food intake and it is known to cause cavities. Choose 100% pure sugar free juices.
Meat and poultry
Meat is your child’s main source of protein. It contains vitamins and minerals such as iron and zinc. Until your child is 2 years old, he only needs a small quantity of meat. With that in mind, don’t forget to feed your child meat or skimp on quality. Commercially sold meats in little jars are loved by children because of their soft texture. However, as your child gets older, the texture will start to bother him. Homemade meat purees are loved because of their texture and taste.
Meat and poultry quantities
Meat is given in small quantities of about 3ml to 5ml (½ to 1 teaspoon) at lunch and dinner times with the fruits and vegetables. Slowly increase from 5ml to 15ml (1 to 3 teaspoons) at every meal, until your child is full. Serve one meat exclusively for four to five days. By the time your child is 12 months old, he should eat 50ml to 100ml of meat every day, which is ½ to 1 little jar (3 to 7 tablespoons).
As soon as your child starts eating crushed foods, give him homemade meats. Don’t give spiced or salted meats such as sausage, ham, salami, etc. These meats contain too much salt, spices, nitrates and many more harmful ingredients. Wild meats can be given to your child once in a while, but make sure these meats have been handled properly and that they respect the hygiene regulations in relation to where they were hunted. Don’t use giblets because the contamination risks are high.
Fish
Fish is also a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals for your child. If you have access to good quality fish, you can give it to your child as often as meats, once or twice a week. The quality and freshness of these products is essential.
Fish choices
Fish such as haddock, flounder, halibut and cod are perfect for babies. Buy them fresh or frozen. Avoid giving canned fish to your baby since it contains too much salt.
Fish is not sold in little jars, so you will have to make it yourself. Nothing is easier! Rinse the fish thoroughly and make sure there are no more fish bones. Cook it in broth or in milk without adding any salt. Once cooked, reduce it into a puree or shred it with a fork.
If there are allergies or intolerances to fish or seafood in your family, be cautious and wait until your child is two or even four years old before giving it to him. For foods such as salmon, pollock, shrimp, lobster and shellfish, risks of allergies are very high with young children.
Eggs
Egg yolks are an excellent source of protein, vitamins, minerals and omega 3. The egg yolk must be cooked. To make your job easier, cook hard boiled eggs to make sure that there are no traces of egg white in the yolk. With egg whites being highly allergenic, the entire egg cannot be given to your child until he is 12 months old. In addition to being a reactogenic food, risks of infection with salmonella are high.
Egg quantity
You can try feeding your child egg yolks about two weeks after introducing meats. Start with 5ml (1 teaspoon) of egg yolk that you can mix in with the morning cereals. Slowly increase to a half egg yolk per day. Be careful! Don’t feed your child more than three egg yolks per week.
