Shop bought ingredients suitable for babies?

[charcb]

Hi everyone!
What would you recommend as ingredients that I can just buy straight off the shelf that I can use for baby feeding and to put together quick lunches and snacks? Here's the list I came up with so far - think these are okay but feel free to correct me??

Greek yogurt (to serve with mashed fruit)
Oatcakes (to serve with cream cheese / hummus / avocado)
Fish cans in water
Cans of fruit with no added sugar / in water, not syrup
Rice cakes (to serve with cream cheese / hummus / avocado)
Cous cous as a base for quick meals
Nut butters (to serve on bread or with banana)
Ready to use lentils
Pitta bread (for pitta pizza)

Your baby can have egg white & meat/fish from 6 months.. completely incorrect to say they can’t. You also don’t need to start slowly, one at a time. We did weaning by the book with DD1 and she’s really fussy. DD2 was just given whatever we were eating without salt & she eats like a champ 🙈

Just keep an eye on salt & sugar. Salt in particular. We still give out 4 year old & 1 year old the baby rice cakes! They still like them & there is added sugar, so a quick & easy snack on the go! Not particularly nutritious but they seem them as a treat, so it’s a win for us!

If you haven't found it already I find www.solidstarts.com an amazing source for what is OK and what's not at different ages and how to prep foods. The only thing to note is that it's an American site so says no runny egg before 1 but that's OK in the UK because of the lion mark.

Also remember to introduce all of the allergens early and once introduced keep giving them (per NHS). I keep forgetting to do fish because I don't eat it!

I've found it good to have some savoury muffins in the freezer - a bit of work upfront but defrost in the microwave and you have a really quick and easy lunch on those days when you're rushing from place to place.

@grey12

No egg white or honey until 1 year No meat/fish until 9/10 months Avoid salt and added sugar as much as possible

For the first few months we did broccoli, carrots, courgettes, bread, fruit, yogurt, egg yolk (soldiers are a good idea), cheese. Starting slowly, one at a time ;)

This is no longer relevant advice. Egg White, meat and fish all fine from 6 months. Many parents go for baby led weaning which means just giving them normal food - possibly with reduced salt.

Canned fruit is not great as it always has added sugar, always in juice or syrup rather than plain water. Fresh or frozen fruit is much better.

No egg white or honey until 1 year No meat/fish until 9/10 monthsAvoid salt and added sugar as much as possibleFor the first few months we did broccoli, carrots, courgettes, bread, fruit, yogurt, egg yolk (soldiers are a good idea), cheese. Starting slowly, one at a time

Egg whites are fine.

Agree no honey under 12 months due to the potential risk from Botulism.

Fish abs meat are absolutely fine from 6 months. Why wouldn't they be?

Offering foods without added salt or sugar is good advice though.

The NHS has a list of foods to avoid giving a baby here which is very useful.

Oh and there's absolutely no need to introduce one food at a time unless there are allergies I'm the family and LO is under the care of a Paediatrician or Paediatric Dietician. This is very outdated advice.

Weetabix and avocado are good quick-to-prepare foods. Beware of bananas though - they might make your baby constipated.

Meat and fish are great first foods - it’s important for babies to get enough iron, vitamin B12, zinc and omega 3 oils in their diets. Egg white is fine too. The things to avoid are honey, salt, sugar and anything that might be a choking hazard.

On the odd occasion when you do get time to cook, put some of your food through the blender and freeze it in small tupperwares or ice cube trays.

Some examples of purees that I have made for DS:
tomato, beef, potato and onion
chicken and mango
tuna, sweetcorn and blueberry (but check the salt content of the tuna and don’t use tuna that is canned in brine)
tomato, kidney bean and broccoli
butternut squash, beef and pineapple