Which food groups do babies need most of?

[TickledOnion]

DD2 is 8 months and weaning is going OK but I'm not sure how much of each food group to offer. She seems to prefer carbs (pasta and bread) and fruit but although these will fill her up i don't think they are great nutritionally. Should I offer her more protein? What about fat and veg?
Do you always offer a balanced meal?

AT 8 months, I wouldn't worry too much about getting a balanced meal as your little one is just getting used to new flavours and textures. But as my daughter got older, I found it useful to know a bit more about how much protein etc. my little one would be getting. I collected some info and have started a blog with the nutritional info I found and recipes that I developed. See here:
broccoliandricecakes.wordpress.com/
Whilst it is helpful to be informed, I also think that it is important not to get too bogged down by the daily requirements etc. It is easy to become too focused on having X amount of protein per day etc and so lose the joy of food!

Thanks Drladybird. Your blog looks good. I'm always looking for vegetarian ideas. We're not vegetarian but don't eat much meat.

Although we tend (culturally) to give newly weaned babies lots of stodgy carbs, they aren't really contributing much nutritionally. Breastmilk (or substitute) should still be providing most of their nutrition til 12 months so solid food is just to complement it - protein, iron and vitamins is what you're looking for so meat, pulses, green leafy veg, fruit is all better than lots of rice/porridge/biscuits.

Fats are important for brain development so you need to be offering a slightly higher fat diet for the next few years.

Don't worry too much at this stage about balance - just give lots of variety to get them used to eating different foods. Also think of a balanced diet in terms of a few days, not just per meal.

Most of her nutrition should still be coming from breastmilk or formula until she is about 12 months.