Protein for 6 month old

[keb2702]

Have been weaning my little one for a couple of weeks, all purées (fruit or veg) but I have read that I should be introducing iron/protein and also grains. How do I do this?! I don't feel I can just give him a piece of chicken or beef! Do I purée the meat? Sounds horrible....! And what counts as grains for a baby?
Any tips of how to do this would be great! All he has at the moment are fruit/veg purées (mostly from pouches as he MUCH prefers them to ones I make!) He loves them so he's getting 3 meals a day, but because of this I'd like to introduce more food types.

I should add, he is 6 months old today.

I puréed chicken in sauces, it didn’t look that nice but tasted good. I also gave DD mince as spag Bol without needing to purée and scooped the cod out of fish fingers when I was feeling less inspired

Dairy is your friend, good protein levels, yoghurt or melted cheese on things.

I also puréed fish quite a bit, also did baby led weaning so basically just give the 6mo a baby bel!

Just give him a bit of chicken or beef to chomp on. Babies gums are hard and they can actually chew more than you'd realise.

I didn't do a lot of meat based protein until a few months into weaning because I couldn't face the thought of blended meat. So protein from yogurt, eggs and cheese to start. Then fish and then shredded chicken and so on. Also there can be quite a lot of fruit in the shop bought veg pouches (it's a cheaper filler) and that makes it sweeter. That could be why your lo is showing a preference.

Lentils and beans are able to be given from 6 months. You could start to add some to the purees that you’re giving him, or make bean and lentil based dishes such as mild bean burgers, lentil curries and dhals for you and your DH and just give your LO some of what you’re having. A spoonful of cooked quinoa in the purée would also be ok.

Oh forgot to say actually if you move to meat, lamb is the best for wearing, most easy to digest, little known fact!

You can add protein to purees with a spoonful of peanut butter or soft cheese. Babies naturally like sweet flavours and baby food manufacturers exploit this. If you want your baby to grow into a child who eats your home cooked food, it makes sense to start off that way.

Yes, you can puree/mash meat and fish and also beans, lentils and egg, cheese sauces are good.

Finger foods - boiled eggs, meatballs, strips of chicken or fish, peanut butter, soft cheese or hummus on toast or crackers can all be gummed!