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Question:
My daughter is eight months old and I prepare all of her solid
foods from fresh fruits and vegetables. When do I begin feeding
her what we eat at dinner?
—
Yvette, DC |
Rachel
Johnson
Answer:
It
sounds like you are right on track with the introduction of solid
foods in your daughter's diet. Infants learn to chew at about
six or seven months of age, thus at this point they are developmentally
ready to consume some solid foods.
Between six to twelve months of age infants can
gradually receive greater amounts of food from the family menu and less and
less of pureed and strained items. Foods should be carefully selected and
modified so that they are presented in a form that can be manipulated in
the mouth without the potential of choking and aspiration, as may occur
with items like whole grapes, nuts, and hot dogs.
If you serve her
lentils, make sure they are well- cooked and mashed. You can also begin to
gradually introduce well-cooked ground meat dishes, such as ground meat in
gravies or sauces. Continue to breast-feed your daughter or provide her
with an iron-fortified infant formula until at least one year of age.
| About
Rachel Johnson |
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Rachel Johnson, RD, MPH, PhD is Associate Dean of
Research for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
and Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition
and Food Sciences at the University of Vermont. Dr.
Johnson earned a Ph.D. in Nutrition from The Pennsylvania
State University, and a Master of Public Health degree
from the University of Hawaii. She's a member of the
USDA/USDHHS Dietary Guidelines Scientific Advisory
Committee, American Dietetic Association (elected
member, Commission on Dietetic Registration), and
the American Dietetic Association Pediatric Nutrition
Practice Group. Dr. Johnson has served as the chair
of the sugars subcommittee of the Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee (2000 edition). Her research expertise
is national nutrition policy, nutrition and young
children, dietary intake methodology, and energy metabolism.
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