Stage 3 Baby Food: The First Bite of Solid Food?
The period of surviving on bowls of soupy carrots, mushy cereals, and occasional slightly texturized chicken has finally come to an end. Now the actual gourmet fun is about to begin which is Stage 3 baby food.
During Stage 3 baby food, milk bottles or formula should become a supplement and not the primary source of nutrition for the baby. Stage 3 baby food is teaching a baby to eat baby food with their hands. To offer them a balanced, healthy dinner and introduce them to the variety of foods that nature has provided. Meal preparation must include the scheduled and patterned introduction of a variety of foods, that are appropriate for their age, letting them feel and taste the different textures.
What is Stage 3 Baby Food?
Stage 3 baby food is characterized by foods that are easy to chew and swallow. They are still somewhat pureed food. But the baby doesn’t have to be limited to only eating things that are essentially mush with no texture. By now infants have developed a few of their teeth and Stage 3 baby food allows them to chew with their developing teeth. They must be given food in soft, simple-to-digest pieces or cubes. The infant may be given to try a variety of texturized food, further developing their palate. Combinations of textured foods teach children to taste the meal and awaken their taste buds.
When to introduce stage 3 baby food
A majority of parents are unaware of the appropriate age for introducing Stage 3 baby food meals. Even though there is no proper age to introduce Stage 3 baby food. It is recommended that around 9 months old, infants can start receiving stage 3 purees and chunky baby food. The child will likely have gotten a lot of practice by eating smooth purees of fruits and vegetables throughout Stage 2 baby food. Infants at this stage, also consume less breast milk or formula than usual, mostly as a supplement. A Stage 3 feeding plan for the infant should consist of chunky puree foods which are easy to chew. Kids begin teething around this time, and they start hunting for something to chew on to help them deal with the discomfort of their new tooth. So, introducing Stage 3 baby food comes as the perfect solution.
Signs do babies need to transition to stage 3 baby food?
It’s usually time to start the stage 3 baby food stage if your baby has successfully endured pureed, liquefied, soupy, and squished meals. You’ll notice that your baby’s hand-eye coordination has improved for about six months. Around 9 months old, babies have developed their pincer grasp skills and have moved on to “pick up” or finger foods. They will be attempting to grab or knock items over by reaching out and grabbing random objects. These are indications that they are getting closer to independence ( either with a spoon or hand). They can now hold small cuts of food, and soft food pieces in their fingers and thumbs and move them closer to their mouths.
Examples of stage 3 baby food
Any food will be appropriate in Stage 3 baby food as long as the texture is appropriate. The food must be cut up into smaller bits. The food your family is eating could be served, but make sure the bits are manageable. Their diet includes a lot of solid food, so it’s critical to provide them with nutrient-dense options. Babies who are exposed to a range of foods develop their palates and build the foundation for a lifelong healthy eating lifestyle. A select group of suggested foods is suitable for Stage 3 eating, some of these are:
- Vegetables of any variety cook well or cut into managable pieces. Vegetables are dense in micro-nurients and are the best option for Stage 3 baby food.
- Soft ripe fruits, they can be mashed or cut. Bananas are great at this stage.
- Well-cooked soft, tender meat that has been shredded.
- The softest of cheeses, preferablymade with pasteurized
- Piping hot spaghetti, they can also be cut into small pieces to avoid chocking.
- Egg scrambles.
- Little tofu bits.
Recipes with stage 3 baby food
TOFU VEGGIE SCRAMBLE
Ingredients
- firm tofu block
- Mix vegetables – the more, the merrier
- any seasonings of your choice
- beans optional
Instructions
- A clean dishcloth, kitchen towel, or many layers of paper towels should be used to wrap the tofu block.
- To help weigh it down, place a large pan or baking sheet on top and a couple of cans of food.
- Let the water squeeze out of the tofu block for at least ten minutes.
- Crumble using a fork after being transferred to a big bowl. If there are large chunks, crumble them further as they won’t be coated in seasonings uniformly. But, take care not to overdo it since if they’re too small, they result in a product that is very dry and crumbly.
- Put the pan on medium flame and saute the onions.
- Once the onions have attained a little color, add the rest of the cut-up vegetables.
- After 5 mins add the tofu crumbles as well
- To add flavor you may season as you, please.v if you want to give it an Asian kick add some soya sauce (keep in mind the sodium content) or if you want to keep it simple just as some turmeric.
CARROT STARS
Ingredients
- Carrots that are peeled and grated
- Olive oil
- Pasteurized cheese
- Eggs
- Wholemeal flour
Instructions
- Line the baking tray with parchment paper or aluminum foil and preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Grate the carrots using a grater. If you don’t have a grater you can also finely chop them. The carrots should be placed in a paper towel to absorb any excess liquid.
- The grated carrots are added to a skillet with the oil already heated over medium flame, and cooked for about 5 minutes.
- After the carrots have softened transferred them to a bowl. Add the other ingredients (eggs and cheese) to the bowl with the carrots.
- Mixthe mixture with wholemeal flour to make a homogenous mixture.
- Using a biscuit cutter, cut out stars from the mixture after rolling it out.
- Put on a baking sheet, and bake for 13 minutes, or until the sides are crispy.
- For up to a week, store in an airtight container.
CHEESE MUSHROOM CAKES
Ingredients
- One medium potato
- Small leek
- Fresh chives
- One egg
- Vegetable oil
- All-purpose flour
- Breadcrumbs
Instruction
- Heat the oven to 180 C/350 F.
- Potatoes should be cube diced and boiled till done (for around 10 minutes). After draining, mash them with the help of a masher or the back of a spoon.
- Leeks, mushrooms, and other vegetables should be finely diced. Chop the chives roughly (if using).
- To the mashed potatoes, add cheese, leeks, mushrooms, and chives. Mix thoroughly.
- Create 8 to 10 tiny patties the size of your hand’s palm.
- Place the beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, and flour in three different bowls. Turn each cake in a coating. First coat it with flour, using the other hand dip the patty in the egg and finally coat it with breadcrumbs.
- Bake the cakes for 15 to 20 minutes on a baking sheet or until they become golden brown.
Foods to avoid during Stage 3
Salt
You shouldn’t salt your baby’s food, and you should restrict naturally salty things like cheese, bacon, and gammon.
This is because their kidney function has not fully developed enough to handle high salt intake. Less than 1g of salt should be consumed by infants under 1 year old.
Sugar
This also shouldn’t be added to any foods or beverages, and until a child is two years old, it’s better to limit their intake of sweet foods like cakes and cookies to avoid acquiring a taste for them.
Children are born with a natural inclination to sweet foods, thus, should not be exposed to more addictive sweet foods. Use fruits like bananas or apples if you need to sweeten food.
Shellfish and other seafood
Babies should never be given shellfish like mussels, oysters, or clams since they can make them sick and they may suffer from food poisoning.
Avoid fishes like sharks, swordfish, and marlins as they contain high levels of mercury, which might harm your baby’s nervous system.
Whole nuts
Use nut butter or powdered nuts instead of whole nuts since they provide to avoid the risk of a choking hazard to young children. n order to make them less dangerous. Other items like whole grapes, popcorn, whole cherry tomatoes, and enormous blueberries should be cut or smashed into smaller pieces.
Honey
Botulinum, a germ that can cause food poisoning, may be present in honey products. So it is recommended to not give any honey products to infants younger than one year old.
Cheese
A form of bacteria that can cause food poisoning may be present in mold-ripened cheeses like brie, camembert, ripened goat’s milk cheese, and soft blue-veined cheeses like Roquefort. For this reason, cheese that uses unpasteurized milk as its raw material should be ultimately avoided.
Tips for a safe transition from Stage 2 to Stage 3
Stage 3 baby food meals offer the baby a completely new sensory experience and have extremely diverse looks, textures, and flavors. Each spoonful of Stage 3 baby food comes in a variety of colors and sizes and has various textures. Each bite of these delicacies offers something new. Stage 3 offers soft, thick, thin, squishy, and abrasive textures in place of a single smooth texture. The food will have a different smell, and babies will need to use their tongues, gums, and mouth. Foods for stage 3 also require distinct motor skills. While some foods can be chewed with little effort, others may require rolling the food about in the mouth before chewing it. To put it simply, a child must put up a lot of effort to adjust to Stage 3 foods. Here are some pointers for beginning stage 3 foods:
Try introducing some “hard munchies” to your infant, such as celery and cucumber spears. The intention should be for them to chew it rather than swallow it. If they chew it and spit it out, that’s okay.
You may move on to solids that will melt on the tongue. Some good options include crackers, veggie sticks, and mini-biscuits. The next phase is to introduce soft cooked food cubes, such as cooked potato cubes, cooked carrot cubes, or cooked banana cubes.
Try “softer” items next, such as baked spaghetti, muffins, or lunch meats.
After infants get accustomed to the aforementioned, they are prepared for Stage 3 foods, which have a variety of textures and flavors.
