Around 6 months, your baby’s iron stores that they were born with start to decrease, therefore the first foods you should provide your baby with should be iron-rich. Iron is an important micronutrient as it is key component in growth and development of the brain. Here are a few tips on how to provide your baby with iron rich foods.
Iron Rich Foods
- Iron-enriched infant cereals
- Meat – beef, lamb, pork, kangaroo
- Chicken or turkey
- Fish (tinned tuna)
- Eggs
- Cooked tofu
- Legumes
- Dark leafy green vegetables
Tips for preparing purees
- Aim to have a few nights a week where your main family meal contains an iron rich food. Keep aside extra so you can puree some for your baby
- Do not add salt to the food you are cooking
- Baby can have pureed meat on it’s own, or with a pureed vegetable/grain
- Meat pureed on it’s own can have a grainy consistency. Adding a small amount of pureed vegetable could help make it smoother.
- You can choose to microwave, boil, steam or slow cook your meats before pureeing.
Beef and pumpkin puree
- lean stewing beef
- diced pumpkin
Add beef and pumpkin to a saucepan. Cover with water, bring to boil over heat and reduce to a simmer for 20-30 minutes or until softened. Alternatively place in microwave safe bowl with some water, cover and microwave until cooked through. Process in a blender with a few spoons of cooking water and blend until smooth.
Red lentil and cauli puree
- 1 cup dry red lentils
- ½ cup cauliflower florets
Cover lentils and cauliflower in saucepan with water and cook for 15 minutes until soft. Add lentils, cauliflower and a few spoons of cooking water to blender and blitz until smooth.
Foods high in Vitamin C :
If you eat a plant based diet, iron is less easily absorbed. Combining your iron foods with a Vitamin C food will help iron to be absorbed.
- Citrus
- Pineapple
- Berries
- Papaya
- Capsicum
- Tomato
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower