Commercially or home-prepared vegetables or fruits can be fed to babies. Examples of vegetables and fruits to feed include:
- Commercially prepared baby food such as: green beans, green peas, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, spinach, applesauce, apricots, bananas, peaches, pears, and plums.
- Home-prepared vegetables (cooked and processed to the appropriate texture), such as: asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, green beans, green peas, kohlrabi, plantain,potatoes, summer or winter squash, and sweet potatoes. Home-prepared collard greens, carrots, spinach, turnips and beets should only be fed to babies 6 months of age and older.
- Home-prepared fruits (which can be mashed after peeling if ripe and soft) such as: apricots, avocado, bananas, cantaloupe, mango, melon, nectarines, papaya, peaches, pears, and plums. Stewed pitted dried fruits can be pureed or mashed. Apples, pears, and dried fruits usually need to be cooked in order to be pureed or mashed easily.
Pattern if they:
- list vegetable or fruit as the first ingredient in the ingredient listing on the label
- list vegetable or fruit as the first ingredient and contain multiple vegetables or multiple fruits
Additional foods:
- Jarred cereals, desserts, or puddings that list a fruit as the first ingredient in their ingredient listing.
- Commercially prepared baby food vegetable or fruit with a label stating that the first ingredient is water.
Make sure to carefully read the ingredient listing of commercially prepared baby food fruits and vegetables. Plain commercial baby food vegetables and fruits generally:
- contain more nutrients ounce for ounce
- do not usually contain concentrated sweeteners (e.g., sugar) or salt
- may contain fewer ingredients that could possibly cause an allergic reaction.Babies who cannot consume milk products because of milk allergies, lactose intolerance, or galactosemia should not be fed commercial baby food dinners, vegetables, or other products containing milk products such as milk, cheese, whole milk solids, yogurt, or nonfat dry milk (e.g., some creamed corn products, creamed spinach). Read food labels to check ingredients.
Source: Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion(usda.gov)
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