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We are planning to introduce meat to our 7.5 month old. What would be the best to start with?

We have some commercial stuff which contains beef, other sources said chicken or turkey... I'm a bit confused now what to believe.

We want to prepare the food ourselves, as is has - so far - proven fun and is said to be better than the Nestle etc. premade stuff.

flag	asked Jan 18 at 20:17 brandstaetter 2,040●2●10

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+1 for wanting to make your own food for your baby. – cat_g Jan 19 at 5:04

Emi · Accepted Answer · 2010-01-19 09:36:08Z UTC

I wholly support not using the processed stuff.

We introduced solids at 6 months, and were adivsed to introduce small amounts of chicken, fish and red meat in to her diet consecutively.

We would mix a small amount of the meat(almost completed pureed) into the vegetable dish my daughter would be having for lunch that day.

She had meat only once a day until 9 months and then twice a day after that.

Although at the time I didn't quite see how such small amounts of meat could add taste, I later saw that she indeed had become used to the taste of all the meats.

I also recommend minced meat (also it is a great accompanying pasta)

Our doctor always said that more variety our baby was exposed to the better.

Kate · Answer 2 · 2010-01-18 22:08:53Z UTC

I personally start with chicken because:

a) we eat a lot of it,

b) its flavour is mild enough that it mixes well with vegetables, and

c) it is easy to digest.

I don't think it matters too much though - the important thing is to get them eating some sort of meat (beef, pork, poultry, fish) for the iron & protein. WholesomeBabyFood.com is a great resource for all things food related.

Personally, I introduced the various meats to my kids fairly quickly (while following the 3-day wait rule,) and although they both seemed to prefer chicken or turkey, they never had any issues with the other types.

Mary · Answer 3 · 2010-01-18 21:40:06Z UTC

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I would introduce the Chicken first as well, if you can Make it your self I tried the pre-made baby food kind with my kids and they hated it. I tasted it and totally GROSS so if you make it your self,

answered Jan 18 at 21:40

Mary
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We had the same experience, at least with the store-bought meat. It looks gross and tastes gross, and she really didn't like it. No wonder. – Scott♦ Jan 18 at 23:29

Meg Stephenson · Answer 4 · 2010-01-18 22:00:26Z UTC

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Fish tends to be softer and easier to either mush up in advance, or for baby to "chew". Although, as I recall, we introduced minced (I think it's called ground in the US) beef in bolognese sauce fairly early.

answered Jan 18 at 22:00

Meg Stephenson
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+1 for fish. We started with salmon. – cat_g Jan 19 at 5:03

BetsyB · Answer 5 · 2010-01-19 03:05:08Z UTC

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We started with ground turkey. I cooked it, then pureed it with some water. I froze it in an ice cube tray, so...meat cubes! We started him on half a cube per meal, but now he eats a full one mixed in with a veggie and some rice. I figured the turkey was pretty bland (I didn't add any spices), so that was a good place to start.

answered Jan 19 at 3:05

BetsyB
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	+1 great idea to freeze in cubes! and to use turkey meat! – Emi Jan 19 at 5:53
	+1 we already read about the ice cubes somewhere and use them to keep our self-prepared veggies fresh and to add more variety. – brandstaetter Jan 19 at 15:32

cat_g · Answer 6 · 2010-01-19 06:17:07Z UTC

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I agree with wanting to make your own food for your baby. We've gone one step further in that I don't usually make anything different for the baby - he typically eats little bits of whatever we are eating.

The first meat we offered our baby was baked salmon when he was about 6.5 months. Baked salmon is very easy to flake into small pieces that a young baby can easily munch on. The second time I offered our baby meat, I gave him a piece of chicken from a stew I had made. Stewed meat is also very tender and flaky and easy to munch on.

edited Jan 19 at 6:17

answered Jan 19 at 5:02

cat_g
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	+1 for starting at 6.5 months and for fish. – Emi Jan 19 at 5:51
	+1 for not making separate meals for baby. – lgritz Jan 19 at 7:55
	We are following the recommendation that babies should not be confronted with salt and spices, so no food sharing (yet) – brandstaetter Jan 19 at 15:33
	@branstaetter: When we first introduced meat, I would only share pieces with the baby that didn't have seasoning. For example, when I bake salmon I put spices on the top so I would give him a piece from underneath. I agree with not giving the baby salted foods. We don't use salt when we cook for ourselves, so this isn't a problem for sharing food when I make it. However, after sharing some bland meat a few times, I started to offer him bits of food that had been seasoned with garlic, onion powder, basil, oregano, etc. and was pleasantly surprised that he really enjoyed the flavours! Good luck! – cat_g Jan 19 at 20:09

Introducing meat

6 Answers