First Foods for Baby – What should they be?

Pumpkin. Apple. Squash. Sweet Potatoes. Carrots.

My favorite fall flavors… what do they have in common? Well, they just happen to be good as “baby’s first foods” as well!

Our little guy is several months away from eating foods. But as the harvests pile up in farmer’s markets and stores, I’m reminded how good it is to introduce babies to a variety of flavors and textures.

When we started our first son on foods, we weren’t shy about bringing in seasonal ingredients and exotic foods like avocado, hummus and more. Now, our two-and-a-half year old will eat just about anything, or at least try a bite.

Helping babies enjoy new flavors and textures helps their overall development as well:

• The subtle smell of a new food, a taste complexity and discovering a new texture is an important step on the path to solid food.
• As they grow older, babies become more “picky;” therefore, including a wide variety of foods in their diet as early as possible is important.

If you’re new to introducing baby foods, or maybe you have a picky baby, a great article to read is on the Earth’s Best website: “Infants’ Unpredictable Palates” – it discusses the natural progression of the tastes and interests of babies.

One reason I loved Earth’s Best jarred baby foods for our first son was the wide variety of all-natural and organic products that bring seasonal flavors to baby’s plate:

• 1st Foods – Squash
• 1st Foods – Sweet Potato
• 1st Foods – Apple or Pear
• 2nd Vegetables – Carrots
• 2nd Vegetables – Green Beans and Rice

Don’t forget, kids watch what you do and copy – so eat seasonal veggies in front of them, and offer new foods “early and often!” Don’t get discouraged! I read somewhere that babies need to try a new food fifteen times before deciding they’ll like it! So don’t expect too much the first few times! And encourage any bitty taste attempt!

To help you get started with great foods for your baby, Earth’s Best is offering a giveaway!

WIN IT: An assortment of Earth’s Best jarred baby foods! Enter in the Rafflecopter form below! Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIVEAWAY RULES: Open US/CAN. 18+ to enter/win. Winner will be emailed directly and have 48 hours to respond to claim their prize! Ends 11:59 on October 3, 2012. Fulfillment handled by Earth’s Best. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook.

This post was written as part of the Earth’s Best Blogger program. I was provided product samples to facilitate this post, and may be eligible for additional blogger rewards. All opinions are 100% my own.