Beef, Tomato, Pasta and Onion
From 12 months · 4 foods
Ingredients
How to prepare each food
Beef
Serve beef in bite-size soft pieces, shredded, chopped, or ground. Slow-cook tougher cuts until they pull apart easily. Keep it cooked through and low in salt, and cut any firm pieces small.
Pea-to-bite-size soft pieces.
Whole or large chunks of beef are firm and can be hard for a baby to chew and break down. Keep beef puréed, finely shredded, or in small soft pieces rather than firm cubes, and supervise while your baby eats.
Tomato
Serve bite-size pieces of soft ripe tomato. Cherry and grape tomatoes still keep their round shape, so keep quartering them lengthwise into small pieces; do not offer them whole or simply halved.
Bite-size soft pieces; cherry/grape tomatoes still quartered lengthwise.
Cherry and grape tomatoes are a classic choking shape: whole or halved, they can block a small airway. Always quarter them lengthwise into small pieces, and keep doing so until about age 4. Peel and de-seed larger tomatoes, since the skin can bunch up while chewing.
Pasta
Most cooked pasta shapes work now as part of family meals, served soft. Keep added salt low. Long pasta can be cut shorter to make it easier to handle.
Serve in bite-size soft pieces. Cut long shapes into shorter lengths.
Onion
Soft-cooked onion can go into family meals in small pieces. If you offer raw onion later, keep it very finely chopped, since raw it stays crunchy and strong.
Small soft-cooked pieces; raw only very finely chopped.
Putting it together
Soften the onion, cook the beef with the tomato, then stir through the pasta.
Sources
- Meal idea from NHS
- AAP - Starting Solid Foods (around 6 months)
- NHS - What to feed your baby from around 6 months
- USDA FoodData Central - Beef (nutrient data)
- AAP - Choking prevention guidance for infants and toddlers
- CDC - Foods that are choking hazards for infants and toddlers
- USDA FoodData Central - Tomato (nutrient data)
- ESPGHAN 2017 - Complementary feeding position paper (gluten and allergen timing)
- AAP - Introducing common food allergens to your baby
- USDA FoodData Central - Pasta (nutrient data)
- USDA FoodData Central - Onion (nutrient data)
General informational content, not medical advice. Always consult your pediatrician about introducing new foods, especially if your baby has any medical conditions or family history of allergies.
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