Coconut and Banana French Toast

Lightly toast bread so it holds together, then cut it into finger-width strips your baby can grip. Toasting helps it firm up instead of turning gummy in the mouth. Most bread contains wheat, so introduce it on its own and watch for a reaction. Choose lower-salt bread when you can.

Stir a small amount of smooth peanut butter into a warm purée, oatmeal, or yogurt until it is thin and lick-off soft, with no thick blobs. This both gets the allergen in safely and avoids the sticky-glob choking risk. A thin smear on a soft strip of toast works too.

Use a fully ripe banana so it mashes easily between two fingers. Peel it and offer it as a smooth mash on a spoon, or hand over a finger-length strip the baby can hold with a bit poking out of the fist. A firm or under-ripe banana is harder to manage, so soften it by mashing.

Hard-cook the egg until both white and yolk are solid, then mash it smooth, or offer a well-set scramble or a soft omelet. A small amount, about a third of an egg, is plenty for a first taste.

Use a splash of plain coconut milk to enrich a smooth purée, porridge, or vegetable mash. It adds creaminess and works well stirred into the food rather than offered on its own.

Coconut in its hard, dry form is fibrous and tough, so it is not suited to this age as small shreds or chunks. General preparation information: offer the soft forms instead, such as plain coconut yogurt by the spoon, a little coconut milk or coconut cream blended into a smooth purée, or fresh young coconut flesh that mashes easily. Keep it unsweetened.

Cinnamon is a warm, sweet-smelling spice that adds flavor without any sugar. Stir a small pinch of ground cinnamon into oatmeal, mashed banana, apple or pear puree, or plain yogurt. Always mix it fully into a moist food rather than serving it as loose dry powder.