Sweet potato, Black beans, Rice and Cheese
From 6 months · 4 foods
Ingredients
How to prepare each food
Sweet potato
Steam, roast, or boil until very soft, then offer as a smooth purée or a soft finger-length spear the baby can hold. Peel first.
Smooth purée, or a soft finger-length spear (about the width of an adult finger).
Black beans
Cook black beans until very soft, then mash or flatten each one well, or blend into a smooth spread (a no-salt hummus-style mash). Never offer a whole, intact bean at this stage. Skip added salt.
Mash or flatten every bean, or a smooth spread.
A whole, round bean is a choking shape. Mash or flatten each one until the airway-blocking shape is gone, and keep flattening round beans through the toddler years.
Rice
Cook rice until soft and sticky and let it cool to warm. Serve it as a thick mash or mix it into a vegetable, meat, or fruit purée. Sticky or short-grain rice that clumps is easier for a baby to handle than loose dry grains.
Serve as a thick, sticky mash or blended into a purée. No cutting needed.
Cheese
Use pasteurized, full-fat cheese and offer it finely grated or as a thin smear rather than in pieces. Sprinkle a little grated cheese over soft vegetables or stir it into mash or a soft pasta so it melts in. Choose a mild, lower-salt cheese where you can.
Finely grated or a thin smear stirred through food; never cubes.
A chunk or firm cube of cheese can block a small airway. Serve cheese finely grated, as a thin smear, or in thin soft strips, and avoid large firm pieces.
Putting it together
Prepare each ingredient using the age guidance above, then serve them together.
Cook with Lumi
In the nappi app, Lumi joins you in the kitchen. Chat about any recipe: adapt it to what you have at home, swap an ingredient, or ask questions while you cook.
Chat with Lumi in the appSources10
- AAP - Starting Solid Foods (around 6 months)
- NHS - What to feed your baby from around 6 months
- USDA FoodData Central - Sweet potato (nutrient data)
- AAP - Choking prevention guidance for infants and toddlers
- CDC - Foods that are choking hazards for infants and toddlers
- USDA FoodData Central - Black beans (nutrient data)
- FDA - Arsenic in rice and rice products
- AAP - Why infant formula instead of cow's milk before 12 months
- AAP - Introducing common food allergens to your baby
- USDA FoodData Central - Cheese (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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