Months 8-12 | Mamalogue

From 8 to 12 months, I moved to three meals a day. In the morning, I gave grains like millets, buckwheat, or oats, and sometimes I added fruits too. Please avoid adding any artificial sweeteners like sugar or jaggery until your baby is at least 2 years old. Instead, you can naturally sweeten the food with fruits like banana, grated apple, pear, or other soft fruits. In the afternoon, I usually gave lentils with rice and vegetables, or pulses with vegetables like carrot, beetroot, pumpkin, broccoli, or drumstick. Sometimes I mixed everything together, and sometimes I steamed the vegetables separately and served them on the side. I also gave fruits after lunch or with lunch, like avocado, and sometimes I even did combinations like avocado, salmon, and rice. At night, I kept it simple with rice and egg, usually omelette, and sometimes I grated a little apple or pear into the omelette for extra taste and softness, along with some cooked vegetables.

Buckwheat

Take about half a glass (small glass) of buckwheat, wash it two to three times, and soak it for 6 to 8 hours.
In the morning, put the soaked buckwheat into a pressure cooker and add about three times water.
Give two whistles and switch it off. After about 20 minutes, give two more whistles and check if it is fully cooked and soft.
In the beginning there may be extra water, but after a few times you will understand how much water works best.

Oats

Wash the oats well.
Lightly pulse them in a blender to break them into smaller pieces. Do not powder completely.
Take the oats in a bowl, add 2–3 times as much water as oats and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes until very soft.
You can add mashed banana or grated pear or apple into this.
Add more water if needed and cook well before serving.

Pancakes (Rice Flour, Wheat Flour, Sorghum (Jowar) Flour, Amaranth Flour)

If egg is not given at night, you can use one egg, one banana, and a little flour. Mix well with water.
Take a pan, add ghee and make well cooked pancakes.
If you prefer egg-free, just mash banana with flour and make pancakes.
No need to add salt or anything else before 12 months.

Millets (Little Millet, Barnyard Millet, Foxtail Millet, Kodo Millet)

Wash and soak the millet for 2 to 4 hours.
Add three times water in a pressure cooker and give one whistle. Lower the flame for a few minutes or switch off after two whistles.
After 15 minutes, give two more whistles and check if it is well cooked and soft before serving.

Ragi

Take whole ragi and wash it well about 7 to 8 times. Soak it for around 8 hours.
In the morning, add the soaked ragi to a blender with enough water and grind it well.
Strain the mixture to get ragi milk.
Pour the strained liquid into a pan and cook it well, stirring continuously, until it thickens and is fully cooked.
If you want to make it slightly sweet, you can add mashed banana or grated apple or pear.

Dalia (Broken Wheat)

Wash the dalia well and soak it for about 4 hours.
Add it to a pressure cooker with enough water and give 1 to 2 whistles, then switch it off.
After 15 minutes, give 2 more whistles and check if it is soft and fully cooked.
You can serve it plain or add mashed fruits like banana, apple, or pear.

Quinoa

Wash quinoa well and soak it for 6 to 8 hours.
Add it to a pressure cooker with enough water and give 2 whistles, then switch it off.
After 15 minutes, give 2 more whistles and check if it is well cooked and soft.
You can serve it plain or mix it with fruits if you like.

Sweet Potato

Wash the sweet potato well, peel it, and cut it into small pieces.
Steam it until soft, then mash it lightly. You can first offer some mashed sweet potato.
Shape the rest into small finger-shaped sticks, so the baby can hold them easily. You can mix in a little oats flour if needed, or keep it plain.
Heat a pan with a little ghee and lightly pan-fry the sticks until they turn slightly golden.
Let them cool and serve as an easy finger food.

Pulses (Green Peas, Chickpeas, Brown Chickpeas, Green Gram, Black-Eyed Peas)

Soak the pulses for about 8 hours.
Add them to a pressure cooker with enough water, half a small onion, half a small tomato, and a little cumin powder. I did not add salt before one year, and pepper only after one year.
Give 2 to 3 whistles and let it rest. If not very soft, give one or two more whistles until fully cooked.
In the beginning, since the skins can be hard and babies may not have enough teeth, I blended it well and served it smooth.
Sometimes I added vegetables like carrot, beetroot, or pumpkin while cooking. I would serve this along with mashed potato, potato fritters, boiled carrots, lightly fried brinjal, or even fish on some days.

Potato (Mashed or Fritters)

Wash, peel, and steam the potato until very soft.
You can mash it and serve it plain.
Or shape it into small finger-shaped patties and lightly pan-fry in a little ghee until slightly golden.
I kept it simple and did not mix or hide vegetables in it.

Carrot/ Beetroot/ Pumpkin Rice

Soak yellow/ red lentils with jeera/ organic sona masuri brown rice for 1 to 2 hours.
Add it to a pressure cooker with grated carrot/ beetroot/ pumpkin, half a small onion, a little turmeric, and cumin powder.
Give one whistle, wait 10 to 15 minutes, then give another whistle until everything is soft and well cooked.
While serving, I sometimes added one tablespoon of fresh curd and mixed it well to make curd rice. I did not use sour curd. I kept the curd outside for a few minutes so it was not cold before mixing it into the warm rice.
You can serve a few soft carrot/ beetroot/ pumpkin strips separately for the baby to hold and mix the rest into the rice.

Cucumber Rice

Soak jeera rice for 1 to 2 hours.
Add grated cucumber, little carrot, half a small onion, and a little turmeric into the pressure cooker.
Give one whistle, wait 15 minutes, then give another whistle until well cooked.

Along with these, I sometimes added vegetables like beans or drumsticks while cooking. You can make it with more dal and less rice, more rice and less dal, only dal, or only rice. The main idea is to offer different vegetables and make sure everything is cooked soft and easy for the baby to eat.

For lunch, I usually alternated meals. One day I would give lentils with rice, and the next day I would give different pulses. I made sure to include some vegetable every single day, changing it regularly so she could try a variety. Before one year, I gave fish only a few times, but after she turned one, I started giving it more often.

Dinner was always simple. Most nights I gave egg and rice.

For the egg, I made omelette in two ways. One way was to beat the egg well in a bowl, cook it in a pan with a little oil or ghee on both sides, then cut it into small strips and serve. Another way was to beat the egg and mix in a little grated apple or pear, cook it well on both sides, and then cut and serve.
For rice, I used well cooked boiled rice. In the beginning, I blended it slightly to make it softer because it was harder for her to bite. After she turned one, I cooked it very well and just mashed it lightly with my hands before serving. If I had not added ghee earlier in the day, I would add a little at dinner.

Along with this, I sometimes served boiled vegetables, or a small portion of pulses or curry that was made without spice for her.

Continue to After One Year