Best and complete list of baby food chart for 6 month old baby!

When my daughter turned six months old, I was super excited! I had been waiting to start her off on solid foods for months– not because I wanted to stop breastfeeding our baby, but because there are so many different kinds of food for her to explore, I just couldn’t wait for her to start off on her culinary journey.

I was very sure that I would not feed my daughter any store-bought food. No packaged food, no processed food of any kind. I wanted to make sure our baby food was cooked at home fresh every day and most importantly, that she ate a variety of food to widen her palate.

However, when she turned six months and was ready for her first solid meal, was when I realized how confused I was about what to feed her. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure which fruit would be the best for her or which vegetable should I start with. I received so much advice – that did not help me either! It took me a while, but finally I was able to create a baby food chart, that took care of all my baby’s need and was very Indian in nature. This chart was basically a list of all the food that I could feed her, broken down into a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu format and it comprised of food that are readily available in our Indian markets and those that we are familiar with. This way I could pick and choose the food every day from the list and voila, the entire day’s menu was easily planned!

Once, I started following this chart, things became so much easier for me. I was able to provide her with a balance diet of different kinds of fruit, vegetables and grains and food never became boring for her.

In this article I will share this chart which I created for her when she was six months old. However, before I do so, there are certain things you need to keep in mind before you start your baby on solid food.

Babies should be started on solid food after they complete six months. Till then they should be only breastfed or formula fed. Even after introducing solid food, they should be given along with continued breastfeeding or formula feeding.
Do not force your child to eat something. If they like it, they will eat it. If they do not like it, wait few days and try again.
Do not force your child to eat a certain amount of food every day. Let them eat how much they can – babies know exactly how much food they want. Start out by feeding them one to two spoons a day only and gradually increase.
Once you introduce your baby to a new food, feed her/him the same food for at least three consecutive days, to rule out any allergic reactions.
Start your baby on single ingredient food and make sure the food is well-blended and runny. It should not be lumpy or thick.
Do not add salt or sugar to your baby’s food – they should be introduced only after one year
DO NOT feed your baby honey or milk before they turn one year old.
Avoid food such as peas, hard candy, seeds, raisins, nuts, popcorn, grapes and hard vegetables for the first year, since they are all choking hazards
Always consult your pediatrician first, before starting your baby on solid food.
Watch out for allergies. If your child shows any signs of an allergic reaction such as wheezing, rashes, breathing difficulty, diarrhea or blood in their stool, then consult your doctor immediately.

How will you know if your baby is ready for solid food?

Some babies may not be ready to start out on solid food as soon as they hit the six-month mark. And that’s absolutely OK. Keep a lookout for the following three requirements, which needs to be fulfilled, before starting your kids on solids.

Your baby can sit up with support. This is very important as it reduces choking hazards.
Your baby can swallow food and does not thrust it out with their tongue. Basically, the tongue thrust reflex has gone away.
Your baby reaches for the food and shows interest in food.

So, here’s the food chart I created for the first month of eating solids, week-wise.

6-Month Diet Chart – Week 1 and Week 2

Breakfast and Mid-morning Breakfast – Only Breastmilk or Formula

Lunch –

Day 1, 2 and 3: Mashed Banana or Boiled and Mashed Apple

Day 4, 5 and 6: Thin Rice Porridge or thin Ragi (Finger Millet) Porridge

Day 7, 8 and 9: Boiled and Mashed Carrot or Boiled and Mashed Bottle Gourd*

Day 10, 11 and 12: Mashed Banana or Boiled and Mashed Apple

Day 13, 14 and 15: Thin Rice Porridge or thin Ragi (Finger Millet) Porridge

Afternoon – Only Breastmilk or Formula

Evening – Only Breastmilk or Formula

Dinner – Only Breastmilk or Formula

6-Month Diet Chart – Week 3 and Week 4

Breakfast – Only Breastmilk or Formula

Mid-Morning Breakfast –

Day 1, 2 and 3: Mashed and Pureed Chikoo

Day 4, 5 and 6: Boiled, Mashed and Pureed Sweet Potato

Day 7 and 8: Mashed Banana

Day 9, 10 and 11: Boiled and Mashed Apple

Day 12: Rice Porridge

Day 13: Ragi Porridge

Day 14 and 15: Boiled, Mashed and Pureed Carrot

Lunch –

Day 1 and 2: Boiled, Mashed and Pureed Carrot

Day 3, 4 and 5: Boiled and Mashed Moong Dal

Day 6 and 7: Ragi Porridge

Day 8, 9 and 10: Boiled, Mashed and Pureed Carrot

Day 11 and 12: Boiled and Mashed Bottle Gourd

Day 13 and 14: Boiled and Mashed Apple

Day 15: Rice Porridge

Afternoon – Only Breastmilk or Formula

Evening – Only Breastmilk or Formula

Dinner – Only Breastmilk or Formula

NOTE:

Start your baby with small quantities of food, preferably one to two spoons to begin with and gradually increase the quantity.
Make sure the food is properly blended and pureed, so that there is no choking hazard.
If your baby rejects a particular food, wait for a week and then try it again.
Please follow the 3-day rule.
Keep a lookout for any signs of any allergic reaction and stop feeding immediately. Call your pediatrician immediately.

*Bottle gourd may cause colds in infants if the weather is also cold. Bottle gourd can be replaced with yellow pumpkin.

For those who want a printable table you can download the images below.