What solid food can I feed my baby?

Someone asked me what solid food they could feed their babies who were intolerant to milk/dairy. Here's what I shared with her:

This is a list of foods to introduce to your baby with recommended ages that I got from one of my cookbooks ("Set For Life"):

0 - 6 months - breast milk, formula, or goat's milk

7-8 months - cereals (brown rice, millet, oatmeal, barley) You can buy the Gerber-type baby cereal and mix it with water and applesauce to flavor it, or you can make your own (healthier, but not fortified with iron). Make the cereal by putting the whole grain into the blender until it's a fine meal consistency. This cereal cooks in minutes using about a one tablespoon of the grain to one-third cup water.

8-10 months - in addition to the cereals, add vegetables and fruits, such as: squash, carrots, potatoes, green beans, peas, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, applesauce (unsweetened), bananas, peaches, pears, etc. These items are easy to cook up and mash or puree in the blender. I've also tried Cheerios later on as a finger food, and my babies have loved chewing and sucking on them with no problems.

10-11 months - add cooked eggs and legumes (NOTE: My oldest son was allergic to both eggs and milk, so if you are worried about that, then wait to introduce the eggs until you see an allergist or until they are 1 year old.) Black beans might make a nice finger food. Just rinse, heat, and serve, otherwise, mash up to a fine consistency.

11-12 months - add lean meats (cut up really small or pureed) and bread, cubed or diced

A few things that we did were when my kids were old enough, I gave them little bits of what we were eating for dinner (provided you are making dairy-free dinners). If we had steamed veggies, then I pureed some for them or let them try a couple of peas. If I had chicken, then I would puree or cut up a little bit for them to try (when they were older or could chew okay). To grind foods up quickly, I used a baby food grinder (like this: http://www.amazon.com/BabySteps-Food-Mill-by-Kidco/dp/B000067Q6J/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_ex). That said, a blender or food processor can work just as well, just add a little bit of water if it's dry. You could also try brown rice on the side either ground up or see how they do. I have some free recipes (like a dairy-free chocolate cake for the 1st birthday:)) on my website: www.milkallergycompanion.com and also on my blog.

As far as the teething biscuits go, I found these recipes, but haven't tried them yet:

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/teethingbiscuits.htm

Although I love whole wheat, I would wait until your babies are 1 year old before introducing it if you are worried about other food allergies. Stick with oats and rice. The same goes for strawberries, peanuts, honey, fish, etc.

Here are a few "meal" ideas that you could let them taste as soon as they are old enough or can chew well enough:

Chicken with rice and steamed veggies (make sure you flavor your chicken dairy-free or just salt and pepper theirs...you can boil the chicken and it will be tender.)
Cooked Macaroni Noodles with tomato-based spaghetti sauce and hamburger (you may have to cut this up; also the tomato sauce is a little bit acidic, so you'll have to see how they do. You could also offer plain pasta cut up very small.)
Oat pancakes with blueberry syrup (diced really small to try as a finger food. If you're worried about wheat allergy, then use white flour. If you don't have oat milk available, you can use rice milk or make your own.)
Turkey (cut up small) with peas and a baked potato, mashed up
Chicken 'n rice soup (you'd have to make sure that everything is cut up really small, or puree it in the blender)
Chicken Pot Pie (a little more of a complex meal)
Shepherd's Pie (another more complex meal)

Your babies will be just fine with fruits, veggies, and whole grains. They really don't need anything complicated at this point. Just try adding a new food every week and see how they do. Good luck!!!

Juventa