Meal Ideas: Month 8

Meal ideas for your 8-month-old baby, and mealtime tips for mummy and daddy.

By Health Promotion Board in collaboration with A/Prof Mary Daniel Lourdes, Head & Senior Consultant, Clinical Services, Department of Child Development, KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

At 8 months old, your baby should feel more comfortable and confident with solids. He’s able to pick up objects with his thumb and forefinger, and play with his food. The food you prepare should still be smooth and lumpy, without any big chunks of solids.

Recommended Number of Servings (8 months)

Wholegrains	Fruit	Vegetables	Meat and others	Milk (breast/formula)
1-2	½	½	½	500-750ml

Remember, this is only a recommendation; let your baby decide how much he wants to eat and don’t force him to finish everything!

Right now, your baby’s meals may typically be made up of a base wholegrain mixed with vegetable and meat/others, with a tiny portion of fruit when your baby feels up for it.

If you’re feeling a little bored by the same ol’ meal options, take a step back and see which of these meal components you can switch out! For example, instead of preparing pureed spinach, why not experiment with pureed red cabbage for a pop of colour?

There are countless yummy meal combos you and your baby can explore. Just mix and match and let your creativity go wild! Read on for ideas on what you can feed your 8-month-old child.

More Yummy Ideas for Mummy and Daddy

Gainful grains

You know the basics like brown rice porridge and infant cereal. You might have ventured out and tried feeding your baby other types of infant cereal: barley, oat, millet…

Now, you’re excited to branch out even further. Mashed potatoes can be a good option to porridge and cereal, although you might want to boost its iron and fibre content with some dark green leafy veggies like broccoli.

If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you could even try feeding your baby mashed barley or quinoa. One way to jazz up mashed bananas is to add in some quinoa for a different texture.

Fruitful additions

While apple and banana might still be your go-to fruit for the little one, you could try feeding him tropical fruit like papaya and mango. These are easy to mash and oh-so-yummy. And here’s a sweet bonus: if the little one refuses to try them out, you can give yourself a little tropical treat.

Your baby might also enjoy trying mashed berries: blueberry, raspberry, strawberries… Not only are they delicious, they are also high in antioxidants and vitamins.

And why not mix it up a little and make purees out of a combination of fruit: apple and banana, banana and mango, apple and berries, avocado and banana. The possibilities are endless.

Related: Superheroes of a Healthy Diet

Meet more meats

Chicken, lentils, tofu, fish. You might have tried feeding these to your baby. What’s next?

Feeling adventurous? Try a non-traditional poultry like duck, which can be easily pureed, and is more flavourful than chicken. Pork and beef/veal are also good alternatives to chicken, as is egg yolk that is fully cooked.

Add some zing

While we do not recommend adding seasonings like salt, sugar, and oil when preparing food for your child, you could try adding zest to junior’s meals by using herbs and spices.

Starter spices and herbs to try:

Pepper
Cinnamon
Ginger
Minced onion or onion powder
Minced garlic or garlic powder
Dill
Lemon zest
Basil
Turmeric

Make sure to start introducing these new flavours one at a time, 3 to 4 days apart and in tiny amounts. Watch out for allergic reactions and take your baby to the doctor if you spot any signs (e.g. swelling, wheezing, rashes).

Try These Solid Meals!

Breakfast

Brown rice cereal with breast/formula milk
Oatmeal with breast/formula milk

Lunch/Dinner

Brown rice porridge with pureed spinach and flaked salmon
Mashed potato with pureed duck and pureed apple (and perhaps a pinch of cinnamon)
Brown rice and quinoa porridge with mashed carrots and minced pork prepared with a pinch of garlic powder

Friendly Reminders for Mum and Dad

6 to 9 months: smooth, soft and fine texture

When you first start your baby on solids, the food you feed him should be smooth, soft, and fine in texture. As the little one grows older and gets better at chewing, you can gradually feed him food that is thicker and coarser—for example, a thicker puree.

Related: Early Childhood Nutrition

Food prep pointers

If you’re making your own baby food, make sure to prepare it without oil. Some great cooking methods are steaming, boiling, baking, or microwaving. No stir-frying or grilling yet for the little one! Remember to skip the sugar, salt and any other seasonings (e.g. soy sauce) when preparing the meals.

Related: Halt the Salt, Sweetie

Be patient

If your baby isn’t interested in a certain food, do not force it. There’s also no need to force your child to finish everything on his plate! Stop feeding him if he rejects the food, and try again during the next meal. Right now, your baby knows best about how much he wants to eat.

What makes 1 serving?

Wholegrains	½ bowl of brown rice/rice (100g) ½ bowl of noodles, spaghetti or beehoon (100g) 1 large potato (180g)
Fruit	1 small apple, orange, pear or mango (130g) 1 wedge pineapple, papaya or watermelon (130g) 1 medium banana
Vegetable	¾ mug or 1 small rice bowl of cooked vegetables (100g) ¼ plate of vegetables
Meat and others	1 palm-sized piece of fish, lean meat or skinless poultry (90g) 2 small blocks of soft beancurd (170g) ¾ cup or 1 small rice bowl of cooked pulses (e.g. lentils) (120g)