When can I introduce apples to my baby?
Between 6 to 9 months is a great time to introduce apples to your baby as part of baby-led weaning.
Apples are packed with essential nutrients that support your baby’s growth and development. We’ve all heard the famous saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and while your baby doesn’t need an apple every day, incorporating this nutritious fruit early on can be a wonderful addition to their diet. Apples are a gentle, easy-to-digest option that can help build healthy eating habits from the start.
Is Apple a good first food for baby?
Apples are rich in fibre, antioxidants and vitamins like vitamin C and also easy to digest. Applesauce is an extremely popular first food given in many countries since most babies love the taste of Apples and S was no exception.
Our experience: We introduced it to S during his second week of solids and he absolutely loved it. I tried giving the cooked apple in two sizes – giving half an apple as well as cutting the other half into 3 long slices. While S had fun with the first size, he was better able to hold and chew the slices.
Note: I tasted the cooked apple and it was super sweet! No wonder babies love the taste! You can limit the number of times you serve this to avoid a preference for sweeter foods.
How do I introduce apples to my baby for baby led weaning?
As a first food, apple is extremely easy to cook and introduce. We bought organic gala apples from our local store.
Steps to prepare the Apple for Babies:
1. Wash apple thoroughly and peel the skin.
2. At 6 months you can offer it cut in half or cut lengthwise in long wedges. If your baby is older than 9 months, you can cut them smaller at a size the baby is comfortable with.
3. You can either cook the apple in boiling water till soft or steam the pieces well until it’s cooked and soft. You can use a steamer for better control to avoid overcooking if using the steaming route.
Tip: to enhance flavour, this would be a good place to introduce cinnamon to your baby as well. You can add some cinnamon to the water while cooking the apple. Alternatively, you can also sprinkle cinnamon powder over steamed apple slices.
Note: if it gets overcooked, you can mash to make apple sauce and offer on preloaded spoons.
