At about 8 months, the baby is old enough to start eating increasingly solid and lumpy food. It is very good to start by adding, for example, finely mashed boiled potatoes with a fork to the meat and vegetable puree. It would be good to boil the potatoes with the skin, so there are more nutrients - peel after cooking. Start with a few small pieces; otherwise, the baby may have a negative experience with the meal and may refuse food for a while. When you see that the baby is used to and can handle the pieces, you can leave them bigger and bigger.
Have you thought about when to start with additional food that is lumpy or a little chunky?
Chunky food with organic raw buckwheat
Another good option is to add, for example, cooked organic raw buckwheat to the puree. At first, you can overcook the buckwheat a little, and then the grains are softer and easier for the baby to handle and get used to. You can also mash the buckwheat a bit with a fork at the beginning before adding it to the puree.
More ways to get chunks into the food
In the future, you can also add long-cooked whole-grain macaroni or barley groats, which have been made finer with a fork, to the puree. You can also use rice to give the puree a lumpy texture, but here you must consider that rice is often a crop contaminated with chemicals. So be sure to prefer organic rice, wash it first, and boil it with plenty of water. Rice can also clog your baby's stomach, so don't overdo it.
Why add high-quality butter or vegetable oil to food?
You should add high-quality butter or vegetable oil to the meal - it adds nutritional value, and fatty acids are important for the baby's development. It also has a good effect on digestion.
Development window for chunky food
Chunky food should be offered to the baby at least at 9–10 months - at that time there is just the appropriate development window, and after that it may be more difficult to start additional food. Then it's a good time to introduce finger food to the baby. With chunky food, it must also be considered that the baby can grind food only when it has molars. So far, he can bite and chew food, but he can't do it very finely, especially when it comes to meat, for example. In this way, fewer nutrients are absorbed, and some food remains undigested.
At this age, you could feed solid complementary food 3–4 times a day. A portion for each meal should be about 1–1.5 dl. In addition, you can give 1-2 snacks. The food should still be finely chopped, but now the child can handle slightly larger pieces. If possible, breastfeeding should be continued about six times a day.
