What Baby’s Eating: 10 Months Old
See also: What Baby’s Eating 5 to 6 months, 6 to 7 months, 7 to 8 months, 8 months, 9 months and 11 to 12 months
With both of my children, between 10 and 12 months of age, I noticed that they became more choosy about what they wanted to eat. Before that age, they were pretty content to eat most anything that was offered to them. However, as they become more aware of their surroundings and opinionated about life, babies can sometimes start to refuse foods, even foods that they previously ate willingly. If your baby hits this picky stage, here a few things you might try to get them eating adventurously again:
Add more flavor. Some babies grow out of the bland puree phase sooner than we realize. While my 4 year old still prefers fairly bland foods, my son definitely likes his food with bold flavor. I often add some cinnamon, cumin, or other non-spicy flavoring to his meals. Although it is not recommended for babies to have any salt added to their food, I do sometimes sprinkle some low-sodium soy sauce onto my son’s food. A tiny bit of finely grated parmesan is another great way to add extra flavor.
Try again later. I have often found that babies may refuse a food one day and then eat it with gusto the next. Sometimes babies just need to become familiar with a new food before accepting it, so keep trying!
Sweeten with fruit. Sometimes adding a little sweetness makes the baby food go down, but in this case I wouldn’t suggest sugar. If my kids refused a new food, I would sometimes add some mashed banana or applesauce to help them accept the new flavor more easily. Usually, I could gradually leave out the fruit and they would eventually eat the new food by itself.
Mash it up. Even if your baby has moved beyond the need for all their food to be pureed, it sometimes helps to offer a new food in this form. Â The combination of a new flavor and a new texture at the same time is too much for some babies. Try pureeing a new food the first few times you offer it to make it less daunting.
Offer small bites. My son normally eats meals pretty quickly and can handle big bites, but when a new food is offered, he is sometimes more tentative. When he recently tried quinoa for the first time, a big spoonful made him shudder and spit it back out. However, when I tried offering tiny bites of the same food, he ate it willingly and ended up eating a whole bowlful. A whole mouthful of a new food may just be too much to handle, so start small.
Now that my son is eating thicker purees with more texture, I have started introducing more grains into his diet. He has graduated from baby cereal to real oatmeal and he also loves brown rice, quinoa, couscous and pasta. The recipes below are some of his new favorite  meals and will provide your baby with plenty of whole grain nutrition.
Tofu, quinoa, sweet potato
Creamy sweet potato quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water or broth
- 1 cup peeled and cubed sweet potato
- 7 ounces (1/2 a block) tofu, cubed
- 1. Place the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and rinse with water until the water runs clear. Place the quinoa and water or broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn heat down to low and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 25 minutes.
- 2. Meanwhile, steam the sweet potato until soft, about 20 minutes. Using a food processor, blender, or baby food maker, blend the steamed sweet potato together with the tofu until smooth. Add enough water or extra broth to give the sweet potato mixture a "saucy" texture, similar to the consistency of spaghetti sauce.
- 3. Once the quinoa is cooked, stir in the sweet potato mixture and add extra broth or water as needed to make a pudding-like mixture. Can be frozen for up to 2 months or refrigerated for 1 week.
Ingredients for Baby Spaghetti: spinach, whole-wheat pasta, tomato sauce and peas
Baby Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 cup bite sized, whole-wheat pasta
- 1/2 cup fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas
- 1 can organic, low-sodium tomato sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- freshly grated parmesan for serving, optional
- 1. Cook the pasta until very tender. This usually means adding a few extra minutes to the time indicated on the package.
- 2. Meanwhile, steam the spinach and peas until the spinach is wilted and peas are very tender, about 10 minutes.
- 3. In a food processor or baby food maker, puree the steamed veggies, tomato sauce and dried basil until smooth, adding a few tablespoons of water, if needed, to create a thin sauce.
- 4. Once the pasta is tender, drain it well in a colander. Toss the pasta with the sauce until well combined and serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze up to 2 months.
Oatmeal with Apricot Cinnamon puree
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1 cup whole milk or water
- 1/4 cup dried unsweetened apricots (about 10)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1. If your child is under 1 year old, grind the oatmeal to a fine powder using a food processor. Bring the milk or water to a simmer and cook oats until they reach the texture that your baby is comfortable with. I cooked mine for about 2 minutes. Add extra liquid as needed to thin the oatmeal.
- 2. Place apricots in a small saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring the water to low boil and simmer apricots until softened, 15 to 20 minutes.
- 3. Drain apricots. Place apricots, cinnamon and vanilla in a food processor and process until smooth.
- 4. Using about 1 Tablespoon of apricot puree for every 1/4 cup of oatmeal, swirl the puree into the oatmeal just before serving. Alternately, just stir all of the puree into the oatmeal and store already mixed together. Will keep for a few days in the refrigerator or a month in the freezer.