Information overload-Please help!

[atlantamomofthree]

Up until now, Samuel (7 months now) has only had pear, rice cereal with EBM, and banana. One time of applesauce, but he got very constipated, so we didn't give it again. We're going to start more now. I don't want to do only puree's. I think he would enjoy picking food up, but he doesn't mind being spoon fed either.
I am not sure what in the world to give because there is SO much info out there! I read through a good amount of the FAQ but I feel MORE confused now!  Salt/no salt? No sugar/little sugar? Egg/no egg? Help! I'd like to give him some foods that have multiple ingredients in addition to single ingredients; is this ok?

Just tell me if the following, which I'd like to introduce soon, would be ok, would you?

1 Cornbread muffin (in small pieces), and can I add butter?
2 Egg noodles (but the egg free variety) cooked in butter and sprinkled with parmesan cheese
3 Cheese filled ravioli, no sauce
4 Yogurt (the kind I buy is blackberry, and made with sugar, not HFCS)
5 Canned veggies that are no salt added, mashed
6 Biscuits (in small pieces)-real ones, not made for baby

[Fiver]

For now, I'd probably avoid anything with processed sugar in it like the biscuits and yoghurt.  If you wanted to do yoghurt, why not get some plain natural yoghurt and add some fruit puree to sweeten?  Some of the baby biscuits are quite nice too.

Any of the others I'd go for, though.  And yes, butter is fine.  Maybe try to find a lower/no salt version or just use a small amount if salted.

[Buntybear]

Hi, it can be very complicated when starting out.

If there are no history of allergies I think the general consensus these days are to give a wide range if foods pretty much straight away (if over 6 months old).

There are the usual no-nos - under cooked eggs, honey, etc http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/foods-to-avoid-baby.aspx

I would avoid salt where possible tbh as their tiny bodies are unable to process too much of it.

Are you making things like the muffin and ravioli? If so you can control the amouth of sugar/salt that goes in them. If they are shop bought - personally I wouldn't give them at 7 months.

HTH x

[atlantamomofthree]

Thanks.

I make the muffins, yes, but the ravioli is store bought. I'll skip that one for now.

I guess I am just struggling because with my older two I bought baby food and so I felt comfortable (knowing it was all baby approved), but this time I am not giving any premade stuff, as I think it's a waste of money BIGTIME! Anyway, thanks for the tips and link.

[Buntybear]

Instead of ravioli just give plain pasta with a sauce. Fusilli pasta is great for finger foods. Over here you can buy tiny little star shaped pasta you could give soon. Or of course purée it all up!

Lemonthyme has a blog and she doesn't use sugar in baking for her little boy, there are some recipes there if you wanted to play it safe on the sugar front. They tend to use fruits as a sweetener.

[Lemonthyme]

This is my opinion on your choices:

1 Cornbread muffin (in small pieces), and can I add butter? - I'd check on the ingredients, amount of salt particularly and only add unsalted butter.  Might be better (and safer) in larger pieces so your baby can nibble off what they want.
2 Egg noodles (but the egg free variety) cooked in butter and sprinkled with parmesan cheese - UK advice is egg is ok from 6 months anyway but why not offer pasta with a more nutritious sauce, perhaps containing some vegetables with cheese sprinkled on top?  Here's an easy recipe which has no added salt or sugar: http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/short-nursing-strikes-and-easy-sauce.html
3 Cheese filled ravioli, no sauce - probably pretty high in salt, I'd check the packaging, if you do offer, I'd add some vegetable sauce.
4 Yogurt (the kind I buy is blackberry, and made with sugar, not HFCS) - personally I was pretty much added sugar (and HFCS) free until my son was 1 year old.  Why not make some fruit puree and add to plain yoghurt?
5 Canned veggies that are no salt added, mashed - nothing wrong per se but frozen or fresh vegetables will contain more vitamins.  That said, I use a lot of canned tomatoes in cooking for all of us.
6 Biscuits (in small pieces)-real ones, not made for baby - personally I don't but I know a lot of people do.  There's a choking hazard but also nearly all (even savoury ones) contain added sugar and salt.

[clazzat]

What I have done for ds is to cook up a bunch of veggies at a time (eg sweet potato, carrot, courgette, broccoli) and mash them all up together and freeze in small portions. It doesn't take long, and provides food for ages - and there is no sugar or salt added.

If you're looking for things to give him to pick up, there are a number of veggies that you can roast which make good finger food - sweet potato wedges are a particular hit here.