Nutrition

Complementary feeding

A warm guide to introducing new foods, step by step

How to start complementary feeding

Introduce new foods one at a time, waiting 1 to 3 days between each food. This lets you calmly watch how well
your baby tolerates and accepts each one.

The 3 × 3 rule for foods that often cause allergies

Offer one new food, on its own, for 3 days. Then add another food for another 3 days, and so on until all groups
are included. This pace helps you learn how your baby responds to each food.

Example
1 to 3 dayS
→
Beef
1 to 3 dayS
→
Beef
+
Oats
1 to 3 dayS
→
Beef
+
Oats
+
Chayote
1 to 3 dayS
→
Beef
+
Oats
+
Chayote
+
Apple
Texture and amount by age
Months
Selection and preparation
Frequency per meal
Amount per food
6-8
Purées, thick porridge, or spoon-mashed foods
Once at each mealtime
2 to 3 spoonfuls of each group. Build up gradually to ½ cup
9-12
Finely chopped
Once at each mealtime
About ½ cup
11-12
Small pieces
Once at each mealtime
About ¾ cup
At one year
Family foods, chopped or mashed if needed
Once at each mealtime
All food groups
Every baby moves at their own pace. Follow their lead with patience and enjoy the journey.

Food list by group

Food ideas to build varied and colorful meals

Fruits
Plum
Prune
Date
Peach
Raspberry
Guava
Figs
Kiwi
Mamey
Apple
Melon
Orange
Papaya
Pear
Pineapple
Banana
Watermelon
Grapes
Sapote
Blackberry
Strawberry
Mango
Grapefruit
Cherry
Vegetables
Celery
Artichoke
Beet
Broccoli
Squash
Mushrooms
Chayote
Peas
Cauliflower
Green beans
Asparagus
Spinach
Squash blossom
Jicama
Tomato
Lettuce
Nopales
Cucumber
Carrot
Bell pepper
Grains and starchy foods
Amaranth
Brown rice
Wild rice
White rice
Bread roll
Sweet potato
Couscous
Corn
Yellow corn
Noodles
Sliced bread
Cooked pasta
Potato
Tortilla
Maize
Oats
Wheat
Protein and legumes
Tuna
Beef steak
Pork
Fish fillet
Egg
Chicken breast
Salmon
Well-cooked seafood
Cottage cheese
Panela cheese
Oaxaca cheese
Plain yogurt
Beans
Fava beans
Lentils
Edamame
Chickpeas
Fats and nuts
Olive oil
Avocado oil
Avocado
Butter or ghee
Sour cream
Nuts and seeds: walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sesame
Foods to hold off on for now

Honey, juices, sodas, cow's milk, cured meats, teas and infusions, salt, and sugar.

Mix foods from all five groups to offer nourishing, varied meals.