Baby is almost a year old: he now eats almost everything. Besides, he starts to have his preferences and lets you know it! For your part, any excuse is good to make him discover new flavors. Her bottles, or breastfeeding, are however still present in her meals. And for good reason: he really needs it!

At 11 months, your baby’s food diversification is almost complete: you have taken care to introduce him to a wide variety of flavors and he now perfectly masters smooth or ground textures but also small pieces. Maybe your child is even starting to want to eat on his own. Let him practice. It is by exercising that he will refine his coordination to achieve his ends, and with them, he will express all his so communicative pride.

At the table, baby’s tastes are refined: you now know what he likes most and what attracts him the least. If baby happens to refuse food, don’t force it. On the other hand, present it again a few days later, possibly presented differently. A trick that works quite well: mix this food with a well-cooked starch: a potato, split peas or lentils for example to make a puree. After two or three presentations in this form, it’s a safe bet that your baby will no longer make faces afterwards.

And if your child suddenly refuses the pieces, it is likely that it is due to teething, a rather unpleasant moment in the life of the little one. In this case, go back to smoother textures to make it easier for him and continue to make the meal a pleasant one for everyone. You will return thereafter to small pieces and melting textures when his first molars as well as these incisors have come out.

Regardless, your 11 month old still eats four meals a day. His meals are complete and his diet perfectly diversified.

Although her diet is diverse, your baby needs milk to meet her nutritional needs. Ideally, you will offer him dairy products specifically developed for his age and therefore made with infant milk, whether it be yogurts, white cheeses or small Swiss because these dairy products are made with growth milk. It is also this type of milk that you will now offer him in his bottles because it is the one that is recommended when the food diversification is complete.

Although controversial by some health professionals, growth milk contains an indisputable amount of iron. Opinions on this point are almost unanimous: the iron needs of a young child beyond one year cannot be satisfied if he stops infant formula. In practice, it would in fact be the equivalent of 100 grams of meat per day, but these quantities are far too large in relation to its protein requirements. And contrary to popular belief, cow’s milk is not a nutritionally correct solution: it contains 23 times less iron than growth milk!

It is for these reasons that experts in infant nutrition recommend switching from second-age milk to growth milk around the age of 10/12 months and to continue this milk supply until the age of 3.

So remember to buy growth milk during the next refueling, if it has not yet been done. And continue to offer your child 3 dairy products a day: bottle or breastfeeding, yogurts, white cheeses, small Swiss and even cheese. Just avoid raw milk cheese because of the risk of listeria.

If you no longer want to give infant milk to your child …

In the same way that cow’s milk does not fully meet the nutritional needs of children up to 3 years old, vegetable drinks (almonds, soybeans, oats, spelled, hazelnuts, etc.) are not adapted to the needs of the young child. These drinks even have risks of serious deficiencies, especially iron, whose reserves produced before birth are exhausted at this age. Moreover, these drinks are both too sweet and too low in essential fatty acids, lipids and calcium.

Regarding calcium, here is a very revealing example: a consumption of 250 mL of almond vegetable drink + 250 mL of chestnut vegetable drink provides 175 mg of calcium, while the requirements are 500 mg / day! A precious shortcoming for the young child who is in a period of full growth and therefore has a skeleton that evolves impressively at that age.

Regarding soy, the Nutrition Committee of the Socie´te´ Franc¸aise de P´diatrie advises against the use of soy beverages in children under 3 years of age because of the excessive amounts of protein required. ‘they provide and their low content of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Not to mention the health effects of phytoestrogens contained in soybeans for which we lack perspective.

If, however, you do not want to give your baby growth milk, it is best to opt for whole cow’s milk (red cap) rather than semi-skimmed milk (blue cap) because it is richer in vitamins A, D and K but also in essential fatty acids, essential for the neuronal development of your child who is in full maturity.

At 11 months, baby has already discovered a very large majority of fruits and vegetables, cereals (pasta, semolina, rice, buglour, corn) and legumes (lentils, split peas, white or red beans) and may even be the quinoa. From now on, each month that passes will not be very rich in new foods, but you will take the opportunity to offer your child foods that you have not yet had the opportunity to make him taste. You can now introduce him to vegetables that are said to be “with a high fermentable capacity” because of their high fiber content which makes them less digestible than other vegetables:

• hub
• cabbage: cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, white cabbage, red cabbage, green cabbage, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, Romanesco cabbage.
• salsify
• artichoke

Introduce these vegetables one by one, making sure to cook them well (or even cook them too much) and mix them into a puree to improve their digestibility and avoid the worries of bloating.

Also take advantage of this period to make slightly more elaborate recipes for your little one.

Here is an example of a typical eating day for your eleven month old. Of course, the quantities are given as an indication, and are to be adapted, according to the appetite of your child.

• Breakfast:

Breastfeeding or bottle 210 to 240 ml of growth milk with weakly mineralized water

Optional: Infant cereals (in the bottle)

• Lunch:

Mashed vegetables in small pieces + unmixed but well cooked starch + 1 tbsp. to c. oil (ideally: mixture of 4 oils: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds): about 200 g – to be adapted according to your appetite

20 to 25 g of protein *: 4 tbsp. to c. meat or fish or a little less than 1/2 hard-boiled egg (white + yolk)

Juicy fruit in small pieces or grated apple

• To taste :

Juicy fruit in small pieces or grated apple

Milk, ideally with infant milk (yogurt, petits-suisse or fromage blanc)

Optional: dry biscuits (boudoir or Petit Beurre® type) or crouton of bread

• Dinner:

Mashed vegetables in small pieces + unmixed but well cooked starch + 1 tbsp. to c. oil (ideally: mixture of 4 oils: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds): 130 to 200 g depending on your appetite.

Breastfeeding or bottle of 240 ml of growth milk with weakly mineralized water

Optional: Infant cereals (in the bottle)

* concerning proteins (meat, fish or egg), you do not have to give it to your only at noon or only in the evening. The important thing is not to exceed the recommended amount of 20 to 25 g of protein per day. This corresponds to about 4 teaspoons of meat or fish or a little less than 1/2 of a hard-boiled egg (white + yolk). You can therefore perfectly offer him this amount both at noon and in the evening, or split it in two and offer protein at both meals.