What meals for my 12-month-old baby?

At 12 months, your baby can finally eat the vast majority of foods (to your great delight). However, it’s not always easy to know how to manage your child’s diet so that it’s rich and varied.

What meals for my 12-month-old baby? Let’s take a closer look.

What diet for my 12-month-old baby?

Nutrition plays an important role in your child’s health and proper development. With your busy schedule, offering balanced meals to your child every day can be challenging. The goal is to find the right middle ground between the pleasure of eating and healthy nutrition, relying on simple tips you can apply day to day.

To meet the body’s needs, your child’s diet must be varied. Each nutrient has a specific role:

• Protein helps build muscle.
• Carbohydrates and vitamins provide the energy needed.
• Fats are essential for growth and proper body function.
• Minerals help support the immune system, among other things.
• Fiber (found in vegetables such as beans and peas) promotes healthy digestion and regular bowel movements.

A balanced diet therefore relies on a variety of foods to provide all these nutrients in appropriate amounts.

Foods are generally divided into seven major groups, each providing specific nutritional elements:

• fruits and vegetables,
• dairy products,
• starches and grains,
• meat, eggs, and fish,
• fats and oils,
• sweet foods,
• water.

By regularly offering your child foods from each of these groups, you ensure they receive all the nutrients they need for growth.

However, not all foods should be eaten in the same proportions. Starchy foods belong at every meal, fruits and vegetables should be offered several times a day, while dairy products are recommended two to three times daily. Animal protein sources should be limited to one serving per day, and fats should be consumed in moderation. Sweet foods should remain occasional, and it’s best to offer preparations with no added sugars. Water, lastly, should be offered regularly throughout the day.

Beyond daily recommendations, balance is also built across all meals and over the week. A meal that is too monotonous or based on only one food group is not ideal. It’s better to vary flavors and food sources, especially for proteins, alternating fish, meat, and eggs throughout the week.

Finally, food quality is just as important as variety. Homemade meals make it easier to control salt, sugar, and fat intake, which are often excessive in processed foods. When possible, it’s recommended to choose seasonal foods and locally produced items, especially for fruits and vegetables, because they’re generally tastier and less treated.

Want to learn more? Feel free to download the May app, where you’ll find plenty of resources to support and guide you throughout your journey as a new parent.

Meals for a 12-month-old baby: should you stop infant formula?

From birth until the start of complementary feeding, your baby’s diet was based exclusively on your breast milk or infant formula. Then, if you weren’t breastfeeding, until age 1, so-called “follow-on” formula supplemented solid meals. It is now recommended to switch to toddler milk, also called “third-stage” milk. This is recommended from 12 months to 3 years.

Between 12 months and 3 years, your child’s body is still immature and undergoes major changes. Growth, learning to walk, and muscular, joint, and brain development place significant demands on their body. Their needs are therefore very different from those of an adult and require specifically adapted nutrition. Toddler milk, combined with a varied diet, helps meet these particular needs.

This milk provides essential fatty acids that are indispensable for the development of the brain and nervous system, as well as vitamins needed for growth. It is also an important source of iron, in amounts far higher than cow’s milk, helping support the immune system and the production of red blood cells.

Finally, toddler milk differs from cow’s milk in that it contains less protein and sodium. This composition helps prevent kidney overload and excessive protein intake, while reducing future risks of overweight, obesity, and cardiovascular problems. It is therefore a milk specifically designed to support your baby’s healthy, harmonious growth.

What foods should I give my 12-month-old baby in the morning?

Breakfast is the first meal of the day. During the first 12 months of life, milk (breast milk in the case of breastfeeding or infant formula) is the foundation of the diet. Everything changes around 1 year, and eating habits—including breakfast—can finally vary.

You can start offering dairy products, which are sources of calcium. Grains can also be eaten by your baby. They provide good energy levels and a good supply of nutrients. Try, however, to keep milk (breast milk or formula) at breakfast as long as your child accepts it, because they still have significant needs in that area.

What about fruit? Of course, fruit is welcome at breakfast! Packed with vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates, it’s perfect for your child’s growth.

Here’s an example of a breakfast to give to your 12-month-old baby:

• 210 to 250 ml of breast milk or toddler milk,
• bread,
• cereal (such as oats).
• a few pieces of apple (or other fruit).

What lunch for my 12-month-old baby?

Once your baby is 12 months old, their meals are fairly similar to an adult’s, but with preparations in smaller portions. Lunch is the heartiest meal of the day.

At 1 year old, your child can eat most fruits and vegetables cooked, but also raw, as long as they’re ripe! Cucumber, avocado, tomato, or even beet can be discovered by your baby! Vegetables, starchy foods (potato, sweet potato, parsnip, legumes, etc.), and proteins (meat, fish, egg) gradually become an integral part of everyday life!

You may run into a few difficulties, especially if your baby refuses to eat certain foods. Above all, mealtime is a time to share and discover new flavors/textures. Don’t hesitate to turn it into a playful moment to encourage your baby to try different foods. The dishes you prepare are also a way to discover what they like and what they like less.

Our suggestions for lunch:

• cubes of kabocha squash,
• small pieces of cod (the equivalent of 4 teaspoons),
• a yogurt or applesauce.

What snack for my 12-month-old baby?

Snack time is an important meal of the day. To help your baby make it until dinner, you can give them fruit purée or a ripe piece of fruit. If they are not breastfed, they can drink a bottle of 150 ml of toddler milk or eat a dairy snack, along with a piece of bread. Baby cookies can be an option for snack time, but only occasionally.

Our suggestions for snack time:

• applesauce and pear purée,
• a nursing session or a 150 ml bottle of toddler milk,
• a small piece of bread.

What dinner for my 12-month-old baby?

Dinner follows the same principle as lunch but without protein. In general, dinner is lighter than lunch. Feeding your baby can be a bit more difficult in the evening because they may be a bit crankier, tired, or overstimulated.

To gradually introduce a new food to your child, you can offer it as a side to a food they already like. Using playful strategies (table decorations, colorful plates, and presenting the plate in a “fun” way) can also help with starting solids.

Our dinner menu idea:

• potatoes in small pieces (⅓),
• cooked carrots (⅔),
• a nursing session or a 150 ml bottle of toddler milk.

Good to know: it’s important to add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil or a small knob of raw butter to your cooked preparation to meet fat needs.

A recipe idea for your 12-month-old baby

What if we saved you some time by offering easy, delicious recipes to whip up for your 12-month-old baby? Let’s go!

Orecchiette with chanterelle mushrooms:

Prep time: 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• orecchiette pasta: 50 grams,
• chanterelle mushrooms: 150 grams,
• 1 lime,
• Parmesan (dairy is present in Parmesan, so you can omit it),
• butter (butter can be replaced with olive oil).

Instructions:

• Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Meanwhile, wash and sort the chanterelles, then cook them for 10 minutes in a pan with butter.
• When everything is ready, combine, then grate a little Parmesan and lime zest over the pasta. Serve as is—just like the grown-ups!

Bonus tip: lime adds a touch of acidity that will wake up your baby’s taste buds.

And there you have it—a delicious dish to eat at lunch or dinner!

Want to discover more recipes like this? Head to the May app to discover family recipes by age! On the menu: rice & pepper bites, dark chocolate aquafaba mousse (without raw eggs) for dessert, and many more.

Meals for a 12-month-old baby: foods to avoid

Now that you have an idea of what you can feed your 12-month-old baby, here’s a short list of foods not recommended for your child:

• chocolate (limit due to nickel),
• soy-based products contain phytoestrogens and should therefore be limited until your child is 3 years old,
• sweeteners,
• coffee, tea, or caffeinated sodas, and energy drinks.

To reduce choking risk:

Cylindrical and/or hard foods (whole peanuts, nuts, grapes, cherry tomatoes, pieces of raw apple…).

To reduce microbiological risk:

• raw or undercooked meats (cook thoroughly),
• raw milk and cheeses made from raw milk (except gruyère, comté),
• raw eggs and preparations made with raw eggs (homemade chocolate mousse, homemade mayonnaise…),
• shellfish and raw fish.

And of course, avoid adding salt or sugar to dishes. For dairy products, you can optionally sweeten them with pieces of fruit.

Encouraging independence at mealtime for my 12-month-old baby

Want to see your baby become more independent? You can do so by offering:

• A divided plate to present the whole meal at once, ideally suctioned to the table to prevent tipping and limit mess.
• Ergonomic utensils, adapted to a child’s grip, safe and easy to hold.
• A light, ergonomic cup and/or a spill-proof bowl.

If your baby eats with their fingers, no problem! That’s completely normal and part of sensory exploration.

Despite the physiological stakes, mealtime remains a special moment, a time of pleasure as a family. There’s no need to worry if your child doesn’t eat the way you’d like or refuses a food! Over time, you’ll end up finding the little trick to diversify their diet.

In summary, your 12-month-old baby’s diet is entering a new phase: more varied, closer to an adult’s diet, but still tailored to their specific needs. The key is to offer balanced meals while respecting their appetite, rhythm, and preferences. Finally, keep in mind that every baby develops at their own pace. Mealtime should remain a calm moment, of discovery and sharing, with no pressure, to lay the foundation for a healthy and positive relationship with food.

**

Crédits photos : Nadtochii | rohaneh | YuriArcursPeopleimages | CCISUL | Katerina_zhiltsova | LightFieldStudios | Okrasiuk | riderfoot_

This text was translated from French by an artificial intelligence. The information, advice, and sources it contains comply with French standards and may therefore not apply to your situation. Make sure to complement this reading by visiting the May US/UK app and consulting the healthcare professionals who are supporting you.