15 Foods To Give Your Baby This Summer

Summer fruits and vegetables really are the best

Summer has it all - sunshine, trips to the beach, frozen treats, and wonderful produce. I may be biased, but summer really is the best season for eating! My all-time top favorite foods are summer foods - berries, peaches, tomatoes, zucchini, corn, the list goes on!

And if your baby was born in the fall or winter, there’s a good chance that summer foods might be the first ones they get to eat. Lucky them!

When you buy produce that’s in season, you’re getting foods that are fresh, nutritious, and full of flavor. Fruits and veggies picked in season are more likely to be picked local to where you live, so they will be fresh and stay fresh longer once you bring them home. They’ll also taste better because they’ve been picked more recently and ripened more on the plant before they were harvested.

Compare the taste of strawberries bought in January to ones bought in June. If you’ve even bought fresh strawberries in January, they probably have some yellow or white left on the top part right below the leaves, taste somewhere between cardboard and an unripe tomato, and are stupid expensive.

Strawberries bought in June, however, are completely red from top to tip, taste juicy and sweet, and are more affordable. And that’s because June is the season for strawberries!

All foods have a season. Visit the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) guide for seasonal fruits and veggies for a full list!

How to get started making baby food

Starting your baby on solid foods can be scary. For around the first 6 months of their life, they are on a pure liquid diet of just breast milk and/or formula. There’s no need to decide “what’s baby going to eat for dinner tonight?”, which is nice. It’s hard enough feeding yourself in those first few months of constant sleep deprivation.

But then, around 6 months, when your baby is hopefully letting you get some sleep at night, that’s when a little more planning comes in. I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be hard! With a few exceptions, your baby can eat pretty much the same thing as the rest of the family, you just have to make sure its the right size and texture to keep them safe. Read on to learn how to start your baby on solid foods.

And don’t let all those packaged baby foods stress you out. You don’t need to buy baby food (although if you want to, that’s totally fine, no judgments here!). Making your own baby food is easy, affordable, and quick. You don’t need any special equipment. You can make all the puréed food your baby will ever eat in just a few hours. Most babies transition from purées to more solid textures within a few months, so it doesn’t take a lot of effort to make enough. Plus, homemade baby food tastes fresh and doesn’t contain preservatives. For more information on making your own baby food, read my Tips on Making Your Own Baby Food.

15 foods to give your baby this summer

Here are 15 amazing summer fruits and vegetables to prepare for your baby. For each fruit or vegetable, you’ll learn why it’s a good choice for baby, and how to safely prepare it as a purée or as finger food.

1. Apricots

With a taste about halfway between a peach and a plum, the unique sweet and tangy apricot flavor is sure to delight your baby! Like peaches and plums, choose ripe apricots that are slightly soft when pressed, but not mushy. Apricots are a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Potassium.

To purée apricots, wash and cut the apricot into pieces, removing the pit. Then, steam or bake until soft. Blend the apricot pieces until you have the desired consistency, adding water, breastmilk or formula as needed.

To serve apricots as finger food, wash with water and cut into small pieces, removing the pit. If the apricots are a little hard, steam or bake until soft.

2. Beets

Beets have a subtle sweetness and beautiful bright color that any baby would be drawn to! Beets are a good source of Potassium, Folate, Manganese, as well as many antioxidants. You can choose the traditional bright purple beets, or keep an eye out for other varieties like golden beets, or the unique striped candy cane beets, all of them are delicious!

The simplest way to cook beets is to wash them and either boil in water or wrap in tin foil and bake them until they are soft. Then, remove the peel (it will slide off easily), the top and the root end.

To make puréed beets, chop up the cooked beets and blend until you have a desired consistency, adding water breast milk or formula as needed. Applesauce is a great food to add with beets.

To serve beets as finger food, simply cut the cooked beets in to small pieces.

Be aware, sometimes eating lots of beets can color your baby’s stool or urine with that bright purple color. It’s not a sign that anything is wrong, but if you notice this and have concerns, don’t hesitate to talk to your pediatrician.

3. Blueberries

Pretty much since she has been eating solid foods, blueberries have been my daughter’s number one favorite food in the whole world. After ‘mama’ and ‘dada’, one of her first words was ‘blue’ because she was trying to ask for more blueberries. So when summer comes along, you know there will always be blueberries in my house! Blueberries are a good source of Vitamin C, Manganese, Vitamin K and antioxidants. Plus, blueberries can help with constipation, which can happen as babies start to eat more solid foods.

To make puréed blueberries, simply wash them and steam in a small amount of water until heated and soft. Then, blend until you have a desired consistency, adding water, breast milk or formula as needed.

To serve blueberries as finger food, cut them in half (or quarters if they are very large). As your baby masters chewing and swallowing blueberry pieces, you can progress to whole blueberries that are smushed, so they are not a perfect sphere. Whole, un-smushed blueberries can be a choking hazard for babies and young toddlers, so be sure to serve small pieces of blueberries until at least 1 year old. Progress toward larger pieces while always supervising your baby closely during mealtime.

4. Broccoli

Just because broccoli has a reputation as an unpopular kid’s food, don’t assume your baby won’t like it! Many babies are fascinated by the tiny little florets, and the bumpy and smooth texture of the stem. Broccoli is a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate and Potassium. To cook broccoli, wash it and cut the top part (the florets) into pieces. You can cook the thick stem part too, but it’s best to peel off the thick outer layer. You can steam or boil the broccoli in water, or bake in the oven with a little oil.

To make puréed broccoli, blend up the cooked broccoli until you have a desired consistency, adding water, breast milk or formula as needed. Broccoli also blends well with a creamier vegetable like potatoes or sweet potatoes.

To serve broccoli as a finger food, simply serve small, well-cooked pieces of either the florets or the stems.

5. Carrots

Did you know that carrots don’t only come in orange? While orange is still the most popular, you can find white, yellow and even purple carrots! All carrots are a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Potassium. Babies especially love their sweet taste and bright color.

To make carrot purée, wash and peel your carrots and cut into pieces. Steam or boil in water and then blend until desired consistency, adding some breast milk, water or formula as needed.

To serve carrots as a finger food, wash and peel and cut into small pieces or long, thin sticks. Steam or roast until soft.

6. Cucumbers

With a ton of vitamins and minerals, cucumbers are a great choice to give your baby. Cucumber is a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Magnesium, Potassium, and Manganese, so it will support your baby’s growing body. Plus, cucumbers are 96% water, making it a great option to help your baby stay hydrated when their water cup is being thrown on the floor.

To serve cucumber as a purée, stick to adding it in with another food, like pears, melon, or even yogurt. Wash and peel the cucumber, then cut out the big seeds (they will not purée well). Blend until smooth. Or freeze cucumber puree as a baby popsicle for a delicious cooling treat.

For cucumber as a finger food, peel your cucumber, remove big seeds, and cut into long, thin strips or a small dice.

7. Fresh Herbs

One of the best things about summer is all the wonderful smells that come from a garden. Basil, thyme, oregano, mint and rosemary are all wonderful summer herbs that will help your baby learn about new flavors and smells. You don’t need a lot of fresh herbs to give big flavor to your food.

To add herbs to purée baby food, wash the herbs and add to the fruit or vegetable in the last minute of cooking. Then purée everything together.

To include fresh herbs with finger food, you can let your baby play with small pieces of washed, fresh herbs like thyme and oregano. For herbs that are larger pieces, like basil, cut into small pieces because large pieces can be choking hazard.

8. Peaches

Peaches are full of nutrients like Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Potassium. Choose either yellow peaches, which are a little sweet and tart, or white peaches, which are less tart and more sweet and mellow. With freestone peaches you can easily remove the center pit, but with clingstone peaches the flesh “clings” more to the pit, so you want to cut the flesh off the pit.

To make purée peaches, wash and remove the skin from the peaches, then cut into pieces. Steam in a little water until soft, then blend until you have a desired consistency, adding water, breast milk or formula as needed.

To serve peaches as a finger food, simply wash, remove the skin, and cut into small pieces. As your baby gets older and becomes more skilled at chewing, leave the peel on.

9. Peas

Whether you get them fresh or frozen, green peas are deliciously sweet! As one of the most popular baby foods, peas are a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Magnesium, and more! To cook fresh or frozen peas, boil in a small amount of water until soft.

To make purée peas, after the peas are cooked, blend until you have a desired consistency, adding some water, breast milk or formula as needed.

To serve peas as a finger food, simply serve them whole. If the peas are large, you can squish them in your fingers or cut them in half.

10. Plums

Like other stone fruits, plums contain many nutrients like Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Potassium. Plums are ripe when they give gently as you squeeze them, like peaches or avocado. There are many types of plums, including black plums, red plums, green plums, and pluots, which are a cross between a plum and an apricot. Babies love the sweet flavor of plums, and plums can help with constipation, which can happen as babies start to eat solid foods.

To make puréed plums, wash and cut into pieces. Steam in a little water until soft, then blend until you have a desired consistency, adding water, breast milk or formula as needed.

To serve plums as a finger food, simply wash and cut into small pieces. Generally, the peel on a plum is soft and easy for babies to chew.

11. Strawberries

Full of Vitamin C and antioxidants, strawberries make a wonderful baby food! When choosing strawberries, find berries that are red on the entire fruit, avoid fruit that has white parts near the top because these won’t be as sweet.

To make purée strawberries, wash and remove the hull with the green leaves, then cut into pieces. Cook the strawberries with a tiny bit of water until heated through and soft, then blend. You likely will not need to add any additional liquid. If you want, you can strain out the seeds to make a smooth texture, but leaving the seeds in is fine and is not harmful to your baby.

To serve strawberries as finger food, wash, remove the hull with the green leaves, and cut into small pieces.

12. String Beans

String beans, also called green beans, are healthy addition to your baby’s diet. They have Vitamin A and Vitamin C, as well as other vitamins and minerals. To prepare green beans, wash them and cut off the woody stem.

To make string bean purée, steam or boil the green beans in water and then blend them until you have a desired consistency, adding water, breast milk or formula as needed.

To serve string beans as finger food, wash and remove the woody stem. Then steam, sauté, or roast in the oven until soft. Serve to baby cut into small pieces or long, thin strips. As your baby gets older you can serve whole cooked string beans, then eventually raw.

13. Summer Squash

There are many different varieties of summer squash, including zucchini (dark green), round zucchini (a lighter shade of green and round), tatuma (lighter green but the same shape as a zucchini), zephyr (yellow on top and green on the bottom, and pattypan (which is shaped like a UFO!). All types of summer squash contain vitamins and nutrients like Potassium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin A.

To prepare summer squash purée, wash and cut into small pieces, then steam with a little water. Blend until you have a desired consistency, adding water, breast milk or formula if needed.

To serve summer squash as a finger food, wash and cut into small pieces. Then steam, sauté or roast in the oven. Serve as small pieces or long, thin strips.

14. Tomatoes

Is there anything more perfect than a fresh summer tomato picked right off the vine? Didn’t think so. Tomatoes are full of nutrients like Vitamin C, Potassium, Folate and the antioxidant lycopene, which has many health benefits. There are many types of tomatoes, including beefsteak tomatoes (great for sandwiches), cherry tomatoes (for snacking or salads), purple tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and the beautiful yellow pear tomatoes.

To prepare tomatoes as a purée for your baby, wash and cut them into pieces. Simmer with a little water until the tomatoes are soft, then blend until smooth.

To serve tomatoes as finger food, wash and cut into small pieces. When serving cherry tomatoes, be sure to cut lengthwise (not across) or into quarters or smaller. Whole cherry or grape tomatoes can be a choking hazard for babies and toddlers.

15. Watermelon

Full of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium and more, watermelon is a wonderful summer fruit that your baby will love. When choosing a whole watermelon, look for a yellow spot on the watermelon where it was resting on the ground. A yellow (instead of white) spot means the watermelon is ripe.

To make watermelon purée, wash and cut the watermelon flesh into pieces. Remove seeds and blend. You can mix with a thicker food (like baby oatmeal or yogurt) or freeze into little popsicles to let your baby enjoy.

To serve watermelon as a finger food, was and cut into pieces. Remove all seeds and serve to your baby cut into small pieces or long, thin strips.

What kinds of summer fruit and vegetables are you most excited to give to your baby? Let me know in the comments!