Melon For Babies: Ways To Cut (BLW) Serve
Melons have high sugar content, strong aroma, an attractive flesh color and texture which makes them very appealing to babies. Melons are excellent for all ages, they’re nutritious, delicious, and versatile. You can start serving melon to babies as soon as they’re ready for solid foods, usually after 6 months.
Check out below ways to serve and cut melon for babies according to age and for baby led weaning.
Melon For Baby
Fruit like melon is a great starter food for babies as they are one of the most easily digestible fruits. Because the flesh of the melon is so soft due to high water content, it’s easy to chew (or suck, if the baby doesn’t have teeth), withal having a smooth transition through the digestive system while receiving vitamins and minerals.
Melon Benefits For Babies
- Melons provide a rich source of minerals, vitamins, protein and a wide range of antioxidant compounds with anti-inflammatory properties.
- Melons have good vitamin C and pro-vitamin-A content, mainly in the form of carotenoids (specific for deep orange and yellow melons) which is one of the most important micronutrient influencing baby’s health. In fact orange-flesh melons like cantaloupe have the same amount of beta-carotene as carrots.
- Muskmelons contain much more vitamin A and C than more popular fruits like banana, apple, pineapple, peaches or grapes.
- Carotenoids and chlorophylls are the main pigments of melon pulp and rind, so cutting deep closer to the skin will ensure you get more of it’s nutrients.
- Melons are made of almost 90 percent water. Eating cantaloupe helps your baby stay hydrated throughout the day.
Related: Baby Led Weaning (BLW) Foods To Start By Age
Types Of Melons Great For Babies
There are many features that melons can be distinguished by, such as shape, size, flesh color, sweetness, consistency, acidity, aroma and sugar composition. The nutritional quality of melons depends on the variety. Usually the more intense the color is, the richer in nutrients they are.
Here are the most popular types that you’ll find in the stores:
- Honeydew – the flesh is sweet and succulent, usually pale green in color, while the smooth peel ranges from greenish to yellow. Rich in vitamin C, B vitamins and potassium.
- Cantaloupe – a variety of the muskmelon species, with a firm orange-fleshed melon with a gray-green skin, less sweet than honeydew. It’s loaded with vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene) as well as vitamin C. Cantaloupe melon has more than half the vitamin A and vitamin C levels of honeydew making it slightly more nutrient-dense than honeydew.
- Persian melons – similar to cantaloupe, somewhat larger but with the same heavily-netted exterior, with a golden beige color when fully ripe and give off a sweet floral smell.
- Canary – bright yellow color, slightly tangier than a honeydew melon but sweeter. The flesh looks like that of a pear but is softer and is succulent.
How To Prepare Melon For Baby
- First be sure to wash your melon thoroughly before cutting, so you don’t carry any surface bacteria into the edible melon flesh.
- Then you cut the melon in half, then scoop out the seeds with a knife;
- Slice into wedges, so they’re small enough to handle.
- Then just hold the melon wedge in your hand, and slide the paring knife between the rind and melon flesh along the line where the color changes.
- From there, you decide what size you want the melon chunks to be.
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How To Cut Melon For Baby (6-7 months+)
If you’re just starting weaning at this stage, a 6 months old baby will only be able to eat the equivalent of a 2/3-inch to 1-inch chunk of melon (or 1 tablespoon of melon puree) at a time.
For the baby led weaning type of feeding at 6-7 months: slice the melon into thin, wide, long pieces (see pic) so they could hold it in their hands and suck on it, without sliding or biting off. Large thin pieces will avoid the danger of choking.
For 8 months+ old babies:
For more experimented eaters you can cut into “graspable shapes” about the size of your thumb finger. Long enough so they can bite off what sticks out of their small hand (see pictures below how to cut honeydew and cantaloupe melon for babies by age).
Since the melon is pretty slippery, I prefer to use a crinkle knife. The wavy edges add grip and prevent the pieces from sliding off baby’s hand.
How To Cut Melon For Baby (10-12 months+)
Once your baby starts to develop the fine motor skills, and is able to pick up objects between his or her thumb and forefinger, you can transition from finger size cut melon to larger slices (thicker half-moon pieces) with the rind on or not. Just make sure you wash the skin well. Again, you can use a crinkle cutter for less slipperiness.
How To Cut Melon For Baby (12-14 months+)
You can transition to smaller chunks of melon (bite size pieces) at around 12 months when they can easily use their their pincer grasp skill and an utensil. Some babies can do that earlier or later, use your judgement.
Ways To Serve Melon To Baby Or Toddler:
- Whole, cut into right size, according to age (see pic above) is perfect for baby led weaning;
- Melon puree (run the melon cubes through the food processor and make a puree, no need to add anything). For small babies (6months+), melons are best served alone, in order to prevent an indigestion.
- Melon smoothie (using a blender) is great for toddlers. You can mix the melon with mint leaves, or other easy digestible fruits like citrus and berries. As blending liquid you can use water or some plant based milk.
- Frozen melon popsicles (ice pops) – made with fresh and frozen melons, no added sugar. Add ingredients to a blender. Pulse until smooth, fill some mini pop molds and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving to your baby. This is actually great for teething toddlers, the cold is very soothing for their pain.
Melons For Baby FAQs
Yes, when they are showing readiness for solid foods, melons are excellent as finger food or blended into puree for small babies.
6 Month old babies are usually ready to be introduced to fruits, and since melons are mostly made up of water, they’re easily digested.
Yes, you can easily make a melon puree for baby by running some melon cubes through the food processor, no need to add anything.
Since melons are mostly made up of fiber and water, they can help prevent constipation. However some small babies may be born with inability to digest certain sugars present in fruits (melons are rich in sugar). Symptoms may present as stomach cramps, bloating, excess gas production, and diarrhea. As they get older and start producing more enzymes, this could be resolved.
Soft and ripe fruits like melons are great as finger food for baby. They require minimal chewing especially when your baby may not yet have teeth.
Need more baby led weaning recipes? Check out the baby led weaning category for more ideas!
More Ideas For Baby Led Weaning With Fruits
- Strawberries For Baby Led Weaning (How To Cut/Serve)
- Banana For Babies – Baby Led Weaning Method
- Avocado For Baby (BLW) Ways To Serve
Melon For Babies / How To Cut And Serve (BLW)
Ingredients
Melon slices (baby led weaning)
- 1 melon wedge
Melon puree (baby)
- 1 cup melon cubes
Melon smoothie for toddlers
- 1/3 cup liquid
- 1/3 cup other fruit
Melon ice pops (babies and toddlers)
- 1 cups melon cubes, fresh (1 ore 2 varieties)
- 2 cups melon cubes, frozen
Instructions
Melon slices (baby led weaning)
- For baby led weaning at 6-7 months: slice the melon into thin, wide, long pieces (see pic) so they could hold it in their hands and suck on it, without sliding or biting off. Large thin pieces will avoid the danger of choking.
- For more experimented eaters (8 months+) you can cut into “graspable shapes” about the size of your thumb finger. Long enough so they can bite off what sticks out of their small hand.Since the melon is pretty slippery, I prefer to use a crinkle knife. The wavy edges add grip and prevent the pieces from sliding off baby’s hand.
- Once your baby starts to develop the fine motor skills (at 10-12 months and up), you can transition from finger size cut melon to larger slices (thicker half-moon pieces) with the rind on or not. Just make sure you wash the skin well. Again, you can use a crinkle cutter for less slipperiness.
- You can transition to smaller chunks of melon (bite size pieces) at around 12 months when they can easily use their their pincer grasp skill and an utensil.
Melon puree for baby
- Run the melon cubes through the food processor and make a puree, no need to add anything). For small babies (6months+), melons are best served alone, in order to prevent an indigestion.
Melon smoothie for toddlers
- Mix the fresh melon cubes with frozen and blend with liquid of your choice until smooth. You can mix the melon with mint leaves, or other easy digestible fruits like citrus and berries.
Frozen melon popsicles (ice pops)
- Add ingredients to a blender. Pulse until smooth, fill some mini pop molds and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving to your baby. This is actually great for teething toddlers, the cold is very soothing for their pain.
Notes
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