Yogurt berry bowl

Name: Yogurt berry bowl
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1 baby portion
Ingredients: 3–4 tbsp plain, unsweetened, full-fat yogurt; 5–6 ripe blueberries; 3–4 ripe raspberries; 1 large ripe strawberry

Plain, full-fat yogurt swirled with mashed or flattened berries. No sugar needed: the fruit adds the sweetness. Offer it once your baby has had dairy on its own without a reaction.

From: 6 months
Time: 5 min
Makes: 1 baby portion

Contains milk

Ingredients

3–4 tbspplain, unsweetened, full-fat yogurtmade from pasteurized milk, with no added sugar or sweeteners
5–6ripe blueberries
3–4ripe raspberries
1large ripe strawberrygreen top removed

Steps

1Wash your hands. Rinse the berries under running water, gently rubbing them, then pat them dry with a clean cloth or paper towel. Pick out any soft, moldy or shriveled berries. Using frozen berries? For babies, cook them first: simmer them from frozen with a splash of water, let them bubble for at least a minute, then mash and cool them. The CDC says washed and then cooked fruit is the safest choice for children under 5. Fresh berries, washed well, are fine.
2For 6 months, mash all the berries with a fork. From 9 months, press each blueberry and raspberry flat between your thumb and finger, or cut blueberries into quarters, and cut the strawberry into small pieces.
3Spoon your baby's portion of yogurt into a bowl, rather than feeding from the pot.
4Swirl in the berries. Don't add sugar, honey or syrup.

How to serve it by age

6 months+

Offer only after dairy has been introduced on its own. Stir the mashed berries through the yogurt and serve on a pre-loaded spoon your baby can hold, or let them scoop with their fingers. No round berries: every blueberry should be mashed.

9 months+

Top the yogurt with flattened or quartered blueberries, flattened raspberries and strawberry pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch). Each piece should squash easily between your thumb and finger.

12 months+

Serve as a breakfast or snack bowl with a spoon. Keep flattening or quartering blueberries and raspberries, and cut strawberries into quarters or pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch): uncut berries are still a choking hazard for toddlers.

Where US and UK guidance differ on this recipe

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

For babies under 1, the AAP says that apart from mashed banana, most fruits should be cooked until soft. If you follow US advice, simmer the berries in a spoonful of water for a few minutes until soft, mash them and let them cool before stirring them into the yogurt.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS suggests slices of soft fruit as finger foods from around 6 months, and says to cut small round fruits like berries and strawberries into quarters. Use only ripe berries that mash or squash easily.

We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.

If your baby reacts

This recipe contains milk. Introduce one new allergen at a time, mixed into a food your baby already eats, before serving it in a dish with other new foods. Contact your pediatrician, GP or health visitor if you notice mild signs after eating, such as a few hives or a little vomiting. See signs of a reaction.

Call 911999your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia) now if your baby has trouble breathing, wheezing, can't cough or cry, has lips, mouth, tongue or throat that suddenly swell, or becomes pale, bluish, floppy or unresponsive. Also call if hives come with repeated vomiting.

Leftovers and the rest of the family

Storing it

Best made fresh. Keep the yogurt pot and any prepared berries that haven't touched the bowl covered in the fridge, and use the berries the same day. Throw away anything left in your baby's bowl. Don't leave the bowl at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F (32°C).

For the grown-ups

Set out a big bowl of plain yogurt and berries for everyone. Adults and children aged 4 and over (5 in the UK) can add granola or chopped nuts to their own bowls. Keep nuts, seeds and granola out of your baby's and toddler's bowl.