Taco night is one of our favorites in the Marr household. What’s better than seasoned meat, crunchy chips, and lots of healthy veggie toppings? So as soon as we could, we wanted to make that a part of dinner for Henry O.
But it needed a few adaptions. So here’s what we did:
The Meat
Typically, we mix ground beef with taco seasoning for ourselves. But before we did that, we just pulled some aside for Henry. We also made sure that it was broken up into smaller pieces so it was a bit easier for him to swallow.
You could either leave out seasoning for baby altogether, or mix in options like garlic, onion powder, and chili powder. But be careful — you may not want things too spicy for your baby unless he’s familiar with heat.
The tortilla
Taco shells, of course, aren’t the best idea right now — choking hazard! But flour tortillas can get pretty gloopy in your mouth. So we just took a tortilla and essentially shaved it really fine, which worked well for our boy! You could also use a corn tortilla, like Solid Starts recommends.
The toppings
Toppings are, arguably, the best part of tacos. And while you may not want to put a plate full of extra spicy salsa in front of your baby, there are some great options, including:
- Shredded cheese (in moderation, due to sodium levels)
- Wedges of raw tomato
- Slices of avocado
- Smashed black beans or refried beans
- Shredded lettuce (though a younger baby probably won’t consume much of this)
- Roasted or sautéed bell pepper
- Minced cilantro
The finished product
For Henry’s first tacos, we went really basic — just beef, cheese, and tortilla. We separated them and let him go at it with his hands for a while, which he did gleefully. But we also loaded bites with all three foods on one spoon and let him feed himself. Overall, he really enjoyed it!
