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Feed your baby a variety of foods

Updated Generic C-IYCF Counselling Package, 2024 (UNICEF | 2024)
Feed your baby a variety of foods

Key Messages

  • Along with breastmilk, young children should receive foods from four or more other food groups each day, including:
    • Flesh foods, such as meat, poultry, fish and organ meats
    • Eggs
    • Milk and non-sugary, non-flavoured milk products, such as yoghurt and cheese
    • Legumes, such as beans, lentils, peas, groundnuts; and seeds, such as sesame
    • Vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables, such as mango, papaya, passion fruit, dark-green leaves, carrots, yellow sweet potato and pumpkin
    • Other fruits and vegetables, such as banana, pineapple, watermelon, tomatoes, avocado, eggplant and cabbage
    • Staple foods, such as grains (maize, wheat, rice millet and sorghum); roots and tubers, such as sweet potatoes and potatoes; and plantains.
  • Fat or oil does not need to be added to complementary foods if it is used in preparing the family foods that are given to the baby or young child. Otherwise, add no more than one-half teaspoon of fat or oil for extra energy.
  • Offer at least one to two snacks each day, depending on the age of your child, such as an egg, ripe mango and papaya, avocado, banana, other fruits and vegetables, bread with nut paste, orange-fleshed sweet potato.
  • Avoid unhealthy foods and drinks, such as sweet biscuits, sugary drinks and snacks high in fat, salt and sugar).
  • Use iodized salt (sparingly), if salt is used in preparing family foods.
  • See Counselling Cards 27, 28 and 29 on responsive care and early learning and Counselling Cards 13, 14 and 15 on hygiene and clean water.

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