**Chilled, soft fruit or cooked vegetables are good food-based options**, provided your baby is ready for solids. At around six months, she should be able to sit upright with a steady head, bring food to her mouth, and swallow it. Mouthing everything alone doesn’t establish readiness. [NHS feeding guidance](https://www.nhs.uk/baby/weaning-and-feeding/babys-first-solid-foods/)

Try these preparations:

| Food | How to prepare it |
|---|---|
| Banana | Peel a ripe banana and offer a long, soft piece. No cooking needed. |
| Peach or soft, ripe pear | Wash, peel, remove the stone or core, and cut into finger-length slices. Cook pear if it is firm. |
| Apple | Peel, core, and steam or simmer until soft; then cool and refrigerate. |
| Carrot, sweet potato, or squash | Peel and cook until soft throughout, then cool and offer finger-length sticks. |

Pieces should be long enough to protrude from her fist and soft enough to squash easily between your fingers. Firm produce needs cooking; simply chilling it does not make it suitable. These preparations follow [NHS first-food](https://www.nhs.uk/baby/weaning-and-feeding/babys-first-solid-foods/) and [food-safety guidance](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/baby/weaning/safe-weaning/preparing-food-safely/).

**Avoid hard raw carrot or apple as teethers**: pieces can break off and cause choking, even when an adult is watching. Also avoid whole grapes, nuts, and hard or chewy dried fruit. Have her seated upright in a high chair and stay within reach throughout. [CDC choking guidance](https://www.cdc.gov/infant-toddler-nutrition/foods-and-drinks/choking-hazards.html/)

Use the refrigerator for cooling. Don’t give food frozen solid directly to chew—it can hurt tender gums. If she isn’t ready for food, or simply wants something to gnaw on between meals, a clean, chilled damp washcloth or gentle gum massage with a clean finger is a useful alternative. [American Academy of Pediatrics teething guidance](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/teething-tooth-care/Pages/Teething-Pain.aspx)