Homemade baby food recipe

Many parents often find themselves depending on store bought baby foods well into the toddler years. Young babies need special attention given to their diets; not too much salt the right kinds of fats and a lot of attention needs to be paid to possible allergens. As you can imagine, new parents don’t feel they have a lot of time to worry about making the food for their baby so they depend on store bought jars. While this is fine, there are things that you can do at home to easily produce healthy food for your baby with a little bit of know how.

Children don’t need to start eating solids until they are a year old. All the food they consume up until that point is merely practice. Most pediatricians recommend waiting until the baby is six months old before introducing any solid foods and most people will begin them sometime between four to six months. The food children eat is dependent on the developmental skills that they have.

At six months of age you can start them on some starter foods. It is a good idea to wait until the tongue-thrust reflex has disappeared (you can tell this by placing a small amount of food on the end of their tongue to see if it is accepted) and that they can sit erect in a high chair.

All foods should be tried one at a time and give at least 4 days before trying another so that you can isolate and possible allergic reactions. It is a good idea to document what food you are giving your baby and when.

STARTER FOODS

Bananas, rice cereal, pears and applesauce are all appropriate starter foods. This is because they are proven to be the least allergenic. They are easy to prepare. Keep in mind that all you need remember is strained and pureed. No chunky pieces of food for these early months. You can easily mash a banana with a fork and boiling peeled and sliced apples in some water and then simply pureeing it can make applesauce. Add about 8 medium sized apples to one cup of water. Adjust the water level to make the sauce more thick or runny. Bring it to the boil with a lid on. You can prepare pears the same way. No sugar is required: these foods are naturally sweet.

THE NEXT STEP

By about seven to nine months your baby will be ready to try something a little more adventurous. They become fascinated with tiny food morsels and is developing the pincer grip (pick up mechanism using the thumb and forefinger) and begins putting things into their mouth.

Some foods you may like to try are: avocados, peaches, carrots, squash and potatoes. Items like soft peach pieces make a good finger food, other items that may be a little tough to mash with soft and sensitive little gums still need to be pureed and fed on a spoon. You baby will likely want to have some involvement in the eating process so this is a great time to start on teething biscuits. They will enjoy this immensely, especially on sore gums.

NINE TO TWELVE MONTHS

By this stage your baby is capable of enjoying a bit more food. They have mastered finger foods and can handle small lumpier foods. Some foods you may like to try now are: poultry, rice cakes, bagel, egg yolk, cheese, yogurt, noodles, beans, peas, yams and oatmeal. They can handle bite sized, softly cooked vegetables. Try to avoid anything stringy or that requires too much chewing. At this age, food that melts in the mouth is most important.

FROM TWELVE MONTHS

At this age the baby is developing longer attention spans and is able to participate in family meals. They can eat chopped and mashed foods and may even begin feeding themselves with utensils: although is it likely to be very messy.

Some foods you may like to try are whole milk, cottage cheese on toast, whole eggs, broccoli, spinach, mango, melon, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, pasta, pancakes and muffins.

ITEMS NEEDED TO MAKE YOUR OWN BABY FOOD

Food processor or blender, baby food grinder, roasting pan, vegetable steamer, saucepan with lid, cutting board, potato masher, strainer, peeler, grater, colander and ladle.

Remember to wash and scrub all fruits and vegetable well. Steaming them retains more nutrients than boiling and don’t add any salt or sugar.

You can store baby food in ice cube trays in the freezer if you want to make it ahead of time. You can also remove the cubes from the tray once frozen and store them in individual zip lock bags for easy access later. Once the baby is ready for larger portions, you can store the food in small, recycled jars.

Remember to label all the food with what it is and when it was prepared and don’t keep any food longer than three months.