Preparing Homemade Baby Food – Part II
In the 1st part of the post (Preparing Homemade Baby Food – Part I), we have discussed tips and benefits of making your own baby food at home. Though making homemade baby food needs a lot of attention and preparation, you can make it an enjoying experience, if you put your heart and soul into the subject. Like any food preparation, you need to have a thorough understanding of the preparation style. You have to read and understand the cooking style. Maybe you can seek the help of elderly family members, in case if you are planning cook some traditional homemade baby foods. Don’t consider making homemade baby food is a tiring experiment. Take it easy and enjoy preparing it, because it is for your baby.
In this article, let us look into different recipes and methods to make homemade baby foods.
Prepping the ingredients
After deciding which all vegetable or fruits to use, you need to wash them thoroughly. Make sure that you use fresh and clean ingredients for cooking baby food. You child’s immune system is not well developed and might be vulnerable to infections. Use boiled water to clean the foods especially if you do not get good quality water in your tap.
After washing, start making the meal with the help of a food blender or microwave. While cooking an egg, you need to cook them until solid. You have to be more careful while cooking meat. Any meat has to be cooked well and broken up into tiny pieces. Peel fruits and vegetables before giving it your baby.
Storing food
If you are making homemade baby food in batches, you need to store them properly. Wait till the food cools and store them in the refrigerator. Freeze the food only if you are not going to use it for the next 24 hours. Do not store the leftover baby food as it might contain the saliva.
Use good quality storage utensils to store the food. You can store baby food in freezer bags or ice trays. Pour food purees into standard ice trays and cover with a plastic wrap do that it remains tight.
You should not keep baby food in the fridge for more than 2 days. It is always recommended to make fresh batches every time. If you want to store it in the refrigerator, then store in small batches in different containers. Do not take food from the container and then store it again in the same container.
Never store your baby’s food in glass containers unless they are food grade. Otherwise, there are chances that it might burst and glass shards can get mixed up with the food which you might not notice. Make sure that you store the food in plastic bags, which has prints denoting as “freezable”.
Recipes
Now it’s time to share some great recipes which you can make at home for your baby.
Avocado puree
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Avocados are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants. Most of the babies will love its creamy texture and mild flavor.
Local avocados are best when harvested in June, but you can always have the imported ones. Do not choose unripe avocados. When ripe, it will become slightly softer. Harder avocados will be unripe and is not the best to pick.
Ingredients
Ripe avacodo-1
Cooking method
- Wash thoroughly and slice it to take out the pit. You can easily take it out with the help of a spoon.
- Now take the meat out of the avocado with the same spoon.
- You do not need to cook the meat. Use a blender to mash the flesh. It turns to a creamy texture easily.
Feeding Avocado puree to your child would be easy. Instead of feeding your baby all a sudden, introduce the food in a small portion and let your child get the taste of the food. If your child refuses to eat, do not force to eat. You can try feeding with playful tactics.
Carrot puree
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Carrots are rich in beta-carotenes, Iron, Magnesium, and Potassium. You can use carrot alone for feeding your baby or can also mix carrot with any other vegetables to make an extra healthy meal. While picking up carrots, opt for the firm ones having a bright color. Some pediatricians do recommend commercially produced carrot puree instead of freshly prepared one. So consult your pediatrician for detailed advice.
Ingredients
Carrots- 1 or 2
Cooking method
- Wash the carrot well under running water and remove the green parts.
- Cut it into small pieces.
- Cook the carrots by bringing the water to boil. Cook until
- Drain cooked carrots and rinse in cold water.
- Use a food processor or blender to make it a puree.
- Add water to achieve desired consistency and serve.
Before feeding your child, be tactful. Bring your child to a happy mood by cuddling and cajoling. Create a happy mood and allow your child to taste the food.
Chicken Puree
© wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com
With no doubt, chicken is one of the popular poultry choices all over the world. Chicken, if cooked in a proper way is one of the best nutritious meals and a healthy option. It is best to buy organic chicken, as they are free of hormones.
Ingredients
Chicken boneless- 1 cup
Chicken stock/ cooking juice- ¼ cup
Cooking method
- Cook chicken till tender and save up the cooking juice or chicken stock.
- Using a food blender, puree the chicken until it is powdery.
- Add water to the mixture until it becomes smooth.
- You may also add veggies like carrot into the chicken puree.
Feeding baby needs a lot of patience. Sometimes your child will throw out all resistance by not allowing you to feed. You need to be very tactful and ponder the baby with love. Make your child feel very comfortable and allow him/her to calm down and come back to a playful mood. Start feeding in small portions.
Read more baby food recipes by visit: Wholessomebabyfood.com
Conclusion
You need to talk to your pediatrician if you have any doubt regarding the food, which you want to give to your baby. You must feed your child according to your child’s age group and nutritional needs. Never start giving meat to your child as the first meal. It is better always to start with vegetables mixed meals and then move to meat-based meals. You can introduce meat-based meals gradually.
