Some Fruity & Veggie Combos To Try

Now that we have covered the basics it's time to move on to something more adventurous. Once you have safely introduced these different types of vegetables and fruits, then it's time to "mix 'n match". You can mix any number of vegetables/fruits in any combination you choose. You just need to experiment a bit and trust your instincts as to what your baby would or would not like.

Like I always say, home made baby food is so simple and more importantly so much more rewarding as you know exactly what your baby is eating and you have the ultimate satisfaction of becoming a master chef for that very special little customer!

Have fun experimenting with fun and healthy foods to feed your children.  They will become better eaters, and you can rest easy knowing that you are giving your loved ones the best, healthiest, tastiest food possible. Happy Cooking!


Pear, Blueberries & Banana (6+)
*Blueberries do not fall under the "No Berries Until 12 Months Old" rule and may be introduced as early as 7-months of age. But please do consult your baby's pediatrician if your baby has shown any signs of food allergies. You should consider stewing the blueberries if you are introducing them earlier than 7-8 months and also if you have found your baby has any troubles with digesting other foods.
 * You can omit the berries and the pear and banana combo will be suitable for babies from 4 months onward.

Ripe Pear - 1
Blueberries puree - 3tsp
Banana - 1/2 of a very ripe banana

1. Peel and de-seed a fully ripened pear
2. Mash or puree as needed for your baby's preference .You may wish to steam pear chunks for a bit to soften them and enable easier digestion for a younger baby who starts solids at 4 months of age.
3. To make the blueberry puree - Bring water to a boil. Add blueberries and simmer for 15 minutes until soft. Reserve liquid and use a slotted spoon to transfer blueberries to blender/processor/mixer and puree.
If needed, add some of the liquid to blueberries.
4. Mash the very ripe banana
5. Mix all 3 purees and voila yummy puree ready to serve!
6. Add cereal to thicken up if you wish. I found the puree to be of just the right consistency that Chackochi likes so I didn't need to thicken it any more.

Peach, Pear & Banana (6+)
1 peach
1 ripe pear
1 banana

1. Score an “X” into the side of the peach and lie, X-side down, in a small saucepan of water (the water should come no more than halfway up the peach).
2. Bring the water to a boil and simmer the peaches for around five minutes, until soft.
3. Remove from water and, once cool enough, peel away the skin, cut, and discard stone.
4. Peel and deseed the pear and cut into small pieces.
5. Place the peaches, pear and banana into a blender and puree until smooth.

Notes:
*This puree can be frozen for up to six weeks.
*Banana will start to darken when it is left exposed to the air so peel your banana just before you are going to use it. Dark banana still tastes the same but it doesn't look so appetizing!
*You can also substitute the peach with an apple and the puree will be suitable for 4 month old babies

Pumpkin, Sweet Potato & Carrot (4+)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot , peeled and chopped
1 cup pumpkin, peeled and chopped

1. Steam the vegetables for about 20 minutes or until tender.
2. Blend the vegetables to a puree adding a little of the boiled water at the bottom of the steamer (about 75ml) or some of your baby’s usual milk to make a good consistency for your baby.
3. If you don't have a steamer,  put the vegetables into a saucepan and just cover with boiling water.Cover the pan with a lid and cook over a medium heat until tender (about 20 minutes).
4. Drain the vegetables and blend to a puree using a little of the cooking liquid or you could add a little of your baby’s usual milk.

Notes:
*Suitable for freezing
*Makes about 6 -8 serves

Oatmeal with Apple (6+)

1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup water
1 apple, peeled and cut into small chunks
milk, optional

1. Put the rolled oats, water, and apple chunks into a saucepan over medium high heat.
2. Bring to a boil and allow to gently boil for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Remove from heat and transfer to a blender.  Blend until the oatmeal is at your baby’s desired consistency.

Notes
*Will keep stored in the refrigerator for  2-3 days.  Simply reheat and add some of your baby’s usual milk (or more water) to thin it again.  
* You can substitute apples for pears or bananas or any other fruit your baby likes. Let your imagination run wild :)


Here are links to some of the older recipe posts I put up when I had Issac. Check them out!
Apple & Banana Surprise - 4+
Fruity Breakfast Porridge - 6+ or 4+ if you omit the raisins
Creamy Zucchini Soup - 7+
Lentils and Apple Puree - 6+

And also coming up next are some toddler friendly recipes as I've been neglecting that part of my blog for a while now to stay tuned. Until then take care and Happy Pureeing everyone! :)

Continue Reading

Simple Purees – Round #2 – Fruits

I'm seriously on a roll here :) My third post in a week...I've kept me word so far and I hope to continue doing so (fingers & toes crossed!)

So today we move on to fruits. Fruits are just bound to be loved by kids. The sweet taste is just too much for any baby to resist. Some basic first fruits you can try are:

Bananas

Image source : http://romanlosangelez.wordpress.com

Wholesome and nutritious most babies just LOVE bananas, perhaps the most nutritious of all the fruits. The taste, texture and ease of preparation make them ideal for baby's first food.

The method of preparation is so simple, there is no method - just mash a ripe banana and baby's meal is ready! For very young babies, you can add a little formula or breast milk for a runnier consistency.

Apples

Image source: http://www.newhealthguide.org

1. Take a sweet dessert apple, then peel it, core it and cut it into chunks.

2. Steam the chunks, or slice very thinly and simmer gently with about 1 tbsp of water, until soft.

3. You can puree apple very easily by passing it through a sieve or fine strainer. 

 Here’s a recipe to make your own applesauce to add to cereals if you like.

Pears

Image source: http://mprunotto.com

Pears can be peeled, cored and prepared like apples (above), although very ripe pears can be pureed without cooking for babies from 6 months of age.

Like apples, pears can sometimes be very runny in texture once pureed. So, after you have safely introduced them to your baby, try using them in combination with another fruit ... or vegetable!

Avocado 

Avocado is highly nutritious, creamy in texture and a perfect baby food.

Choose a ripe avocado, then simply peel and remove the stone. You can then mash the fruit with a fork - the consistency is similar to banana, so you won't need to puree it any further.

Image source: http://www.drjoanna.com.au

Read more at Homemade Baby Food Recipes. they have some really good tips and information about do's and don'ts on feeding your baby through to 1 year olds. And also their blog has quite a few interesting recipes as well.

Notes:
Apples - May turn brown - freeze in slices for a nice teething reliever [raw]
Avocado - May turn brown when pureed - best frozen in halves with a bit of lemon juice [raw]
Bananas - May brown when pureed - best way to freeze, cut in half, wrap then freeze [raw]
Pears - May turn brown - freeze well but may be gritty/watery when thawed [raw or cooked]

Continue Reading

Simple Purees – Round #1 – Vegetables

 I dropped into daycare today for Chackochi's usual afternoon feed and look at how I found him

Those of you who aren't parents yet will look at the photo and go" What's so special about this pic? He's just sitting there smiling away..." Well, that's just it!!! He is SITTING!! Unsupported!! By baby is sitting up on his own! :)
I could not stop grinning and I'm sure the teachers at Daycare thought I looked silly! But this is one of my baby's milestones and I'm so glad I was there to see it. So he's bypassed the crawling and gone straight to sitting... Hmmmm wonder what he's going to do next..Whatever it is, I'm sure i'll get just as excited, so excited that you might as well think it was my first baby! But let me tell you, no matter how many babies you may have, every baby's first's will leave you all giddy and happy just as it was for your firstborn. :)

Okie, so enough of drooling over  my baby lets get on with today's topic.
Here are some basic purees that you can start feeding your baby. Its always best to try these first on their own and once you make sure your baby does not have any reactions to these you can start becoming more adventurous and mix it up.
I'll put up the combos that I do for Chackochi soon in another post once I've outlined all the basic purees first. :)

Carrots

Image Source: freshvegetablesexporter.com 

Choose large, older carrots - these are actually richer in nutrients than baby carrots. Just trim the ends and slice. Then steam, boil or microwave and puree to perfection!
Do not reserve any left over water to use for thinning out the carrots if baby is under 8 months old as Nitrates may seep into the cooking water
Add water as necessary to achieve a smooth, thin consistency or you could also use some formula/ breast milk if you wish.


Sweet Potato

Image Source: www.womenshealthmag.com

1. Preheat the oven to 375 deg F or 190 deg C.
2. Simply take one large sweet potato. Scrub it clean and prick it with a fork.
3. Bake for about 45 mins or so (depending on the size), until it feels soft.
4. Once cooked, all you need to do is split the potato and scrape out the flesh with a spoon. Just mash it lightly with a fork and you're ready to go.
One large potato will give you about 3 or 4 portions at this early stage. Bake a few at a time and you've got a fortnight's supply!
Alternatively... you could peel the potato, then boil or steam it in cubes.





Pumpkin
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Slice the stem off before slicing in half so you don’t have to slice through the stem.
3. Slice in half.
 4. With a sharp-edged spoon (I use a metal tablespoon with a sharp edge or you can use a metal ice cream scoop), scoop out the seeds & guts.

 5. Brush inside with olive oil (optional, but I like to) and place face down on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Roast at 350F for about 45-50 minutes. The exact time will vary depending on the size of the pumpkin(s) and you may need more time. You’ll know when the pumpkin is ready to come out of the oven when  the skin is a deep orange, slightly wrinkled, and your fork can easily slide through. (Mine has gone past that point as I accidentally forgot all about it!! Oops!)

7. Let the pumpkin cool for 10 minutes before handling. Grab a large spoon and peel away the very thin skin. It comes off almost effortlessly.

8. Place the pumpkin flesh into the blender and blend away until super smooth. Let it go for a good minute or two – you don’t want any clumps left.

* These are just suggestions, you don't have to restrict your baby's palette to these veges alone. These are the one's I've given Lucas so far.

Notes:
Carrots - Freezes well [cooked]
Pumpkin- Freezes well [cooked]
Sweet Potatoes - Freezes well [cooked]

Continue Reading

Baby’s First Foods – Cereals

As promised here's my first post on First Foods/Purees for babies. This is suitable from 4-6 months and onwards. These are the  basic cereals I've been feeding Chackochi along with the occasional Farex or Cerelac. I now mix fruits to these cereals as well like apples, pears, bananas etc. I'll put up the recipes for the combos I do as well soon.

* Please keep in mind that I’m not a baby food expert or baby nutrition specialist in any way- these are just the foods that Chackochi likes and an inexpensive list of combos. Always check with your doctor regarding the best method for feeding your baby. For now, I'm pureeing most of Chackochi's food and he loves it.

Brown Rice Cereal

1/4 cup brown rice powder

1 cup water

a little formula/breast milk

1. To make the rice powder, grind brown rice in a blender or food processor. Do it in small quantities to get the powder as smooth as you can.

2. Bring the water to a boil.

3. Add the rice powder, stirring constantly with a whisk so you don't get any lumps.

4. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer gently for about 10 minutes (don't forget to keep stirring, or the rice will stick).

4. Then stir in enough formula or breast milk to give the consistency that's best for your baby.

Oatmeal Cereal

1/4 cup ground oats (do NOT use instant or Quick Cook), ground in blender or food processor to fine powder

3/4 cup water

A little formula/breast milk

1. Bring water to boil in saucepan. 

2. Add the ground oats while stirring constantly. 

3. Simmer for 10 minutes, whisking constantly, mix in formula or breast milk and fruits if desired

4. Serve warm.

Notes
In the beginning, your goal is not to fill up your baby’s stomach. This is a learning experience for both of you, so begin with a tiny amount and see how he reacts. Your goal is to expose him to new tastes and textures, not to substitute an inferior food (cereal, for example) for a superior food (breast milk). Remember that if he is ravenously hungry, he won’t be in the mood to try anything new. Offer solids after nursing, kind of like dessert. Usually the best times are in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Follow your baby’s lead and gradually increase the amounts offered.

Continue Reading

Introduction to Pureeing and Storing Baby Foods

Since I'm all hyped up about being more active in this space I thought why wait till next week to put up a new post, why not do it today! I've been asked for some puree recipes and I thought as a start to a series of purees I'd make a small note on how to make a baby food puree and also some handy tips on how to store your homemade baby food safely that I've collected from my time with Issac.

Preparing homemade baby food is pretty simple. With a little patience and a bit of organisation you can prepare an entire month's supply of food in one afternoon, its that simple! Read on and find out how...

Baby Food Puree Preparation

1. You can use either of the four methods to cook the vegetable/fruit - steaming, baking, microwaving or boiling.

Steaming maintains the most nutrients. Steaming, baking and boiling all allow for big batches of foods to be made at one time. You can use an electric steamer, or simply place the foods in a colander over a pan of boiling water.

If you choose to boil the food instead, then use very little water and keep any water remaining once the food has cooked. You can then use it to thin purees - that way, if any nutrients were lost into the water in the boiling process, you can incorporate them back into your baby's food.

Microwave cooking also preserves the nutrients in the food, as foods tend to cook quickly and with little water.

2. Next take the cooked vegetable or fruit and puree or mash, depending on the food type and your baby's age.

For large quantities of food, a blender or food processor is invaluable. If you don't have either, then you could push the food through a sieve.

Set aside the liquid that the vegetable/fruits were cooked in. This will be the liquid you add to make the puree. Adding this liquid also helps to preserve any nutrients that may have leached into the water during cooking. 

(Do not use reserved water from carrots or other high nitrate veggies for a baby under 7 months old. )   You may also thin with Formula, Breast Milk or Plain Water.

3. As you are pureeing or blending, add the liquid or plain water.  You may use formula or breast milk if you so desire. These liquids give a little nutritional boost and add a familiar taste for baby.

Baby Food Storage

If you've made only a small quantity of food, then place it into an air-tight container and store it in the refrigerator. Don't put it in the door - the temperature is lower there. Always store baby food on the shelves.

Store larger quantities of food in the freezer. 

The following baby food storage chart shows the length of time that you can safely store each type of food.

Food Type	Fridge	Freezer
Cooked fruits and vegetables	2-3 days	1-3 months
Meat	1 day	1-2 months
Meat/vegetable combination	1-2 days	3-4 months
Egg yolks	1 day	1-2 months

Source : Homemade baby Food Recipes

Steps to Freeze Baby Food

1. Thoroughly clean several ice cube trays. Use warm, soapy water or run them through a dishwasher cycle. You can also submerge the trays in boiling water. 

2. Spoon or pour pre-cooked, pureed baby food into each cube of the ice cube tray. Fill each cube to the top, but do not allow the food to overflow.

3. Cover the trays with cellophane wrap. Make sure the wrap forms a sturdy seal along the edge of the tray to prevent dust or other contaminants from getting into the food. 

4. Each cube is equal to approximately 1 ounce of food. 

5. Once the cubes of puree have set and are frozen, take the trays out of the freezer and transfer the cubes into freezer bags.

6. Be sure to label the bag with the date of preparation as well as the type of food. The baby food cubes should be used within a month of freezing. 

7. When it is time to feed baby, simply take out the number of food cubes needed and thaw and then reheat.

Hope you find this info useful as it has been for me when I was a new mom. Stay tuned for a whole load of puree recipes coming up soon :)

References:

Kidspot.com

Gerber.com

Babycentre.com

Momtastic's Wholesome baby food

Homemade baby food recipes

Continue Reading

Back to Basics - Round 2 - Rice Porridge with Banana Puree

Well what do you know, its 2014 already!!!!  I know I've been a horrible blogger the last year but please can I blame it all on the baby business i had going on last year? While its all been a whirlwind of fun and horrors, I'm glad 2013 is behind me. A new year means a new start, right? And of course a new start definitely needs some new year resolutions. On top of my list is of course my resolution to get back into blogging here more frequently, like at least  once every week. You can all wipe off  that sarcastic look on your faces as you read this right now, but I promise this ain't like the previous 100 promises I've made! I know you'll all forgive me for being so lazy!

Anyways, for those of you who don't know, I've got a 2.5 year old toddler and a 6 month old baby now. So I'll be switching between recipes to cater for both age groups now and then.I have so many interesting recipes i'd love to share with you all. So here's to a new and exciting year ahead!

Today's special is one of the first foods for my baby Lucas aka Chackochi. But before we get into that ,for those of you who are wondering if I named him after Suresh Gopi from the movie Lelam, NO! I did see that movie ages ago and I do love the character that Suresh Gopi played, but I promise you that I did not actually realize that was his name until someone commented on it after we had named Lucas. Chacko is my grandfather's and my father's name. And just to make it a bit more babyish we added the "chi" to Chacko and hence Chackochi :) And besides since my boys are ultimately Kanjirapally achayans they had to have typical catholic mallu names - Kochu varkey & Chackochi! Just so we are clear :)

Ok, I guess that's enough of banter for this week, so lets get into it shall we? This dish is just basically plain cooked riced only difference being its cooked in milk for that extra nutritional value and also some taste. You can serve the porridge on its own with a pinch of salt and few drops of ghee. The banana puree adds some natural sweetness to the porridge and I'm sure no baby would say no to the lovely sweet taste. You could experiment with different fruit purees like apple or pear as well. And of course you could also try adding some vege puree instead like carrots or pumpkin. No matter what you try please always remember to follow the 4 day wait rule outlined here.
P.S. Again forgive me for the not so fine quality pics. I'm using my phone's camera as that's what i usually have on hand to quickly take a picture before I rush off to feed a very hungry baby!

Rice Porridge with Banana Puree

Ingredients:
Rice -1/2 cup, washed and drained well
Milk -3/4 cup
Water - 1.5 cups
Salt
Ghee (optional)
Banana - 1/2 of one very ripe banana

Method:
Rice Porridge:
1. Bring the milk and water to a boil in a pressure cooker. Add the washed rice & a pinch of salt to the boiling milk and close the pressure cooker. Pressure cook for until 4-5 whistles.
2. Once the pressure cooker has cooled down, open it and check that the rice has cooked well to a paysam consistency.
3. If there is any milk/water left after pressure cooking, cook till the milk/water is dried.
4. Allow it to cool a bit and then puree it using a blender/mixee until the porridge achieves a smooth and runny consistency. You can serve the porridge at this point as is with a few drops of ghee.
Banana Puree:
1. Blend 1/2 of a very ripe banana in the blender/mixee.
2. Mix the puree with the rice porridge and serve with a few drops of ghee.

Notes:
1. Adjust the milk and water quantities according to your rice. I used par-boiled rice.
2. If you find that the rice isn't cooked enough after you open the cooker add some more hot water and cook again for a couple of whistles.
3. When blending the rice, if it gets too thick you can add some breast milk or hot water to loosen it up.
4. If your baby is less than 6 months old please omit milk and use only water breast milk or formula.
5. The cooked rice may be stored in the fridge for 2 days before pureeing. And if freezing, then too its best done before pureeing. I'm not sure how well it will  sit though- may be rubbery or gritty when thawed,the jury is still out on that one.
6. The banana may brown when pureed - best way to freeze, cut in half, wrap then freeze (raw).

Continue Reading