Cook it Fresh

Enjoying his food!

With both of our children, I was excited for them to start eating solids. It’s so much fun to introduce your baby to a whole new sensation and watch them enjoying food. With my oldest child, I was a little nervous and uncertain about making her baby food and had lots of questions. This new monthly series is a way for me to share some of the baby food recipes and tips that I picked up the first time around.

I am certainly not trying to extol the benefits of homemade baby food. I do appreciate that it is so much cheaper than store bought. Also, as someone who struggled to make enough breast milk to feed my babies, I liked the feeling of being able to make them wholesome, fresh foods when the time came for them to start on solids. But I know there are also lots of great, convenient store bought baby foods that are just as healthy.

The Basics

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until babies are 6 months old before starting them on solids, but our kids showed interest in eating at about 5 months old and their doctor said it would be fine to start them on some rice cereal at that point. Of course, you always want to ask your pediatrician before starting your baby on solids and get their advice. Most pediatricians recommend introducing one food at a time and waiting a few days between each new food to make sure the baby doesn’t have a reaction (especially important if you have a family history of food allergies).  Our pediatrician recommended rice cereal, bananas, applesauce and avocado as good starter foods since they have a fairly low risk of causing a reaction. I started our babies out on just rice cereal at breakfast for about a week before adding in some mashed bananas and then waited another week or two before adding an evening snack of avocado or apples.

Thinning

Most baby food (homemade or store bought) is too thick for beginning eaters and needs to be thinned out quite a bit with some formula or breast milk. I was unsure with our first child just how ththemselves food needed to be. I soon found that  it was easy to tell if  the foods were too thick since she would start gagging or coughing as she ate. Every baby is different, but for most babies who are just starting to eat, I would recommend mixing each tablespoon of purée with one tablespoon of formula or breast milk. The food should be just a bit thicker than regular formula.

Equipment

Specialized baby food makers seemed like a waste of space and money for our first child and I just used a stovetop steamer and food processor to make her food. However, with a small baby to look after, I often forgot to add water to the pan and ended up scorching a couple of pans and ruining batches of food. I knew our life would be even more chaotic with two kids, so this time I invested in a second-hand Baby Brezza baby food maker that I bought on Craig’s list. This machine can be set to automatically steam and blend the food or you can use the steam and blend functions separately. I have found it to be very helpful and worth every penny. Not only does it make perfectly blended baby food, I have also used it to make applesauce and steam veggies for my preschooler. I also love these oxo containers for freezing baby food. I know that you can just freeze baby food in ice cube trays, but I like having containers that can be used for freezing, thawing and serving. That way you only have half the dishes to wash and can just throw a container of frozen baby food into the diaper bag when you’re on the go.

Below are recipes for a few of the foods that I’ve introduced our baby to during his first month of eating. So far, he has thoroughly enjoyed every one of them!

Banana and Avocado halves

Peeled and Diced

Pureed

Banana Avocado Puree

Bananas and avocados are perfect first baby foods because they have a soft texture and mild flavor. They also have the advantage of being very convenient: just mash and serve! Mashing with a fork makes a nice chunky mixture that is good for older babies but, for babies just starting on solids, I prefer to actually blend them together with a food processor to make a perfectly smooth puree. Since both avocado and banana browns very quickly, you don’t want to make too much of this puree ahead of time. Although, I do sometimes make some extra for the next day. After all, babies don’t care what their food looks like.

Makes about 1/2 cup or 2 baby sized servings

Ingredients: 1/2 of a ripe avocado

1/2 of a banana, peeled and chopped

2-4 tablespoons breast milk or formula (for younger babies)

1. Spoon the flesh out of the avocado half and puree it with the banana chunks in a food processor of baby food maker until completely smooth. Add breast milk or formula to thin, if needed.

Apple and Zucchini

Peeled and Diced

Steamed and Pureed

Fruits of the Harvest Puree (apple and zucchini)

If you’re anything like us, you may end up with an overabundance of zucchini when September rolls around, thanks to generous friends and family. With a baby in the house, it’s a great idea to steam and blend up some of that zucchini for an easy, wholesome puree. Apples are also at their peak this time of the year and they are the perfect addition to sweeten this puree and make it a little more palatable.

Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

1 small apples, peeled, seeded and diced

1 cup peeled, diced zucchini

1. Using a stove top or electric steamer, steam the apples and zucchini for 30 to 45 minutes, or until they are very tender when pierced with a fork.

2. Blend the steamed apples and zucchini in a food processor or baby food maker until perfectly smooth, adding some of the steaming water, if needed, to achieve optimum smoothness . . . or something. Freeze immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. For younger babies, thin with a little bit of formula or breast milk before serving.

Carrots from our garden

Diced

Steamed and pureed

Basic Carrot Puree

Carrots are a great first vegetable for babies because they are so sweet and nutritious. Almost all babies like carrots and, later on, they become a great base for introducing less sweet vegetables like spinach and broccoli.

Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

3 small or 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced (I leave homegrown carrots unpeeled)

1. Steam the diced carrots for 30 to 45 minutes or until very soft. Place in a food processor or baby food maker and process until very smooth, adding some of the water used to steam them, as needed, to smooth and thin. For young babies, thin puree with some breast milk or formula.

2. Can be frozen for up to 2 months or refrigerated for a few days.