Baby food is essential to any baby that has reached a weaning stage. Therefore, Are you wondering if you should try your hand at making your own baby food recipes or just get it from a store? There are pros and cons to both ideas, but below are five facts about making your own baby food recipes that might help you decide and make up your mind about which would work better for you and your baby.
1. Baby Food Made at Home is Healthier
The commercial baby food you buy at the store contains sugar, fat, salt, fillers and other unnecessary ingredients that go into your baby’s diet. They use these additives to add bulk, texture and flavor to a poor-quality product. These add nothing to your baby’s well-being or health. By making your own baby food and trying different baby food recipes, you know exactly what your baby is eating and that he or she is not getting anything that they don’t need.
2. You Control the Ingredients When you make your own baby food, you know 100 percent of what these baby food recipes contain one by one and are aware of what is going into your baby’s mouth.
When you make applesauce, you know that he or she is getting a fresh and pure apple along with all the nutrients and vitamins it contains. However, when you purchase applesauce from the store, you just about need a nutritionist to decipher the ingredients on the list.
3. Making Food Is Easy! When you get started trying different baby food recipes, you’ll realize just how easy it is. All you need is mixer, a blender and some fresh foods to quickly whip up a tasty, healthy meal for your baby.
If your Kitchen Aid needs additional parts or attachments, you can find those easily.Additionally, you can make large meals all at one time and freeze some for later.
This gives you more time to spend with your baby and the ability to serve up a fast, healthy meal in just minutes later in the week.
4. It Cost Much Less The outrageous prices charged by the manufacturers of baby food are not justifiable at all.
They charge so much because they have parents assuming they have no other option but to buy their baby food products.
You can avoid being a victim of the daylight robbery that comes with buying commercial baby foods by investing in your own baby food recipes, and you will find yourself with extra money to spend on the items your growing baby needs.
5. A Gratifying Experience Watching your baby eat and enjoy the meal you made is a gratifying experience.
Additionally, you have the pride and satisfaction of knowing you are feeding your baby a nutritious and healthy diet, and you save money at the same time!
So, the time has come. Your bundle of joy is growing at such an alarming rate you feel like they will soon be setting off for college, but what’s next? Solid foods! It’s important when introducing solid foods into your baby’s diet that you start them on the correct health and nutrition journey, a journey they can continue on throughout their life.
By taking the time to ensure your little one is provided with all of the vitamins and nutrients they need you will be making sure their growth and development is as healthy as possible.
4-6 Months - This is around the time most babies will begin to eat solid foods.
Traditionally, babies are started on specific baby cereals that are part of various baby food recipes and mothers should begin teaching their child to eat in a sitting position.
Even if the cereal is of a similar consistency to milk, avoid the temptation to feed your baby using a bottle. Gradually add less and less liquid to the cereal.
Some parents choose to bypass the traditional cereal solid food start and jump straight to pureed fruits and vegetables at this age. Try the baby food recipes below:
- Sweet Potato – A firm favorite with children thanks to its subtle sweetness.
- Carrots – One of the most popular, and cheapest, foods to start your baby with.
- Squash
- Apples
- Bananas
- Peaches
- Pears
Make sure the food is washed and completely pureed, as well as adding some liquid. Don’t be surprised if your baby won’t take solid food on the first try – try again in a few days. At this stage in your baby’s life their natural reserve of iron will begin depleting and will need to be replenished through food; fruit and vegetables are perfect for this.
8-10 Months - At this stage you should start introducing new fruit and vegetables into your child’s diet as well as protein in the form of meats.
You can begin to mash the baby food rather than pureeing but make sure mouthfuls are manageable.
You can also begin introducing finger foods like small pieces of banana or pasta and teething crackers as well as small amounts of cottage cheese, yogurt and soft pasteurized cheeses, but no cow’s milk.
TOP TIP: When trying new baby food recipes into your baby’s diet try them one at a time, leaving time in between each new food. Ideally the three day rule is encouraged by most nutritionist. By doing this you will not only discover what foods your child prefers but also seek out any allergies at an early stage.
Foods to Avoid
While some of these particular treats-to-avoid when starting your baby on solid foods may seem a little obvious, are you aware of why you shouldn’t be giving them to your little ones?
Sweets & Chocolate We all love a sweet treat and your baby probably won’t be any different, but the high sugar content in those moreish treats can do some serious harm to the enamel. If you do want to give your child something sweet then give it to them during meal times, when the saliva in their mouth is increased and can help to neutralize the acid that attacks enamel. Equally, it’s better to have a small portion of sweets all at once than over longer periods of time.
Fizzy / Carbonated Drinks Another enemy to your baby’s emerging teeth, fizzy drinks also contain caffeine. Giving your child a fizzy drink will not only increase their weight but also make them feel full quickly, ruining their appetite for more nutritious foods.
Fruit Juice Although fruit juice may seem like the perfect drink to give your baby, in reality it actually contains as much sugar as the fizzy drinks you are avoiding. Fruit juices are high in natural sugars as well as being incredibly acidic. When your baby starts to eat solid foods you can give them diluted fruit juices (one part juice to ten parts water.)
Ready Meals - They might be super easy and quick to prepare but ready meals will often contain far too much salt and sugar for your baby. If you are strapped for time and need to rely on a ready meal make sure you read the packet or try to purchase meals specially created for babies.
Crisps & Crackers - Both crisps and crackers are pretty convenient snacks to give your baby to munch on, especially when you’re on the go they are a prime culprit for filling them up so much that they won’t eat anything more nutritious. Not only that, but they are very high in salt and your baby’s kidneys can’t cope with the same amount of salt yours can. Try chopped fruit or vegetables for more nutritious on-the-go snacks. With all said and done, i am going to give a list of top 5 healthy recipes for your baby that can be prepared in less than an hour:
#1 Banana Applesauce Mush
You will need 1 apple and 1 ripe banana. Begin by peeling, coring, and cutting the apple into slices. Then, place the slices into the pan and cover with water. Boil the apples until they are tender. When tender, mash the apples until you have achieved a smooth consistency like that of applesauce. The final step is to mash the banana. After the banana is mashed, combine with the applesauce.
Recipe Facts
This combination of bananas and apples contains a variety of vitamins and minerals including the following: A, C, folate, potassium, magnesium and calcium. You can also add wheat germ to the applesauce.
#2 Garden Vegetable Combo
This is among great baby food recipes to try after the vegetables have been introduced separately.
You will need green beans, summer squash, peas and carrots. Add all of the ingredients to a pan, cover with water and cook the vegetables until tender, reserving the water.
Next, puree the vegetables in a food processor or in a blender. Add the reserved water until you have achieved the desired consistency.
Recipe Facts
This combination of vegetables provides a good source of vitamins A, C and K. If you are having difficulty getting peas and green beans to puree into a smooth consistency, try the blender.
You can also try using frozen peas and beans, which seems to provide a smoother consistency.
#3 Butternut
Cut the butternut in half and scoop out the seeds.
Add one inch of water to a pan and place the butternut face down in the pan.
Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.
Next, scoop out the meat of the butternut and puree.
Add water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
Recipe Facts
butternut is a great source of calcium, iron, potassium and folate.
#4 Oatmeal Cereal
To make your own oatmeal, you will need 1/4 cup of oats.
Grind the oats into a fine substance in a blender or food processor.
Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil.
Add the oat powder being sure to stir constantly.
Simmer for 10 minutes.
Recipe Facts
Traditionally, a single grain cereal has been the first choice for solid foods. You can add breast milk, formula or fruit to a cereal. It is also recommended to serve cereal warm.
#4 Apricot Puree
You will need 1 kilogram of dried apricots and 2 cups of white grape juice, pear or apple juice.
Begin by bringing the liquid and apricots to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Be sure to reserve any liquid.
Next, puree the apricots and add the reserved liquid as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
Recipe Facts
Apricots provide vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, potassium, phosphorus and calcium. You can substitute water for the juice although this may result in a bitter taste. You can also add cereal to the puree to help thicken it.
The above type of baby foods recipes fall under stage 1 category of baby food which includes 4-6 months. This as a parent you can initiate on your baby and remember to watch out for any reactions.