Peas & Carrots Podcast and Blog From Fresh Baby

Serving Fresh Baby Food

Now that you have a bank of baby food cubes in your freezer – what do you with them all? This podcast takes you from freezer to bowl offering you many creative and fun suggestions for serving your baby delicious and healthy homemade meals.

Introducing Solid Foods

Just when you are comfortable with breastfeeding, you get the go ahead to begin introducing solid foods. After a brief moment of panic, joy, or confusion, your first reaction is to ask “What? When? How much?”

This Peas & Carrots Podcast provides some answers.

Baby Food Meat & Fish

Many people write in to ask us for meat & fish recipes. While we do not include these foods in our So Easy Baby Food Cookbook, we do include great protein sources, such as beans and nuts.

 

Pureed meat does not have much flavor, because most of the flavor from meat comes from grinding it between teeth. Many babies can also be finicky about pureed meats and they may be better received as a finger food. But by all means, give them a try and have fun! 

 

Tips & Recipes: Here are recipes for the basic types of meats and fish along with several meal ideas. Download FreshBabyMeatsandFish

Getting Started Making Baby Food

Homemade baby food is healthier for your baby, and it tastes, smells, and looks better. All of your friends, and even your mother-in-law, will think you are a super parent for making your baby’s food. The big secret – it is easy and takes less them 30 minutes per week.  If you are interested in making baby food, check out the So Easy Baby Food Kit.

Benefits of Making Baby Food

Studies show that babies who are fed nutritious, healthy diets grow up stronger and healthier. Making baby food is a simple and nutritious plan that makes it easy for you to give your child the best start possible.

To find out more abotu making baby food, check out the So Easy Baby Food Kit.

Don't Give Up

Nurturing healthy eating habits take some patience and persistence. Don’t get caught making assumptions about the foods your baby likes and doesn’t like based on the first few reactions.

Time Saving Tips For Making Baby Food

The simplest and most convenient system for making baby food is to make large batches of food purees and freeze it is in single serving cubes.  Once you get started, it will take about 30 minutes per week.  Here is some time saving advice that will help you out.

·         Use a cookbook for support: Invest in a baby food cookbook.  It will offer you guidance and suggestions that will keep you focused on success.

·         Plan ahead. Before you go to the grocery store, look through the freezer and take a mental inventory. Read through the recipes and select something to make. Always have a backup recipe, just in case the food you wanted to purchase is not ripe, in poor condition, unavailable, or too expensive.

·         Buy frozen.  Buying frozen foods saves a lot of time—it is already washed, cleaned, and ready to cook. Washing and cleaning some foods can be the most time-consuming step in making baby food. It most cases, frozen fruits and vegetables are equal in nutrition to store-bought fresh produce.

·         Pick one cooking method and stick with it. You can choose to cook foods on the stove top or the microwave. Pick one method and stick with it. This will enable you to master the technique and become more efficient – saving you time in the long run.

·         Plan on 30 minutes per week. Set aside the time to make your baby food. Pick a time when you do not have distractions. In the evening after your baby has gone to sleep is a great time. DON’T try to make baby food with your baby in the kitchen—it will go slower, it will be frustrating, and it could even be dangerous.

·         Double the recipes. Some foods will become staples in your baby’s diet. Learn what they are and make twice as much.

Appliance Choices for Making Baby Food

When you start making baby food, you'll need an appliance that will puree your baby's food into a smooth, pudding-like texture. Here are the top three choices in pureeing appliances and some helpful advice choosing which one is right for you.

#1 - Food Processor: This appliance is a work horse. They have strong motors and can puree even the toughest veggies into pudding smooth textures. The results are excellent. If you've always wanted a food processor, making baby food is great reason to make the investment.

Bottom line: The best choice for silky, smooth baby purees, if you can afford it.

Price: over $100

#2 - Blender: This appliance is the most widely used for making baby food, because it will do a fine job. Blenders are quick and efficient, but the really cheap ones might overheat. The tall shape will require you to scrape the sides several times to ensure your puree is "chunk-free".

Bottom line: A popular choice that will deliver good results.

Price: $25-$100

#3 - Food Mill: We're talking about a real one, not the gimmicky baby food mills. Shaped like a bowl or cone, this contraption has a series of stainless steel mesh layers with a hand crank. This is a very eco-friendly option, it runs on muscle power! Available at higher end kitchen stores, a food mill will deliver fine results.

Bottom Line: A terrific green option. No electricity required.

Price: $50-$100

Beyond food purees: Once you are ready to introduce textured foods and finger foods, other nifty kitchen utensils include:

• Ricers and potato mashers for making "textured" baby foods.
• A hand held immersion blender for making pureed soups ~ a toddler favorite!
• Cookie cutters or a canapé cutter for creating cute shapes that toddlers love

Go Gourmet Baby!

Studies are revealing that children who are fed diets of bland, tasteless food are more likely to have issues with weight.  Unlike the jarred foods, homemade baby food is full of delicious fresh, wholesome flavor and adding herbs and spices is a great way to enhance this flavor.

Here are a few tips on how your baby’s food can go from simple to culinary treat:

• Keep it simple for the first few months. Hold off herbs and spices until your baby is about 8-10 months of age.

• Add herbs and spice in the cooking step.  It is best for flavors to blend in cooking and become more subtle. Do not sprinkle herbs and spices on the food prior to serving.  The flavor will be too strong.

• A little goes along way. Use herbs and spices sparingly.  Add 1/8 teaspoon of spice per 16-24 ounces of fruits or vegetables.

• Add herbs and spices only to foods that you have previously fed to your baby. Remember the “One at a Time” rule to ensure that any food allergies are detected early.

• Avoid sugar and salt.  There are healthier and more flavorful choices to add to your baby’s foods.

Baby-friendly herbs and spices:

• Cinnamon

• Dill

• Ginger

• Mint

• Nutmeg

• Oregano

• Parsley

• Garlic

• Lemon or orange zest

• Vanilla

Finger Food FUN!

There is nothing cuter than watching your little one chase food around the high chair tray with her fingers, and seeing the sense of accomplishment in her face when a tiny little piece of food actually makes it her mouth. When your baby is between 8 and 9 months old, you can begin to introduce finger foods to encourage your baby to begin self-feeding. It is very important that the texture of finger foods be very soft, so that your baby can “gum” the foods. In order to get food soft enough for gumming, many of them will need to be cooked.

Examples of finger foods that can be served raw include small pieces of:

• Banana
• Avocado
• Tofu
• Semi-hard cheeses - Jack, Colby, (introduce over 12 months)
• “O” shaped cereal
• Puffed rice cereal

Examples of cooked finger foods (simply steam foods until they are soft enough to be "gummed"):

• Apples slices
• Pear slices
• Whole asparagus spears
• Carrots sticks/rounds or baby carrots
• Zucchini or yellow squash rounds
• Broccoli spears
• Sweet potato slices or cubes
• Whole green beans

To smooth the way for introducing finger foods here are few tips that may help you out:

1. Always feed your baby in a “seated position”. The risk of choking rises as you introduce finger foods.
2. Never let your baby eat foods without adult supervision.
3. Don’t be in a rush. Introduce finger foods one at a time and slowly add different ones.
4. Continue to feed your baby softly, pureed baby foods for most of the meal, and transition to more finger foods over a 6-8 month period.
5. Start with foods your baby likes.