I have been thinking about the possibility of making a good portion of J's food homemade. I figure he is going to be behind on much of his nutrients, so I want to give him a good healthy boost, and what better way to do that than with fresh, homemade food. We will probably have to ease into it to give his stomach some adjustment time (and depending on his age, but guessing on him being around 9 months), but I am hopeful to introduce him to a good rounded diet. I was wondering if anyone out there has any good homemade baby food recipes or knows of good websites to check out? I think a lot of his food will have to be pureed or very soft for easy digestion, especially at first. If you have any other tips or words of wisdom, send them my way. Also, I don't know if this is possible, but it would be great to have some pre-made recipes frozen when we come home so I can pull them out and don't have to worry about it the first week or two. Is that doable?
Alrighty...hopefully a few of you have some helpful hints. Looking forward to hearing from you!
I've been using "Whole Foods for Babies and Toddlers" for a few years by Margaret Kenda - she also wrote the Natural Baby Food Cookbook. It has recipes and a good timeline for what foods to introduce and when, along with really great ways to make things extra healthy. Maybe check out books from the library to start with, look at Amazon reviews then maybe purchase your favorite? I think with the internet you can find heaps of great free ideas and recipes. It's fairly straight-forward you just cook and puree (mix/blend/chop) the veggies and fruits and once baby has had things one at a time you can start blending them up and after a short while (like maybe a month - 2 months) you can actually just blend up your dinner food that you would eat yourself. We've had problems with babies getting constipated (and heard this also happens with certain brands of formulas) so try to give baby plenty of water with the baby food and sometimes a little prune juice helps too :) Oh if you find you have a picky eater when he's a toddler I've really enjoyed the "sneaky chef" website!
ReplyDeleteHope this helps friend! x Rebecca
I loved books by Annabel Karmel. She has several different ones, for different age children. The recipes are really yummy, and she gives good tips about what foods can be frozen, how long, etc.
ReplyDeleteWith your baby being older, you shouldn't have to puree too much. Just cut up whatever you have for dinner into small pieces and let him self-feed:) Great for hand-eye!
A friend of mine would use a food processor and puree whatever fruits and vegetables she wanted to use for her little one and then she would freeze them in ice cube trays. When she was ready to use them, she would thaw whatever she wanted and was ready to go. If you want me to ask her anything else, just let me know.
ReplyDelete-Lori
Hi, Shanna! I just want to let you know about a book someone gave me for my baby shower in Fort Fun. It's called The Petit Appetit by Lisa Barnes. I'm in love with this book and have been able to bounce ideas off of it since I started my baby food journey with purees. It also incorporates ideas for later on how to teach your toddler (and older kids) age-appropriate cooking skills.
ReplyDelete-Sarah M.
http://www.amazon.com/Petit-Appetit-Cookbook-Organic-Recipes/dp/1557884536/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b