Since my last post, I have given birth to my second child, a beautiful baby girl. Although the whole new baby situation took me away from writing, it has not stopped my passion for cooking. In fact, it has had the opposite effect. I was able to focus more on the foods I have been cooking for my now 9-month old girl.
My babies have a five year gap and, I must admit, I had forgotten a lot of the advice concerning baby solids, schedule, dos and don'ts, etc. I remember back in the day when my son started solids that I had the same passion for making everything fresh but that's pretty much it! Now, I have the chance to reacquaint myself with the concept of 'baby foods'.
Moreover, through contact with other mothers, I realized just how important it is for moms to share recipes, exchange knowledge and, why not, ask for help on such important issues as nutrition.
I am no expert but I want to share great meal ideas that have worked for my babies. For instance, this following recipe had been a hit with my daughter at first and it is basic and simple. Please note that certain foods doctors recommend for babies (6m +) in my country might not be the recommendation in other countries.
5 months +
Carrot-Potato Puree
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| carrots |
1 large carrot
1 large potato
left over formula milk or breast milk
Peel and wash the vegetables. Place them in a deep pan. Fill in the pan with water just enough to cover the vegetables. Boil till soft. Do not drain the water. Rather take the pan off the heat and place it aside to cool. once cooled add some formula milk or breast milk and mush with an immersion blender. The puree is ready.
At first you can make small quantities as you don't know whether the baby will develop any allergies. It is, however, recommended you try one food or combination of foods at least three times in a row (for three days in a row) before you can move on to another. Therefore, the one portion of each veggie might be already a big quantity. Moreover, at first you might not want to keep cooking for just one portion so it is better to make enough for you to just take out of the freezer and use when needed. I suggest you store the food in the freezer after having placed it in ice cubes or ice-cube-type containers for baby foods.
Other variations of this recipe are possible. Instead of carrot you can combine the potato with other veggies like zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, parsnip, leek or corn. In addition, instead of potato one could try to combine some veggies with sweet potato. Later on you could start trying out spices like pepper or fresh parsley, dill, oregano etc.
Another alternative to boiling is steaming, which is recommended for better retention of vitamins. Just add a bit of boiled water and the necessary formula or breast milk and repeat the process.
Once you have tested one simple combination of foods you can keep on adding to the puree mixture. For instance, I started with sweet potato. I just mushed sweet potato and after three days with no signs of allergies I added the second veggie. Then after three days the next and so on. This way you keep track of what the baby has tasted and whether or not he/she is allergic to it.
Check the section on the right hand side of the screen, under the 'Baby Foods' page, for more ideas.
Happy cooking :D
