homemade food & drink for infants

[Behemoth]

My next door neighbor & friend is due in the next couple of weeks. I was thinking it might be nice to make organic apple juice for the baby at some point. I remember odwalla getting into trouble for selling unpasturized juices a few years back, is this something I would need to worry about? Also, I have a food mill which could be used for similar purposes once she starts weaning him. I'd love to hear if anyone has made their own baby food or juices at home, and what one would need to watch out for.

Edited December 7, 2004 by torakris (log)

[Milagai]

My next door neighbor & friend is due in the next couple of weeks. I was thinking it might be nice to make organic apple juice for the baby at some point. I remember odwalla getting into trouble for selling unpasturized juices a few years back, is this something I would need to worry about? Also, I have a food mill which could be used for similar purposes once she starts weaning him. I'd love to hear if anyone has made their own baby food or juices at home, and what one would need to watch out for.

hmmm. usually babies stay on breastmilk or formula

for at least 3 months or thereabouts, more like ~ 6 months

(in general). so are you planning way in advance?

i always made all baby food and juices at home for my 2,

because i just took whatever the family was eating (at a suitable

pre-spicing stage) and pureed it for baby.

same with juice.

we had no problem with pasteurizing / purification issues,

but these were my babies, and the food was freshly made and

served. and i introduced the appropriate foods at

appropriate ages (i.e. cereals first, in very small quantities

to watch for possible allergic reactions etc.)

maybe you can ask mom-to-be what her thoughts are on the

subject? usually parents develop very strong preferences

re kids' food?

milagai

[kellytree]

I think it depends on the parents.

I did everything wrong for example (but my kids are ok)

The first two spit out all the mushy cereal junk - I didnt eve try it with number 3.

Basically my kids went from "the boob" as my husband would say to pasta and ribs.

Seriously though ( the pasta and ribs are serious btw) I use to just boil up some veggies and mash them up or grate apples. There was never any problem, but some parents are more comfortable with buying jars of whatever it is they put into them at the local supermarket.

[Behemoth]

hmmm.    usually babies stay on breastmilk or formula

for at least 3 months or thereabouts, more like ~ 6 months

(in general).  so are you planning way in advance?

Sort of more general curiosity -- I don't have much to do with babies. I figured it would be about 3-4 months at least but was wondering what the safety issues were before suggesting such a thing.

i always made all baby food and juices at home for my 2,

because i just took whatever the family was eating (at a suitable

pre-spicing stage) and pureed it for baby.

same with juice.

we had no problem with pasteurizing / purification issues,

but these were my babies, and the food was freshly made and

served.  and i introduced the appropriate foods at

appropriate ages (i.e. cereals first, in very small quantities

to watch for possible allergic reactions etc.)

maybe you can ask mom-to-be what her thoughts are on the

subject?  usually parents develop very strong preferences

re kids' food? 

milagai

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I think we kids lived on rice with yogurt for a long time (I grew up in the middle east.) I have no idea what american babies eat.

Obviously I would ask her first. I don't know how picky the couple is, as near as I can tell they live almost exlusively on kraft cheese products, but that could change once jr. gets a little older. In the meantime I think I will just invite the adults over for dinner, to take a little of the work off their hands.

[Milagai]

>I think we kids lived on rice with yogurt for a long time (I grew up in the middle >east.) I have no idea what american babies eat.

heh heh! being indian: our babies had a similar diet.

still do, for that. and so do the adults:

dal and rice, yogurt and rice, etc.

we were raised the same way,

and my generation only bought baby food

for travel or emergencies etc.

>In the meantime I think I will just invite the adults over for dinner, to take a little >of the work off their hands.

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[tryska]

my mom made our food on the fly, when we were kids.

ie she'd cook whatever the meal was for my dad, and then wash off whatever spices might be on it (usually it was curry) and whiz it in the blender with rice, and most likely dal, or whatever veggies and feed it to us.

[snowangel]

There have been several threads on this subject (doing a quick search for baby food; there are probably others), including:

Gourmet Baby Food

Baby food, formula, etc.

Baby Food (this one was in the India forum).

One of the best gifts you could give would be the Happy Baby Food Grinder. It goes anywhere. Does not need batteries of a socket.

I was always a table food fan, even for babies.

Perhaps something even more useful will be to take over a couple of meals per week for the next couple of weeks for mum and dad. Wait on them, and clean up after the meal. This is gold for new parents.

[Behemoth]

There have been several threads on this subject (doing a quick search for baby food; there are probably others), including:

Thanks, Susan. I suppose I could have tagged on to one of those threads. Primarily I am curious about the possiblity of bacterial infection from fresh juice -- that is, whether it is common in homemade unpasturized juice. I remember the big fiasco with Odwalla, and was wondering whether it was just something common in industrial juices but uncommon in juices made and promptly consumed at home.

Perhaps something even more useful will be to take over a couple of meals per week for the next couple of weeks for mum and dad.  Wait on them, and clean up after the meal.  This is gold for new parents.

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I was planning on dropping off a few pans of lasagne, assuming we will be in town when it happens, or in any case when we get back. I think they would be a little weirded out by me waiting on them, and they do own a microwave and dishwasher

[snowangel]

Thanks, Susan. I suppose I could have tagged on to one of those threads. Primarily I am curious about the possiblity of bacterial infection from fresh juice -- that is, whether it is common in homemade unpasturized juice. I remember the big fiasco with Odwalla, and was wondering whether it was just something common in industrial juices but uncommon in juices made and promptly consumed at home.

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Hope I'm getting this quote thing right!

I suppose there might be a concern, but if it were promptly consumed, should not be a problem? What would boiling juice do to it? I was such a "casual" parent (bratwurst and pizza crusts as first foods!) it's a wonder my kids survived!

[Librarian_chef]

My next door neighbor & friend is due in the next couple of weeks. I was thinking it might be nice to make organic apple juice for the baby at some point.  I remember odwalla getting into trouble for selling unpasturized juices a few years back, is this something I would need to worry about? Also, I have a food mill which could be used for similar purposes once she starts weaning him. I'd love to hear if anyone has made their own baby food or juices at home, and what one would need to watch out for.

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I made food for my son from the time he was 6 months till he was 13 months and got too picky. I used ice cube trays and froze individual portions that way. I tried to use Organic fruits and veggies whenever possible to avoid pesticides. Always wash all fruits and veggies thouroughly and observe common kitchen sanitary rules, e.g., no hot food left out exceeding 2 hours or at all if possible.

Some of his favourites were:

Cockie-Leekie cubes

Chicken, corn and pear (sounds gross, I know)

apple sauce

Apple, pear and peach/plum sauce

chick peas, tomatoes, and zucchini (seasoned with cumin)

Mark

[tanabutler]

I was always a table food fan, even for babies.

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Same here! I had a picky-eater baby who nursed nearly exclusively until eleven months old. She'd occasionally suck a little avocado or fruit off a finger, but mostly just nursed. We had a food grinder, and loved it, though we kept her foods bland thinking that was somehow superior. Unfortunately, it back-fired, so that when it came to eating "real food," the shock of herbs and spices was too much for her.

Now, with a grandson (see my avatar) who is a full-on chowpuppy, I think I see the error of my ways. This baby loves flavor. His mom is a great cook (she learned it from me!), so he knows good food. While she is leery about salt, she knows I have a light hand with it. We both feed him mostly organic stuff, and both insist especially on organic butter and meats. He doesn't do dairy yet, that I know of, except goat cheese, which is more easily digested than cow products.

I'm a big advocate for introducing babies to people food, but only with the caveat that it's healthy people food and not too salty. You don't want to blow out their tastebuds and desensitize them.

Whatever you do, use organic fruits, especially berries. The pesticides are just poison, and washing does nothing if they're systemic. (While I admit my ignorance about which pesticides are systemic, every farmer I know--and I know a bunch!--has said the same thing about the necessity of berries being organic. I will not buy commercial berries. Period.)

[chezcherie]

here's a tip that people don't always know about: don't use honey to sweeten anything. kids under a year should not have honey. something about botulinum spores that they have not developed immunities for at that age.

[sparrowgrass]

The apple juice that caused problems was commercially prepared from windfall apples---apples picked up off the ground. They were contaminated with e. coli from cattle or deer droppings.

If you were to juice apples that were washed, and if the juice is refrigerated and consumed quickly, I don't think you would have any problems.

Probably better to stick with the lasagna, at least for the time being, however. Most parents are very picky about what babies consume, for good reason. Even good stuff can cause digestive problems if it is introduced too early, or in too large quantities.

[lovebenton0]

One quick note on the apple juice. Remember that babies systems are more sensitive. (And you're not going to be the one changing diapers. ) Apple juice should not be the same strength in the beginning for babies as you would make it for adults. Should be diluted about half and half with water to allow for the little one's tummy to adjust to the new experience.

[tanabutler]

here's a tip that people don't always know about: don't use honey to sweeten anything.  kids under a year should not have honey. something about botulinum spores that they have not developed immunities for at that age.

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182K PDF file at the University of Hawaii with other "baby don'ts."

More yes/no to baby foods

Apparently peanut butter is a no-no, but Logan looooooooves it, so whatta ya gonna do?