Feeding Baby

[bavila]

My son just downed his first jar of baby pears (oatmeal was not so well-received), and I'm thinking about making my own baby food as he advances to stuff with a bit of texture.

I know general stuff -- like don't add salt or sugar or honey. Any tips on storage or cooking methods?

Thanks

Bridget

[Trishiad]

I'm not nuts, I promise, but my son never had formula or baby food. I found it so easy and pleasant to make my own baby food and saved a ton of money. I bought a book called (i think) Super Baby Food. The woman who wrote it may actually be crazy but she's got some great info. You may have to ignore some of her ideas or you may find yourself embracing them, who knows.

I used the strainer on my mixer and my food processor to make all of my baby food. Most of it was frozen in ice cube trays or small bowl shapes and either zapped to serve or just thawed in the fridge. Make one batch of applesauce, divide it and add berries, peaches, mangos, whatever and you won't have to make it again for months. It's a great way to take advantage of what's fresh and beautiful. The best part it that is actually smells and tastes like food.

The book has recipes for cereal and teething biscuits too.

[jsolomon]

My mom fed my brother and I quite a bit on cranberry sauce mashed with bananas. Actually, I think she used a food mill, but we both grew up strapping young men, so I think it's a reasonable food.

Tastes good for the cook, too.

Edit to add: if you don't have a food mill, I would highly suggest picking one up. They are much kinder than a blender.

Prototypical Food Mill

Edited February 28, 2006 by jsolomon (log)

[newbie]

I also made all of my own baby food for my two children. As the previous poster said, easy to do and way cheaper (and better tasting!) than the baby food you can buy. I also had a book called "First Meals by Annabel Karmel. It is a wonderful book to look at and has plenty of ideas for baby food and includes info on nutrition, preparation and cooking times, freezing instructions. Tons of recipes for baby food but also includes recipes for your children as they progress from pureed foods. I loved the book and used it often.

I used to steam my veggies and then puree them in my food processor to the consistency needed for their stage of development. Then I would put them in ice cube trays and freeze. After they are frozen, you can transfer them to a baggie and label it. I would write on the baggie what was in it and the date that I made it. When you've got a couple of baggies going, sometimes it's hard to distinguish what's in it. Reheating was just a matter of taking out the appropriate number of cubes and nuking it.

As for the oatmeal, you can try adding some pureed fruits to it, better tasting for the little one and healthier to boot.

[snowangel]

I never bought a jar of baby food, nor did I have any books to guide me. I guess I looked at the price of jarred/frozen baby food and the packaging waste and was sort of puzzled.

I just whizzed things up in the food processor, or gave them table food that was appropriate. Diana's first real food came at 4 months of age. Half a brat. She just sucked that loose meat right out of the casing. All of my kids teethed on frozen bagels or chewy pizza crust. There were no signs of food allergies in either of our families, so I considered anything except honey fair game.

I rarely planned ahead enough to make things, whiz them and stick them in the freezer, just most often whizzed things we were having for dinner. Certain things, like pancakes, can moosh up enough with some yogurt that they become spoon food (no choking). But, if you are planning ahead, freeze in ice cube trays.

One of the things that got me about baby food was that so much of it was sweet stuff -- bananas (how hard is it to mash up a banana, really!), peas, squash, etc. -- and I really wanted them to learn to eat all sorts of different tastes and colors.

Another nifty thing I had was the Happy Baby Food Grinder (this company really should pay me a marketing fee). It is quick and easy to use, especially when you go out. And, at times, when just whizzing something off the table for Diana, Heidi or Peter to eat that night, it was a lot easier to clean than the food processor. (BTW, when we didn't have electricity for about 5 days last fall, and wanted to make hummus, really regretted giving away the Happy Baby Food grinder.)

Table food (either finger or whizzed) was a natural because my kids sat (it may have been in the bouncy chair) at the dinner table from day one.

[Lori in PA]

Amen to all the above. I think the current books on this subject change -- I got "Feed Me, I'm Yours" when my first child (17 yodd) was ready for food -- but the principle's the same. Take simple foods and transform into something that won't choke your baby. Figure out a way to preserve some of it so you don't have to prepare stuff for every meal. I did ice cube trays of stuff with the first darling and after than tended more toward blobs on cookie sheets with the other two dearies. I was more anal about potential allergies with the first one, too, but relaxed much faster with the other two.

I didn't have a Happy Baby grinder myself, but I have a dear friend whose kids are even older than mine who still sings its praises as loudly as Susan.

[Jujubee]

At first I was going to make special "baby food," as in cooking up special stuff without salt, sugar, fat, etc and running it through the food mill. Then I decided I don't really buy into the idea that moderate quantities of salt, sugar, and fat are bad, for babies or for adults. Besides, I keep reading that special baby food is a pretty modern invention based on bland English nursery foods, and a lot of cultures around the world just feed their babies mushy regular food. It's even traditional in some cultures to start babies on meat, as it is considered a very concentrated source of nutrients. (And given that doctors are always pushing baby cereal because it is iron-fortified, maybe this isn't such a bad idea.) Anyway, this is a long way of saying I never got around to it, and I often just mush up whatever we're having for dinner and let my 7 month old daughter have a taste. I ran this by the peditrician at her 6 month check-up, and she said that was fine. She did ask that I still try to feed her some baby cereal though, because of the iron I mentioned before. To make rice or oatmeal cereal more palatable (my daughter hates it too), I mix it up with pureed fruit and then microwave it at 50% power for just a few seconds. Heating it seems to help it dissolve a little.

[KatieLoeb]

Although I'm no huge fan of Martha Stewart's brand of hubris, I must say her baby food recipes are great. As a baby shower gift I have often downloaded THESE printable recipe cards (look toward bottom of the page for the template link), laminated them and punched a hole through the corner. I then tied them with a festive ribbon around a mini-chopper or food mill and presented it to the new moms or moms-to-be. Always a big hit and a gift that really made a significant difference to mother and child.

[Corinna Dunne]

Another advocate of homemade baby food here, and for the same reasons: cost and taste. I too found that the sweeter vegetables like zucchini and parsnip whizzed up were a great hit, along with fruit purees... and yes, you can mix and blend flavours for a bit of variety. As my children progressed, I moved them onto whizzed up and then roughly mashed versions of our food, but always did it before I added any salt to the dish, and this worked very well. Personally, I like the idea of introducing a baby to a repertoire of tastes and it does seem like the natural thing. I found that they loved garlic (cooked in dishes, not raw), but I didn't have any takers on chilli (I just tried the tiniest bit of salsa when they were approaching one). I presume Indian and Mexican children are introduced to hot spicey foods at a reasonably young age. Has anyone any experience of this?

[bavila]

Thanks for all the tips! I will look for a food mill this weekend (seems like a good general thing to have around) and the books you've suggested.

[Werdna]

I presume Indian and Mexican children are introduced to hot spicey foods at a reasonably young age.  Has anyone any experience of this?

←

Yes, I've been making baby food for our daughter since she turned 6 months (she's a year old as of yesterday). She likes a bit of cayenne or pepper with her food, and I make sure to add salt to the things she eats (no reason to fear salt, it's an essential nutrient). She also has no problem with kim-che, though sometimes she makes a face if it's really spicy

Basicly, I puree things and taste them, if I like them then chances are that she will too. Yogurt with blueberries and raw egg yolk is one of her favorites, also bannanas and chocolate (not mixed) are hits. And she is crazy for roast duck. Now she eats little scraps of meat that we break up for her, we stick to organic meats and only grass-fed beef.

[bavila]

My 6mo son has just started on solids. We've mostly been trying out the store-bought ultra-pureed stuff so far, mainly because that's what I did with my 3yo daughter.

I'm much more relaxed the second time around with the whole allergy concern thing (no family history of food allergies). And since I'm home with the kids these days (store-bought stuff was pretty convenient when my daughter was in day care), I thought I'd make my own baby food link.

Now I'm thinking that I should basically skip the idea of making "baby" food and try to feed him mushed up stuff that the rest of the family is eating. I've read that baby food shouldn't have added salt or fat or sugar, which would therefore preclude table food. But this seems a bit overly cautious to me.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

[Chris Amirault]

We've been feeding our child little parts of our own meals for several months now. (She's about to turn one.) Last night, when we ate some duck noodle soup, she had a bit of steamed duck and noodles; two nights before, she had some rice, mushrooms, and a bit of cured salmon. Basically, we try to give her a bit of what we're eating broken down so that she can "chew" it, starting with small amounts until we check the diaper the next day. None of the obvious stuff, of course (capiscum, chocolate until recently, peanuts, etc.).

There's lots of evidence that eons of people feeding their children their culture's solid food when they were able to do so safely produces healthy kids. So that's basically what we're doing.

[Kouign Aman]

My thoughts: Go for it. There's a great little grinder (manual, small volumes) for just this: Food Mill

You might want to introduce new seasonings one at a time as well, so you might have to set aside bits of a meal for baby before finishing for the family.

It might help to make a small amount of baby food and freeze it.

His fav food might help with the transition from ultrapureed texture to the coarser texture of home made, and its great to have on hand for times when your regular meal is running late but your son needs to eat NOW. And of course jars are great for times out of the house. I prefered to give HRH jarred commercial food instead of a groundup Costco hotdog, for instance.

There is some concern about nitrate levels in carrots and spinach. Apparently babyfood mfgers test for these. So we kept these infrequent (home made).

Have fun, and please keep us posted on how it works.

[JPW]

At about 6 months, Peanut had a bad fever and didn't really eat anything for a day or two. After these couple of days, she continued to refuse baby food and in our desperation to get her to eat something, we handed her some steamed broccoli which she started two-fisting into her mouth until she looked like a chipmunk. From that day on, no babyfood was acceptable. We just fed her what was on our plates that was soft enough for her to gum.

Stemed/sauteed veggies of all kinds, apple sauce, cheese, small bites of turkey and chicken, yogurt, soup, pasta, rice, bread, etc.

[barb_b]

HOW FUN!!! I made all of the food for both of my children.... I found a great book that was extremelly helpful, "The healthy baby meal planner" by annabel Karmel. It was not too granola crunchy and provided some great tips/advise.

With our second child, I tried to find ways of including our oldest as well as making it a fun, learning experience. On Sunday of each week, our oldest and I would go to the store and select the vegies/fruits that we would make for our her brother/ (She had a blast!...Although, she did suggest more than once that he would like onions and garlic!)

I would highly encourage you to make the food! It is a great learning experience for your older child, saves money and most importantly...I really believe it exposes them to a variety of different tastes and textures.

I feel confident telling you that my oldest was the first person (probably only!) in her daycare that enjoyed watercress/potatoe/apple puree.!! (The teachers/caregivers were always amused!!)

Regards,

Barb

[Werdna]

I'm much more relaxed the second time around with the whole allergy concern thing (no family history of food allergies).  And since I'm home with the kids these days (store-bought stuff was pretty convenient when my daughter was in day care), I thought I'd make my own baby food link.

Now I'm thinking that I should basically skip the idea of making "baby" food and try to feed him mushed up stuff that the rest of the family is eating.  I've read that baby food shouldn't have added salt or fat or sugar, which would therefore preclude table food.  But this seems a bit overly cautious to me.

Any thoughts?  Suggestions?

←

As for allergies, these things are at the most common food allergies:

milk

egg

peanut

tree nut (walnut, cashew, etc.)

fish, shellfish

soy

wheat

so those are the things we have been most cautions about introducing. Most allergies are 'born' when large food particles penetrate the intestinal lining and enter the body undigested, prompting a reaction. This often happens in kids younger than 6 months because their digestive system is more permiable to foods, after 6 months it's harder for this to happen, though when the kid is sick they may once again become more succeptable. Anyway (with the exception of egg yolk since there is so much good stuff in it) we've been pretty cautious about the above foods, giving only small amounts at a time and watching for a reaction.

I think the 'dont add salt, fat or sugar' is PC nonsense and is way off base. Salt is required to live and there has never been any evidence that it's harmfull to babys. And breastmilk is extremly high in saturated fat and sugar, so I dont think mother nature pays much attention to the above guideline either.

[tejon]

I also skipped pre-made baby food entirely for the boys. Why on earth pay those kind of prices for overly-processed, bland food that is so easy to do at home? Mashed avocado was the first food for both boys, followed swiftly by mashed banana, then all sorts of softer things. Lentils and dal are easy for those without any real teeth, but any softer food will do.

[Kouign Aman]

HRH asked for salsa at dinner last week (19 months), and enjoyed it. It was pretty mild but had a definite chili bite.

My kid always loved garlic and onions (cooked). I used to put curry powder in carrots or mango/chicken meals pretty regularly. Right now marmite is a new treat - right up there with 72% Valrhona chocolate.

Food reactions are weird. HRH loves broccoli & cauliflower & brussel sprouts, ate steamed cabbage willingly, and got bigtime skin reactions to red cabbage. Go figure.

I like beans / lentils because are loaded with protein, they mashed easily early on, were great finger food as HRH learned to pincher grip, and now are easily pierceable as well as amusing/frustrating as they slide away from a searching fork.

[daniellewiley]

HRH asked for salsa at dinner last week (19 months), and enjoyed it. It was pretty mild but had a definite chili bite.

My kid always loved garlic and onions (cooked). I used to put curry powder in carrots or mango/chicken meals pretty regularly. Right now marmite is a new treat - right up there with 72% Valrhona chocolate.

Food reactions are weird. HRH loves broccoli & cauliflower & brussel sprouts, ate steamed cabbage willingly, and got bigtime skin reactions to red cabbage. Go figure.

I like beans / lentils because are loaded with protein, they mashed easily early on, were great finger food as HRH learned to pincher grip, and now are easily pierceable as well as amusing/frustrating as they slide away from a searching fork.

←

I gave Mr. Max some roasted cauliflower last night and was rewarded with a super gassy baby who slept terribly.

He does love real food though. He'll only eat the jarred stuff if I make it super-thick with multi-grain cereal.

[bavila]

I gave Mr. Max some roasted cauliflower last night and was rewarded with a super gassy baby who slept terribly. 

He does love real food though. He'll only eat the jarred stuff if I make it super-thick with multi-grain cereal.

←

Oh dear. Note to self: hold off on cruciferous vegetables.

Mr. Dax (I get a kick out of the fact that Danielle and I have boys about a month apart with rhyming names) just had his first "finger" food. He doesn't really have the pincer grasp thing yet, but I was nibbling on some veggie chips (like Pirate Booty) while fixing lunch, and he was getting antsy, so I handed him a chip. I wanted to get the camera, but figured I'd stick close by in case he had any chance of choking. Though these little puffy chips probably melt away even quicker than cheerios.

So that means he's had two new foods today, as he had pureed sweet potato this morning for the first time. I'll be making a sweet potato lentil curry dish later in the week and wanted to get him ready to try some of the real thing.

Ironically, as much as I love food, the process of feeding a baby is probably my least favorite part of caring for an infant. Right now there's just food everywhere as he grabs for the spoon, sputters in contentment, and then pats his head with grubby little paw. The head patting would not be so bad if he didn't have so much hair (he's had 2 haircuts already, to give you an idea). The mess is cute, if annoying. Later there will be months of cutting everything into pea-size bits. Ugh. I'd rather change a dirty diaper.

Must get DH into more feeding duties...

[daniellewiley]

I gave Mr. Max some roasted cauliflower last night and was rewarded with a super gassy baby who slept terribly. 

He does love real food though. He'll only eat the jarred stuff if I make it super-thick with multi-grain cereal.

←

Mr. Dax (I get a kick out of the fact that Danielle and I have boys about a month apart with rhyming names) just had his first "finger" food. He doesn't really have the pincer grasp thing yet, but I was nibbling on some veggie chips (like Pirate Booty) while fixing lunch, and he was getting antsy, so I handed him a chip. I wanted to get the camera, but figured I'd stick close by in case he had any chance of choking. Though these little puffy chips probably melt away even quicker than cheerios.

I get a kick out of it too!

Has Dax done cheerios? Max tried this weekend and was choking a bit. the little bugger has no teeth, so i think it's harder? not sure. maybe I need to try again. he just really really wants finger food.

pirate's booty is a good idea...

[bavila]

Has Dax done cheerios? Max tried this weekend and was choking a bit. the little bugger has no teeth, so i think it's harder? not sure. maybe I need to try again. he just really really wants finger food.

pirate's booty is a good idea...

←

We tried Cheerios recently, but he couldn't really pick them up well. I think he just dropped them all, and didn't manage to get any in his mouth. He has 2 teeth (one just erupted in the last few days), but they can't really do much.

There's also those teething biscuit things. I seem to remember someone posting about English rusk biscuits.... Must look for this...

Edited March 7, 2006 by bavila (log)

[Kouign Aman]

I gave Mr. Max some roasted cauliflower last night and was rewarded with a super gassy baby who slept terribly. 

←

I am so sorry to hear that. We stuck to trying new foods early in the day after 2nd-hand hummus gave a bad bad bad night once.

Now, OT: Foods for gummy-grasping....trader joes has those rings and blob cookies... almond and lemon flavor. The rings worked great for gumming.

[sanrensho]

I get a kick out of it too!

Has Dax done cheerios? Max tried this weekend and was choking a bit. the little bugger has no teeth, so i think it's harder? not sure. maybe I need to try again. he just really really wants finger food.

pirate's booty is a good idea...

If you have access to a Japanese grocery, you might look for a product called Bolo. These little balls will quickly melt in your mouth, so they are infant-safe. They do make infant-specific versions. They are quite popular among Japanese as an infant snack food.

You might also find non-Japanese equivalents made in China, Korea, etc., although I have no experience with them.

Here's a photo:

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%94%BB%E5%...:Tamagobolo.JPG

Bolo for infants (there are other brands as well):

http://a1978.g.akamai.net/f/1978/9072/120d.../W111780H_L.jpg

Edited March 7, 2006 by sanrensho (log)