Baby Food

Introducing solids to your baby is an incredibly exciting time for both you and your baby.  I believe this is a very important time in your child’s life and a great opportunity to expose them to nutritious foods and start developing their palete.

Here are some of the basics about introducing solids to your baby and what I found worked great for us.

• Always check with your pediatrician before starting solids and get the “all clear” first.
• Start with a whole grain infant cereal thinned with breastmilk or formula.  Personally, I think there is no need to even touch white rice cereal.  Stick with the whole grain, multi-grain and oat cereal.  Infant cereal is fortified with iron, which is very important for our babies.
• Next move onto pureed vegetables.  Studies show that babies that are introduced to veggies first and fruit second are less likely to reject vegetables later in the toddler years.  I have a major sweet tooth so it is important to me that my daughter develops a taste for vegetables.  It is important to wait 2-4 days after introducing a new food before starting another.  In case your child has a reaction to a new food, you can easily determine the guilty party. Making the food is simple: just roast or steam the food and puree in a food processor or a blender.  Sometimes you can even mash the food with a fork.
• Next move onto the pureed fruits.
• After single fruit and veggie purees, we moved onto combinations of fruits and vegetables.
• Next up are the proteins.  Meat and beans.  This is a great opportunity to combine your little one’s favorite fruits and veggies with meat and/or beans.
• Don’t forget to bring in some spice and herbs too!

Here are some of our favorite recipes:

Veggies

• Parsnip Puree
• Spiced Apple Pumpkin Puree
• Butternut Squash Puree
• Sweet Surprise Puree
• Fennel and Carrot Puree
• Spinach Pea Pesto
• Leeking Sweet Potato
• Broccoli and Cauliflower Power
• Veggie Cheddar Casserole
• Acorn Squash Risotto
• Leek Potato Soup

Fruit

• Mango Banana Smoothie
• Cranberry Puree
• Teething Biscuits
• Tofu Applesauce
• Banana Pancakes
• Blueberry Cottage Cheese
• Apple Raisin Oatmeal

Protein

• Cheddar Pear Chicken
• Apple Chicken Puree
• Red Lentil Soup with Apricots
• Lentil Rice Soup
• Black Bean Banana Quinoa
• Time for Turkey
• Pasta for the Wee Ones
• Roasted Pepper Hummus