Making Baby food Series Part 2

So you are ready to feed some yummy veggies and fruits to you little one!

MMMMmmm... Butternut!

I started Nico with Butternut squash, he loved it. He was so happy to eat it,lol. I was so suprised. I always start with veggies and then fruit in the stage appriopriate.
So this week is stage one foods!!
What to feed when? I got a fantastic simple book from my neighbor when i started contemplating making baby food for my twins. I can't even remember the name of it now but it was very simple. So from there I started looking up info online about what foods to start when and how to cook it.


The Rules:

Introduce non-sweet foods first, such as cereals.

- Start with the veggies first!

As babies get older, the consistency of the foods thickens.

You can thicken your baby food with rice cereal because it has a little watery consistancy with some of the foods.

First foods will be very liquidy.

Before introducing subsequent new foods, wait a few days. Foods your baby tolerates well will be met with enthusiasm and will not cause elimination problems or allergic reactions.

Stage 1 Baby Food is a term that applies to baby foods that are highly pureed and strained. These foods are appropriate for babies who are just being introduced to solid foods. The foods in this range are targeted to babies who are between the ages of (4) 6 to 8 months old.

Start out slowly, preparing a tablespoon sized portion of whatever food you have chosen to begin with. Some parents begin offering their babies solid foods by using their (clean and washed) finger as a spoon. They say that this helps their babies take to solid foods because the "new" spoon and the "new" food all at once seem to confuse baby.

Stage 1 Grains:
Rice
Oatmeal
Barley
"Baby" cereal and soft cooked thinly pureed fruits and veggies should be baby's first solid food experiences. Single ingredients only and at a space of 4 days apart with introducing each new food. You may skip the cereal and begin with a fruit like avocado or begin with a veggie like butternut squash or sweet potato .

Stage 1 Veggies:

Sweet Potato
Squash- butternut or acorn
Avocado
Green Beans 
Carrots-
Peas

Stage 1 Fruits:


Pumpkin
Apples
Avocados
Apricots
Bananas
Mango Nectarines & Peaches
Papaya
Pears
Plums & Prunes

Gabriel

Now that you know what to start with how do you cook it:

I usually steam or pressure cook the veggies or fruit and then puree it in a food processor or blender. I use a bullet, which works out great. The pressure cooker is so nice because cooking butternut or acorn squash or anything. If you have cooked hard fall/winter squashes you know that it takes forever to cook in the oven. So if you don't like to overheat your house try out a pressure cooker now.

Baby Foods To Avoid - Foods More Likely To Cause An Allergic Reaction Or Digestive Problem


• Eggs (especially the whites)

• Cow's milk

• Peanuts or peanut butter

• Shellfish - lobster, prawns, crab and shrimp

• Wheat

• Chocolate

• Soy

• Pork

• Gluten - contained in wheat, oats and barley

• Fish - particularly plaice, tuna, salmon, mackerel and sardines

• Berries - especially strawberries (but blueberries are NOT considered highly allergenic)

• Cinnamon

• Citrus fruits - orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime and tangerine

• Sesame seeds/sesame oil

• Corn

• Tomatoes

• Yeast

My lilttle Man Reese