Homemade Baby Foods
By the end of this lesson you will:
• Learn to choose nutrient dense prepared baby foods.
• Appreciate cost effectiveness of homemade baby foods.
• Learn how to prepare, store, and reheat homemade baby foods.
• Learn some important safety rules to follow while preparing baby food at
home
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Activity 1:
1. What are some reasons to prepare own own baby food?
2. When is the best time to introduce solid foods to your baby?
When to Introduce?
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Have you ever thought of making your own baby foods for your infant? What kind of foods would you introduce and when? Listed below are a few guidelines for the introduction of solid foods. At four to six months babies show signs of being developmentally ready for solid foods.
Click on your infant's age for more information:
1-3 Months > 4 Months > 5 Months > 6 Months > 7 Months
8 Months> 9 Months > 10 Months > 11 Months > 12 Months |
Introduce solid foods when the baby:
• Is eating more overall (not a growth spurt).
• Can sit with support.
• Has control of their head and neck
• Can refuse foods and grab for foods.
• Has good hand to mouth coordination.
• No longer has the tongue reflex extrusion. (Infant thrusts out his tongue
automatically.)
Only introduce one food at a time, and avoid combination foods Wait 3-7 days before introducing a new food. This will help identify any food allergies.
Why Homemade?
| • Homemade baby foods can be more cost effective! Even if you make a few substitutions from commercial to homemade baby food, you are likely to save money. |
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• Most homemade baby foods contain more nutrients. There are no added fillers and artificial ingredients. Commercial baby foods are convenient and safe, but they often contain more water, starch, and sugar than homemade ones. The addition of these additives dilute the nutrient content of the foods.
• It's more convenient! It doesn't take much extra time, especially if you are preparing some of the same foods for dinner. Babies will start acquiring the taste of the foods that the family eats.
Where do I start?
• Baby's first foods need to be softened. Foods can be soften by mashing, blending, pureeing, etc.
• Here are some kitchen utensils and appliances that you can use to puree food for your baby:
• Electric Blender • Food Processor
• Fine Gauge Kitchen Strainer • Food Mill
• Babyfood Grinder • Fork
Activity 2:
Answer True or False
4. List some utensils or appliances you have available to make your own baby foods:
Is if Safe?
• Remember food safety! When you are preparing any food for your baby extra care should be taken since babies are more vulnerable to germs.
• Always wash your hands, appliances, and utensils well.
• Always wash all fruits and vegetables well.
• Peel, pit and seed as recipes direct.
• Don't use leftovers.
• Raw food contains bacteria. Never let cooked food come into contact with raw food. Cook all meats thoroughly! No Pink!
• Please Note: According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, beets, turnips, carrots, and collard greens should not be home-prepared. It was found that in some parts of the country, these vegetables contain large amounts of nitrates. Nitrate is a chemical that can cause an unusual type of anemia (low blood count) in young infants. It may be safer to use these foods commercially prepared.
How do I Store it?
• You should always LABEL and DATE your freezer bags to tell the difference between your purees.
• Place cookie sized dollops (a healthy tablespoon) of baby food purees or slices of cooked foods, such as squash, in rows on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and plastic wrap covering the top. Freeze them until they're solid. Peel hardened food "cookies" and slices from the wax paper and place them in tightly sealed plastic bags for continued freezer storage.
• Filling ice trays with pureed baby food is the another option. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until frozen. Pop out baby food ice cubes when frozen and place in freezer bags.
• You can store homemade baby food:
• in the freezer for 1 month.
• in the refrigerator (if freshly made) for 3 days.
• no more than 24 hours if the baby food is thawed.
• note: Discard food that has been left at room temperature for more
than 2 hours. Do not refreeze defrosted cooked food.
How do I Thaw Frozen Baby Food?
• The safest way to thaw the baby food is in the refrigerator. Put frozen cookies or cubes in a dish. Cover with plastic wrap. In about 2-3 hours, cookies or cubes should be defrosted.
• A faster method is to use an egg poacher. Place portions of food in the egg shaped hollow of a poacher. place the poacher in a shallow pan containing about 1-11/2 cups water. bring to a boil. cover and continue to heat food until it is completely defrosted ~4-5 minutes.
How do I get the right Texture?
• Ways to thin Homemade Baby Foods:
• Breastmilk and formula are good thinners for first meals.
• If you use breastmilk it will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days and in the freezer for 1 month.
• If you use formula it will keep in the refrigerator for about 24 hours and does not freeze.
• Chicken/beef stock, liquid from steaming fruit and vegetables and bottled water keep well in the refrigerator and freeze when mixed with purees. Go easy on the juice.
• Ways to thicken Homemade Baby Foods:
• As your baby begins to gum his food or really chew it with newly emerging teeth, rather than just sucking and swallowing, you will want to thicken his puree in preparation for the next stage in eating pieces of soft food.
• Baby cereals, especially rice, are great for thickening watery or over-blended baby foods.
• Mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes are good thickeners.
• Even arrowroot starch can be used. It is highly digestible and rich in calcium and
potassium, too. Note: Cornstarch should not be used to thicken.
Ways to smooth Homemade Baby Foods:
• Bananas are great favorites and easy to use for smoothing baby foods.
• Yogurt not only smoothes, but cools as well. |
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Never add honey or corn syrup to a baby food recipe for babies under one year.
Activity 3:
Choose the best answer:
3. What is the safest to thaw your frozen baby food?
4. Name two ways to thicken your baby's food.
1.
2.
Click here for great homemade baby food recipes!
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Where are you taking today's lesson?
You have completed the lesson on "Homemade Baby Foods".
Answers:
| Activity 1: |
1. All are good choices. Fresh baby food may be healthier than their jarred commercials foods that have additives. Homemade baby foods may have more nutrients than jarred foods. Homemade baby foods may have better aromas and colors than jarred foods.
2. At four to six months babies show signs of being developmentally ready for solid foods. |
| Activity 2: |
1. True
2. False. Commercial foods are usually more expensive. You are paying for the packaging and advertisement.
3. True. Most homemade baby foods contain more nutrients. There are no added fillers and artificial ingredients. Commercial baby foods are convenient and safe, but they often contain more water, starch, and sugar than homemade ones. The addition of these additives dilute the nutrient content of the foods.
4. List any appliances or utensils you can use! |
| Activity 3: |
1. Always start with washing your hands.
2. Up to 3 days. If you added formula, keep in refrigerator no more than 24 hours.
3. The safest way to thaw the baby food is in the refrigerator. Put frozen cookies or cubes in a dish. Cover with plastic wrap. In about 2-3 hours, cookies or cubes should be defrosted.
4. Baby cereals such as rice, mashed potatoes, arrowroot starch. |
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Revised: 06-13-2008
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