Weaning is all about getting your baby used to moving food around their mouth that is not liquid. It will take time for your baby to perfect this new mouth action, so don’t worry if more food ends up on the floor, hands and clothes than in their mouth at the beginning! It’ll be messy but this is definitely your baby’s time to explore! When weaning, the best first foods to choose for your baby are puréed fruits and vegetables as well as non wheat cereals such as baby rice, which is hypoallergenic and thus has a low risk to promote food allergies. These are actually easy to prepare at home – fruits and vegetables are smooth when puréed and thus are of an "easy to swallow" consistency. At first, offer few teaspoons (using a soft tipped spoon) once a day before a milk feed, and gradually increase the amount and frequency
Homemade purées
It’s easy to make purees and other foods for your baby and this way you know exactly what they are eating. You can make a variety of fruit and vegetable purees – try apple, pear, banana, mango, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini and more! Some require the food to be cooked first (e.g. apple, carrot) but others require no cooking like bananas and mangos!
Method
It’s easy to make purees and other foods for your baby and this way you know exactly what they are eating. You can make a variety of fruit and vegetable purees – try apple, pear, banana, mango, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini and more! Some require the food to be cooked first (e.g. apple, carrot) but others require no cooking like bananas and mangos!
Method
- Wash, peel and chop the fruit or vegetable of choice. If it needs to be cooked first, steam or boil it until it is soft but not overcooked. I honestly prefer all organic fruit and veggies for the family, especially the kids to minimize unhealthy pesticides and genetically modified components (which are not labeled yet, alas!)
- Blend it in a liquidiser or mash if using soft fruits like banana
- Allow the food to cool if cooked and check its temperature before giving it to your baby.
To save time – make purees in batches and freeze them in covered ice cube trays. Allow the puree to cool before freezing and then pop the frozen cubes into freezer bags. This way, you have a smart, quick and ready supply of different purees to feed your baby
When you reheat the puree, allow to defrost first and make sure that it is piping hot and allow it to cool before giving to your baby. Do not reheat foods for your baby more than once and discard any uneaten food. For purees that do not need to be heated (e.g. fruit purees), make sure it is fully defrosted before feeding to your baby. Heating baby food in the microwave is not recommended due to uneven distribution of heat. Therefore, warm baby’s meal in a bain-marie and when choosing to use the microwave, stir well in order to equally spread the heat!
When you reheat the puree, allow to defrost first and make sure that it is piping hot and allow it to cool before giving to your baby. Do not reheat foods for your baby more than once and discard any uneaten food. For purees that do not need to be heated (e.g. fruit purees), make sure it is fully defrosted before feeding to your baby. Heating baby food in the microwave is not recommended due to uneven distribution of heat. Therefore, warm baby’s meal in a bain-marie and when choosing to use the microwave, stir well in order to equally spread the heat!
So for all new mommies out there, puréed foods has been made super easy!
Reference: British Nutrition Foundation, messy baby photo, pureed peas photo,
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