Ice, ice baby
I have a confession.
I’ve been making my own baby food.
But don’t misjudge me. I’m not some patchouli-scented, hemp-wearing, vegan Earth-mama. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
Of course, I want my 6-month-old little charmer to eat fresh, healthy food. But I’m also frugal; and when I realized that actual sweet potatoes are about 10 times cheaper than those tiny jars of orange goo, I was sold.
Armed with just a few ice cube trays, a blender, a fork and a strainer, I’ve so far whipped up weeks’ worth of strained peas, mashed sweet potatoes, mushed bananas and smooshed avocadoes.
It hasn’t taken much extra time. It hasn’t cost much money. Plus, my tiny restaurant critic seems to prefer the homemade “meals” to the jarred variety (though gauging his food preferences is a bit of a subjective endeavor at this point).
And my unscientific research shows that more new moms are discovering the same thing. Mommy friends talk about using small, tabletop food mills to grind up the family’s meals for baby. Dozens of moms exchange homemade baby food tips on online message boards. You can find pages of baby food cookbooks on Amazon.com.
“I think this is a great trend,” says Janet Gilliam, a pediatric dietitian with the Spokane Regional Health District. “There’s a big cost-savings to do it yourself. … It’s much fresher. It’s a fresher taste for your baby. It can be convenient if you take the time to make it ahead of time.”
Plus, Gilliam says, “This is a great time to make baby foods because you can go to the farmers’ markets and get all the fresh fruits and vegetables.”
Teresa Schock has been preparing food for her 2-year-old son, Nicholas, since he started solids. She has mashed sweet potatoes, pumpkin and squash for him. She adds ground flax seed to his foods for an extra nutrient boost. Whenever possible, she buys him organic foods.
“The organic stuff, it doesn’t have preservatives or additives,” Schock, who lives in Spokane, says. “I just wanted to make sure I knew what he was eating.”
That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with commercial, jarred baby foods. Most of today’s varieties are made with few, if any, additives, and you can even choose organic brands. Even moms who make most of their babies’ meals admit to serving a jar or two now and then.
So, don’t be wracked with guilt if you don’t have the time or the inclination to make junior’s meals. As a new parent there are plenty of other things to feel guilty about.
But what if you want to make baby food? Where do you begin? Do you just pop tonight’s steak and baked potato in the blender and feed it to your 5-month-old? Not a wise idea. (It’d be a rough night for baby and the lucky person who gets to change baby’s diaper.)
“You just start with simple, healthy foods,” Gilliam says.
Current recommendations say you should wait until babies are 4 to 6 months old before starting solid foods. Infants should be able to hold their heads up and have good trunk control before being spoon fed, experts say. Not only does that make feeding time easier, it also means babies are coordinated enough to turn their heads or push the spoon away when they don’t want any more food. At that age, most babies also start to show a keen interest in what others are eating.
Babies will gradually eat more and more solid foods as they get older, but breastmilk or formula should remain their main source of nutrition for the first year.
Most pediatricians say baby’s first food should be iron-fortified rice cereal, mixed with a little breastmilk, formula or water. The cereal’s easy to digest and has a low chance of causing an allergic reaction.
Ruth Yaron, author of “Super Baby Food,” recommends making your own baby cereal out of whole grains such as brown rice or barley. She calls it Super Porridge.
“Super Porridge is a homemade baby cereal that, when cooked, looks very similar to commercial boxed baby cereal mixed with liquid,” Yaron writes in her book. “But unlike commercial cereal that is processed and refined, Super Porridge is a natural cereal made from unrefined whole grains. Whole grains are a very inexpensive source of super nutrition for your baby.”
Since the homemade cereal isn’t iron-fortified, you’ll want to talk with your pediatrician about whether your baby will need an iron supplement.
After cereal, you can move on to vegetables or fruits and, around eight months, you can start protein foods such as beans, meats, fish and egg yolks. Some say you should introduce vegetables before fruits, so babies don’t get hooked on sweet peaches and reject peas later. Others say the order doesn’t make any difference. Breastmilk, after all, is quite sweet.
But there is one important rule to follow when it comes to introducing new foods: Give baby one new food at a time and wait about four days before serving a new one. That way, you can tell if he or she is allergic to a new food. Allergies would likely show up in the form of rashes, respiratory reactions, or gastrointestinal upset, Gilliam says.
Be particularly observant if you have a history of food allergies in your family and steer clear of foods with the most potential to cause problems, such as nuts, eggs, milk and shellfish, experts say.
Before preparing a batch of baby food, make sure all equipment is well-scrubbed in hot, soapy water. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be washed and peeled, and fat and bones should be taken off meat.
Consider buying a small food mill, such as the one made by Kidco. It’s available online for less than $15. You’ll also want a blender or food processor to puree foods for the youngest eaters. A steamer is another good gadget to own, since steaming is the best way to preserve nutrients in foods. And a small strainer is handy for making lump-free purees. There are plenty of baby food recipe books on the market, or you can log on to www.wholesomebabyfood.com for tons of recipes and tips.
Fruits and vegetables can be boiled, baked, steamed or microwaved until they reach the desired consistency. Add some of the cooking water back into the food while mashing or pureeing until it’s the right texture.
For those very first meals, you may want to strain everything, even if the mixture looks very smooth. I cooked a batch of peas for my little guy and pureed them with plenty of liquid, but he had trouble getting the husks down.
Once the food is ready, pour it into an ice cube tray and cover with plastic wrap. After the food cubes are frozen, you can pop them out and store them in individual sandwich bags. Be sure to label your bags with the date and what’s inside. Defrost the cubes overnight in the refrigerator or under a little warm running water. If you use the microwave, be sure to test the food’s temperature and stir it to get rid of any hot spots before giving it to baby.
You can keep the food in the refrigerator for about two days and in the freezer for about two months.
“If you use my method, within about an hour, you can make a week’s worth of food,” Yaron says. “You’re going to be saving money. You won’t be sorry. … It’s a lot cheaper and it’s so much more tasty.”
There’s no guarantee that giving your baby fresh, wholesome foods now will help you create a teenager who’d pick broccoli over a Big Mac. But it certainly can’t hurt, Gilliam says.
“I think it has a big impact to start them out on healthy foods,” she says. “It develops a liking for those foods.”
Basic baby food preparation
Make sure fruits and vegetables are well-scrubbed, with skins, stems, pits and seeds removed.
Remove all bones, skin and visible fat from meat.
Steam or boil food in just enough water to cover. Mash, puree or grind food, adding small amounts of cooking water until mixture is smooth. Some fresh fruits, such as banana or avocado, don’t need to be cooked before serving. Simply mash to desired consistency.
Don’t add any sugar, salt, oils or spices to the food.
Once pureed, the mixture can be poured into ice cube trays and covered with plastic wrap. Once frozen, put cubes in baggies for individual servings. Thaw in refrigerator or under warm water.
This cereal can be served to babies 6 months and older. It can be used in place of commercial, boxed cereals. Commercial baby cereals are fortified with iron, though, so be sure to ask your pediatrician if your baby should receive iron drops if you plan on serving this homemade version.
Brown Rice Super Porridge
From “Super Baby Foods”
Bring one cup of water to boil in medium saucepan. Put 1/4 cup of brown rice in a blender. Grind it for about 2 minutes. When water starts to boil, turn down heat to low. Sprinkle the ground rice over the water while stirring briskly with a wire whisk. Cover the pot and keep over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to break up lumps and keep the bottom from scorching.
Cover well and keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
Yield: 1 cup of porridge
This puree is a good introduction to chicken, for babies who are 6 to 9 months old.
Chicken and Mixed Vegetable Puree
From “The Healthy Baby Meal Planner”
1 chicken breast or two thighs, skinned and off the bone
1/2 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1-inch white of leek, shredded
1 potato, peeled and diced
Sprig of parsley
1 cup chicken broth
Cut the chicken into pieces and put in a small saucepan together with the vegetables, parsley and broth. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, then puree to desired consistency.
Yield: 15 portions
This is a good meal for babies over 8 months old. Make sure they’ve eaten all of the ingredients by themselves so you can track any potential allergy-producers.
Make-Your-Own Combo Dish
From www.wholesomebabyfood.com
1 cup cooked, cubed or diced meat (cut off fat)
1/2 cup cooked rice, potato, noodles or macaroni
2/3 cup cooked, diced vegetables
3/4 to 1 cup liquid (formula, broth or water)
Combine ingredients and blend until smooth or chop for those who are accustomed to more textures.
Yield: About 2 cups
This snack is good for toddlers.
Apple Breakfast Bars
From www.wholesomebabyfood.com
1 1/2 cups quick rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups raw apples, shredded
Combine all ingredients.
Let stand 10 minutes.
Press mixture into 8- by 8-inch baking dish.
Bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned, about 25 minutes.
Loosen with spatula, and cut into bars while warm.
Serve hot for breakfast.
Yield: 12 bars