Getting Started Feeding and Making Your Baby Food
Want to start giving solid foods to your baby? Although there are various store-bought options for baby food, it’s best if you could prepare homemade baby food for your child. For, you have full control over what to add and what not when preparing baby food at home.
The best part is that only minimal work is needed to prepare healthy baby food at home. All you require is healthy ingredients to make the right baby food items.
Benefits of Preparing Homemade Baby Food
One of the major advantages of making baby food at home is that it’s very easy to make. You can use leftover food to prepare something for your baby.
You may even put homemade baby food in an ice cube tray and freeze it for one to three months. Each ice cube tray can easily store up to one ounce of baby food. But if you want to make something fresh for your baby every day, consider introducing your infant to the foods you have.
This way, you introduce your child to more variety of food while making them part of family meals.
With homemade baby food, you keep an eye on what your baby is eating. Meanwhile, you can ensure that the food is nutritious without any preservatives and additives found in store-bought baby foods.
How to Make Homemade Baby Food
You have to begin by washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Make sure you use only clean utensils and also prepare food on clean workstations. In case you touch eggs, fish, or raw meat, make sure to wash your hands properly to avoid bacterial spread all over the work surface.
If you are sampling the baby food, make sure to use a fresh spoon or keep washing it every time you taste food while preparing.
Here are different baby food options to prepare at home:
Grains and Cereals:
You may cook grains as per package instructions. Whether you choose whole grain, single-grain, or iron-enriched varieties, make sure to grind and purée them. Whenever you add grains or cereals to your baby’s diet, you must serve it with breast milk or with baby food products that are made especially for infants. Make sure the consistency is thin for the baby to eat conveniently.
Fruits and Vegetables:
Steam, bake, or boil vegetables or hard fruits, such as apples, before grinding or puréeing them. You may even introduce other orange or mild yellow veggies and fruits like sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, peaches, etc. to your child. Or give them green veggies like string beans and peas. Boil/peel these fruits/veggies as needed. Add them to a grinder, blender, or food mill, and add some water to attain the desired consistency.
Meats and Poultry:
Make sure to purée skinned and trimmed cooked poultry and meats alone or mix them with some already-introduced foods like vegetables to make all-in-one food. Some popular choices are minced meats, such as lamb, turkey, or chicken.
Conclusion
When your baby starts growing up, start introducing solid foods to your newborn. You may start with the given food options in the right consistency. Thus, your child will get the required nutrition in the initial growing years.
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