Food recipes I offered my baby (6-12 months old) - Part 1

In my last post of the "Mom & Baby" series, I shared how to start solids for infants, what to feed and the foods to avoid. You can check out the previous post here. Based on couple of requests, I am sharing some simple recipes that can be made at home. Hope this helps the new moms. 

These are the recipes I offered my kid and I am not a licensed practitioner. So always consult with your pediatrician before introducing any new food to your baby.

Fruit Purees

Fruit purees are simple to make. At this stage, choose fruits that are easily digestible by the baby like banana, apple and pears. 

How to make: 

• Take a ripe banana, mash it to a mushy consistency and feed
• If you are using apple, wash and peel off its skin, cut into small pieces, steam for 5 minutes, mash and it is ready to be fed
• Once baby turns 8 months, he will be accustomed to eating fruits and its texture, so you may offer him pears prepared in the same fashion as apples
• Avocado is full of healthy fats. You can mash and add few drops of lemon and feed your baby once he is 9 months. 
• Can also give musk melon and papaya puree from 9 months. Just mash them well and it will be ready to be served

Note:

• Do not feed fruits in combination with milk, especially citrus fruits as it will cause acid reflux
• If you want to feed store bought purees to your baby, do so in moderation, particularly when you are away from home. Store bought ones aren't fresh and doesn't taste like the ones made from fresh fruit.  

Vegetable Purees

Vegetables like carrot, sweet potato, potato and pumpkins can be pureed and offered to baby. You can start with carrot in 6th month, slowly add pumpkin after a couple of weeks. Once the baby gets a hold of trying new food, introduce sweet potatoes and potatoes in the 9th month, as potatoes could cause gas. 

How to make: 

• Wash carrot, peel off the skin, cut into small pieces, steam until well cooked and finally mash it well
• Allow it to cool and then feed the baby 
• Follow the same procedure with pumpkin too
• Similarly wash and cook the potatoes well, peel of their skin and mash it

All these vegetables will be naturally sweet, so the babies will enjoy eating them.

Cut fruits and vegetables

Once your baby is 9 months old, try offering them finger foods like cut avocados, bananas, well ripened papaya, chicku (or sapodilla); steamed apple, pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato, potatoes; rice puffs as snacks.

Soups

Soups are easily digestible and nutritious. They can be offered for any meal of the day and keeps your baby full. You may start introducing your baby, carrot or pumpkin soups and then slowly introduce other vegetables. Lentils too taste delicious when made into a soup.

Carrot soup

Ingredients: 1/4 cup chopped carrots, 2 curry leaves, 1 small garlic clove, 1 pinch jeera powder, 1 pinch pepper powder, ghee (clarified butter), 3/4 cup water

How to make

• To a vessel, add few drops of ghee
• Once hot, add garlic, curry leaves and fry 
• Then add chopped carrots, jeera powder, pepper powder and fry for half a minute 
• Add water and let it boil until the carrots are cooked well
• Cool and blend it in blender

You can follow similar procedure to make tomato or pumpkin soup too. Once baby is 9-10 months old, you can make mixed vegetable soup (with carrots, beans and tomatoes) or dal soup.

Dal soup

Ingredients: 1/4 cup of Moong dal or Masoor dal, 1/4 cup of carrots, 1/4 cup of pumpkin, 1/4 cup of tomatoes, 1/4 tsp of grated ginger, 1/4 tsp of jeera powder, 1tsp ghee, salt to taste (use half the salt that we generally use) 

How to make

• To a pressure cooker, add ghee, once it is hot, add jeera powder, ginger and fry
• Add rest of the ingredients, sauté for half a minute 
• Add water and pressure cook for 4 whistles
• Once pressure gets released, mash the ingredients well and feed warm

In the next post, I shall share how to prepare and store cereals made out of rice and ragi (finger millet) along with some variations. You can easily make them at home and store for longer periods.

Points to note:

• All these preparations should only be fed to the baby as supplemental food while we continue to feed milk as the prime source of nutrition until the baby is 1 year old
• You should follow the 3-day rule when you are offering any of the above mentioned or any new food as a matter of fact, to ensure baby doesn't develop indigestion, colic or any allergies
• Ensure all the utensils used for baby feeding are sterilized, as infants are easily prone to infections

I am sure, you will enjoy the moments of preparing little quantities of food and have lots of fun feeding your munchkin. You will also be amused to notice the funny expressions on those tiny faces when tasting new textures and flavours.

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