Baby Food Recipes, News and Information

ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS:
Blink Del.icio.us Digg
Furl Google Simpy Spurl Technorati Y! MyWeb

Some people prefer not to use the microwave to heat their babies' food - but sometimes the microwave can be very useful, particularly if your baby is very hungry and doesn't want to wait! As long as you follow a few important safety rules, then it IS possible to use the microwave to warm your baby's meal, or to defrost foods to cook for your baby...

• When heating baby's food in the microwave, it should be covered. You can either use a lid or plastic wrap that is labelled for use in the microwave. This is important because it holds in moisture and also helps the food to heat safely and evenly.

• If your microwave doesn't have a turntable to keep the food rotating throughout the cooking time, then turn it yourself several times to ensure that the food heats evenly. It's also a good idea to stir the food occasionally - microwave cooking can cause hot and cold spots in the food and bacteria may survive in the cold spots.

• You should heat food until it is steaming hot - the FDA recommends allowing the food to stand and then using a food thermometer to check that it has reached 165 deg F.

• When heating your baby's food in the microwave, make sure that the container you are using is safe. It should be specially made for microwave use and should be labelled to confirm this. Never reheat food in plastic storage containers like margarine tubs or take-out containers. These can release possibly harmful chemicals into your baby's food. Even microwave-safe plastic wraps should not actually be in contact with your baby's food as it heats.

• Don't use aluminium foil in the microwave, or plastic bags that are not designed for microwave use (such as storage bags or grocery bags).

• Stir your baby's food well and cool to a safe temperature to serve to him.

• If you use the microwave to defrost food to cook for your baby, then IT IS IMPORTANT TO COOK IT IMMEDIATELY. This is because defrosting in the microwave can sometimes cause small areas of the food to actually start cooking and keeping the food to cook later can encourage the growth of bacteria.

Click here for more tips for the safe preparation and storage of baby food.

To reference this entry please copy the url in this link: (Permalink)

April 11, 2007 11:38 - Feeding A Baby With Eczema

Infant eczema is relatively common and, unfortunately, there is no "cure". Different treatments may work for one child, but not another, and there has been a great deal of research into the factors that may trigger eczema for some individuals.

There are foods that seem to make eczema worse for some people and, when there is a family history of eczema, asthma, food allergy or hay fever, then there are certain foods that you should avoid giving your baby during his first year.

For more information about foods that may act as "triggers" for eczema and to discover which dietary elements may - in some cases - ease the symptoms, then visit our new "Eczema and Baby Food" page... Read more...

To reference this entry please copy the url in this link: (Permalink)

April 13, 2007 15:46 - Can Babies Eat Rhubarb?

We received an e mail today from Ruth in the UK who remembers enjoying rhubarb as a child and wondered if it would be a good food for her 11 month old daughter.

Rhubarb - which many people believe is a fruit but is actually a vegetable - is NOT one of our favourite fruits to prepare for baby. For one thing, it tends to be very sour and often needs to be sweetened in some way to make it palatable. You should, of course, always avoid using sugar when preparing food for your baby and there are so many sweeter fruits available that we prefer to choose those over a "fruit" that requires sweetening.

Another problem with rhubarb is that, although it contains some valuable nutrients, it also contains something called oxalic acid. Oxalic acid may hinder the body's ability to absorb calcium and iron, nutrients that are crucial to your baby's healthy development.

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/rhubarb.cfm
http://www.irondisorders.org/diet/
http://www.ohf.org/docs/OxalateContent092003.pdf

On the whole then, we prefer to forego rhubarb in favour of some of the more 'baby friendly' fruits, particularly when our little ones are only eating a small quantity and every bite matters!

You can see some of our favourite fruit baby food recipes here... Read more...

To reference this entry please copy the url in this link: (Permalink)