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Baby Food Recipes, News and Information
For all the latest baby food news, updates to nutrition guidelines, product recalls, great new baby food recipes, hints, tips and more!
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August 6, 2007 14:44 - Mmmm... Chicken and Sweet Potato Soup
I'm a big fan of one-pot cooking! I also love being able to prepare food in advance for dinner because our home always seems to be especially hectic around dinner time, making cooking difficult!
So I often make soups for our family, which are not only nutritious - they taste fantastic, you can just warm them through when it's time to eat and there's very little dish-washing to do afterwards!
Most soups will be suitable for your baby AND for the whole family - the secret is to leave out the salt and allow individual family members to add it afterwards, if they need to.
Our new chicken and sweet potato soup recipe includes delicious herbs and spices, meaning it tastes great WITHOUT any salt. The recipe may look complicated, but it's actually very easy to prepare and the results are worth the effort!
So if you feel like cooking a complete meal for your family in just one pot, check out this recipe, which we've added at the start of our "Soups for Baby" page... Read more...
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August 7, 2007 14:25 - Making Your Own Finger Foods For Baby
Once your baby is feeding himself, mealtimes can be a lot more fun for you both! I really enjoyed watching my little ones getting to grips with finger foods - babies seem to have endless patience when it comes to food and I remember watching my son spend absolutely ages working out how to get a little piece of broccoli into his mouth. His look of satisfaction when he finally managed to do it was priceless!
After weeks of pureeing and mashing foods, it can be tempting to reach for commercially prepared snacks for self-feeding - particularly when you're out and about.
But despite that fact that many "finger food" products are designed specifically for babies and young children, few offer any real nutritional value and simply provide empty calories.
Yet preparing your own nutrient-dense finger foods for your baby is not at all difficult.
Healthy finger foods can be as simple as pieces of cooked vegetables - baked carrot strips, for example, taste wonderful and require very little preparation (just cut a carrot into stick shapes, wrap it in foil and bake it in an oven set at 375 deg for 30-40 mins, until tender).
For babies with more advanced tastes, check out our Finger Food Recipes page.
We have a great recipe for "Fruity Breakfast", for babies who don't enjoy breakfast from a spoon - plus you'll also find recipes for
applesauce muffins
sweet potato cubes
chicken fingers with apple
cheesy vegetable nuggets
tofu nuggets
baby meatballs
Who needs pre-made finger foods when the homemade alternatives are so simple and delicious?
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August 8, 2007 14:45 - Easy Apple and Raisin Puree
Today's recipe is a very simple puree using apples and raisins. Suitable for babies from 6 months of age, this tasty little puree can be served warm or - if the weather's hot in your part of the world right now - you can chill it for a refreshing treat.
You will need
1 sweet apple (Golden Delicious works perfectly), cored, peeled and diced 1oz raisins (wash and remove any hard pieces) 1 fl oz unsweetened apple juice tiny pinch nutmeg (optional) tiny pinch cinnamon (optional)
Put the raisins into a small ramekin and add the apple juice. Microwave on full power for 30 secs. Leave to stand for 5-7 mins, by which time the raisins should be nice and plump. Pour the raisin and juice mixture into a small saucepan and add the diced apple. Simmer over a low heat for around 5-10 mins, until the apple is tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg (if using), then transfer to a blender and puree until smooth!
Our Fruit Baby Food Recipes page has lots more ideas for you, that incorporate a variety of fruits...
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August 9, 2007 21:16 - First Foods Questions
We received a message yesterday from Paola in Mexico who wrote...
"Which apples are the best to make purčes? Is mango a suitable first fruit? (around 6 months). Should it be cooked (with vapour) first before being mashed? Which squash provides more nutrients: pumpkin or butternut/acorn squash? Is spinach a suitable first vegetable? Broccoli?"
Here is our reply, which you may find useful if you have wondered about the very same things!
You asked which apples are best for baby food purees. We recommend using naturally sweet apples, which will be palatable for your baby without the need for any additional sweetening. Some examples of naturally sweet apples are:
Golden Delicious
Red Delicious
Pink Lady
Red Rome
Fuji
Gala
You also asked about giving your baby mango as a first food. You may wish to delay the introduction of mango until a little later in your baby's first year - some sources recommend from 8 months of age - because mango (particularly the skin) causes allergic reactions in some people.
That being said, some parents DO successfully introduce mango to their babies from 6 months of age. A ripe mango does not have to be cooked for your baby - but we would recommend pureeing it for a young baby as it can be quite fibrous.
You also asked about the nutritive benefits of pumpkin and butternut/acorn squash. All winter squashes are highly nutritious and make a great addition to baby's diet - plus, they are rarely responsible for allergic reactions. "The World's Healthiest Foods" is an excellent website that provides detailed nutritional information for a variety of fruits and vegetables - here's a page that you may find interesting.
As for spinach and broccoli - recommendations for the timing of the introduction of these vegetables vary considerably across the world. In the US, parents are generally advised to introduce spinach and broccoli to their little ones in the latter part of their first year. These is because there is a concern that they may be high in nitrates. Commercially made baby food is screened for the presence of nitrates, so some parents choose to offer these vegetables in jarred form.
However, the risk from nitrate poisoning is considered by many to be negligible - you may like to read the American Academy of Pediatrics' article on this subject. As you can see from this paragraph -
"Infants fed commercially prepared infant foods generally are not at risk of nitrate poisoning. However, home-prepared infant foods from vegetables (eg, spinach, beets, green beans, squash, carrots) should be avoided until infants are 3 months or older, although there is no nutritional indication to add complementary foods to the diet of the healthy term infant before 4 to 6 months of age. "
- their recommendation is that nitrates only present a danger to infants BEFORE 3 months of age. As they point out, this is too early for baby food anyway! Here's the link to the full article.
Another thing to consider with spinach is that it appears on the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen" list. This list comprises the fruits and vegetables that harbour the highest amounts of pesticide residues. If you do choose to cook spinach for your baby, then we would recommend buying "Certified Organic" spinach only.
Finally, an additional consideration with broccoli is that it may cause gas in babies (and adults!). If you do choose to cook it for your child, try cooking just the florets. It is also believed that slightly undercooking them reduces gassiness after eating them.
Have you considered giving your baby sweet potato or avocado as a first food? Both have an ideal texture for babies and avocado is an easily digestible source of essential fats. It also helps your baby absorb the nutrients from vegetables he eats along with it - an added benefit that makes it a superb food for your little one.
Please remember that the information given here should not be taken as medical advice and you should always discuss the introduction of any new foods to your baby with your doctor.
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August 10, 2007 21:13 - Recall of Wooden Drums (Australia)
Wooden Rolling Drums sold in Early Learning Centre and Kids Central stores from September 2006 to February 2007 are being recalled. This is because there are small beads inside the drum that can become dislodged if the drum is dropped excessively, posing a choking hazard.
The drums, which have a product code of 113412, are marked suitable for children from 12 months - 3 years.
If you have one of these drums, please return it to any Early Learning Centre or Kids Central store (for a list of locations please call 1300 850 123 or visit www.earlylearningcentre.com.au).
Alternatively, you can mail the drum to ELC, Locked Bag 8000, Paddington NSW 2021.
You will receive a full refund or credit for a new toy.
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August 10, 2007 21:19 - Recall of Thomas & Friends Pool Items (Australia)
Various Thomas and Friends Pool Items are being recalled in Australia because of a problem with the labelling. The Australian Standard 1900-1991 requires that labels on items such as these should use block lettering with a minimum height of 6mm, the words should be in a particular order and there should be batch numbering.
The recalled items, which were sold across Australia in the last 12 months, are
Baby Float PG50-20281 Swimming Vest PG50-20285 50cm Swimming Ring PG50-20287 55cm Swimming Ring PG50-20286 Kick Board PG50-20288 Swim Set PG50-0SS includes Kick Board, Beach Ball and Armbands
If you have any of these items, please return them to UGames Australia Pty Ltd, 10 Apollo Street, Warriewood NSW 2102. Include your return postal details and you will be issued with a refund.
If you need more information, please email kathryn@ugames.com.au or telephone 02 9997 2044.
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August 12, 2007 15:42 - What's For Breakfast, Mum?
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day - and many babies will actually eat much better first thing in the morning than at any other time of day.
After (hopefully) a good night's sleep, many babies are hungry and happy in the mornings - so it's a good idea to make the most of this opportunity to fill your little one's tummy with nutritious foods and get his day off to a healthy start.
Many commercial cereals contain too much sugar to be considered the ideal choice for the first meal of the day. An alternative is to make your own (we have a recipe for a very simple homemade rice cereal here). You may also like to experiment with some alternative grains which may not commonly be used in baby food, yet offer many health-promoting properties.
But breakfast time for baby need not necessarily mean cereal. Remember - your baby doesn't know which foods he is 'supposed' to eat at a certain time of day. Remember, too, that typical 'breakfast foods' vary from one culture and country to another - so, basically, anything goes!
We received a message from one of our visitors this week. Her son, Samuel, refused to eat cereal but happily ate other foods throughout the day. When we looked into this a little further, it seemed that Samuel enjoyed feeding himself 'pieces' of food, but did NOT like being fed from a spoon. He wasn't able to feed himself from a spoon - so he really wasn't eating any cereal.
We advised Samuel's Mum to either make him some oatmeal or porridge that was thick enough for him to actually pick up (not for the faint-hearted - it makes an awful mess!) - or to look for a nutritious alternative to cereal that Samuel would ENJOY eating.
So his Mum tried giving him a variety of foods that he really enjoyed (whole wheat tortilla spread with hummus being his favourite) - and lo and behold, breakfast times are fun again as Samuel happily tucks into the foods he loves!
Our Breakfast Ideas For Babies page looks at some more ways to help your little one enjoy the most important meal of the day... and don't forget to let us know what YOUR baby loves to eat for breakfast!
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