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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January 21, 2008 09:37 - An Easy Way to Add Nutrients To Baby's Food
Did you know there's a quick and easy way to add lots of nutrients to many of your baby food recipes?
Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it, but the addition of wheat germ to your baby's meals can increase their nutritive value immensely!
Wheat germ is the most nutritious part of the wheat grain, with a protein content even higher than that of meat!
You can blend it effortlessly into a variety of foods (sweet OR savoury) and it's a great way to get extra goodness into a picky baby - he won't even notice it's there!
Learn more about wheat germ, including the nutrients it contains, how to store it and how to use it in your baby food recipes...
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January 22, 2008 09:16 - Valentine's Day Recipes for That Special Little Someone
Only a few more weeks until Valentine's Day - and that means it's time to start thinking about a special menu for the little love of your life!
Our Valentine's Day Baby Food page contains a full day of Valentine's treats for your little sweetheart, with suggestions for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert...
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January 23, 2008 13:47 - Do I Need to Cook Pears For My Baby?
Megan from Cornwall in the UK asked us
I just bought some fresh pears for my daughter, Casey, and they are really ripe and juicy. Is it absolutely necessary to cook them for her, or can babies eat pears raw?
The reason that you'll commonly come across advice to cook fruits for your baby is that the cooking process both softens the fruit and breaks down its cell structure, making it a little easier to digest.
However, very soft fruits like ripe pears really don't need cooking for babies of at least 6 months of age, as they are very easy to puree or mash.They will also retain ALL of their nutrients, which may otherwise be lost to some extent during cooking.
But if you decide to offer pears to your baby before 6 months of age, then we would recommend cooking them a little to increase their digestibility. A simple way to do this is to take a pear, cut it into quarters and remove the core. Then just wrap the pieces in foil and bake them in the oven until tender. Remove the skin before serving.
For older babies, big chunks of ripe, juicy pear make an excellent finger food! No teeth are required - and you'll find your baby will be quite happy to get stuck in and gnaw away at the fruit. The 'melt-in-the-mouth' texture of a very ripe pear makes it far less of a choking hazard that uncooked fruits with a firmer texture - although, of course, you should keep a very close eye on your little one when he's feeding himself.
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January 24, 2008 16:15 - Safety Tips For Shopping With Baby
Shopping carts (or trollies as they're known in some parts of the world) look much more 'baby friendly' than they used to. Some stores offer special seats in their carts for each stage of development - you can even opt for a cart that will seat two babies, or your toddler AND your baby.
Despite their sophisticated designs, however, shopping carts are decidedly UNsafe for babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics 2006 report - Shopping Cart Related Injuries to Children - reveals that there were a horrifying 20,700 children under 5 years of age treated in US hospital emergency departments for shopping cart related injuries in 2005.
4% of these children were actually admitted to hospital.
45% of all children injured in shopping carts received fractures and - tragically - some children have actually died from either falling from carts or from carts tipping over. In fact, cart tip-overs are responsible for over 40% of cart related injuries among children under 2 years of age.
We were prompted to talk about the danger of shopping carts today by a relative - who has today experienced an incident just like this.
Her little boy, 14 months, was secured with a safety strap in a shopping cart (and please bear in mind that this happened in a well known supermarket). Well - the cart tipped! Fortunately, she was able to catch it as it keeled over before her son was injured - nevertheless, the whole experience shook up both Mom AND baby, as you can imagine.
So what's the solution?
Until carts are redesigned to be safer for children, the AAP recommends the following alternatives to placing your baby in a cart...
Try to go shopping with another adult who can watch the children for you
Use a stroller (pushchair), wagon or front pack instead
Leave your baby at home in the care of another adult when you shop (not an option for all of us, but great if you can do it!)
Shop online (in our opinion, this is good for heavy, basic items. But our children have always enjoyed shopping for fresh foods with us and we would have all missed out on that had we shopped online. Choosing and learning about healthy foods encourages your children to make their own healthy choices later on - and shopping becomes a fun and educational experience!)
The AAP also recommends that you NEVER
Leave your baby alone in a shopping cart
Allow your child to stand up
Put an infant carrier on top of the cart
Allow your child to ride in the basket
Allow an older child to climb on the cart or push your baby in the cart
Many parents are probably not aware of the extent and number of injuries caused to children by shopping carts...
but, having had a relative experience this at first hand, we highly recommend taking a closer look at the AAP's report - and reconsidering placing your baby in a cart when you go shopping.
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January 25, 2008 09:38 - Wheat Free First Birthday Cake Recipes
If your baby is on a wheat free diet, then making his first birthday cake at home can be quite a challenge!
But don't worry - our new 'Wheat Free Birthday Cake Recipes' will help you make sure that your little one doesn't have to miss out on this important birthday treat. With ideas for wheat free carrot cake, banana cake, rice flour cake and more, you're sure to find something to please for baby's special day...
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