The following guest article is courtesy of MomsKitchenGadgets – a great resource for helpful, honest and in-depth reviews on products like the Panasonic Bread Maker and a few of the most popular KitchenAid Mixer Attachments.
A lot of new parents do not realize that it’s easy to make fresh wholesome baby food at home. Not only is it more wholesome for your little one, it’s economical too.
Prepared baby food is often high in sugar, starch and salt and can be problematic for your baby’s immature digestive system. Store bought baby food is also more expensive than fresh. Making it yourself gives you complete confidence that you are giving your baby the best first foods possible, without any unnecessary additives.
The Best Way To Prepare Homemade Wholesome Baby Food
Image by GreenWhiteOrange via Flickr
Image by GreenWhiteOrange via Flickr
The best way to prepare homemade baby food is to puree or blend. The process involves cooking the food, letting it cool and placing in a blender or Cuisinart food processor and blending or pureeing well. You can also use an immersion blender, a gadget that has become quite popular.
Of course, you want to make “age appropriate” baby food for your child, but let your creativity be your guide. For example, you can puree sweet potatoes or squash together with apples, and you can also add formula or breast milk to these purees.
Once you make your purees, the easiest and safest way to store them is to place the cooled purees into ice cube trays made for freezing. You simply fill each cube with puree; cover the entire tray with plastic wrap and place in the freezer. When the cubes of puree are set and frozen, you can pop them out of the trays and place the cubes into labeled freezer bags. These cubes can be used up to one month from date of preparation. When it’s time for your baby to eat, take out number of cubes you need (each is equal to one ounce of baby food), thaw them and reheat.
The jury is still out as to whether microwaving destroys nutrients in food so it’s best to plan ahead and try not to use the microwave except in a pinch.
Some wonderful vegetables to puree for your baby are peas, which contain large amounts of protein, calcium and Vitamins A and C, and also winter squash which is usually loved by babies with it’s naturally sweet taste. Parents usually don’t think of pumpkin and avocado as good first foods but they are both ideal and loaded with anti-oxidants, vitamins and healthy natural oils.
Also, please visit out recipe page for good ideas.
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