From the day your baby was born up until he is about 5 months old, your baby’s main food should be milk. World Health Organization has advised that breastmilk is best for babies, but if not possible, you can also use alternative such as formula milk.
On your baby’s 6th month, he is now ready to explore and try eating solid food like baby cereals, puree and mashed food. But how do we properly make these baby food? Make sure that you have the equipments that are necessary to make the food such as blender, food processor, steamer, food grinder or baby food maker.
Steps to Prepare Baby’s Food:
•Firstly, plan and list the different fruits and vegetables you would want to try and feed your baby. Prioritize those that are proven to be healthy, nutritious and most of all, safe.
•Once you picked the right fruit or vegetable, wash them with running water. Ensure to thoroughly clean and peel the food.
•Chop them into smaller size so they can be easily cooked. You can boil(with little water only), bake or steam the vegetables or fruits that are a bit hard such as apple, pears, or plums.
•Once tender, you can now put them into food processor, blender, or food maker. Make sure that everyting was cut into small fine pieces.
•You can add a little bit water, or for more nutritional value, add breastmilk or formula milk. Just put enough amount to improve texture but not too watery.
Other Solid Food You Can Give to Baby
•For grains, you can cook them first then puree or grind them. Add water or milk as needed.
•For soft vegetables such as bananas and avocados, you can also use fork and spoon to mash them.
•For Baby Cereals, you can grind rice. Every meal time, you can sprinkle 1-2 tablespoon of powdered rice into 1cup boiling water then mix thouroughly. You can add a little milk for nutritional value.
For storage of the home made puree for your little one, you can put them in a single-serving container. They can last up to 4 day if refrigerated and up to 2-3 months if frozen. To serve frozen puree, you can put the food in microwave to defrost but make sure to let them cool down before you give them to your little one.
It was once said that “food is the ingredient that binds us together”, so as we introduce our little ones to different kinds of food, bear in mind that we should not only consider the the taste and satisfaction they would get, but mostly of the nutrition, vitamins and energy these food would contribute for their growth and development.
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