Baby Food 101

Because I am a stay at home mom, I make my baby's food at home. I must admit that at first, I was so nervous that I was not going to do it right. I researched online and found one website that I can rely on for tons of ideas and recipes. www.wholesomebabyfood.com

I'm enjoying making babyfood now. The best thing about it is that you can't really get it wrong. I mean you can either boil or steam your food, then blend it up into a puree using a scant amount of water. It's not so bad and the best part is the comfort in knowing that she is getting a hearty and healthy meal at each sitting.

Doctors generally say to begin the transition into solid foods for babies with fruits, then vegetables. We chose to begin with vegetables first because naturally, the sweetness of the fruits would turn any baby's head away when it's time to eat their vegetables. We started the baby cereal at about 5 months and then vegetables at 6 months. Of course, once she ate the vegetables, she refused to eat the cereal. Below is the breakdown of my babyfood making adventures.

Stage 1: Baby Cereal (rice first, then oatmeal, whole wheat)

Stage 2: Introduction to Solids- Vegetables

Natural sweeteners: carrot; sweet potatoes

Yellows: yellow squash, butternut squash

Greens: green peas, green beans

Other: potato, cauliflower, broccoli

Stage 3: Fruits (apples, pears, banana, peaches, plums)

Stage 4: Rice with Toor Dal (pureed with a little ghee: clarified butter)

Stage 5: Finger Foods (not there yet, but soon!)

The key is to introduce the baby to one food at a time and feed for up to 3 days. This technique helps to pinpoint food allergies, if any. If baby has no allergies and each has been introduced, then comes the fun part- mixing and matching the vegetables and fruits. I'm trying out different variations, but I'm coming to find out that with vegetables, it's best to mix one sweet vegetable (like carrots or sweet potato) with like a green (green beans, green peas) that the baby does not necessarily like. Every day is an adventure. Soon, she will be on to finger foods, and that will be a whole new adventure in itself. I can hardly wait!