September 28, 2020

SUPER-EASY HOMEMADE BABY FOOD RECIPES (PART I)

Make your baby's first gummy bite of solid food exciting, scrumptious and nutritious with these 4 super-easy baby food recipes you can make at home!

We know you're already armed with the A to Z of introducing solids to your baby. If you aren't, please read our blog post, From Breast milk to Baby Food: Taking the Big Step before trying out these recipes.

Making your own baby food at home is preferred more to buying baby food from the grocery; it's healthier, cheaper, you have more control over the nutritional value plus it's so much fun!

For your early eater, your choice of baby food falls within the STAGE 1 category which is typically very thin or fine in texture and easy to swallow for obvious reasons. At this stage, purees are the way to go and the food categories to major on are veggies, fruits and cereals (check out our baby food chart for more on this).

Itching to try your hands? Let's go!

1. PUREED BANANA

Sweet and squelchy, your baby will love this baby food. Bananas are rich in potassium, vitamins B6 and C and contain some fiber. You can serve it plain or mixed with breast milk or formula or with veggies, cereals and other less sweet fruits like avocadoes and pears. This puree is an excellent choice for breakfast. Be sure to pick bananas that don't have too many blemishes or spots (these are overripe) or look green (these are not ripe); a yellow peel with no spots is best.

Download Pureed Banana Recipe Here

2. PUREED CARROT

Carrots are another fave for babies as far as veggies are concerned. Carrots are nutrient-rich especially in beta carotene which the body breaks into vitamin A and which is good for making your baby's eyes healthy. Your best choice should be carrots with a bright orange colour that have hard skin with no bumps on them. Your baby can eat their pureed carrots with some veggies, fruits (sweet potatoes, broccoli and peaches) or eat them plain or as usual, mixed with some breast milk or formula.

Download Pureed Carrot Baby Food Recipe Here

3. PUREED MANGO

Make a meal for your baby with a twist by going tropical. Pureed mango is the best way to go and it's a low budget too! You won't regret making this baby food since mangoes are multivitamin-rich (full of vitamins A, B, C, E and K). You can serve this pureed mango baby food alone or with some pears, bananas, pureed apples, sweet potatoes, yoghurt and oatmeal. Shopping for mangoes? Do buy those without blemishes, damages and dent a little when squeezed.

Download Pureed Mango Baby Food Recipe Here

4. OATMEAL PORRIDGE

Add more fiber and texture to your baby's diet with this fiber-rich baby food which also contains a lot of minerals and vitamins. There are many types of oats and generally, all are healthy but for your baby, you would want to go in for the healthiest and least processed, with all nutrients intact – these are steel-cut oats and regular or semi-processed oats (baby oatmeal cereal). But mind you these require some prepping up before you can use them to prepare a meal – they have to be cooked before pureed. At all cost, avoid instant oats as these are the most processed and least nutritious; they should be a last resort when all other types of oats are unavailable.

Download Oatmeal Porridge Baby Food Recipe Here

Read Part II of this blog post for the second set of 4 baby food recipes.

By Nana Ama Afoa Osae I Writer I GreatWonderful Team

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