What makes good baby food?

[HeyWayne]

I know, I know, I know - it's a looooonnnng way off yet, but I might as well get my butt in gear and start planning now.

Obvious ones I guess are BNS & spuds - but what else could I grow as a potential bambino/i food?

What (if anything) have you used?

[Flump]

what about

squashes/swede mixed with potato's or sweet pots
strawberries mashed up any fruit really
carrots
mini leek soup hehehe with mashed pots to thicken it up a bit
mashed up peas although i'm not sure about the peas casings??

[Flump]

Also found this web page

Andres' Home Made Babyfood Recipes - Homemade Baby Food Recipe

Has quite a few recipes and sweet pictures

[nikkijy]

hi, first of all congrats. Any of your veg is potenial baby food. when little dude is right age!! when my little darling's were small a just used boil up loads of veg mash it (smooth at first and progressing on to lumps) and then freeze extra in ice cube trays then you can pop them out when needed. try a combanation of two veg, pots and carrots first and then add extra veg as the baby gets used to it. root veg is good at first as it is easily blended. Good luck.

[Mrs Jackson]

Anything and everything is good baby food! If you're doing purees don't forget to add herbs. Things like spears of psb and carrot batons make great finger foods when you get to that stage.

Mrs J

[Rhona]

We've just started weaning our little one (we were both happy to BF to 6 months), and it's sooo exciting and messy! Our diet is very varied and I wanted to make sure she has safe exposure to lots of different things early on, so I add a few chopped fresh herbs to her sweet potato etc., maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon or cumin. I gave her baby rice once and we both thought it was vile, so I just mix a bit in for iron, but generally just giving her fruit and veg at the moment.

Annabel Karmel has a terrific rep and her books are very good for menu ideas, but for GYO purposes I'd suggest peas, carrots, potatoes, beans, broccoli, (I'd maybe think twice about the strawberries until a year old - many advise against them).

Today, I'm squishing chick peas with a bit of steamed sweet potato and coriander to make little nuggets as baby girl likes to pick food up herself. Apricot for dessert!

[Flummery]

Mum's milk for the first six months at least would be ideal. Exclusively for that for first 6 months. Nature's way.
THEN they can eat just about anything you do but don't add salt in the cooking and mash it well. Gravy doesn't need commercial thickenings or seasonings too. Well done for advanced planning!

By the way, research suggests that breast-fed babies are less picky eaters later as they are used to flavours passing through in the milk. Some flavours remain in the milk for just an hour or two, some for much longer. Interesting, innit?

[Earthbabe]

Good on you for thinking ahead HW and belated congrats. The only other thing to add is that Rose Elliot also did a great Mum and Baby book which includes some general tips on parenting, nutrition, etc. There are some reviews of it on Amazon.
Amazon.co.uk: Rose Elliot's Mother, Baby and Toddler Book: A Unique Guide to Raising a Baby on a Healthy Vegetarian Diet: Rose Elliot: Books

I had an older copy which seems to have gone for a walk and I used it a lot when I was expecting. Some of the "snacks" are great, molasses flapjacks and apricot and coconut bars both of which can be eaten straight from the freezer.

[lynda66]

all you really have to remember is not to add sugar or salt,or things like oxo cubes, they don't need it. ..... i found that making large batches of liquidised mixed gunk, was best, then freeze it in ice cube trays, then you can just take out a couple of cubes for each meal, saves loads of time, also babies will eat what you eat, so steaming veg is best rather than boiling, as the veg retain the flavour and more of their vitamins, so no need to add anything. so stick some of what you're eating into the liquidiser and feed that to baby ..... yes breast feeding is best, but some of us only managed for 6 weeks, as the milk dried up ..... so it's one thing you cant plan for ..... you just have to take each day as it comes, and not feel guilty if breast feeding doesn't occur naturally, or your OH has to return to work before 6 months.

basically if you give them a wide variety early on, they usually turn out to be less picky, and their tastes change quickly, so if one week baby doesn't like carrots, the next week they might

[HeyWayne]

So, I need to grow Moobs?

We were inspired by my cousins two little girls (1 and 4 years old) when they came to visit last year. We sat down for a liight lunch in the garden, and we served bread, cold meats, olives, sun dried toms, artichokes (chargrilled), humus and various other bits and bobs. Even little Martha - the one year old, was eating artichoke!

[lynda66]

if you grow moobs that produce milk you will be very much in demand lol

children only become faddy eaters, because they have been allowed to be, obviously there will be some things your child doesn't like .... but may like in 6 months, don't make an issue out of food, if they don't want it or don't like it don't force them ..... the idea is to get your baby used to many different tastes, then as they get older, they won't refuse it just cos it's not a chip.

[shirlthegirl43]

Our boys were first introduced to baby rice as it is easy for them to cope with as a first food. Elder son (now fast approaching 18) started on baby rice at 3 weeks as there was no filling him with milk (own or commercial!). By 3 months he had exhausted the supply of various rices without then with lumpy bits and progressed to anything we were eating, via smootherated Sunday dinner and by 4 or 5 months he was sitting in the high chair vigorously gumming chicken drumsticks, spare ribs or whatever was on offer. Younger son was never happy whatever we tried but he did (and still does) adore mushed up beef in beer with mashed spuds carrots and peas!

One thing I would say to be wary of is strong (dark) green veg - we gave elder son something similar to spinach or kale when he was about 18 months old and it passed through his system intact - much to his distress and our disgust!

[HeyWayne]

if you grow moobs that produce milk you will be very much in demand lol

children only become faddy eaters, because they have been allowed to be, obviously there will be some things your child doesn't like .... but may like in 6 months, don't make an issue out of food, if they don't want it or don't like it don't force them ..... the idea is to get your baby used to many different tastes, then as they get older, they won't refuse it just cos it's not a chip.

Exactly my ethos - but not being a parent yet, I didn't want to say for fear of being flamed.

[Mrs Jackson]

Even good eaters go through phases though. My 2 year old loves raw broad beans, mushrooms and olives among other things, but can I get him to eat a sandwich or a jacket potato at the moment? Nope. With the baby we're going to do baby-led weaning when the time comes and just miss out the purees altogether, so he'll just get whatever the rest of the family is having - much simpler!

Mrs J

[di]

1.Mummy!~for as long as she & babe can~as Flummery said ideally exclusive for 1st 6months but if that not poss then I wholeheartedly agree with Lynda not to feel guilty.But if you can there's so many benefits other than health!I never had to sterilise anything,never had to take bottles out nor frantically find somewhere to warm them up & when they woke in middle of night didn't have to stumble downstairs blurry eyed trying to locate or mix a bottle(even more in blokes interest~Andi didn't even have to wakeup,except for the nights where I really resented his sleep & he might of got an "accidental" kick as I got comfy again!!
Sorry back to question:Basically any veg~sprouts give a particularly amusing reaction!Mine loved lightly steamed broc/cauli/carrots,anything they can pick up with their fingers.Their fave was pumpkin/squash rissotto.Also I'd often cook a large batch of lentil & veg together & freeze in small portions.
There are a lot of good babyfood boooks out there but to be honest even though I bought several I didn't really use them a lot~far easier to just give what your having,unless of course you live on mouth burning curries,in which case just put some mild spice in with theirs to gradually accustom them to the taste.(sorry I'm talking about "them" not "it"~get you even more worried about thurs!)
Anyway,suddenly aware I'm probably boring you with an essay so I'll stop there!