Homemade Baby Food |
5 tips for making your own baby food
1. Hygiene
Cleanliness is extremely important when preparing food for your family. Prior to making baby food, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water, and ensure that the equipment and the cooking areas are clean. Equipment and utensils should be thoroughly hand washed using hot water and detergent, or cleaned in a dishwasher on a high heat setting. All fruits and vegetables, including those being peeled, should be thoroughly washed. This is because surface bacteria on the skin comes into contact with the knife or peeler.
2. Straining or puréeing
Because of concerns about baby’s choking, many experts advocate straining food for your infant’s first few months. If your baby seems to be struggling with new textures, use a sieve: place 1/2 cup of cooked food in the sieve and press with the back of a spoon.
3. Freezing and storage
After preparing any of the bulk recipes, pour the food into ice cube trays, cover with tinfoil or parchment paper and freeze. If using plastic ice cube trays, allow the food to cool before pouring it into the ice cube trays. This is because heat increases the likelihood that chemicals from the plastic will leach into your baby’s food. Alternatively, you can use stainless steel ice cube trays. Once cubes of food are frozen, they can be stored in airtight freezer bags. These should be carefully labeled and dated. Frozen baby food can be stored for up to 2 months in the freezer, and, once thawed, will keep for 48 hours in the refrigerator.
4. Thawing
Baby food should always be thawed in the refrigerator, or in a double boiler on the stovetop, never by leaving it out on the counter at room temperature. Proper thawing prevents the possibility of bacteria growing on the outer layer while the inner core is still frozen. Baby food does not need to be heated prior to serving. On summer days your baby may enjoy a chilled purée. If you choose to warm your baby’s food, remember it should be no warmer than body temperature (37°C/98.6°F). This is because babies are used to the temperature of breast milk. Food can be warmed in either the double boiler that was used for defrosting or in a saucepan over low heat. Before serving, remember to mix thoroughly and test in order to avoid hot spots. The most effective way to gauge the temperature of baby food is to test it yourself. Once food has been served, leftovers should be discarded because bacteria from the mouth will have contaminated the food. A microwave is not advised for warming as dangerous hot spots are much more likely to occur than with other methods of heating.
5. Cooking times and quantities
For the recipes in this book, quantities are approximate and most are measured using a standard-size ice cube tray. The number of cubes your baby will eat in a month varies depending on age, individual appetite and how often you choose to supplement the cubes. Supplemental foods include whole-grain infant cereals, finger foods and table foods as your baby grows. When your baby is 6 months old you might make only two recipes: one beef and one vegetable. You will need two ice cube trays and it will take approximately 20 minutes. By the time your baby is 10 months old you may be making four to six recipes per month: one meat, one pasta, one fish and two vegetables. Depending on the complexity of the recipes and how many you make, it will take approximately 1 to 3 hours and you will probably need six to eight ice cube trays. If you have a very hungry baby, be prepared to invest in additional ice cube trays. As your baby gets older, muffin tins work just as well, producing larger portions. Cooking times too will vary.
Excerpted from The Baby's Table by Brenda Bradshaw Dr. Lauren Donaldson Bramley Copyright © 2010 by Brenda Bradshaw Dr. Lauren Donaldson Bramley. Excerpted by permission of Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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