Baby Food: Recipes You Can Easily Prepare at Home

When it comes to having a baby, one of the most important priorities for us would be to find a good collection of baby food recipes that are easy to prepare at home as well as feed our little ones. Being a home chef and getting to know about their preparation in detail is another trouble for some of us. Whatever it be, we must know that nutritious homemade foods are safe options to feed our babies as they come with a lot of goodness. Here are some tips to keep in mind while making baby food at home.

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Such homemade food also has the highlighted benefits of being extra-healthy as they are devoid of all the unwanted tastemakers. Common baby foods include purees, combination purees, health mix powders, soups, rice dishes, and more. 

Here are a few easy-to-make homemade baby food recipes that will treat your little one’s tummy well. 

Banana Puree

This is one of the healthiest foods to make easily at homes to feed your baby. It can be introduced to babies from anywhere between 4-6 months. Bananas being the favourite food of most babies because of their yummy taste, also have the benefit of having a less allergenic nature. Its creamy nature makes the puree made with it a filling food and it encourages healthy weight gain. 

Preparation:

You will just have to take a small-sized banana and breastmilk or water or formulated milk to prepare the banana mash. After peeling the banana and trimming its ends, you can cut it into small round pieces. Add them to a bowl and mash them well. Add your choice of liquid (water/breastmilk/formulated milk) and mix them to get a creamy mash. Alternatively, you can also puree the bananas with milk in a blender to make the texture of the paste smooth.

Tips:

• Adjust the consistency of the pure by adding milk or warm water while feeding your baby. 
• Also, check with your pediatrician before you introduce any new foods to your child. 

Apple Puree

This puree, also called apple sauce, is also one of the most-chosen first foods for babies; it is also a food that is less likely to cause allergies. Apple puree is great for babies 4-6 months old. It is highly nutritious and is very rich in fibre. It is important to note that apples need to be boiled or steamed if you plan to feed them to a baby who is less than eight months old, to make the digestion smooth. So, it becomes easy for you to introduce peeled raw apples as finger food after eight months. 

Preparation:

Sterilize the spoons and bowls used for feeding your little one using hot water for about five minutes and keep it immersed until you take it for use.

Wash the apple properly in running water and peel its skin off using a peeler. Remove its seeds and cut them vertically into two pieces and chop them into small cubes. Boil or steam these cubes inside a steamer for five minutes. The texture of the apple will be smooth, and it will look transparent after steaming; you can then blend it with some water in a blender to get a fine paste. 

Tips:

• Always choose the sweet-tasting and firm apples. 
• Note that steaming the apples is always a healthier option than pressure cooking. 

Barley Apple Banana Porridge 

Barley makes great food for babies because of its texture, and also because it is loaded with vital nutrients. It is healthy as well as tasty as baby food; you can also add some bananas and apples to make it extra sweet and healthy. It can be given to babies older than 6 months after you introduce basic purees, dal, and rice to them.

Preparation:

Peel the apples, remove their seeds, and cut them vertically to cut them into small cubes. Peel the banana and cut it into slices. Make a puree using both of these in a blender by using a little amount of water. 

Now add two tablespoons of barley into a saucepan followed by adding a cup of water. Then mix it well to ensure that no lumps are formed. Cook this in medium flame for ten minutes or until it gets completely cooked. Add the puree to this mixture and mix it well. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and switch off the flame when the mixture gets thick. You can then cool it down and add some milk if necessary. 

Tips:

• Adding more water can make it a runny porridge for babies. 
• Always feed your baby with moderate quantities of barley since it contains excess fibre. 

Raw Banana Powder

This is healthy food for weight gain in babies 4-6 months old which is prepared with raw bananas or plantains. Regular bananas look very similar to plantains, but plantains are thick-skinned, bigger, and bright green. These bananas shouldn’t be given in their raw for babies as they may cause digestion problems. 

Plantains are great choices to be included in babies' diets as banana powder. It is available in stores but making it at home is more recommended as it is very easy.

Preparation:

Take a big plantain, trim its edges, slit the rims and peel off its skin. Slice it into thin pieces so that it gets dried easily. Transfer the slices onto a plate and sun-dry it for two or three days. You can then transfer that into a dry mixer jar and blend it to get a fine powder. Sieve it thoroughly, discard the seeds, cool it down and store it in a dry and airtight container. 

Tips:

• You can use three or four bananas if you wish to prepare large batches of raw banana powder. 
• Make sure that the powder is cooled down completely before storing it in the container to avoid forming moisture in it.
• Cook the powder for at least ten minutes before feeding it to your baby. 

Mashed Vegetables 

Feeding mashed vegetables is the best way to start giving roughly mashed food for your little one to stimulate the chewing practice. It is a well-suited recipe for babies who are above 7 months of age. You can slowly introduce mashed foods as well as finger foods to your baby when he/she gets comfortable with purees. 

Keep offering several textures of mashed food as there is a chance for babies to vomit or cough. Before getting to a quick conclusion, make sure that you change the texture of the food and feed them again so that babies can slowly learn to eat mashed food.

Preparation:

Wash and soak a medium-sized carrot, five florets of broccoli or cauliflower, a medium-sized potato in hot water for five minutes. After washing the carrot and potato in running water, peel off the skin from both vegetables using a peeler. Cut them into small cubes of equal sizes and steam them along with the broccoli in a steamer for fifteen minutes. You can also pressure cook the vegetables for two whistles or until they get soft and transparent and properly cooked. You can mash these using a fork and add some grated cheese into the mashed vegetables. 

Tips:

• Introduce potatoes and cauliflower into your baby’s diet after completing 8 months since it can cause gastric troubles. 
• Steaming vegetables is a healthy option when compared to pressure cooking them. 
• Check any symptoms for allergies after feeding them with mashed food for the first time. 

Sendhelper Cooking Service: Home Chef for Baby Food Preparation

New parents who are also working professionals may hardly have time to prepare meals for babies. Although baby food recipes are easy to prepare, they require utmost care and attention. You can book an experienced home chef on the Sendhelper app or website to take care of your baby's dietary needs.