Home Made Baby Foods

YOU HAVE NEW DECISIONS TO MAKE!
When your baby is 4 to 12 months old, your doctor, nurse or nutritionist will recommend starting your baby on semi-solid foods. This pamphlet answers some of the questions concerning this new stage in your baby's development.

Schedule for Starting Semi-Solid Foods

WHEN TO ADD FOODS	TYPE OF FOOD	SUGGESTED FOODS
4 to 5 months	cereals	iron-fortified baby rice, barley or oatmeal cereal (dry)
5 to 6 months	vegetables	carrots*, squash. sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, spinach* and beets*
6 to 7 months	fruits, oven-dried	apple juice**, strained fruits; wheat, toast (without butter) mixed and high protein baby cereals (dry)
7 to 8 months	meat and meat alternates	strained meats: beef, liver, turkey alternates chicken, egg yolks. cooked dried beans (put through a sieve to remove skins), (no gravy nor salt); easily mashed vegetables and fruits.
8 to 10 months	cheese, plain yogurt, finger foods sliced meats and casserole    combinations ions soft cooked meats	cottage cheese, mild yellow cheesesoft cooked vegetables green beans, carrot coins cut in quarters, broccoli crackers macaroni and cheese, spaghetti. beans and rice, homemade soups and stews crumbled hamburger, some meatloaf. tender chicken and tuna fish (water- packed)
10 to 12 months	finger foods whole egg (at 1 2 months)	banana slices, pear slices. peach slices,watermelon. cantaloupe, crackers,cheese slices and macaroni

** do not give citrus juices until after the baby is one year old.

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Making Your Own Baby Food
It is a simple, inexpensive way to feed your baby and can be just as easy for you as baby food in jars maybe even easier!
TIPS FOR SAFE BABY FOOD
Before You Start -

• Wash your hands before preparing food.
• Use clean cutting board, equipment and containers to cook and store food.
• Always wash and peel fruits and vegetables and remove seeds and pits before using.

When You Are Done -

• Cover and refrigerate or freeze cooked food immediately after it is prepared.
• Keep pureed food in a covered container in the refrigerator for no more than three days.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
The following items are useful EQUIPMENT for making baby food, but really only a fork is necessary to get started.

Blender                  Sharp Knife                      Heavy Saucepan                         Fork                      Rubber Spatula                 Steamer                         Strainer                  Vegetable Brush                Food Mill

WAYS TO MAKE BABY FOOD - You don’t need to use all methods, just find one or two that will work for you                                                                       .
MASH
Use a fork to mash soft food. Ripe bananas and cooked foods with no skins or  seeds can be used. Cooked apple, white or sweet potatoes, squash, carrots and egg yolks are easy to mash.
SIEVE OR STRAINER
You can use a strainer or clean, fine mesh wire and spoon to push the food   through.  Repeat the process if results are lumpy.
FOOD MILL
Cut the food into pieces. Put the cooked food through the food mill. (The skin and  seeds will stay in the mill.)

CHOP
Foods can be finely chopped or scraped with a knife, then mixed with liquid.

FOOD GRINDER
A food grinder can be used to grind up meats when the baby is ready for junior foods (about 9 to 12 months old).

BLENDER
Read the directions with your blender. Put a little formula or fruit juice, or juice from the food you are making or water into the blender. Cut food into cubes and add to the juice. Blend to desired consistency. Use a rubber spatula to push food  own to blades when motor is turned off Using the blender is the easy and fast way to make baby food.

HOW TO FREEZE BABY FOODS?
An easy way to freeze baby foods is in FOOD CUBES.  Food cubes are a perfect size for smaller babies and a good way to introduce new foods.
To make them:

1. Freeze baby foods in plastic ice cube trays.
2. Pop out the frozen cubes and store in clean ziploc or plastic bags in the freezer for up to one or two months. DO NOT TURN BREAD BAGS inside out to reuse.

Food cubes are also handy for traveling or visiting. Since baby food does not always have to be heated, thaw the cubes in the refrigerator and feed at room temperature within 30 minutes of removing from refrigerator. As his or her appetite grows, use more cubes!
Now you are ready to start learning a few basic recipes.  Try one recipe at a time .... soon you will be comfortable enough to prepare larger amounts of food at the same time.

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Basic Recipes for Baby Foods

FRUITS

Cooked Fruits
Wash fresh fruit. Cook in a little bit of boiling water until soft. Puree or strain so all of the lumps are gone. Make sure there are no seeds or skin in the fruit. Rinse canned fruits to remove part of the sugar if canned in syrup. If using home canned products, make sure proper canning guidelines were followed.
Ripe Banana and Other Fresh Fruit
Ripe bananas have a brown skin with spots. Mash a little bit. Other fresh fruits can be ripe cantaloupe, peaches, apricots, pears, prunes
-prunes are especially good for constipated babies.
Frozen Fruits
Frozen unsweetened fruits purchased in bags can be slightly thawed, then blended and frozen in ice cube trays no need to cook them as long as equipment is clean and things are done quickly.
An 18-ounce bag of frozen fruits and vegetables will fill an ice cube tray.
VEGETABLES

(See chart above)

To cook: Boil, Steam or Bake, then blend or mash.

If the baby foods are too thin, add Baby Rice Cereal, and if they are too thick, add fruit juices, formula, or juice from the cooked vegetables.

DO NOT add salt, sugar or fat.
DO NOT feed corn to babies.

By 5 months of age, spinach, beets, carrots and turnip or collard greens, whether home grown or commercially prepared, should be tolerated. For some infants who are sensitive to high nitrate levels, only commercially prepared strained or junior spinach, beets, carrots, turnip or collard greens should be served. As a general precaution for all infants, feed only I to 2 tablespoons of home grown or canned spinach, beets, carrots, turnip or collard greens at a time.

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MEAT AND MEAT ALTERNATES
(Do not add salt or fat)

One pound of meat equals one and a half cups pureed (blended) meat, about 8 to 10 food cubes. Do not use pre-cooked luncheon meats such as bologna or bacon because of too much salt and additives.

Basic Meat Recipe

Half a cup finely cubed meat that is well-cooked, and 2 tablespoons (more or less) formula or unsalted meat broth.

Liver

Liver is the easiest meat to blend. It also is very rich in iron. Steam liver in a small amount of water in a covered pan about 8 to 10 minutes and blend.

Hard-Cooked Egg

Put a fresh egg in water. Bring water to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the egg sit in the hot water 20 minutes. Remove the cooked yolk and mash with a fork. Do not serve the egg white to the baby until baby is 12 months old.

Egg Custard

Put one egg yolk, ¼ cup milk, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a pan. Stir over medium heat until mixture is thick.

FINGER FOODS FOR THE TEETHING INFANT
Hard bread roll, toast (without butter) or bagel Banana pieces
Chicken drumstick (remove gristle)
Avoid using sweet cookies, cakes, pretzels and pastries for the teething infant. Children will learn to eat sweets and salty snacks soon enough as they grow up.

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JUNIOR FOODS

As your baby approaches 9 months of age, junior foods can be introduced (see page two for new foods to try)
Besides trying new foods, continue with the fruits, meats and vegetables your child enjoys eating. Simply blend foods for shorter periods of time to leave food "chunky".
When using strongly flavored foods such as chili or beans and rice, serve small amounts first to see if your baby is ready for them.
If you decide to BUY BABY FOOD already prepared, there are a few things to know:
I. It is best to buy strained fruits, strained vegetables, strained meats. This way you know what you are feeding your baby.
2. Read the labels on jars cans and boxes, especially the words following "Ingredients".