ENTERTAINING WITH SKY: Baby Food 101

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Baby Food 101

Being a new Mom is definitely the greatest challenge I have ever faced. What shocks me most is how little doctors advise you on pretty much everything. Like, how much food should I be giving my baby? And when? What kind of schedule should I adapt? What foods should I start with? Just to name a few.

After hearing that "food is not a science" from my Pediatrician, I decided to dive right in and learn from trial and error.

I started with jarred carrots since the one thing my doctor did advise was to buy it jarred since carrots can contain nitrates in some parts of the country. Note: other foods to avoid making homemade: beets and spinach.

The second food I tried was pears and my boys absolutely loved them. If all goes well with digestion I'll definitely be adding it to their oatmeal in the morning.

Here's how to make pear baby food:

1) Buy 4-5 ripe pears (organic if possible)

2) Wash, peel, core, and chop

3) Add to a small pan over medium heat (that's right you do not need to add any liquid to cook them, the pears' liquid does the steaming). COVER

4) Cook over medium heat for 4-6 minutes.

5) Strain the pears and reserve the liquid if needed

6) Add to a hand blender or Babycook and puree. If it's thick, add some of the pear juice.

7) Serve in containers lukewarm or room temperature

8) Store or freeze leftovers (refrigerated food can last 2-3 days and frozen food can last 5-6 weeks.

Makes: 6 2-oz portions

*Dont forget, while introducing a new food, be sure to do it for 3 consecutive days before moving on to another one. You need to make sure that your baby can tolerate it and isn't allergic. And once your baby's spoon touches the portion it cannot be saved so plan accordingly.

Here's a list of items I'm using to make baby food:

1) Babycook: steamer, blender, defroster, and warmer in one