Keen to have your little one avoid
the over-processed, additive-packed diet of today¦s obesity-prone
youth? Then give your weaning baby healthy eating habits for life by
starting them off with nutritious food easily made at home
BY MATILDA LEE
Date:14/06/2007 Author:Matilda Lee
Breastfeeding provides all your baby¡¦s nutritional needs
for up to the first six months of their life. As a newborn¡¦s
digestive and immune system are still immature, continuous breast-feeding
helps prevent food allergies, eczema, asthma and hay fever. While all
babies are different, weaning from milk to solids usually begins between
four and six months. As babies grow more rapidly in the first year than
at any other time in their lives, they need a diet high in calories
and nutrients.
Arguably
the best way to provide nutritious meals for weaning babies is to make
them yourself at home. According to Annabel Karmel, author of the Complete
Baby and Toddler Meal Planner, by making your own baby food at home
you can be sure that:
¡½
only the best-quality, freshest ingredients are used ¡V with no
artificial additives;
¡½ you save money, as home-made purˆmes are much cheaper
than buying commercial brands;
¡½ nutrients such as vitamins remain in your baby¡¦s
food; nutrients are lost in the processing of many pre-prepared baby
foods;
¡½ your baby is introduced to a wide range of foods: this
is important in establishing avaried and healthy diet; and
¡½ your baby is introduced to at-home family meals, as
you can prepare vegetables for your baby¡¦s purˆme alongside
those you are preparing for the rest of the family ¡V just leave
out the seasoning.
Beginning
weaning: the best fresh foods for your baby
Fruits:
Apple, pear, banana, peach, papaya and avocado
Vegetables:
Carrot, pumpkin, swede, parsnip, butternut squash, sweet potato, green
beans, caulifl ower, peas and broccoli
These foods
are easily digestible and are the least likely to create food sensitivity
problems.
¡½
Ensure that your fruit and vegetables are local (apart from the banana
and papaya), seasonal and, if possible, organic. For convenience, join
a weekly box scheme (click here) or visit your nearest farmers¡¦
market.
How to
prepare
1) Steam
the vegetables or fruits until tender (takes between four and 10 minutes,
depending on the ingredient). This retains much more of the vitamins
than boiling.
2) Purˆme the fruit or vegetables in a mouli or a food processor. A
mouli separates the food from the seeds and tough fibres, which are
difficult for babies to digest. A food processor is convenient for larger
quantities, but food may also need to be sieved afterwards to remove
any seeds and skin.
3) Let the food cool and then serve.
Rather
than preparing small amounts at a time, you can plan baby menus ahead
and prepare enough for a few weeks¡¦ in a few hours.
1) Prepare
as above, then put extra food into small pots or ice-cube trays and
place in the freezer. Baby food can be stored for up to eight weeks
in a freezer.
2) To serve one meal, remove the relevant amount from the freezer and
leave to defrost until heating over the stove. Let cool and serve.
Tips
¡½
Don¡¦t add sugar or salt to your baby¡¦s food.
Salt is harmful to a baby¡¦s immature kidneys and sugar
is habit-forming.
¡½ Pressed for time? Foods such as mashed banana or avocado
make delicious no-cook baby purˆmes and can be made and eaten instantly.
¡½ New foods can be introduced on consecutive days, unless
there is a history of allergy in your family or you are concerned about
your baby¡¦s reactions to certain foods. In which case
it is advisable to introduce each new food separately and then leave
three days before introducing another food. One by one, introduce your
baby to the fruits and vegetables listed above. Then combine fruit and
vegetable purˆmes and gradually introduce other fruits and vegetables.
¡½ Annabel Karmel¡¦s book, the Complete Baby
and Toddler Meal Planner (Ebury Press, ¢G12.99) includes more than
200 quick and healthy make-at-home recipes for
weaning babies and toddlers.
