Preparing Baby Food

Kitchen Basics

Sterilizing Equipment

Baby bottles are a breeding ground for bacteria. Make sure you simply boil feeding equipment in a pot of water for ten minutes to stave off bacteria. 

Processors or Blenders 

Mini blenders are great for preparing small batches of food. Using a blender or food processor allows you to choose the consistency of your baby food; whether you need silky smooth for a first time eater or a little more chunky for an older baby or toddler.  The Baby Brezza is a great one step baby food maker. It allows you to blend or steam and blend your food. The Baby Breeza also offers a reheat and defrost option. This great product can be found at C.A.Paradise. 

 Food Mill or a Potato Masher

Food mills and potato mashers are fantastic tools for preparing baby food. Make sure you remove the husks or skins from food as they are hard for babies to digest.

Freezer Containers

Several ice cube trays allow you to freeze meal size portions of a variety of purees. Allow cooked puree to cool to room temperature, then spoon into ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop out and store in freezer bags, seal tightly and write the date clearly on the bag. Return to the freezer and store for up to six weeks.

Feeding Essentials

Bowls with suction cups are great to attach to high chair trays or tables. This is a great way to avoid spills.  I prefer spoons that are small and shallow for early stages of feeding. There are some any wonderful, useful and fun bibs available today. I simply recommend any bib that can protect your baby's clothes from mess. Style and materials are your personal choice.  Although, one thing I did learn with  my kids was to place a splash mat or old towel underneath the feeding chair. Clean up was a cinch. 

Preparing Baby Food

Steaming is the best way to preserve the taste of those food and keep all those nutrients intact. When you are steaming your fruits or vegetables over the stove, use the excess liquid to blend. It will return the nutrients that may have escaped in the steam. I always try to choose fresh local food. Foodland Ontario is a great resource for recipes in guides to in-season foods.

Pick a Recipe Resource.

I have used tips and ideas from Annabel Karmel's book on First Meals in writing this blog. This book was the best resource for me when I began preparing food in my kitchen for my own children.  I often revisit her book for ideas on feeding my toddlers these days.   

First Tastes

Baby rice cereal with breast milk or formula is a good starter food. You can also start with single ingredient purees. Root vegetables are very popular and palatable for babies who like the naturally sweet flavours and smooth blended texture. My babies loved apples, avocados, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes and squash along with a rice cereal. Combining a single ingredient with baby cereal is a great way to introduce new foods and flavours. Once baby is comfortable with single ingredient fruit puree, try combining two flavours to give a mixed flavour.

Baby food that is stored in the refrigerator should be used within 24 hours.

9-12 months

As your baby starts crawling, they will need more energy rich foods such as cereals, fresh and dried fruit, and pasta. This is also a fun time to encourage self-feeding. The experimenting is the fun part. The feel of food is great for kids.Some great ideal finger foods:

Vegetables:

Steam them a bit so they are not so hard but still a bit crunchy. Carrots, cucumber sticks, green beans,

Fruit:

Chunks of bananas, peaches, pears. blueberries ( my kids loved them frozen), peeled grapes,

Toast fingers or plain bread sticks

Dry cereals

Cooked pasta shapes

Small pieces of chicken or turkey

At the end of your baby's first year, they will be eating more solid foods. While your baby is receptive to new foods be sure to introduce different textures and flavours -mnashed, grated, dices, whole.

On the Go

I love being outside. As a new mom, I would go on long walks, rollerblade or run with my kids in the stroller. Often my kids would be on the sidelines while I played Ulitimate Frisbee.

My babies were big eaters and I had to have food on hand at all times to keep them satisfied. Containers were important. Thermos brand has always been my choice of on the go containers. I use their lunch bag as a cooler. I lovet that it is leak proof. Their vacuumed sealed Thermos’ keep things warm or cold without fail. This is a trusted brand for my kids’ food.  Sistema food storage containers are also good with their line of 'Klip it to go' , which offers sections and dividers in their containers. Their line can be found at C.A. Paradise