Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook - X. Additional Tips

X. Additional Tips

There is no sure-fire way of making your baby appreciate healthy food, no matter how you present it and when but a little know-how does help. When introducing new food to your baby, it’s better to do it when he’s bright eyed and bushy tailed; not when he’s feeling sulky and difficult. Sometimes, when you try to give him a carrot stick, he’ll throw it right back at you. The best thing to do is to try again a few days later; he might love the carrot then. Studies show that it may take up to 15 tries before your baby will accept new food so don’t throw in the towel just yet.

One of the best things about feeding your baby is that it’s always a bonding moment. You can use every meal as an opportunity to build trust and security for your little one by using a gentle and soothing voice and by making eye contact. He may not remember his earliest meals as a grown up but having the comfort and security of your presence and your attention at such an early age will certainly help with his emotional and mental development. You could even let your feeding sessions take on an educational turn by naming the fruits and vegetables he eats. “Say banana!”

As a final reminder – and I can’t stress this enough – breastfeeding is very important for your child’s development and is ideally continued until he is two years old, although at age one and above, he can start drinking his milk and other liquids from a bottle. If you’re having trouble breastfeeding, don’t be afraid to ask for help from your physician, especially if feeding causes pain or if you think your baby isn’t gaining weight despite regular feeding.

If you aren’t producing bottles and bottles of milk, don’t worry. Remember that your child’s stomach is tiny at the beginning of his life; it doesn’t take a lot of milk to fill it. Chances are you are lactating just enough for your baby’s dietary and nutritional needs.

At the end of the day, you need to trust your instincts. As a parent, you’ll find that you will be able to tell when your baby is hungry, when he is content, and when he loves a particular kind of food. By paying attention to his nutritional intake and to his eating habits, you will have a much healthier child who will hopefully have the healthy diet that you want for him or her in the future. 

This is an excerpt from the book: Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook

Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook - IX. The Basics of a Baby Schedule

 IX. The Basics of a Baby Schedule

Babies – and children, for that matter – appreciate boundaries. They may push against them and test how firm your rules are but at the end of the day, they sleep better, eat better, and feel safer for it. They like to know when to expect food, when to expect sleep, and because their needs aren’t that complicated, getting into a regular schedule will make both your lives easier.

An added bonus to having a feeding schedule (and a sleeping schedule) is it makes the transition of having to leave your baby to a sitter or a caregiver much easier. While your presence is an added comfort to your baby, having the same routine that he had with you will give him some of that comfort even when you leave him with someone else. But how exactly do you go about setting a schedule for your baby?

For the first month or so, you need to keep an eye on when he’s sleepy, when he’s hungry, and when he’s particularly painful. The first few months are the real challenge. Your baby will be waking up at all hours hungry; he may end up sleeping during the day and wide awake at night. Don’t fret; this stage will pass faster than you think and pretty soon your baby will be slightly more grown up and a lot more manageable.

In time, you will notice that your baby gets hungry during a particular hour and gets sleepy during certain times of the day too. Take note of these instances. 

Usually, your baby will be hungry first thing in the morning. Because breast milk is most abundant during that time, it is a good opportunity for your little one to get his fill of this precious milk. Your baby may want to sleep after this feeding or he may want to play.

Babies get tired and get hungry fast so another feeding may be in order just a few hours later. It is during later in the day that it is best to feed your baby solid food because mother’s usually have less milk as the day progresses.

Tracking your baby’s natural rhythms – including eating, sleeping, and playing habits – can give you a good idea of what kind of schedule to set for him. Pretty soon, you will have established a routine that works for both you and your baby that could even include when he poops, when he pees, and when he wants to eat more or eat less. Log your baby’s daily routine in a notebook so that you can base your schedule on your baby’s own rhythms.

What you don’t want to do is impose a schedule on your baby that has nothing to do with his natural, built-in routine. It will throw his innate biological schedule off track and you will have an unhappy and cranky baby in your hands. Take your cue from your baby and go from there. You would be surprised at how easy it is to establish a routine based on your little one’s biological clock.

This is an excerpt from the book: Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook

Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook - Cheese-crusted White Bread

Cheese-crusted White Bread

Ingredients:

Pullman loaf bread

Parmesan or mozzarella or any cheese with a light flavor

Parsley or basil, chopped

Preparation:

This is one of the simplest but best ways to introduce texture to your baby’s diet. Take a piece of Pullman loaf bread, cut of the crusts, and top with grated cheese and chopped herbs. Place the bread in an oven toaster and let the cheese melt to form a crust. Take the bread out and cut into sticks, letting them cool in the process so that your baby can eat them safely.

Make sure that the cheese is neutral in flavor and soft enough for your baby to handle. Even processed cheese like Kraft will do. It would be a terrible idea to introduce something as strong flavoured as blue cheese to your baby so young; it will probably turn him off of cheese for life. 

Also, make sure that the bread is fresh and not stale. The longer your bread has been sitting on your cupboard, the harder it gets and the tougher it will be for your baby to eat. 

This is an excerpt from the book: Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook

Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook - Flaked Fish in White Rice

Flaked Fish in White Rice

Ingredients:

Fish fillet, white-fleshed

Fish or chicken stock

Rice, white

Lemon

Dill, chopped

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Preparation:

In case you’re wondering why it’s okay to use chicken stock for just about anything, it is because it is considered a neutral-flavored stock. It is okay to use it for fish but it is just about the only kind of stock that’s flexible that way. Fish stock is too strong in flavor for use in chicken and will change how it tastes; the same goes for beef stock or any other stock for that matter.

First, get started on cooking the rice because it can take a while. Wash the rice and place in a pot along with the chopped dill. Add enough water to cover the rice plus another centimetre to a centimetre and a half. Place the pot on low heat and let the rice cook until the water is gone or until the rice is fluffy and tender.

To cook the fish, season the fish fillet with salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice. Place it in a medium-sized pan and add chicken or fish stock until the fish is half covered. Bring the liquid to the point where it is steaming hot but not bubbling and let the fish cook like this for ten to fifteen minutes.

When the rice is cooked, mash it a little to make it softer and easier for your baby to eat. Flake the fish gently with a fork and mix with the dill-flavored rice. Make sure it is just the right temperature before feeding your baby.

This is an excerpt from the book: Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook

Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook - Chicken Flakes in Sweet Potato Mash

Chicken Flakes in Sweet Potato Mash

Ingredients:

Sweet potato, peeled

Chicken breast

Chicken stock

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Preparation:

Once you’ve washed and peeled the sweet potato, cut it into thick slices, slather it with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and let it bake in the oven until completely tender at 180°C for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Alternatively, you can just drop it in a pot of boiling water until it is very tender.

Bring a pot of chicken stock to the point where it is steaming hot but there are no bubbles. Place the chicken breast in the hot stock and let it cook for fifteen to twenty minutes. This is called poaching while floating in liquid and it’s a gentle cooking method that leaves the chicken tender and juicy as opposed to tough and dried out.

Take out the chicken and let it cool a little while you take out the sweet potato from the oven. Mash the sweet potato with a fork. Also with two forks, flake the chicken so that there are no choking hazards. Mix the two together, making sure it is cool enough to the touch to feed your baby. 

You can throw in some chopped dill or chopped parsley if you want to begin introducing your little one to herbs.

This is an excerpt from the book: Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook

Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook - Fruits in Yogurt

Fruits in Yogurt

Ingredients:

Soft fruits of your choice, sliced or chopped into small pieces (avoid hard fruits that can be choking hazards, like apples)

Yogurt, plain

Cinnamon or nutmeg, a pinch

Preparation:

This meal is fast, easy, and nutritious. All you have to do is make sure that the fruits are small enough and soft enough to not pose as a danger to your baby and mix it in with the plain yogurt. Add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg and you have that something extra for your baby to enjoy.

Does the meal sound good? Make an adult version with your favorite fruits and pair with toast and a glass of orange juice.

Pork and Beans in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

Ground pork, lean

Baked beans

White onion, chopped

Brown sugar

Mustard

Molasses

Rosemary, chopped

Tomato sauce

Bacon (for the adult version)

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Preparation:

This recipe for pork and beans in tomato sauce makes for great comfort food. It’s something that you can serve the whole family while setting some aside for your baby.

To start with, make sure the baked beans that you bought are thoroughly cooked. If you want to use beans that haven’t been baked yet, soak them in water for a good two to three hours before boiling them in salted water to soften them up.

First, sauté the chopped onions then add the chopped rosemary. Add the chopped bacon too, if you’re having any. When the onions are completely translucent, add the ground pork and sauté until cooked. Then add the mustard, molasses, and brown sugar and sauté a little before adding the tomato sauce. For every cup of tomato sauce, add two tablespoons of molasses, two to three tablespoons of brown sugar, and half a tablespoon of mustard.

Let everything simmer until the beans are cooked through and through. Season with salt and pepper and serve. This is a great topping for white rice or with mashed potatoes.

This is an excerpt from the book: Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook

Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook - VIII. 1 Year and Above

VIII.  1 Year and Above

Congratulations! Your baby is one year old! This is just about the stage where you can start going a little nuts on what to feed your child. And while you’re trying out different fruits like lychee and blueberries and blackberries or vegetables like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and salad greens, you’re going to notice that your baby’s preferences are going to be a little more distinct. There are food that he’s going to go bananas for and then there are those that he’s going to reject and throw around like a crazed Picasso. That’s because his tastes at this point have become more developed and so has his appreciation!

What’s important at this stage is to remember that your baby or, to be more exact, your toddler, still has a very little tummy which means you need to give him healthy, nutrition-packed food to help him make the most out of his meals. On how much to feed your little one at this age, you are much better off keeping an eye on how much he wants to eat and what amounts of food satisfies his hunger. He is at the age where he’s going to start asserting his independence and wants and needs and the table is a good place to do just that, although it is also important that you set some boundaries.

Another difference when your child turns one is that he’s now allowed to drink cow’s milk, an important addition to his diet. That means he can drink milk with his meals and eat dishes with dairy. But don’t forget; breast milk is still a very important source of much needed vitamins, minerals, and antibodies that your baby won’t get anywhere else. It is ideal for your child to continue to drink breast milk up to two years of age but you can transition him to drinking from a cup to make life easier for you.

This age is also the best time to start introducing iron-rich food like meat, poultry, fish, beans, and iron-fortified food. Iron-deficiency is a problem for kids around this age and it can affect their physical and mental development. It is easily curtailed with the right diet.

Here are a few recipes that are great for a toddler in terms of taste, nutrition, and overall health that are easy to prepare:

This is an excerpt from the book: Homemade Healthy Baby Food Recipes and Cookbook