I am having a one yr old boy baby. I used to feed my baby with home made foods like lentil rice, curd (with yogurt) rice, boiled vegetables, boiled fruits, egg etc. Now we are planning for a 5 day vacation and no idea as to what will i feed him during these days. We have never gone for a long vacation like this since he was born. I cant take any of the foods that i mentioned above since all of them are perishable in a day or 2. We are not eating meat and so does the baby since we are vegetarians. Please let me know what are my options in terms of his food. I have 2 more months for my vacation. I tried some ready made baby food items in the store and all of them need microwave to heat it up. I am not sure if i'll get a microwave during the travel. He doesnt have any teeth, so i cannot try any hard fruits like apple, which i used to give him steamed. Please help me...Your vacation experience with 1 yr baby will help me a lot.
Ambili,
You didn't say where you are going or what kind of environment you will be visiting. If you go to places that have buffets you will have the easiest of times. Lots to choose from, no waiting for the food to come and if you try and don't eat the food - no big deal.
L. M
Yikes!
You may be able to do without a microwave...
All you'll need to do is get boiling water. Maybe bring a bowl or container that you can fit the baby food jar into. If the hotel has a coffee maker, just fill it with water, run a cycle, pour it into the bowl, then put the jar of baby food in the water and let it warm up that way.
I'd also do this in a restaurant: ask for hot water and set the bottle in the coffee cup with hot water.
It seemed to do the trick in a pinch.
Have a fun trip!
We packed store bought babyfood for our son at that age. Veggies like corn, peas, green beans, etc. We never heated any of it up. He actually liked it better not heated up. You can also purchase a small food mill or grinder and bring it with you and just grind up the food you eat. If you go out to dinner you can ask the waiter to have a side of veggies overly steamed or cooked or microwaved. You didn't mention where you were going, will you have a fridge? You'll want to pack milk or formula for your baby. We chose formula because you just have to add water. Again, we never heated the formula up, he liked it at room temperature. You may want to start introducing some of the foods you plan to travel with now, so that your baby will be used to eating them. best wishes and safe travels.
Our son was mostly on table food at this point and I suspect as you get closer to the time of your trip your child will be as well. I'm not sure if you will have cooking facilities or not -- but Mac & Cheese is a good one that our son likes. We use the Annie's brand. I've also seen a food steamer (Electric) that Magic Beans sells -- that could potentially be an option. Cheerios are a good thing for breakfast and our son also liked toast at that age. I'd suggest just experimenting. His pediatrician might have some suggestions as well when you go in for your well-baby appt.
We are also vegetarians and feed our children organic homemade food. My daughter is now three and my son is 10 weeks. One of my favorite on the road food items for Nora was beans. I would take canned black beans and cut them in half (crazy, but I was nuts about her choking). Those are a good protein source (and if you could pick up some rice that would be great). Another idea for eating out is eggs.. Nora loved fried eggs. I found Earth's Best baby food was good for on the go too.
I travel a lot with my children (by the time my daughter was one she had been camping in Colorado, and had been in 9 different states). I remember that feeding Nora when she was in that transition stage was one of the stresses I had. Beans, blueberries cut in half, rice, eggs, canned peaches and mixed fruit, cheese sticks at room temperature cut into tiny pieces, and the jar baby food were staples for traveling.
Good luck and have a wonderful time!!
E.
Hi,
You need to plan based on what will be available during the trip. Yours sounds like a road trip or something. We had taken fruit jars and mixed in cereal to make it more filling. We had plain bread which she liked. And vegetable jars which she didn't like too much. You can carry some home-pureed vegetables if you have carry a cold case. Eggs you can get on the way. Boiled eggs keep well. Baby Yogurt smoothies you get at the store, that would keep. Can use to mix cereal as well. Bananas are great, you can mix into most of the combinations above or feed it directly. Most importantly, make a list of what would be locally available on the trip and try to find options there.
All the best!
Hi there, you can give ripe fruits without any cooking - bananas, pears, melon, etc. just cut into very small pieces (even dice them). We give these to my 9 month old and she does very well. Also, chick peas/garbonzo beans are great - just rinse out of the can and give them a little pinch, crush them a bit so they're easy to swallow. We sometimes use the stage 3 jarred baby food, it's no problem to serve without heating, we do it all the time. If you're at a restaurant, you can usually request some plain cooked pasta, rice, etc.
You don't need to microwave the gerber baby foods in plastic containers, although you can if you want. They are great for travelling. My daughter (19 months) just eats the stuff right out of the container. The only down side is if he doesn't eat it all in one sitting, you may have a storage problem since once opened, the containers need to be refrigerated.
I used instant oatmeal packets. They have flavored and plain varieties. You do have to be able to get boiled water or microwave it.
You got some great advice! I would just add that at any restaurant you can ask for a cup of boiled water that you can use to heat your jarred baby food. I add a little to the inside and stirred, then put the jar in the hot water for a few minutes.
Remember that if something is not on the menu, like a plain scrambled egg with no whites, you can ask for it and almost any restaurant will oblige you. Also, don't forget the canned organic coconut milk--this is a great road food and very healthy and delicious. For the first couple of days, I would bring frozen foods in a cooler and eat them as they thaw...you can prepare food in your ice cube trays at home and have little cubes of pureed vegetables ready to be served.
Have fun!
Hello,
Single servings of applesause, they have different flavors, and are not perishable.
Any jars of store bought babyfood can be served at room temperature. They do not need to be heated. You could bring kiwi, which will keep for several days out of the refridgerator. This is nice and soft and can be chopped into tiny pieces. A banana can also sit for several days without being cold, then can be mashed for the baby. If you look at the "earth's best" brand of babyfood, you will find several wonderful vegetarian choices that can be served without heating if you choose. I would try some of these things before you go so that your baby is used to it, and does not find it strange food. Good luck, and enjoy your vacation.
I used to make my daughter's food too. When we went out of town, I would bring bananas and mash one at a meal. Avocado can be mashed to serve too. Although my baby wasn't advanced enough for chewable things like bread and pasta, she was able to eat tiny pieces of really ripe pear. Also, if you're in a restaurant, you can often request some yogurt for the baby. We also used some store-bought foods when we went out of town--organic apples, pears, apple/apricot mix. My daughter did not like the store-bought vegetables at all. I tried them myself and generally they tasted awful, so I understood why. We also used to bring some rice/oat cereal. If you put a portion in a tiny tupperware container and head to a restaurant, you can just add a little water and you're ready to serve.
Best wishes.
