Does anyone have a good baby food recipe book that they reccomend?
I live and die by wholesomebabyfood.com It gives you all the recipes and even the calendar when to introduce what food. I make all my own baby food and it is so easy and now I know that my baby is not getting anything but whole foods.
Good luck and good for you!
I was watching The Doctors (thedoctorstv.com) the other day and they had a lady who makes up recipes for baby foods.
Along the right hand column there is a sectino for recipes.
I love Annabel Karmel's book "First Meals". It starts with foods for just starting solids and works up to food and meal ideas for kids and kid-friendly meals for the whole family. My son is 13 mo now and I am still using it for ideas. I also liked the website http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com. What worked best for me was to make big batches and freeze individual servings in ice cube trays. My son always liked what I made better than any canned food.
Good luck and have fun!
Dr. C. Swartz
OB-Gyn
http://drcarrieswartz.blogspot.com
I found an interesting website you might like to try- weelicious.com. I saw her on The Doctors the other day...
I agree with the just start mashing, but I did do some of the jars to start off with. It gave me a feel for the starting point texture and consistency. I was better able to thin out the thicker foods to the proper consistency. Also, my ped gave me a book that said not to make carrots, something about the nitrates that baby food makers know about and select accordingly. Squashes are a good starting point, and just make sure that you wait between introducing new foods.
My son's favorite was bananas and when I wanted to add to that, I mixed in avocados - this is his absolute favorite now. Butternut squash and apples or pears works too, and I have even mixed all four together (when he had eaten part of each and I was consolidating). As he did better, I started to make the food thicker, and then didn't mash all the lumps out.
I don't know of any recipies I just used fresh fruits and veggies. Avacados were my son's favorite and Gerber doesn't make that one. LOL
You don't need a book...it's really super easy.
I made all my son's baby food. If your daughter is just starting out, you'll want to start with single fruits / veggies. At this stage, I used to just steam the fruit or veggie until soft and puree with my immersion blender.
In a few months, start combining two fruits / two veggies. If you think it will taste good and you would eat the items together, combine them. I did blueberries and peaches together, apples and pears, peas and carrots, etc.
A few months after that, I started adding things like cinnamon to apples, cumin to sweet potatoes, etc. I also added rice, lentils and small pasta pieces in at that point. to get chunky textures.
Also, my son loved eating small soft things he could pick up with his fingers--avocado chunks, banana chunks, individual pinto beans and blueberries.
Good luck. Really--it's not that hard. Just start mashing!
I agree with Hilary's post. It is really not hard...just steam and mash/blend. It is so much better than canned baby food... and cheaper too.
If you want to get a book, I would also recommend "First Meals". There are some great recipes in there...although for most things you really don't need a recipe.
Make big batches and freeze in ice cube trays, then store in ziplock baggies. Just unthaw as needed.
I sure do: Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron--I lived by this book! Have fun with your little one, and remember that mess is part of learning to eat! :)
S.
Check out the website www.weelicious.com. It is a great source for tips and recipes for babies up to kids. She makes feeding your little one fun and nutritious. I love it and so does my 10 month old!
