10 Ideas For Healthy Baby Food That You Can Make At Home

Preparing healthy baby food for your baby is much easier than you might imagine. In this article you can find the best tips and some good ideas you can add to your cookbook.

If your child has already started eating solid foods, you will love this article. Here you can learn how to make healthy baby food for your child, without putting so much effort.

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First, always remember that the food you make must be approved by your child’s doctor.

It is also worth noting that during these first moments where you feed your child, he / she develops his / her taste. Precisely because of this, it is appropriate to let the child experience many different flavors.

Of course, you can adjust these recipes to the food your child has already tried. Remember that it is usually recommended to add one food at a time to detect possible allergies.

Healthy baby food for your child

This list is just an example. Follow the pediatrician’s recommendations when introducing new foods to your child’s diet.

Before you start making these healthy meals for your child at home, it is important to know what foods you can actually add to their diet depending on your age.

Let’s take a look at some general recommendations:

Up to 6 months: Breast milk only. Even if you are feeding your baby a bottle, you should only gradually include some baby food in their diet when the baby is between 4 and 6 months old.
Between 6 and 12 months: Fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, eggs, meat, chicken, fish, olive oil.

Between 12 and 24 months: Soft cheese, yogurt and milk.
3 years and older: Nuts, apple pieces, raw carrot pieces, other foods that can cause suffocation earlier.

Tips for making healthy baby food for your child

When you shop

Buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Try to use them within three days so that they do not lose their properties.
Choose lean meat. A good way to prepare healthy meals for your child is by buying lean meats to avoid excessive fat. If necessary, cut off the fat before cooking the meat. Talk to your pediatrician to find out how large portions you should give your child.

If you choose to use baby led weaning (BLW ), remember to use soft meat in small pieces. Do not forget to talk to your doctor about what you intend to use so that he or she can give you some advice.

When you cook

Hygiene is basic when cooking.

Remember to rinse fruits and vegetables, clean the surface where you are going to prepare the food, and use clean cutlery and utensils for each food item. This is important to avoid cross-contamination between foods.
Minimize the use of salt when cooking. The amount of salt you use should be minimal to avoid damaging your baby’s kidneys. Until the child is 1 year old, the intake should not exceed 1 gram of salt a day. They can ingest up to 2 grams a day from 3 years.

Choose olive oil instead of other fats. Olive oil has monounsaturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids and healthy vitamins E. Small doses of unrefined olive oil are also always recommended when children first start eating solid foods.
You can use olive oil for cooking, baking and frying (as long as you use minimal amounts of fat).

Other ideas

Use force. Vegetable power can be amazing when cooking rice or other grains like quinoa. Power can give an appetizing taste to grains.
Add milk to purees. If you are trying to make a puree for your child, you may notice that it may become too thick. Therefore, you can add water or milk. You can use the milk that your baby usually drinks, or even breast milk.
Freeze food you do not use. It is a good idea to freeze small portions of the food that you can save for later.

10 ideas for making healthy baby food

Look at the list of foods that you have received from the pediatrician and let your imagination run wild!

Healthy baby food

Rice with chicken and vegetables: Choose the vegetables you want and cook them together with small pieces of chicken until everything is cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside. Boil the rice in the boiling water. When ready, you can mash the food to make a puree, or serve it in pieces.
Creamy squash: Boil a large potato, a large squash, and an onion (all the vegetables must be peeled and cut into cubes) until cooked through. Use a mashed potato or fork to get the consistency you want.

Lentils and vegetables: Boil the lentils together with the carrot that you have peeled and cut into cubes, half an onion into cubes, and two peeled tomatoes without the seeds. When everything is ready, you can mash it or serve it as it is.
Short noodles with tomato sauce: Make a sauce with onion, tomato and carrot that you have cut into small cubes. Serve it with short noodles to make them more nutritious.
Omelette with vegetables: If you have already started to include eggs in your child’s diet, you can make an omelette with various cooked diced vegetables. It’s easy and tasty!
Vegetable puree with fish: Boil a small squash, a potato, a leek and a half onion together with 80 grams of lean, boneless fish. When everything is cooked through, mix it together in a blender.

Meatballs with vegetables: You can freeze these meatballs to always have a healthy meal for your child ready in an instant. Boil carrot, a leek, 40 grams of green beans and 40 grams of lean meat. Remove excess water, mash everything, and shape the puree into meatballs. Instead of frying them, bake them in the oven.

Desserts for your infant

Mashed apple, pear and banana: Boil the apple together with a pear (both peeled, without seeds and divided into cubes). When they become tender, take them out of the water and mash them together with the banana. If you want the mashed fruits to be lighter, add the milk your baby drinks to regular. Do not add sugar.

Banana and orange: This dessert is incredibly simple. Mash the banana with a fork and mix it with the juice of half an orange. Enjoy!
Yogurt with fruit: Give your child mashed fruit with or small pieces of raw fruit together with yoghurt. Your child will love it.

Some things to think about in the end

It is not so complicated to make healthy baby food yourself. All you have to do is choose healthy ingredients, use fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and whole grains, and prepare them without adding fat, salt and sugar.

Remember that your baby’s stomach is small, so do not force him or her to eat. It may seem like small portions to you, but it may be more than enough for your child. Doctors may recommend that you let your infant eat himself, because then he will eat exactly the amount he needs.