baby - Homemade Baby Food Puts You In Charge!

Making your own baby food gives you the distinct advantage of controlling what goes into your baby's sensitive tummy. You determine how much, if any, sugar and spices your baby gets. Even when found on sale for as low as 50 cents per jar, producing your own is a much less expensive alternative to ready made. Making baby food is actually very simple with a few simple tools: a blender, food processor, baby food grinder or similar machine, a steamer or boiling pot, ice cube trays, and a few minutes of your time. As with jarred baby food, begin slowly, introducing only one new fruit or vegetable per week. Be sure to watch for any signs of an allergic reaction. Start with the least acidic of the fruits, such as apples, pears, and bananas. If you would like to prepare your own baby food, follow these basic tips: Fruits and Vegetables Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly to remove any chemical residue. Steam or boil your baby's favorite fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables until mushy. Use fresh fruits and veggies for the most nutritional value, frozen next, and canned as a last option. If you use canned veggies, be sure to use the "No Salt" versions. Use little or no spice. Puree the fruits or vegetables very well for smaller infants (use water to thin out), or leave a bit coarser for older ones. For variety, mix two fruits together. If these are the first foods you are feeding your infant, you may even want to strain the pureed fruit. You can purchase an inexpensive baby food maker that does this for you. Spoon into ice-cube trays and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze. Once frozen, remove from trays and store in plastic freezer bags. At meal time, simply take out a few cubes of food and allow to thaw to room temperature or defrost in the microwave for a few seconds. You can make weeks worth of meals at a time! A few suggested fruits and veggies to begin with: Apples Pears Bananas Peaches Plums Potatoes (mash with water, formula, or breast milk) Peas Sweet Potatoes Butternut Squash Carrots Desserts/Treats Make your own Ambrosia by mixing a few fruits together, such as strawberries and bananas. Be creative! However, only use fruits which baby has already tried and shown no allergic reaction towards. For older babies, mix plain or vanilla-flavored yogurt with their favorite fruits. Freeze baby's favorite juice in ice cube trays. Mush up and let baby eat with a spoon for a frozen treat! This one is great for those terrible teething days. Meals As baby gets older, you can also puree dishes that you fix for the rest of the family such as: macaroni and cheese spaghetti well cooked chicken and ham Freeze in ice cube trays similar to the fruits and vegetables. **Be sure when thawing meat dishes that you allow them to thaw in the refrigerator or defrost in the microwave to prevent the risk of E-coli bacteria forming. Dawn Lloyd is the mom to three young children and owner/editor of several family websites including BabyUniversity.com, a pregnancy and parenting community, BabyShopsOnline, a directory of pregnancy and baby online retailers, and PersonalFitnessZone.com, a weight loss and fitness community. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dawn_Lloyd baby - Cooking Bell Peppers For Your Baby Bell peppers make a tasty addition to your baby's diet and -- despite their misleading name -- they are not "hot"! They can be found in a variety of colours, including red, green, yellow, orange and purple. Their bright colours are a good indication of their excellent nutritional value -- bell peppers are a rich source of vitamin C, vitamin B6 and vitamin A (from beta-carotene). They also contain folic acid. Red peppers in particular contain lycopene, a valuable carotenoid which, in adulthood, helps protect against heart disease and cancer. Bell peppers are also believed to protect against such conditions as rheumatoid arthiritis and the development of cataracts in later life. With such an impressive list of health benefits, it's clearly a good idea to encourage your little one to enjoy bell peppers from an early age -- thereby establishing a healthy start that should continue into adulthood. When you are buying bell peppers to cook for your baby, look for ones that are deeply and brightly coloured, with taut skin free from blemishes. Check the stems, which should appear fresh and green. Some bell peppers can be very oddly shaped, but this does not reflect on their taste or quality. Many babies prefer red, yellow or orange peppers to green ones, as they are sweeter. Bell Pepper Baby Food Ideas You can include bell peppers in your recipes for babies from 6 months of age. Make sure that you introduce bell peppers to your baby alone at first, or with another food he is already safely enjoying. This is to help you identify and prevent potential food allergies or digestive problems. Cut sweet red pepper into slices and serve as a finger food to an older baby, accompanied by a cream cheese dip. Stir chopped bell peppers into your baby's favourite casserole or stew. To create a truly delicious red pepper puree for your baby, place a whole pepper under a hot grill/broiler. Blacken the skin on all sides, then place the pepper into a sandwich bag. Leave for 10 mins. On your return, the skin will slip easily from the pepper. Remove the seeds and puree. You can mix red pepper puree with other foods -- try combining it in a blender with sauteed onion and courgette (zucchini). This will produce a tasty soup that you can serve to your baby either hot or cold. Or use the puree as a tasty spread on lightly toasted bagels. Try serving your baby a stuffed bell pepper -- simply blanch a de-seeded pepper in boiling water for a few minutes, then drain and stuff it with your choice of any of the following: cooked rice a little sauteed onion and garlic chopped mushroom chopped cherry tomatoes a little oregano. Bake at 350 deg F for 30 mins, for a simple and delicious meal for your baby.