Hello People,
Today's recipe is for the special "bundles" in our lives, I mean babies. Babies are so sweet, lovable, tender, beautiful, cute... *add your own adjective(s). It is recommended at birth, that you exclusively breastfeed your new born for the first six (6) months of life as this is of great benefit to both child and mother, especially to the baby as it protects against illnesses and builds their immune system. Not every mother can go all the way, some supplement breastfeeding with formula (baby milk such as SMA, NAN etc) while others breast feed exclusively for the first six (6) months. Whichever method you choose, at the end of six (6) months you will be faced with "introduction of solid foods" to your baby.
At the 6 month mark, some first foods to try are creamy avocados, apple sauce, sweet potato puree, bananas and the like. Many mums (especially new ones) run out of ideas on what to give to their babies so they resort to buying canned baby foods. I'm not saying this is bad, cos I also did this till I realized that these baby foods can be made at home, so why spend so much when I can DIY and be sure of the ingredients used.
I know, caring for a baby isn't easy, not to talk of making their own "special foods", but cooking them in large portions and freezing them, saves you a lot of cash.
Disclaimer: I am not a Pediatrician, neither I'm I in the medical field, I have written this post based on my experience and information gathered from Pediatricians and Nutritionists, discuss with your Ped, before feeding your baby with any baby recipe(s) posted here. Babies can have allergic reactions to some foods, as generality may not apply.
To the business of the day: Potato and Carrot Purée.
I usually use sweet potatoes for this dish, I haven't tried it with Irish potato. Talking about Sweet Potatoes, close contacts of mine can relate to this cos I call my son "sweet poraro" hahahaha, hence the preference. Sweet potatoes are a good first foods for babies starting solids, they can be eaten mashed or puréed. They have a soft consistency and are easily digestible. Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins A and betacarotene as well as potassium, they also contain a good amount of vitamin E, folate and calcium.
On the other hand, carrots are easy to digest and are packed with nutrients like beta-carotene, vitamin C and calcium.
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| A portion of Sweet potato & Carrot Purée |
Ingredients:
- 2 small sized sweet potatoes
- 1 medium sized carrot
Serving: 3-4 portions
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| Carrot and Sweet potatoes |
1. Peel sweet potatoes and scrape the carrots.
2. Cut both into small chunks
3. In a sauce pan, bring water to boil then add sweet potato chunks, cook till almost tender, add the carrots cook for 6-8 minutes.
4. Using a spoon, scoop them from the pan into a blender or food processor and purée, add some water as you blend to get your desired consistency. You can thin the mixture with breast milk or formula.
*don't use the liquid left from boiling
Allow to cool, then feed your baby.
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| Puréed Potatoes and Carrot (set to be freezed) |
Baby Food Tips:
* Wash the foods thoroughly before cooking and your hands, if possible with an antibacterial soap under running water.
* When purchasing carrots for baby food, organic ones are the best, look for carrots with little or no sprouts at the top.
*If your baby rejects it at first, don't give up. Try again another day in small quantities and with time, s/he will get used to it.
*You can also try puréed sweet potatoes only first, then with time you mix with carrots or other veggies.*Carrots contain a high level of nitrates. Nitrates are naturally occurring in water, leafy and root vegetables like cabbage, spinach, lettuce, broccoli etc. Babies who are below 3 months old should not be given foods high in nitrates as they have not developed the stomach acids necessary to fight the bacteria that helps nitrate conversion to nitrites.
Stay connected, more baby recipes coming!
Nitie
*Always wash your hands before and after handling food items.
nice!!! im def gonna try this wit my 1yr old.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandra. Since it's a 1 year old, instead of blending, you could try mashing the cooked potatoes with a fork and add a hard boiled egg, s/he will love it.
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ReplyDeleteLove this recipe for babies! my sister has a baby who can have this. i'm going to prepare this and take it to their house for a little family time. thanks for the great idea.
ReplyDelete