Homemade Baby Food

With parenting comes tremendous responsibility, and the emotion that takes precedence over all other thoughts is 'I want the best for my baby'. Who can argue with that? So when it comes to buying food for your baby, many parents are a little (or a lot) skeptical about whether to go in for it.

Hundreds of doubts ranging from 'what exactly are the ingredients in it', to 'are there any colors or preservatives added', and many other similar thoughts will cross your mind. All of which are justified.

The best solution to do away with all these niggling doubts is to prepare the baby food by yourself. This will allow you to control and monitor what your baby eats and you can make different varieties of the same, depending on his taste and preferences.

Take an apple and peel it, then dice it into small pieces and steam the pieces. Use very little water for steaming if you want the puree to be thick, if not, you can always add more water later. Then take the steamed pieces and mash them. The puree is ready.

Peel a banana, cut it into small pieces, and mash the pieces. Add a little milk and powdered sugar to it if necessary. One can make purees of many other vegetables and fruits like carrot, sweet potato, pears etc. Simply steam/boil them until soft and mash them. Then add milk and sugar to taste if necessary. Or feed it plain.

Reduce the flame and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. This will allow the vegetables to become tender. Then, blend the mixture till it is creamy. Put it in a pan, add ½ cup of milk, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. The soup is now ready.

Take a large saucepan and sauté a small, finely chopped onion until soft. Then, add 1 cup of rinsed and dried lentils, 1 cup peeled and diced carrots and 4½ cups of water, and let it boil. After it begins to boil, reduce the heat, cover the saucepan, and let it simmer for 1½ hours. The lentils will become soft after this. Add water for desired consistency.

Mix ½ cup cottage cheese, ¼ cup cheddar (mildly grated), 5 tsp milk, ⅓ cup cream cheese, and mix well until they are perfectly blended. Then take 1 tbsp of chopped carrots and ¼ cup peas, and cook them. Once these are ready, mix the cheese mixture and stir. Add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to top it off.

Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a pan and add ½ a cup of finely chopped pumpkin and ½ of a small onion in it. Then, stir fry till they turn a golden brown color. Then, add ½ clove of crushed garlic, 2 sage leaves, a little thyme, and stir until all the ingredients are a dark brown.

To this, add 1½ cups of vegetable stock (prepared like any other stock) and the drained barley (pre-soak for an hour beforehand), and boil. Lowering the heat, cover the vessel, and let the mixture simmer for 20-30 minutes. When all the ingredients are nice and moist, the meal is ready.

Peel one sweet potato and cut into the shape of fries (¼ inches thick and 4 inches long). Then, add very little oil to these strips. Sprinkle 2 tsp of cinnamon and toss it together to mix well. Line a baking sheet with foil paper. Now, place all the fries on it in a single layer. Then, bake at 180 degrees C for 45 minutes.

Aren't all these homemade baby food recipes easy to make? Imagine the satisfaction you'll get by making them on your own. So try making some of them today and watch your baby as he gurgles and coos while enjoying these new dishes.