how do you make baby food

[funnymummy]

I hate giving my baby processed food, or that horrible stuff from jars that just tastes like flour and gravy.  I dont think they are very healthy and i would like some alternatives.  She is just about to start solid food.  Let me know if you have any ideas

[chatting in chatroom]

To be honest it is best to start your little one off on baby rice mixed with a little of her formula.  Once she has gotten used to solid food in her mouth you can add one new food a week.  This way it will give her digestive system time to get used to it.  Some ppl start off with squashed fruit but to be honest this is often too sweet and can give them diarrrhoea.  I would sujest making ice cube food.  I began with carrotts.  Boil them until they are very soft and then puree them in a blender with the water they have been boiled in, about 50% carrot and 50%water.  If its too liquidy you can add some baby rice when you use them.  I pour the pureed food into ice cube trays and freeze them.  That way when they need ever increasing amounts of food you can just add another ice cube. 

Then i moved onto potato, and other bland veggies.  Once she is happy with this i then moved onto chicken.  Same deal, boil it until it is cooked very well then puree it into a smooth paste with water.  You will find that the chicken will seperate from the water when its frozen but once you defrost it it will become a paste again.  At that stage i could give my little ones different meals depending on which ice cubes i took out of the freezer.

I then went on to puree the meat, potatoe and veg all together.  That way i could add stronger tasting veggies ect with out turning him off the food altogether. 

When moving onto fruit its best to start off with squashed banana, i also stewed apple but neither of mine liked that very much. 

When they get to 6 months you can start introducing dairy into their diet.  I added cheese into the diners i was making first.  Leave it about a week cos they will more then likley get diarrhorea with this.  Then moved onto yogurts.  Generally speeking they shouldnt have milk until they are 11/12 months old.

I hoped this helped.

[funnymummy]

thank you that is very helpful.  I will def try that

[dinkydo]

Uh Uh ill try that too.  But when should i be reducing the amount of bottles she gets cos i dont want her to be malnourished but i dont want her to be over fed either

[skatterbrains]

Also good to note, that apparently by the age of 6 months they start to loose their reserves of Iron so just at the end of cooking your ice cubes add in some baby leaf spinach, this will go soft in about 3 seconds so it doesnt need much cooking.  Then when you blend the food she/he wont be able to cook it. 

I also tried this with mince meat to add a little Iron etc.  I think mine liked it better then chicken lol.

[chatting in chatroom]

Uh Uh ill try that too.  But when should i be reducing the amount of bottles she gets cos i dont want her to be malnourished but i dont want her to be over fed either

Generallly i would start reducing the bottles when he/she is able for a meal which would contain carbs, protien and vegg.  Instead of giving forumla during that meal i would give water or sqeeze an orange and dilute it. 

Once he/she is on another full meal ie breafast i would do the same again always replacing the formula with another liquid so he/she doesnt get dehydrated.  Soon you will find your little one will be on about 3 bottles a day.  Its usually at this stage i move to no 3 formula.  Not until then even though the packaging says 6 months, because at 6 months they still dont absorb their required nutrients.

I hope this helped.