Homemade baby food

[TheWife]

FYI on the pineapple, it is higly acidic as is oranges and other citrus fruits and they are supposed to wait until after 1 year old to have it. It can cause painful sores in their tummies and bad diaper rashes, they just can't process the acid yet. Pineapple, strawberries and watermelon are also high on the allergy list. Also, make sure your ham isn't a honey type, because of the botulism risk.

[rgphib]

Michelle- it was a Beechnut stage 2 meal. So I didn't make it. He liked it but I am going to wait on giving him it again. He does have a tiny rash and I think it is from too much fruit lately. I was giving him fruit morning and veggie mid-day but then veggie and fruit for dinner. My mom said to cut back to fruit in morning to see if his little rash clears up.

[jr_lenz]

Robyn, the best advice that was ever given to me on diapher rash if its caused by runny poop, or poop with high acidity (too much fruit) is to put liquid antacid on it first, (it neutrlizes the acid, even if you wipe, the acid can still be stitting on the skin) let it dry then put the cream over the top to proctect the skin from wetness.

Trayton got the rotovirus when he was a little over a year old and he was so runny, that he had ulcers on his bum. We couldn't even wipe him, we had to stick him in the bath everytime, which was about every ten minutes, and even then he screamed. but as soon as we dumped the malox on him, relief would wash over his little face. it really has works wonders for us when ever we had to use it in the future.

[rgphib]

Ohh...That's interesting Janet! I'll have to try that.

It looks 100% better today. I went to Walmart last night and bought a different kind of diaper cream (I was using the Boudreaux Butt paste...I bought Triple Paste medicated ointment) and it seemed to work right away.

I'm sure most of the issue with the poops is teething....poor little guy. He was cranky all day today, I am guessing another tooth will be popping out soon!

[jr_lenz]

So I made blueberries today. (we aren't quite ready for solids, but I have all this fresh fruit & veggies from the garden and want to stock up). Holly cow, they don't go very far. One basket made TWO small containers of food. the containers are prob a 1/2 of a jar of baby food! thank goodness they were free! I picked five of those little baskets, one we are eating, one I am freezing, and the others I was going to save for Stevie, and here I was thinking that I was going to have a ton!!!

I hope she like squash, I think I will get farther on that and Peaches, we always have a ton of peaches. Don't even think I will try the rasberries, I will just save them for ice cream

[ccbegay]

all this home made baby food makes me hungary...call me crazy, i like baby food! haha

[amelia]

Originally Posted by jr_lenz

So I made blueberries today. (we aren't quite ready for solids, but I have all this fresh fruit & veggies from the garden and want to stock up). Holly cow, they don't go very far. One basket made TWO small containers of food. the containers are prob a 1/2 of a jar of baby food! thank goodness they were free! I picked five of those little baskets, one we are eating, one I am freezing, and the others I was going to save for Stevie, and here I was thinking that I was going to have a ton!!!

I hope she like squash, I think I will get farther on that and Peaches, we always have a ton of peaches. Don't even think I will try the rasberries, I will just save them for ice cream

Did the squash come from your yard too?? I wish we had a big enough yard to grow tons of stuff and have lots of fruit trees. Dh would be in heaven. We just have broccoli, spinach, tomatoes and 3 kinds of peppers (that are not doing well at all).
We got a ton of blackberries this year though...the kids LOVED them.

[jr_lenz]

its from my parents ranch. we all do the garden together, I swear its almost an 1/2 acer. With almost two acers of blackberries. they have all of the fruit trees, (not pear) and in the garden we do squash, orca, peppers, halpeno peppers, onions, carrots, catalope, punkpins, beans, corn. cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, hot house tomatoes, lettus. cucmbers, zuccinies, yellow squash, strwberries, rashberries,blueberries and some spices. it feeds three families all summer, plus we can or freeze alot. And of course I am making as much baby food as I can.

in the fall we pick apples from the local orchards and make our own applesauce. mom is really picky and has to have a "special blend" of apples to make it. So she doesn't grow her own.

plus we are surrounded by orchards so what ever fruit we don't have, I can pick up at the farmers market for super cheep.

any ideas for baby food for the zucs. I was thinking about baking it and mixing it with chicken?

[rgphib]

Originally Posted by jr_lenz

any ideas for baby food for the zucs. I was thinking about baking it and mixing it with chicken?

If you find any recipes/ideas let me know! We have zuc and yellow squash in our garden (along with sugar snap peas, green/wax beans, beets, and cucs). I heard that the zuc/yellow squash can be watery so they don't freeze very well.

I found a website that had recipes/ideas for mixing zucchini with sweet potatoes and broccoili (not sure about that one).

Here are some more ideas I just found

Summer Squash for Baby Food Recipes
Yellow Squash & Zucchini Squash
Age for Introduction to Baby: 6 - 8 Months


The Goodness of Summer Squash:
Summer squash makes wonderful bay food recipes! While it contains less nutrients than do the Winter squash, it's still a great vegetable for baby food! Why are there less nutrients? This is due to the fact that Summer squash are immature when harvested and eaten. Below you will find a nutritional summary accounting for all summer squash varieties below:

Zucchini Squash
Nutrition Facts (1 cup sliced, raw zucchini)
Univ. of IL - Watch Your Garden
Calories 16
Protein 1.31 grams
Carbohydrates 3.27 grams
Dietary Fiber 1.36 grams
Calcium 16.95
Potassium 280.24
Vitamin A 384 IU
Folate 24.93 mcg

When can I introduce Zucchini & Yellow Squash to my baby?
Summer squash is best given to baby around 8 months old as the skins may be difficult for a younger tummy to digest.
How to select and store Zucchini & Yellow Squash for baby food

The skin of Summer squash is thin and delicate. This causes Summer squash to be less hearty for storing. Handling Summer squash with care is necessary so as not to bruise the squash. Summer squash may be stored in the refrigerator, unwashed as water droplets may cause tiny spots of decomposition. Store your Summer squash in the crisper box of the refrigerator!
Some varieties of Summer squash are as follows however the Zucchini and Yellow are the best choices for Baby's First Summer squash experience!
Zucchini: Some may know zucchini to be called Italian squash and in Europe, it may be know as a Courgette. Zucchini resembles a cucumber and is green as a cucumber is. It should be between six and eight inches for best taste. The meat of zucchini is whitish-yellow or may appear a pale green.

Yellow or Crooked Neck: This squash is yellow and may be a bit bumpy looking. It is shaped much like a bottle with a long, curved neck. The meat of the Yellow squash is much like that of the zucchini but contains more
seeds.
The best way to cook Zucchini & Yellow Squash Squash:
You may steam or boil summer squash. Sauteeing zucchini and yellow squash together in a wee bit of olive oil with spices is also quite yummy for baby! The colour of the Summer Squash will change when it is done cooking; it will appear more translucent and less colorful.
A Few Zucchini & Yellow Squash Squash Baby Food Recipes:

Squash (summer) Puree - Basic

1. Choose yellow squash or zucchini that are somewhat small in diameter, as these are the most tender.
2. Wash squash thoroughly and cut into small slices or chunks. Do not remove skins. (*You may remove skins however an infant over the age of 8 months old should be able to digest squash puree with skins on)
3. Steam until tender then Place into your choice of appliance for pureeing and begin pureeing.
4. Add water as necessary to achieve a smooth, thin consistency **Summer squash becomes very watery when cooked; you will probably not need to add any water for your older baby!**
Yellow & Green Squash Medley
1. Boil or steam or zucchini and yellow squash until tender
2. Puree or mash as needed, adding water to thin if required.
3. **Summer squash becomes very watery when cooked; you will probably not need to add any water for your older baby!**
Summer Squash & Pasta Medley
(8months + due to cheese & peppers which are optional) 1. Boil or steam or zucchini and yellow squash until tender
2. Prepare pasta such as Pastina or Ditalini according to package directions
3. Add squash to the cooked pasta and drizzle with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with grated cheese and/or basil and garlic powder
**Toss in some finely diced roasted red peppers for extra co lour and flavor temptation!**
Zucchini & Carrot Fritters
Ohh my! We've just discovered this recipe (and have yet to test it out) and it sounds deeee-lisch! These would be suitable for those 8 months of age and over. We'd exchange the cayenne for a bit of garlic powder! We'd also leave out the barbecue sauce and instead, use a cucumber yogurt dip!
Ingredients:
1 medium carrot
1 medium zucchini
4 spring onions
1/3 cup reduced fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
olive or canola oil spray
salt reduced barbecue sauce
Directions:
1. Wash vegetables.
2. Grate carrot and zucchini and chop spring onions.
3. Mix vegetables, ricotta cheese, egg, flour and pepper.
4. Lightly spray non-stick frypan with oil spray. Heat to 150°C.
5. Place large spoonfuls in frypan, flatten and cook for 7 minutes or until golden.
6. Turn to other side and cook a further 7 minutes or until golden. Serve with barbecue sauce (cucumber yogurt dip!)
Cut the fritters into pieces that your baby will be able to handle! We think that you would also be able to make "sticks" out of this simply by shaping as you cook.
Foods Good to Mix With Summer Squash
Carrots
Eggplant
Green Beans
Peas
Lentils
Pasta
Chicken
Beef
Pork

[jr_lenz]

Robyn,
I grate up zucs and carrotts, and stir fry them together. it is super yummy, I might try that as a baby mix. except I use garlic, which I will prob. cut out her version

when I