Thursday, 17 November 2011

Baby Food


What different between baby food grinder and food mill?
What else do you need to make home baby food besides food grinder? How do you steam it? Do they sell the thing for steaming baby food? And storage?

If it possible, Could you list everything we need to have to make baby food?

My baby is only 3 months , i don't mean to feed him now but i love to know all the tips to make him food by myself. I'm 1st time mom can't wait till i feed him solid food n so excited :)

Best Answe
Basically, there's no difference between a baby food grinder and food mill, it's just the baby food grinder has "baby" in it so it's typically designed for making foods for babies but obviously, they have the same use, to make foods that can be easily digest. It's good to feed him solid feeds when he/she can already, just try first the natural way like boiling, etc. but ALWAYS remember, breastfeeding is still the best for babies.


How much cereal or baby food should my six month old baby be eating?
I just recently got my baby to start eating cereal. She used to keep spitting it out. She still will not eat baby food. I'm worried that she is too dependant on formula. How do I correct this and how do I ensure she is getting enough food and nutrition? How much baby food and cereal should she be eating at six months of age? Any advice is appreciated.

Best Answer 
Damian was the same way but I understand why he didn't want cereal. Have you ever tasted that stuff? It taste like paste. I decide to make it a bit more appealing to him. I started to put smash veggies and fruits in the cereal. It work like a charm. I steam the veggies/fruit and puree, with some of the water that they were cook in. I then stir it into the cereal to a good consistency. There is no right or wrong as to how much she should be eating. Just let her eat as much as she wants, but I say make her at least 5 ounces and see how much she eats. Don't force her to eat all that you have made for her she will let you know when she is done.


How much baby food am I supposed to feed my baby per day?
I have a seven month old baby and the doctor recently put him on baby food. We've been feeding him a 4 oz jar of food every day. Is that too much? Not enough? Or is that about right? If so, should I feed him the whole jar at once or half in the morning and half at night? Or a third of the jar three times a day? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best Answer 
In my opinion you should focus on your baby cues. They are pretty smart about managing their own food amounts if you let them. If your baby is hungry, he will ask for food. He will show interest in food, extend his hand, suck on his thumb, put his fingers in his mouth, cry in a slightly shrill voice. Every baby has a different way to let mommy know that he is hungry. So do not worry about feeding him too little, believe me you would know when that happens.

Also, look for cues to stop feeding. Sometimes they shake their head, shake their hand to say "no", show disinterest in food by not opening their mouth. Never force feed because they can throw up, get sick with indigestion, get stomach ache and gain excessive weight. Slowly and gradually you will learn to communicate with your precious little prince.

I would say offer a wide range of food on regular intervels. If he is hungry he will show interest and eat, if not, wait for an hour and offer again. They have small tummies so small frequent meals are the best.


Can I reuse glass baby food jars to store frozen baby food in them?
I would like to know if its safe to reuse glass baby food jars in the Freezer. I want to use them to freeze some food. I have so many of the jars, because of being on WIC. WIC doesn't give enough baby food so I am choosing to also make some baby food for my child.

Best Answer 
depends.. some glass cannot be frozen (it explodes) and i would imagine that the glass they use for baby food, because its designed to be used once and then recycled, probably isnt freezer safe glass.. you could always call the manufacture are ask.. but i would just play it safe and freeze the baby food in freezer safe BPA free plastic containers.. or ice cube trays.


When Babies eat organic baby food when they grow up, Do they have to keep eating organic foods?
My baby is 4 months old. My husband accidentally bought organic baby food(applesauce) and she LOVED it! BUT a couple of my friends say if she eats organic foods as a baby she will have to keep eating it when she grows up.

Best Answer
Of course they do! If not they will spontaneously combust!


When did your baby start eating baby food?
My son is just 2 months old. His pediatrician is going to start him on baby food when he turns 4 months old (in August). When did your baby start eating baby food? What was the first food they tried? Which baby food did they not like?

Best Answer 
mine was 4 months. he was definately ready then. started him on baby rice for about 3 days then moved on to pears, carrot, pumpkin etc, trying a new one every few days. He didnt like banana to begin with but after about 3 times offering it he started liking it
hes now 12 months and will eat EVERYTHING!!


How do you know which baby food stage your baby is ready for?
I would like to know how a parent determines when their baby can start baby food and when to go onto the next stage of baby food. Also does this interfere with a mother exclusively breastfeeding her baby, meaning does the baby begin to nurse less from his/her mother when they are eating baby food?

Best Answer 
In all reality there is no real need for "baby food - purees" You should go by what your child can handle and when they are showing the signs of readiness for solid foods.

Here are a few "signs" that may indicate your baby is ready for Solid Foods:
Loss of tongue-thrust reflex
Ability to let you know she is full from a "meal" with signs such as turning away from the bottle/breast
Ability to sit up and hold head up unassisted
Doubling of birth weight
And reaching 6 months of age.

Babies have an open gut system prior to 5-6 months of age and so solids can be hard on their system if their gut is still considered "open"

My daughter hated purees and cereals so we went to Baby Led Solids/Baby Led Weaning. Check it out, its a great method of starting and incorporating solids!
http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/b…

I breastfeed my daughter as well. So the important thing to know about breastfeeding and solids is that breastmilk is higher in calories and "good stuff" than a jar of baby food. So ALWAYS nurse first then offer solids as a complimentary to the nursing session. I would usually nurse and then an hour or so later offer solids. Once they turn a year old you can start to reverse and offer solids first and then nursing as long as the childs weight gain stays on target.


How do I make homemade baby food smooth like store bought stage one?
I have a baby food grinder but it doesnt get the food really smooth and my baby isnt very impressed and I dont want to buy her baby food, I want to make it myself. Any tips on what to use or how to make her food smooth like stage one??? Thanks everyone!
p.s. She is 6 months old and never had baby food before to know that she prefers it smooth but everytime I try to feed her, she spits most of it out unless its smooth enough

Best Answer 
I steam the veggies then put them in the blender with a little water and blend until smooth. I usually stop it a few times to mix it up with a spoon so no chunks get stuck to the sides or at the bottom. It always gets pretty smooth for me. Then when I go to feed it I mix in a little formula to smooth it out a little more. You can also run it through a strainer to get the lumps.


How would I go about making homemade baby food?
How do you make home made baby foods? My daughter loves bananas and I figured it would be cheaper just to mash some up the fresh ones we have in the house. But I don't know the best way to do it.

Should I mix formula and cereal in with a banana?

And it doesn't have to be limited to bananas, what other foods would be food for homemade baby foods?

Best Answer 
How old if your baby? Because if she is over 8 months then it's OK to slice the bananas and hand them to her. Or just give her the whole banana to gnaw on. Messy but effective! it's almost impossible to choke on a ripened banana.

As for other foods you'd want to steam them first using a steamer. You want the vegetables to come in as little contact with as little water as possible because that washed the nutrients down the drain. There are plenty of microwave steamers you can purchase. Once the food is cooked you'd remove any stringy parts (like green beans have) and run it through a food processor until the right consistency. This will vary as your baby gets older and can handle chunks and thicker foods better. Add a bit of water (NOT milk, breastmilk or formula!!!) if needed.

You can do this with carrots, peas, winter squash, beans.... well just look at the jars at the store. These are the foods appropriate to give to a baby.


How can I make my baby eat solid food again?
My baby girl is almost 10 months old and for the past month she won't eat her jarred baby food. I try to make her eat just a little bit, but she won't sit still long enough for me to feed her and acts uninterested in it even though I KNOW she is hungry. I try to give her different kinds, so I know that she's not bored with the flavours. So all she eats now is those rice rusk things and her formula. I afraid that she's not get all the nutrients she needs. She ate her jarred food just fine and loved it since she was about 4 months old. How can I get her interested in her food again?

Best Answer 
Give her real food.

At 10 months old, she is more than able to feed herself table food. Shes just telling you that the jarred stuff isnt good enough.


How can baby food last over 2 years and not contain preservatives?
I always cook my daughters baby food, recently I had a debate with my sister in law about the quality of canned food. I don't understand how certain jars say no preservatives yet they can last up to 3 yrs on the shelf. An apple goes brown after 1 hour of being peeled.. I'm not opposed to canned food I just don't understand how it works!

Best Answer
Citric Acid is a natural preservative as is salt. What those labels actually mean is no "artificial preservatives" meaning no unnatural chemicals were added. They are also vaccum sealed which prevents any bacteria from entering. Even if you make applesauce yourself, you have to add fresh lemon juice of orange juice to keep them from turning brown.


How long does baby food stay good for in the refrigerator?
How long can I keep a can of baby food for once it has been opened? I did not do any cross-contamination.

Best Answer 
no longer than 24 hours.Also it is important not to use a spoon in the jar otherwise you'll have to throw the rest of it
use a little bowl and pour the quantity needed in the bowl from the jar.Discard any food left from the baby's bowl


How long can i store home made baby food thinned with formula in the fridge?
i need to know how long i can store my baby's food in the fridge (not freezer) after i've added formula to the puree's. also i want to know which containers are best to use if im making his food on a day by day basis or every other day i know the recommendationn for keeping baby food in the fridge is 48 hrs, and i was planning on using glass jars. so if someone could please help me out ^_^ thanks

Best Answer 
No longer than 24 hours.


How can you make jarred baby food taste better?
I have tons of WIC baby food but my daughter doesn't really like it. She is a year old now so she likes to feed herself as well. Anyone have recipes or ideas on how I could get her to eat the food?

Best Answer 
At one your little one no longer needs baby food. My daughter is the same age an prefers proper food. To use up your left over jars, try using it as a sauce on pasta, vegatables or mashed potato. Baby food is low in salt and sugar, so is a great alternative to ready made pasta sauces and caserole mixes.


Is it true that home made baby food lacks some of the vitamins & nutrition they put in store bought baby food?
I'm planning to make my own baby food, but I heard this from someone, that home made baby food don't have all the nutrition or added vitamins in the manufactured ones. Also, if I make big batches & freeze them, will it loose some nutritional value? If so, how much is lost & how soon?

Thank you in advance for all the advice!

Best Answer 
I made a lot of my 2nd son's baby food and he doesn't seem to be lacking in anything. He's now 20 months and eats pretty much everything.
I do suggest you speak with a dietitian for suggestions on combinations for complete nutrition, like i do remember specifically hearing beans and rice pack a better nutritional punch if paired together. One good thing about making your own is that you can mildly season with spices and such that your family uses normally so baby is accustomed to the tastes once they start eating regular foods later on, and you don't have to add any salt to your baby food, most jar foods do contain some weather added or already contained in the foods being cooked.
You are going to have to look around at health food stores more so to get dried egg yolk if you plan on using it.
Some prefer to use ice cube trays for portion sizing, those work well for in the beginning in my experience, but we moved on to muffin trays, standard size works well. They were a little hard at times to get out and I wouldn't recommend using pans you want to use for baking in case you scratch the sides poping the frozen cakes out, I did that many times. An ice cube is approximately 1 oz and a muffin puck is about 2 oz depending on the size oc cup you use and how much you put in, mine always seemed to work out to around 2 oz.
I have to admit I mad things for Jackson I had never eaten like some of the beans and legumes I used, but then again I'm a good eater on my own and don't usually have to worry about proper nutrition on the whole for myself.

And no, I don't believe freezing baby foods like this lose nutrition, it's more so in the cooking process. Steam as much as you can as opposed to boiling and if you have to boil, use the cooking water to thin the mix, except for broccoli it is not suggested to use the cooking water, but that steams just fine anyway.


What is so unappealing about store bought baby food?
My son loves the beech nut rasin granola cereal in the jars along with sweet potatoes and a few others. I do give him mostly table food, but I use the baby food every day. The reason I ask is a question I asked last night about the baby food, and I got about 5 out of 8 answers saying how lazy it is, and unhealthy. What exactly is unhealthy about it? I am being serious. If there is something bad in baby food I would really like to know.

Best Answer 
Well, some babies don't like it. And many adults don't like it because it doesn't have much flavor. (It's heavily cooked, and has no salt or seasonings. So it tastes somewhat like overcooked, unsalted canned fruits and veggies.)

And no, it isn't unhealthy either. (Most babies on jarred foods are still getting 99% of their nutrients from formula or breastmilk, so the slight loss of vitamins that comes from the cooking and canning process is pretty irrelvent.)

Do what works for you. Babies are on purees for such a short time (and, as noted, they contribute such a small percentage of baby's nutrition) that it really doesn't matter. Some moms like to make their own because they want it to be organic, or they want to have better control over the ingredients, or they want to save money.

EDIT: Diet C: There are NO preservatives in babyfood. There dont' have to be, because the canning process preseves the food. And, except for a few desserts and toddler foods, there are no salt or sugar in them either. (Read the label. Stage one foods, and most stage 2 foods are just 'the food' and water.)


How do I get consistency of homemade baby food smoother?
My daughter loves squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes...from a jar. She refuses to eat the food I've made her. I pureed it to the smoothest consistency possible, but I can't get it as smooth as the baby food companies can get it. Any tips to get it smoother?

Best Answer
Are you sure it's the texture your little girl doesn't like? Could it be a difference in taste? My mom told me that when I was little, I wouldn't eat fresh green beans, even though I loved the ones from a can. I was used to the canned ones, so I just preferred my green beans slimy, salty and brownish. (I grew out of it, I'm happy to say.) Maybe your freshly prepared foods just taste different to her?

One way to approach it might be to mix her jarred foods with your home-prepared ones, upping the proportion of the latter little by little so she doesn't notice the difference too much. But don't worry too much, I used to be unbelievably picky and I'll eat almost anything now. There's hope for us all. Good luck!


What is the best first baby food for a sensative tummy?
We took our 5 mo old off baby food for the second time since she still gets a sore stomach. She cries and spits up. I decided to wait til she's 6 months before trying again. Since she seems to have a sensative stomach and she always had some gas problems, which food should i try when I start her again? We tried sweet potatoes and carrots so far, both upset her. Right now she is still eating rice cereal. which food is the easiest to digest?

Best Answer
Avocado is a really good first food. Bananas are also good. I found the book Super Baby Food diet really helpful. It has a glossary that lists foods -- what age they can be introduced/ nutritional value/ reasons you might avoid until older (cause digestive problems, etc)

Good luck


Which is healthier: Organic baby food from jars or homemade food made out of conventionally grown ingredients?
I am asking this because sometimes I can't find organic fruits, vegetables or meats in the stores. Or sometimes I can find them but they are so expensive that the baby food jars--even organic ones--turn out being significantly cheaper. What is your opinion of the healthier option?

Total Recipe Hound: No, what I meant is that sometimes I can't find the organic ingredients to make the baby food at home. Gerber food is always available. But if Gerber is always made out of organic ingredients, then why do they have a separate organic line?

Best Answer 
Homemade baby purees are healthier.. especially if you grow your own veggies. If you don't, store bought frozen veggies are best (such as frozen carrots) because often frozen vegetables are packages and frozen within hours after they are picked. Fresh vegetables get transfer to the store, then sit on the store shelf for a day or two until purchased, then sit in your fridge before use. Some nutrients are lost during this time of transition. Using a steam basket also works best.. other than boiling. Boiling depletes some of the vital nutrients. Also, with homemade, you can mix in breastmilk for even more nutrition.
Organic Gerbers are good, too, I am not saying they are unhealthy by any means.. I am just saying homemade is more nutrional and store bought contains some addatives and are watered down. ;-)
Best Wishes! ;-)


Where do you suggest I find good baby food recipes?
Does anyone know a good book or website where I can find baby food recipes? Does anyone know a good one their baby likes off hand?

My daughter is 5 months old so we're just starting stage 1 food. So food suitable for a 5 month old.

Best Answer
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
I like that site, they have reviews.


What kind of baby food do you feed a baby that is Lactose intolerant?
she is 8 months old and just started eating baby food.I need some help picking some foods that she can eat being lactose intolerant.

Best Answer
What makes you think your baby is lactose intolerant? It is actually *impossible* for a baby to have lactose intolerance; it normally develops (if it does) in young adulthood, but *never* before age 3-4. I would suggest you get a second opinion.

If your baby has problems with milk, it is probably an allergy to *cow's milk protein*, not a sensitivity to the sugar. If this is the case, you can give her anything *except* dairy products. All fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. are fine; you don't need to do anything special. Just be sure to read package labels and avoid any obvious dairy ingredients plus whey, casein, and anything with a "lact" in it.


When did you stop feeding your child baby food?
My little boy is 10 months old. I always give him finger foods at each meal, but also (homemade) baby food because he doesn't like to sit in his highchair for long and it is easier to get him to eat more food if I can feed him the purees too. When does it become weird to still feed a baby baby food though?

Also, any ideas for finger foods? Thanks!

Best Answer 
Honestly, it's just whenever your baby stops liking them. My son wouldn't eat pureed food starting around 10 months. He just decided he hated it one day. He is a 16 month old toddler now, and of course, eats only regular food now (cut up or chopped when needed).


What is the healthyest way to make baby food like pears and peaches so that they don't turn brown?
I want to make food for my baby, but peaches and pears etc. always turn brown what can I do to stop it? I want to freeze them. Can I use the powder stuff you use when canning these fruits? Is that safe?

Best Answer
a bit of lime or lemon juice can stop them going brown!!!!i use it all the time at work in my resturant on things like apples and avacado :>


When did you stop baby food and only fed your infant table foods?
My little girl will be a year in three weeks and she eats both but more baby food. Just wondering when you stopped baby food altogether. And also bottles, mine stopped a few months ago and just breastfeeds and I plan on stopping soon. When did you stop breastfeeding?

Best Answer 
You can feed your baby regular food from the time you start feeding them food. Just grind it up good.
When you feed them depends on when they have teeth or the ability to chew.
Usually they start having foods they can feed themselves when they are able to pick up little pieces and put them in their mouth. Soft things like cooked macaroni, canned fruit, banana, other things they can mush in their mouth.
I did not breast feed, but stopped the bottle when they could drink out of a sippy cup.





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