You are what you eat

Being a mother is one of life’s great rewards. However, sometime caring for your newborn infant can be a bit awesome. It especially concerns the rising questions about baby food.

Many mothers are now taking steps in preparing their own baby food.  Having not experienced the delights of motherhood, as yet, my friend Kris has many delightful tales of her firstborn son, Joshua.  He is just beginning to enjoy solids, and they are both experiencing the art of making baby food

Here are some tips Kris would like to share from her Doctor and classes she has been attending.

Starting with your kitchen basic, a good food blender is a necessity for mixing small quantities and for storage. Mini blender jars are handy and worth the extra pennies, too.

Kris finds a food grinder to be useful also. The food can be ground immediately after cooking and served to the baby.

An easy way to store food for your infant is simply a plastic ice cube tray! It is the perfect size to feed baby one cube.

Some of the easiest things to start feeding your baby are bananas, egg yolks, and yogurt.

Questioning Kris about the benefits of yogurt for the baby, she has learned through her classes that yogurt is a perfect beginning food for babies.

It contains bacteria that help the baby’s stomach to produce the valuable B Vitamins, which he needs for growth.

Since yogurt is not sweet, it is good to accustom your child to eat it every day, and then he will not crave sweets the way a child raised on sugary cereals, canned fruits, candy, and other highly sweetened foods, will. (Baby won’t grow up to be a Chubby)

When you start feeding your baby fruit, try various fresh fruits in the yogurt: Blueberries, strawberries, cherries, as well as apples, oranges, pears, and peaches are good when in season.

Here then, is an indispensable variety of tasty recipes for your baby.  And what is more comforting for mother than to know her baby is getting the nutritional ingredient’s her baby needs to grow..after all, you are what you eat!

FOOD FOR BABY

Applesauce:  Beat in a blender, one raw peeled diced apple, ¼ cup apple juice, and a dash of salt.

Orange juice: There is no need to buy expensive orange juice made, especially for babies.  Just squeeze one orange, strain, and serve.

Banana; Peel one ripe banana mash it in a dish with a fork.  Bananas are excellent as a portion of base food.  Add a bit of milk, cereal or juice.

Cottage Cheese and Fruit: Mix together ½ cup cottage cheese, ½ cup fresh fruit and four tablespoons orange juice

Fruit soup: Delicious served cold or hot.  After preparing fruit (peeling, pitting), blend thoroughly with milk, heat for about 10 minutes.

Pea soup: One package of frozen peas cooked according to directions.  Drain water from peas.  Pour peas into a blender and mix well. Add three egg yolks, milk about 2 cups and one cup water from peas.  Pour into a pan and simmer for about 30 minutes

Chicken Noodle Soup: Blend 4 cups chicken broth, one cup cooked egg noodles, and one cup cooked cubed chicken. Let simmer for about 20 minutes

Mushroom Cream Soup: Blend ¼ cup chopped mushrooms and ½ cup milk together thoroughly.  In a saucepan melt three tablespoons butter, then add mushroom mixture. Cook slowly for about 10 minutes gradually stir in 1 tablespoon flour and one cup chicken broth and one cup milk.  Cook slowly till flavors are well blended.

Baked Tomatoes: Peel and halve one medium-sized tomato.  Spread top with soft butter and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Blend lightly

Corn Pudding: Beat two eggs. Add 2 cups of corn and two teaspoons sugar.  In a saucepan, add two tablespoons butter and 1 – 3/4 cup milk simmer until butter is melted and milk is hot. Add hot milk and butter mixture to egg mixture.  Pour into greased baking dish.  Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes until pudding is hard to the touch.

Beef Stew: In a small pot, add one cup cubed beef, 1/4 cup mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans, etc.) 1/4 cup potatoes. Be sure to add some of the juices of the beef and vegetables. Steam until just barely soft. Place all in blender puree on high speed.    Pour into an ice cube tray. Freeze.  Remove cubes and store them in a plastic freezer bag.  Remove cube as needed.  Heat and serve.