298081 Mon Aug 09 10:31:12 -0700 2004 20 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1647063 I am making my own baby food for my 6 m/o and am looking for some guidance whether on the internet or a book or something. I tend to be less "uptight" than a lot of moms and while I certainly don't want ot give my baby something that she would not be ready for I want to make her food that will taste good! I appreciate all suggestions! Mon Aug 09 10:31:12 -0700 2004 0 mommy 1 1647074 My news is all old. . . my kid is a grown-up, and things may have changed dramatically in the last twenty-five years, but in the old days, commercially prepared baby foods were loaded with salt, so I used to just coarsely puree whatever vegetables we were eating in the blender. Also, little kids like green peas, because they can mush them around on the table. Very entertaining. Mon Aug 09 12:33:42 -0700 2004 1647063 0 Judith Hurley 1 1647075 Try Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. It has a lot of basic information about pureeing different fruits, vegetables, etc. for infants, and also finger foods and toddler-friendly recipes for later years. Personally, I find some of her advice to be too fanatically "healthy," but I take it with a grain of salt. (Literally -- I add salt to recipes like sweet potato french fries, where she does not use any salt.) It's a good starting place, and you can adapt it according to your own level of health vigilance. Mon Aug 09 12:36:40 -0700 2004 1647063 0 parkslopemama 2 1647085 Amen to that, parkslopemama! Her tone drives me nuts (too preachy and folksy), but the information is generally a good starting point. I like it in part because she is pretty fanatical about all of the information on allergenic foods, and then you can decide whether or not to introduce them. Some of the other books I looked at didn't follow AAP recommendations that I knew (e.g. no egg whites before one year), so it made me wonder how closely it followed guidelines I didn't know about it. Mon Aug 09 13:39:01 -0700 2004 1647075 0 Smokey 3 1647177 I have three kids.. the first got jarred organic babyfood..as well as home made babyfood... by the time we got to # three it was just easier to nuke and mash regular old fruits and veggies.. you start out with the non allergenic stuff and work up to the more questionable food.. particularly if you have any sorts of allergies in your family.. you can make yourself nutso.. but what's the point... I used to keep a bunch of frozen veggies on hand that I would nuke and mash as needed... after a while...my kids started to prefer the frozen stuff still frozen.. maybe I just have weird kids.. but they used to chow down on frozen spinach...still frozen.. and lived on frozen peas , corn and blueberries.. some kids like the spicy sharp salty stuff.. some kids are into bland.. just like grownups.. you can make the food into a giant production...but it really is not a good thing to do... they need the real gloppy mush only for a little while.. and soon move into food they can grab with their hands...my kids all started to grab food off of our plates as soon as they were able.. my daughter was sucking down and gnawing shoe string asparagus when she was about 9 months old.. and slurping apricots from the farmer's market as I hed the fruit between my fingers... many kids then go through their white food only stage.. even if you expose them to funky delicious food.. two of my kids lived in blandland for about three years each.. my youngest has spent the longest eating only the whitest and blandest of food...but I see glimmerings of hope even with him... my big ones have become real chowhounders.. ready to try nearly anything once Tue Aug 10 13:42:14 -0700 2004 1647085 0 sarah 1 1647087 At 6 months your baby is probably only ready for very basic veggies/fruits like sweet potato, squash, carrot, applesauce etc. You can just buy Gerber (which now makes organic baby food, too) or Beech Nut jars (no salt, sugar or anything else added) until your baby is ready for more complex flavors. My baby is 1.1 and I only now started cooking for her (modifying what we normally eat and putting it in a blender). Mon Aug 09 13:48:06 -0700 2004 1647063 0 TatyanaG 2 1647132 Yikes. everything you mention as "starter" baby food is all sweet stuff---not in the sense of added sugar but just plain sweet stuff. If you start your baby with sweet stuff, you will make it a lot harder to introduce things that aren't sweet. IMHO, Amercian babies get a raw deal. Americans are so sure that babies won't like stuff that they don't even try. I'm always getting told my kids [4 and 61/2] won't like things that they love [like calamari, pickled herring, caviar, spicy food, escargot, etc]. The presumptions make me nuts. Take a look at what is in the baby food aisle in other countries---everywhere else, babies just get "people food." In France we found jars of pureed artichokes or spinach and combinations of beef, cauliflower, carrots etc. In Sweden they have salmon, potatoe etc. Babies don't spit out food merely because they don't like the taste---they spit it out because 1] its new and 2] its fun to spit stuff out. If your baby rejects something, just bring it out again tomorrow. Mon Aug 09 18:33:07 -0700 2004 1647087 0 jenn 3 1647157 Try as I might, I have yet to find scientific evidence that introducing sweeter veggies like squash and sweet potato first will lead to baby's later rejection of other non-sweet foods. And this has certainly not been the case for my child, who has a taste for everything now at 1.1 Babies palates are not nearly as advanced at 6 months as adult ones and they really need quite basic things to start them off with. Squash and sweet potato (as my examples) are easy on a baby's tummy in a way other veggies are not and yes, they are on the sweet side, but it's a natural sweetness. I have seen baby food from other countries (Germany, France, Italy), and practically all of it has sugar, salt, rice flour and other crap added to it. So, sure any baby will eat green beans with a hearty dose of sugar added to them. There is nothing wrong with starting your baby on sweeter veggies, as long as you follow up later by introducing other veggies as your baby's palate develops. Tue Aug 10 09:27:36 -0700 2004 1647132 0 TatyanaG 4 1647176 I guess we are reading different jars of baby food. But I disagree with your contention about baby palates. I have a nephew who used to scarf down pumpkin seed habenaro chili sauce---licked it off the chips when he was less than one. And do you really think that all those mamas in Madras India and Sichuan are feeding their babies bland food for their sensitive palates? Tue Aug 10 13:03:24 -0700 2004 1647157 0 jenn 5 1647180 I know that for chinese babies, their first solid food is often plain congee. The stronger stuff comes later. Tue Aug 10 15:51:37 -0700 2004 1647176 0 Jujubee 1 1647089 I liked Dr. Miriam Stoppard's book, Baby's First Foods. I like all of her books. Below is a link to the book, but if you decide to order it, go to Amazon through Chowhound.com. Link: http://uk.dk.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,11_0751336157,00.html Mon Aug 09 13:55:15 -0700 2004 1647063 0 Michele Cindy 1 1647097 The books I loved the best are "Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter and "Super Baby Food" (all ready mentioned) However, a 6 month old has no need for solid food whatsoever. Breast milk is all an infant needs for at least 1 year. The introduction of solids is really to just get them used to textures, etc. I would wait until at least 10 months. Skip the rice cereal, etc, which has no nutritional value and tastes horrible. A few good first foods are mashed avocado or banana. You can then slowly add other fruits and veggies such as carrots, sweet potato, prunes, etc. There is no need for meat until well over one year. By the time our son was 14 months he pretty much at whatever we ate, just in appropriate form (grinded up or small bites). He has always loved spicy and ethnic foods. We ate out a lot back then and just brought a small baby food grinder with us. He ate Thai, Mexican, Japanese (not sushi till recently). Mon Aug 09 15:22:19 -0700 2004 1647063 0 foodiex2 2 1647106 I agree with you and I also breastfed until my daughter was 11 months old, but I did introduce squash, sweet potato, prunes, apples and pears around 6 months just to teach her about flavors/textures and also to learn eating from a spoon (which is hard sometimes if you wait till 12 months to introduce any kinds of solids). At around 7-8 months I gave her some oatmeal and barley cereal w/ breastmilk (later w/ formula) which she really liked. She now pretty much will eat anything we eat (but more than anything loves cheese, omelettes, veggie soups, tomatoes and blueberries). Mon Aug 09 15:52:24 -0700 2004 1647097 0 TatyanaG 2 1647167 "a 6 month old has no need for solid food whatsoever. Breast milk is all an infant needs for at least 1 year." Actually, there have been several studies showing that when children are introduced to solids (aka purees)later than about 9 months, many have feeding problems like issues with textures later on. "There is no need for meat until well over one year." Many babies, even well-nourished, exclusively breastfed babies, start to deplete their iron stores by about 6 or 9 months. Iron deficiency affects cognitive development and learning. As they begin to eat more low-iron foods like fruits and many vegetables, another source of iron (besides breastmilk) is a good idea around 8 or 9 months: pureed meats, tofu, infant cereal, and so on. Many pediatricians do a hemoglobin/hematocrit test at about 9 months - if yours doesn't be sure to request it. Tue Aug 10 11:34:06 -0700 2004 1647097 0 Napkin 3 1647179 Actually it’s the formula companies and the baby food companies that conducted and/or paid for most of the studies regarding infant nutrition especially the new one that came out recently about iron. Iron deficiencies in infants younger than one are very, very rare. In fact what is more prevalent is iron over-doses caused by over zealous moms who think their infants need vitamin supplements. Formula companies want you to think that you would be better off giving your child an inferior product so the iron study was a way to sell more formula and iron fortified rice cereal. It is no wonder that the ratio of breast-feeding mothers to formula feeder is low here in the states. You leave the hospital with bags of the stuff and pamphlets that talk about how hard breast-feeding is, blah blah blah so why not keep formula on hand “just in case”. No one should feel the need to rush giving a baby solids. They won’t sleep longer or easier and most often it leads to upset tummies. I had said in my previous post that I feel waiting until at least 10 months is usually best and there are no ramifications regarding tastes and textures. Kids eat when they are hungry. Sweet or savory makes no difference either. The key is to offer new foods all the time and keep increasing the variety. The best thing is not to sweat it and don’t make food an issue. Your baby will let you know when they are hungry. Making your own baby food is so easy and the “mushy” stage is very short. Next thing you know they will be eating whatever you eat. Tue Aug 10 14:57:02 -0700 2004 1647167 0 foodiex2 4 1647181 I completely agree with you. Tue Aug 10 15:58:33 -0700 2004 1647179 0 TatyanaG 4 1647186 I am also very wary of research funded by formula and baby food companies, and am appalled by their unethical marketing practices and the hospitals and pediatricians who perpetuate the myth that formula is as good as, or even a close second to, breastmilk – ridiculous! But to imply that there is no good research on infant nutrition out there is a stretch. I wrote a paper for a Minerals class in grad school on Iron Nutrition in Breastfed and Formula-Fed Infants, and read dozens of studies (both funded by and NOT funded by formula and baby food companies), so I am going to persist in my assertions. “Iron deficiencies in infants younger than one are very, very rare.” Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency in infants and children. It is widely acknowledged that babies born at term deplete the stored iron they accumulate in the womb by 6 to 9 months. Babies born prematurely deplete their stored iron much earlier. Exclusively breastfed babies have the best iron status, but unfortunately only 17% of babies in the US are exclusively breastfed at 6 months. Between 3 and 10% of 6-month-old infants are iron-deficient. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), 7% of children 12 to 24 months are iron deficient. That’s more common than food allergy. I think iron-fortified infant cereal serves a purpose only as an iron supplement. A better approach is to breastfeed exclusively for six months, start vegetables, fruits, then grains at six months, and then introduce pureed meats (not in jars – make your own!), and/or legumes, which are also rich in iron, by 8 months. Regarding vegetables first vs. fruit first, babies have a natural preference for sweet flavors (breastmilk is sweet!) and a natural aversion to bitter flavors, so most will prefer the fruit. What matters is to offer both and be patient. There is also evidence that breastfed babies are more adventurous eaters as they progress with solids, probably because they have been exposed to more varied flavors - the flavor of breastmilk changes depending on what a mother eats. Warm garlic milkshake anyone? Tue Aug 10 17:56:43 -0700 2004 1647179 0 Napkin 1 1647103 Things have come a long way. My kids (now all in their 20's - 30's) did not have the benefit of any books on how to make their food. I would lightly steam a batch of green vegetables (peas, spinach etc.), then a batch of organge/red (sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, etc.) then a batch of fruits (no sugar added). Each would go into sterilized baby food jars lined up waiting for them, and into the freezer until I needed them. I did start with commercial cereals to make sure there were no allergies to those grains, and added individual foods one at a time. No solids until they are a year old? That just would not have worked for my babies, (and I never had a pediatrician who disagreed with me) although they were all breast fed for the first year. As they were more able to eat semi-solids and then solids, and we were sure there were no allergies, we gave them whatever was on the table, (except for the truly hot-hot stuff) ground up with a baby food hand held grinder. There were a few wrinkled noses (green peppers, eggplant) but not many. They eat just about everything under the sun now, (except green peppers and eggplant) and I credit this, almost entirely to the early introduction of full-flavored foods from infancy. And also not taking no for an answer, except for green peppers and eggplant. Good luck, have fun, and relax! Mon Aug 09 15:43:58 -0700 2004 1647063 0 no junk mama 2 1647143 I too used Super Baby Food a great deal, for ideas. I made everything and then froze it all in ice cube trays, finding that to be the best way to mix and match (ie 1 cube carrots, 1 cube broccoli etc). I did mix meat with other things as I did not like the texture of plain meat, but that was my preference. I agree that my boy liked many more things than I would have thought, and that is still true so introduce many things and do not give up after one try (sometimes the most fun is had by watching the expressions :o)) Good luck, it is alot of work, but I feel that it was DEFINITELY worth it for me and my child. Mon Aug 09 21:22:11 -0700 2004 1647103 0 inukshukgal 1 1647247 My son is 16 months old has plenty of teeth but is still being fed baby food by my mother-in-law who is his caregiver during the day. I have asked her to not give it to him because it makes his stool loose, and she basically forces him to eat it, but she insists that for nutrition reasons that he still needs the meat for protein and all the veggies for nutrients. What is a good age to stop feeding a child babyfood? Tue Sep 21 09:46:29 -0700 2004 1647063 0 Ann Marie 2 1647248 That's a question better answered by your own pediatrician, don't you think? Tue Sep 21 10:27:46 -0700 2004 1647247 0 amy tam