Storing Leftover Baby Food

Storing Leftover Baby Food

October 5th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Baby food can be expensive, and nobody wants to waste good food by having to throw it away after a feeding. Unfortunately, baby food can easily become contaminated, so use caution to avoid having to waste more food than is necessary and keep baby safe at the same time.

Avoiding Waste

Whether you are using homemade baby food or jarred food, the same rule applies; any food that has touched the spoon you used to feed the baby needs to be thrown away. After the spoon has been in your baby’s mouth, it carries bacteria back to the dish which then contaminates the food. If the bacteria are allowed to stay in the food and be re-introduced to your baby later, it could cause illness. Even if the food has been refrigerated, the bacteria can still proliferate and pose a danger to your baby.

It can be hard to tell how much your baby is going to eat at any given feeding. It’s possible you will need the entire portion you have set out, or the entire jar. If baby gets full halfway through, or really just isn’t in the mood after a few bites, that entire portion will have to hit the trash. Avoid this by spooning out small amounts at a time into a small bowl for feeding. If you need to add more, use a clean spoon – not the one you are feeding baby with – to add another portion to the bowl. This way you don’t contaminate all of the food. As long as you don’t put the feeding spoon into the main portion of food, you can safely refrigerate for later use.

How Long is Baby Food Good For?

This depends on any number of factors including whether the food is homemade or jarred, the type of food, and if it has been frozen and then thawed. A general rule of thumb to follow, however, is to toss anything in the fridge after 2-3 days. Some foods won’t even last that long. Baby cereal made with breast milk tends to get very soupy due to the action of enzymes in the breast milk. It is usually only good for the one feeding. Foods like bananas and avocadoes turn brown very quickly due to oxidation. While it isn’t necessarily bad for baby, it sure doesn’t look appetizing.

Meat, poultry, fish and eggs should be used within 24 hours, as they don’t last as long as fruits and vegetables and can become contaminated with bacteria easily.

Most jarred baby food will have instructions as to how long the food is good for once opened. Remember that the expiration date on the jar only refers to how long the food is good if the jar has not been opened! While the food can last quite a while with the lid sealed, the shelf life quickly diminishes once opened, even if you don’t feed directly from the jar.

Your baby’s immune system still isn’t ready to deal with a bacterial infection, so be sure to follow safe handling practices for all baby food. Although feeding from the jar is convenient, it isn’t safe if you want to feed the rest of the food later. Anything that is leftover, whether in the jar or in a bowl, should be thrown away right after the feeding if baby’s spoon was in the food. It might be hard to accept the waste, but your baby’s health is at stake.

Your Baby’s First Fruits and Vegetables

Your Baby’s First Fruits and Vegetables

September 19th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Fruits and vegetables will be among the first baby foods your baby will try, and will be an important part of a healthy baby diet from this point on. Introduce fruit and vegetable purees to your baby one at a time, and remember that he might not accept a new food right away. Keep offering rejected foods; it can take multiple attempts before your baby decides he likes it.

Where to Start

Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t necessary to start baby on vegetables before fruit. Starting with fruits won’t cause your baby to have a sweet tooth, mainly because he already does. Breast milk has a sweet taste; therefore babies will naturally be predisposed to liking sweeter flavors. This doesn’t mean your baby won’t enjoy vegetables, just that you might need to offer them several times before he decides to eat.

Great choices for first fruits and vegetables are easy to digest, nutrient rich choices that are not likely to cause an allergic reaction. Try fruits such as bananas, pears, apples and avocadoes. For first veggies, try carrots, peas and sweet potatoes. You will need to start with smooth and fairly thin purees. If you are purchasing baby food, start with stage one purees which are the smoothest and the thinnest. Alternatively, you can easily make your own fruit and vegetable purees at home.

Making Your Own Baby Food

Homemade fruit and vegetable purees are a simple and budget-friendly choice, as well as a very healthy one for your baby. You can make your own purees of just about any fruit or vegetable you can think of, quickly and easily at home. The first thing you will need is something to puree the food in; a regular food processor will work great, but there are also baby food makers available that are reasonably priced if you prefer to have a dedicated machine.

Most fruits and vegetables will need to be cooked prior to pureeing. The best way to cook them is via steaming; unlike boiling, steaming will leave the nutrients in the fruits and vegetables intact. You will need to cook everything until very tender to create a smooth puree, so it may require replacing the water a few times. A simple steamer basket that fits inside a regular pot is the most affordable method of steaming. After steaming, save whatever water was used in the cooking process. You can add it back into the puree to help thin it out. Blend until smooth, adding water as necessary to achieve the desired texture and consistency. You can then freeze your purees in ice cube trays for easy portioning later. After freezing, dump the trays into a sealed bag that you can label with the date and type of food.

Bananas and avocadoes make excellent first foods for your baby, and as a bonus, they don’t need to be cooked ahead of time. Simply mash them well and serve! Both are great sources of nutrition.

Adding New Foods

As you expand your baby’s diet to new fruits and vegetables, do so carefully to watch for an allergic reaction. You should add a new food no more than every 3-5 days. This slow pace with allow you to pinpoint which food caused any reaction your baby might have. Even though you are starting with the least allergenic choices available, there is always some risk that your baby could have an unusual reaction. Take it slow – this will also give your baby a chance to really experience the food and get used to the new flavor.

Making Your Own Baby Foods

Making Your Own Baby Foods

February 20th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Preparing homemade baby foods is not as difficult as it looks. The good part of preparing your own baby food is that you can control what ingredients that go in. Besides, you can include limitless variety of flavor and texture in the home-prepared baby foods.

When it comes to making your own baby foods, the following tools can be handy.

  • A food processor or handheld blender
  • A wire sieve
  • A potato masher
  • Ice-cube trays
  • Freezer bags

Preparing Homemade Fruits or Vegetables

Most of the ripe fresh fruits, such as banana, avocado, mango, pear and melon, can be served once they are pureed or mashed. You do not need to cook them. Unlike ripe fresh fruits, you need to cook the vegetables before you pureed or mashed them. Here are the steps that will guide you on how to prepare your homemade fruits and vegetables for your baby:

  • Before you cook your fruits and vegetables, make sure you clean them properly. Peel, seed and slice them once they are clean.
  • Place the sliced fruits and vegetables in a small saucepan and cover them with water.
  • Cook the fruits and vegetables until tender.
  • Drain and reserving the cooking liquid.
  • Puree the fruits and vegetables until smooth, or mash using potato masher for a lumpier consistency. Add water or cooking liquid if needed.
  • Place in ice-cube trays and freeze. Transfer individual cubes to freezer bags.

Preparing Homemade Meat

  • Place a piece of meat in the saucepan. Cover the meat with water and bring it to boil.
  • Reduce the heat and simmer until the meat is tender.
  • Drain and reserving the broth. Remove the skins and bone from meat.
  • Puree the meat until it is smooth using a food processor. Adding the broth or water as need to achieve desired consistency. You can use wire strainer to achieve a smooth texture.
  • Place in ice-cube trays and freeze. Transfer individual cubes to freezer bags.

Pureed baby food can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you need to use the food, defrost the frozen baby food overnight in the refrigerator or in a container of warm water.

When preparing your baby food at home, please avoid adding sugar, salt or honey.