Healthy recipes for baby foods

How you feed your baby will be one of the many important decisions you make in the first year of your baby's life.

What first foods to feed baby.
I have had 5 babies and always found that they loved sweet vegetables as their first foods. Sweet vegetables like carrot and sweet potato. There is nothing better than making your own baby foods as most commercial foods have been heated so highly to sterilize them, which takes out most of the good nutrients found in fresh fruits and vegetables. This is also why bananas and pears also make a wonderful first fruit, when ripe, as they need no cooking and therefore retain all their vitamins and minerals.
Steaming vegetables is always recommended as the way to retain the most goodness in foods and salt and sugar are not required or recommended.  I also introduce small amounts of iron fortified cereal very soon after introducing veges and fruit. Why "iron fortified" is important is interesting - A baby is born with a store of iron that lasts for 6 months and then depletes so it is important that iron is in the food.

Allergy connection.
As a family of allergy people I also found it very helpful to introduce one new food at a time and wait three days before introducing a new food. This way it was easy to see if the food caused a reaction that was a food intolerance or allergy.
I think we as parents get tired of the same food quicker than a baby does and feel the need to give too many combinations and types of foods, so my advice is to go slowly.

When to introduce food to baby.
The Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents, in Australia, is to introduce solids from 6 months of age.

Texture of food for baby.
First offer purees that are easy for baby to digest and then later mashed foods, then minced and finally chopped foods when baby has teeth.

Recommended:
Making your own baby food is not only more economical than buying commercial brands, it also assures that your child consumes only the freshest, top-quality ingredients. Children's nutrition expert Annabel Karmel's collection of best-ever purees grants new parents their wish: one hundred quick and easy recipes that will make for a healthy and happy baby. From first tastes and weaning, right through to meals for older babies, all the recipes are suitable for children aged six months and older. The fruit and vegetable favorites, and innovative fish, meat, and chicken purees, are so tasty you will want to eat them yourself!

In addition to easy and delicious recipes, Top 100 Baby Purees also includes information on:

• Weaning your baby and transitioning to solid foods
• Food allergies
• Time-saving food preparation tips
• Freezing and reheating your homemade baby food
• Tricks on finding the hidden nutrition in everyday foods

More supporting information:
Introducing solids at raising children network, a site that is supported by the Australian Government.
Eat for Health: Government site with 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines
Giving your baby the best start brochure

LINKED AT: I Must Confess