The Baby and Toddler Cookbook Fresh, Homemade Foods for a Healthy Start

284 Pages·2016·4.17 MB·English

by  Ansel

Authors Karen Ansel, MS, RD & Charity Ferreira
Photographer Thayer Allyson Gowdy

Contents
Getting started
Everything you need to know to get baby started on solid foods,
including the benefits of homemade meals, cooking tips, safety
advice, and how to introduce new foods.
First bites 6 MONTHS
Simple and wholesome, the single-ingredient fruit and vegetable
purees and cereals in this chapter will help ease baby into the world of
solid foods and give you building blocks for a variety of easy
combinations.
Creamy combos 7 TO 8 MONTHS
Filled with yummy combinations guaranteed to tempt baby’s appetite,
this chapter includes simple soups, stews, and rice dishes with thicker
textures and more interesting flavors.
Super chunky 9 TO 11 MONTHS
Chunkier dishes, including finger foods, help baby develop the skills
to become an active participant in her meals, and now she’s at the age
to start trying lots of new foods.
Big kid meals 12 TO 18 MONTHS
Now that your baby is a toddler, he’s ready to try many of the same
foods the whole family is eating. This chapter offers yummy recipes
for dishes like veggie curry and salmon cakes.
Making food fun 18 MONTHS TO 3 YEARS
Win your headstrong toddler over with the fun food ideas in this
chapter, from a pizza party or breakfast for dinner to cheesy baked
potato boats and oodles of noodles.

About this book
Of the many milestones of baby’s first year, starting solids is an
adventure you’ll never forget. Some days, you’ll be met with an eager
mouth that’s wide open, and giggles and squeals of delight. On others,
you may encounter lips tightly pursed shut, cereal bowls turned upside
down, and sippy cups knocked to the floor.
Yet with love, patience, and a steady supply of nutritious food, you can have a
profound impact on this journey. In fact, nobody has a greater influence on your
child’s eating habits than you do. By offering baby a wide variety of healthful,
tasty foods, you can help her become a well-rounded and adventurous eater.
Why homemade?
Choosing to prepare homemade food for your baby lets you decide exactly what
goes into it. That’s not to say you’ll never reach for a jar of baby food on busy
days or in a pinch, but making baby’s meals fresh from your kitchen is one of
the best gifts you can give her.
Better nutrition
When you prepare baby’s food yourself, you know it’s free of unnecessary
additives like starches, thickeners, and preservatives. You can also control things
that baby doesn’t need, like sugar and salt. Home-cooked baby food allows you
to use seasonal ingredients packed with flavor and harvested at their nutritional
peak. While it might take a little extra effort, making homemade food is easier
than you might think, especially because you can make it in large batches from
ingredients that are already in your kitchen, and then store it for later meals. That
allows you to feed baby many of the same foods that the rest of the family is
eating and can also save you money.
Better taste
Baby food that you make in your kitchen tastes better because it’s fresher.
Baby food that you make in your kitchen tastes better because it’s fresher.
Cooking from scratch also allows you to offer baby a wider variety of
ingredients, since not all foods are available as commercial baby food. That
means she’ll learn to eat many different kinds of fruits, vegetables, grains, and
proteins, as well as aromatics, herbs, spices, and your selection of the best-
quality, free-range, antibiotic-free meats. By exposing her to many different
kinds of flavors early on, she’ll be more likely to try and accept new and
different foods later as a toddler.
Better texture
You can also make sure the texture is just right. This is especially important
because the textures of foods are as new to baby as the flavors. At first, you can
thin baby’s food with breast milk or formula. Then, as she becomes a more adept
eater, you can make it thicker and chunkier so it’s just right for each stage she
passes through.
Starting solids
Until now, breast milk or iron-fortified formula has given baby all the
nutrition he needs to grow and thrive. But as he nears six months of
age, his digestive system begins to mature, and he is now able to
digest solid foods.
When is baby ready?
At six months, baby is physically starting to develop the skills he needs to
transition to solid foods. But how do you know when he is ready to take his first
spoonful? The best way is to follow his lead and watch for the following signs:
• Baby can sit upright with support.
• He holds his head steady.
• He will open his mouth or lean forward when food is offered in front of him.
• He can swallow food when it is placed in his mouth instead of pushing it back
out.
• He is interested in what you are eating.
Complementary foods
Even though baby may be ready for solid foods, breast milk or iron-fortified
formula will still be the mainstay of his diet. In fact, a baby who is just starting
solids may eat only a few teaspoons at each sitting.
Complementary foods such as pureed squash, rice cereal, and applesauce do
more than just provide added nutrition—they help baby learn how to eat, chew,
and swallow food and to accept and adapt to new tastes and textures.
Breast is still best
Breast milk is nature’s perfect first food and the best nutritional start. In fact,
Breast milk is nature’s perfect first food and the best nutritional start. In fact,
health experts recommend breast-feeding your baby exclusively for his first
six months, if possible, and then offering both breast milk and solids until at
least age one.
The benefits of breast-feeding include the following:
• Breast milk provides antibodies that help protect baby against illness and
infection.
• Breast-fed babies have fewer tummy troubles. Mother’s milk is easier for
them to digest than formula and encourages the development of baby’s
digestive system.
• The flavors from the foods you eat are passed into your milk, exposing baby
to a wide range of flavors.
• Breast milk contains beneficial fats that enhance mental development.
• Breast-feeding also protects against the development of food allergies,
obesity, diarrhea, and ear and respiratory infections.