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Home › Articles › Infants and Toddlers › Simply Pureed

Simply Pureed

One-ingredient Meals for Baby

By Donna Smith

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Do homemade creamy carrots sound boring? How about pureed pears? Smashed sweet potato? While these may not tantalize the taste buds of adult diners, for Baby they are gourmet goodness – and the perfect way to begin their culinary adventures!

Homemade fruit and vegetable purees are the perfect first food for Baby because you know exactly what's in them, says Peggy O'Shea, a Boston-based nutritionist and president of the Massachusetts Dietetic Association. "What better way to start healthful eating habits than to share the wonderful fruits and vegetables you have in your home with your baby," she says.

There are plenty of different options, but some common first choices are banana, apple, carrot, and sweet potato, O'Shea says. "But feel free to experiment, and offer a variety of choices to Baby once they have begun to eat purees. Remember that even before they were born, they began to experience the taste of foods that you ate, so the foods you generally eat are good options too."

Bridget Swinney, a registered dietitian, nutrition consultant and author of Baby Bites (Meadowbrook, 2007), suggests starting with milder vegetables and fruits. "Generally, ones that are a bit sweeter, like carrots, sweet potatoes and green peas, and soft sweet fruits like peaches, pears and apricots," she says.

Cooking Techniques
How the vegetables and fruits are cooked can affect texture – and even nutritional content. Swinney suggests cooking in as little water as possible, and suggests steaming or microwaving. "Ripe fruits need very little cooking," she says.

Poaching or boiling and then pureeing is an ideal way to prepare pureed foods for first eaters, O'Shea says. "Cut or chop the fruit or vegetable into small pieces and then cook in a minimum amount of liquid until it is soft and tender. Of course, always remove all seeds, pits and skin. Then puree the cooked pieces with a small amount of water or cooking liquid, breast milk or formula into the appropriate consistency." She says new eaters tend to prefer very soft, and very moist, foods. As Baby grows and becomes more accustomed to eating more solid foods, you can make the consistency thicker.


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