If I can turn back time, I will buy a combined steamer and blender. You just steam whatever you want, blend it, and feed it to your baby. All-in-one gadget! Manually mashing the food took up so much of my energy and time - I'd need muscular fingers! And transferring the food from the chopping board to the cooker, to the blender, and to the bowl just end up with a whole kitchen mess to clear up! Drives me crazy, Ahhhh!
WEANING YOUR CHILD
One of the hardest thing to master in the course of infant-care is to introduce my child to adult food. For the first six months of my child's life, he survived solely on milk. Afterwhich, when he could sit up with support, I began feeding him mashed food in between his milk feeds. The younger he is the more 'pureed' or watery his meals were. I estimated the consistency to make sure he doesn't choke. At the beginning, I fed him liquidy mashed food through his milk bottle with a slightly bigger nipple/teat hole (which I cut out a little bit, so that the thicker liquid food can pass through). This transition is not difficult since it is not much different from his usual milk feeds.
But as his meals get thicker and coarser, and when I start feeding him with a spoon, there is an additional skill to master - The Art of Feeding Your Baby. You and your baby need to coordinate with each other well enough with all the cues to prevent spillage: You put spoon to mouth, encourage baby to open mouth (say Ahhh!) and take in the food and swallow the food (Amm..amm..) instead of pushing it out. At the same time, you try to figure out whether he likes the food you had just fed him. That is why, in the beginning, it is important to feed only ONE thing at a time, e.g. carrots only, so that you can decipher what are his likes and dislikes and whether your child is allergic to certain foods. You and baby will get the hang of it in a few weeks time.
Most of my ideas and knowledge about baby food comes from the internet. There is this great site which teaches you when certain foods (fruits, vegetables, grains, meat/poultry) should be introduced; how to choose, prepare and store food; the age-appropriate recipes suitable for your child; and whole lot of other important information that you will want to know (e.g. Forbidden baby foods: Honey, peanut butter and acidic fruits like strawberry should be consumed after one to two years). I cannot imagine my child's weaning period without this website: wholesomebabyfood. Seriously.
From there, and based on my baby's palate, I have made a little note about my baby's food recipe. Hope it gives you some ideas on what you can prepare for your ever-growing baby. May you and your baby enjoy the daily feeds :)
Group A. Fruits and Vegetables
Apple (I always buy organic Gala apples), carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato, green peas (canned), broccoli, spinach. Buy all of them organic if possible (esp. apples and spinach!).
Group B. Grains
Brown rice, white rice, Oats (Quaker Oats), multi-grain infant cereal.
Group C. Protein
Tofu, chickpeas, soy bean, black bean, egg, fish, chicken.
In general, I'll boil or steam till the food is fully cooked. Then, when it cools, I'll mash them to the desired consistency. If it's tasteless, I'll add some milk formula to make it taste 'familiar' to the baby. If not, the boiled apples, sweet potato, carrot, or pumpkin is usually enough to make the puree tasty (I do not add salt at all). After that, I'll portion the pot of food into small containers (one for each small meal) and freeze them for future use (I'll usually finish them within one week). When it's mealtime, I'll microwave the food before feeding. If I have more time on hand, I'll only cook when it's feeding time so that he eats fresh.
At first, I fed my baby 1 or 2 food items from group A only (esp. pumpkin, carrot, and sweet potato. Once, his skin turned orangey and I had to stop them for a month!). Then, I mixed items from group A and B (e.g. apple and infant cereal). Eventually, I mixed items from all groups (A, B and C) (e.g. Carrots, broccoli, chickpeas, black beans and brown rice, see photo below). Yes, I simply boil all of them in a pot/rice cooker with water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cool them, mash them, and serve warm. I'll always try to buy the freshest ingredients from the neighborhood markets.
In addition, I'll feed my baby the list of food below, as and when he seems peckish in between his meals. This is more of a playtime for him (and cleaning up time for mom!) as he explore the colour, texture and taste of different types of food with his bare fingers. Sometimes, I'll put his food into a bowl, give him baby fork and spoon and let him have a good time playing with food. This is also a good time to teach him how to eat on his own. Warning: It'll certainly end up with a whole lot of mess to clear up (both the eating area plus the baby). So, do so only when you're well-rested or have an extra helping hand :)
Others:
Banana, blueberry (his favourite!), cheese cubes, yogurt (for infants), multi-grain Cheerios, bottled mash food (from Heinz) and small pieces of bread or baby biscuits.
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PS: Updates on 2013 Dec! At three years old, my boy can now eat on the table just like one of us, with some spills here and there of course :) But I'm a happy mom already! Therefore, I think every little bit of 'training' do add up.
Here's a useful guide I got from WholesomeBabyFood.com.
