My mum came to visit us this week whilst Sam's been away in Greece. With her she brought a big bag of organic parsnips grown by my step-dad Bev. He has an allotment on the cliff by the sea, in Polruan, Cornwall. I didn't think that I would get round to eating them without Sam here to share them so I cooked them up for one of Eve's first tastes of food.
Eve will be 18 weeks old next week and I'm already excited in anticipation of her starting to eat real food. Guidelines state that babies should not be given food until they are 17 weeks or older, as it can harm their stomachs. Their gastrointestinal function isn't mature until that point. I'm thinking about starting on week 20 - and have already bought little spoons!
I really enjoyed preparing the parsnip. Freezing it and then popping out the little parsnip cubes was most satisfying. I've now stored them in a freezer bag, so they are ready to go when needed. I can't wait to try other vegetables and fruits.
I've bought organic baby rice to go with purees and milk, but also want to try baby-led feeding as well in six weeks time once she is six months old. I don't see why I can't try both, and I don't want to wait for six weeks until starting on solids so this plan feels right for me and Eve. I understand the thinking behind purees and swallowing compared to baby-led chewing and that chewing should come first but hey ho! Let's see what happens, I'm just going to let Eve do her thing, just like she does the rest of the time with sleeping and playing.
Some great tips for baby-led feeding:
Annabel Karmel's book (above) is really good. It has lots of useful tips, information and ideas. I'm lucky that my lovely sister-in-law Katie Jane leant it to me. I've been enjoying reading through it. Karmel is a leading child nutritionist, her website has lots of useful info too.
Best first vegetables (babies like the naturally sweet tastes)
Carrot
Potato
Swede
Parsnip
Pumpkin
Butternut Squash
Sweet Potato
Best first fruits
Apple
Pear
Banana (no need to cook)
Papaya (no need to cook)
This morning I cooked up some apples that weren't being eaten, and added a good pinch of cinnamon. Some guidelines state not to give babies herbs and spices until they are 8 months old, but Annabel Karmel says that cinnamon should not cause allergies or upset the digestive system. You could use a cinnamon stick when cooking the apples if you prefer. In my opinion bland food is horrible. There's no reason for babies to have bland food. In India a variety of herbs and curry powders are added to a baby's food from a young age. In Latin America babies are exposed to coriander, cumin and even chilli. As long as you introduce things and wait a few days to make sure the baby is fine then everything should be ok.
Some good ideas for adding different herbs and spices to baby's food:
http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/tipspices.htm#.U0jlu61g5pU
This morning I cooked up some apples that weren't being eaten, and added a good pinch of cinnamon. Some guidelines state not to give babies herbs and spices until they are 8 months old, but Annabel Karmel says that cinnamon should not cause allergies or upset the digestive system. You could use a cinnamon stick when cooking the apples if you prefer. In my opinion bland food is horrible. There's no reason for babies to have bland food. In India a variety of herbs and curry powders are added to a baby's food from a young age. In Latin America babies are exposed to coriander, cumin and even chilli. As long as you introduce things and wait a few days to make sure the baby is fine then everything should be ok.
Some good ideas for adding different herbs and spices to baby's food:
http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/tipspices.htm#.U0jlu61g5pU
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