This baby food recipe was handed down to me by Bonnie, my MIL who served it to all eight of her kids. I am on baby number three and so far only success. This is the only baby food my kids eat. because as you will see, the recipe contains all the basic food groups. Because the mixture is overwhelmed by the taste of banana, babies devour whatever else you're giving them. The long term (glorious) effect is this, my kids know that there is one thing being served at meal time. They do not expect me to present them with options and thus, now that two of them are out of the baby food stage, the choice is to eat what mom has put in front of them, or nothing. No retraining, just eating.
The pediatrician, Dr. Leila Denmark, who gave Bonnie this recipe was 111 when she finally retired. The book she wrote is available on amazon, Every Child Deserves a Chance. Whether or not you're hoping to work that long, you may want to take her advice, and get your kids off to a great start.
The recipe is pretty simple and you can mix and substitute specific ingredients as you wish, just represent each food group and find the consistency that your child likes and go with it.
Recipe:
Grains - equivalent amount to one slice of bread. Recently, I've been grinding oatmeal or wheat rather than putting in a slice of bread, but go with what works. Whole wheat bread is better than whole grain for the nutritional value. If you don't know the amazing nutritional value of wheat, I would highly suggest reading up on it, especially the value of grinding your own. Wheat loses a lot of its value in the first three days after it's ground, but for a more complete explanation, hop over to my friend Phyllis's page and get more details.
http://www.breadbakingsupplies.com/why-grind-your-own-wheat/
Cooked Fruit - App. 3 Tbsp The easiest options I have found are sugar free apple sauce or prunes, but if you want to mix it up a little try to go for whatever fruit is in season or frozen. Those are the two options which will pack the most nutritional punch.
The recipe is pretty simple and you can mix and substitute specific ingredients as you wish, just represent each food group and find the consistency that your child likes and go with it.
Recipe:
Grains - equivalent amount to one slice of bread. Recently, I've been grinding oatmeal or wheat rather than putting in a slice of bread, but go with what works. Whole wheat bread is better than whole grain for the nutritional value. If you don't know the amazing nutritional value of wheat, I would highly suggest reading up on it, especially the value of grinding your own. Wheat loses a lot of its value in the first three days after it's ground, but for a more complete explanation, hop over to my friend Phyllis's page and get more details.
http://www.breadbakingsupplies.com/why-grind-your-own-wheat/
Cooked Fruit - App. 3 Tbsp The easiest options I have found are sugar free apple sauce or prunes, but if you want to mix it up a little try to go for whatever fruit is in season or frozen. Those are the two options which will pack the most nutritional punch.
Cooked Veggie - 3 Tbsp. I have tried various veggies and it's hard to go wrong. Broccoli is the one that gives my kids uncomfortable gas, but other than that we love to experiment. Stay away from canned veggies because of the extra sodium, and go with what's in season or again, frozen. As an example i'm showing Kale: To the right is the kale before it's steamed. Below is the color of the kale when you should stop steaming it.
One side note, Bonnie did not put veggies in the kids meals at breakfast. I do. Do what you want.
One side note, Bonnie did not put veggies in the kids meals at breakfast. I do. Do what you want.
Protein: amount equivalent to an egg. Hard boiled or scrambled (no salt) eggs are great as options. I also occasionally throw tofu into the mix, but i've been known to throw whatever is in the fridge, as long as it's a low fat non-dairy form of protein. (i.e. chicken or turkey)
Banana: This is the magic. One banana and your kid won't know whatever else you have in the food.
In Short: one meal
1 Grain - equivalent to one piece of bread
Cooked Fruit - 3 Tbsp
Protein - equivalent to 1 egg
Cooked Veggie - 3 Tbsp
1 Banana
Put everything in a blender.
Short cut: Triple recipe for the day or times it by nine and have enough for 3 days. I freeze the extra in muffin pans and then scoop out one muffin's amount and reheat for a meal.
Banana: This is the magic. One banana and your kid won't know whatever else you have in the food.
In Short: one meal
1 Grain - equivalent to one piece of bread
Cooked Fruit - 3 Tbsp
Protein - equivalent to 1 egg
Cooked Veggie - 3 Tbsp
1 Banana
Put everything in a blender.
Short cut: Triple recipe for the day or times it by nine and have enough for 3 days. I freeze the extra in muffin pans and then scoop out one muffin's amount and reheat for a meal.
Photographing Happy Max while feeding him resulted in sum blur, but you get the picture - he's eating like a champ and all too soon will be keeping pace with his big brothers.
Babies should stay on this until they are able to feed themselves with a fork or spoon. I kept my oldest son on this until he was 18 months, but it was harder to keep #2 on it that long since he was eyeing his big brother's plate. We'll see how long Max will do it.
Babies should stay on this until they are able to feed themselves with a fork or spoon. I kept my oldest son on this until he was 18 months, but it was harder to keep #2 on it that long since he was eyeing his big brother's plate. We'll see how long Max will do it.
Side note: Another tip Dr. Denmark she was that a baby should only drink water. "Cows milk is for cows," she would say and getting them plenty of green veggies like the kale pictured will fill their need for calcium. She also forbid juice because of the added sugars.
-Jocelyn