Hello Everyone! I am Dorothy Barrick, owner of London-based, on-set catering company Dotscookin, and part of the team at Fig & Bloom, a nutrition and cookery consultancy.
I am also a mom and a cook, who made all of my own baby food for my son Henry even while I worked and travelled. There are easy and practical ways to get your baby started with eating their first solids; it doesn’t have to be intimidating. We all know fresh fruits and are packed with goodness. Little tastebuds are developed early, so start your babes on the best, wholesome fresh food!
Some of the easiest things for baby to eat are pureed avocado and banana. It is recommended that you wait four days before giving something new, in case of allergic reactions. For example: give baby a banana for four days, then move on to avocado, or carrots. After trying a few, you can start combinations (banana/avocado,
Forget about weird superfoods! Baby just needs pure and simple to start out.
I learned the hard way. After feeding Henry things like raw kiwi and strawberry and amaranth, I asked my sister why he had such awful diaper rash. “Well, what are you feeding him?” she asked. “Raw kiwi and strawberry,” was my answer…Aha!
“Fruits that are really high in vitamin C gave my girls diaper rash as well,” she said. “Hold off on those for a bit.”
There is plenty of time to introduce new things!
All you need is blender, a pan, and a few BPA free ice trays. Start saving your small caper, mustard, and jam jars~They will come in handy when popping those cubes in to defrost, and in to your handbag or lunch bag for daycare.
One of the easiest and tastiest first foods, in my opinion, is butternut squash. Remove the skin and seeds, chop it into cubes, cook them in a bit of water in a pan with a lid on it for about ten minutes, or until soft. Then, pop them into the blender with the remaining liquid and blend. This photo, above, is about 1.5 cups of butternut squash and 3/4 cup water.
Here, we have fresh fruit. I started with apples and pears. They are two easy fruits that are usually available and affordable in the organic section of most markets. I pureed them raw for Henry, and he tolerated them well. You may want to start out with slightly cooked fruit as it may be easier to digest.
Here are the frozen cubes ready to be defrosted, or if you are using them later, they will naturally melt down in your bag. I used glass containers that I collected and wrapped in a tea towel- no fancy or expensive gear needed! When I did large batches, I would freeze and wrap them in parchment with a label and date to keep track.
I loved the whole process of making and feeding my boy homemade food. Get messy, have fun, and enjoy your babes!
-Dorothy Barrick, Holistic Chef and Recipe Developer for Fig and Bloom