Mango for Baby- Homemade Mango Baby Food

The Goodness of Mangos for Baby:

Mangos are loaded with Vitamin A and contain a higher level of carotenoids than almost any other fruit. These carotenoids are said to reduce the risk of cancer as well as heart disease. Carotenoids are also thought to be successful in warding off the common cold.

Mangoes are low in fat, low in calories but very high in fiber. You will also find lots of Vitamins C and B in Mangoes as well as iron, potassium and protein.

When Can Baby Have Mango? Age for Introducing Mango 6-8 Months

Like Papayas, Mangos are tropical fruits and their age for introduction is varied from 6 months and older to 8-10 months being the average recommended age. While mangos may make a great first food, they are probably not good to use as THE first food.

MANGO (one cup – sliced)

VITAMINS:

Vitamin A – 1262 IU

Vitamin C – 45.7 mg

Vitamin K – 6.9 mg

Vitamin E – 1.85 mg

Folate (important during pregnancy) – 23 mcg

MINERALS:

Potassium – 257 mg

Phosphorus – 18 mg

Magnesium – 22 mg

Calcium – 16 mg

Sodium – 3 mg

Also contains trace amounts of zinc, iron, manganese and copper.

Are Mangos Allergenic?

Mangos may be allergenic as many tropical fruits often tend to be. They are not know to commonly cause life threatening allergic reactions however. The type of allergic reaction a Mango may cause is typically topical or dermatological.

A person who has an atopic reaction to Mango will find a rash much like that of poison ivy or poison oak. The rash may occur when the affected person comes into contact with either the sap from the Mango tree or from the skin of the fruit itself.
The allergen itself resides in the skin/peel of the mango and not within the actual fruit itself. Eating the mango “meat” or pulp will not cause the rash to get into the throat or tummy per se but if the oleoresin from the peel/skin has touched the Mango “meat”, a rash may erupt around the mouth.

Some sources say that a Mango allergy may in fact cause a rash around the bottom as the mango is digested and passed through. That being said, there are many pediatricians who say that tropical fruits should be held off until 8 months old and up.

Source by: http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/mangobabyfoodrecipes.htm

POTATO SOUP

BY MRS. CHOCOLATE

The weather is cooling down and nothing warms me up like a nice bowl of soup. This weekend I was in the mood for a hearty warming bowl, and decided to make potato soup adapted from this recipe from Gimme Some Oven. I love thick creamy chowders and potatoes; add in some bacon and what’s not to love!

Ingredients:

5 slices diced bacon
3 tablespoons bacon grease (reserved) or butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups warmed milk
1.5 pounds diced potatoes
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
optional toppings: thinly-sliced green onions or chives, shredded cheese, bacon, sour cream

Directions:
Cook the bacon. I cooked it in the oven, 15 minutes on 400 degrees, but you can also cook it in the stockpot you’re using for the soup. Set aside. Next make the roux by starting off with the bacon grease (or butter) and flour and then mixing in the chicken stock and milk. Once it’s well mixed, add the potatoes and bacon and let it simmer 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are soft. I always add a little extra flour to my roux as I like my soups and cream sauces to be thicker. After the potatoes are tender add in the cheddar cheese and seasonings. The recipe calls for sour cream or greek yogurt here, but it’s a little too tangy for me so I omit it. I think celery and mushrooms would also add some great flavor, but you can really add anything you like. When it’s done, garnish as you like. Enjoy!


Source by: http://www.hellobee.com/2015/11/05/potato-soup/#more-128874

Is it time to change baby food guidelines to help prevent allergies?

One of the biggest issues that concern parents today is food allergies.

In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a parent who doesn't know a child with a food allergy. This is because as many as one in 20 children now have one.

But that didn't use to be the case. Ask any grandparent about food allergies back in their day, and most will say it was something they rarely thought or heard about.

So why are food allergies so common nowadays? And what can we do to help prevent our children developing them?

A new review published yesterday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shed some light on this issue.

"If parents ask how to prevent allergy in their children, our current advice is to introduce the allergenic foods at four to six months of age," wrote Dr Elissa Abrams and Dr Allan Becker from the Department of Pediatric Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of Manitoba.

The authors say that once those foods have been introduced, it's then important for your child to eat those foods on a regular basis so they continue to tolerate the food.

This goes against the 'old' thinking, which said it was best to avoid giving children foods they may be allergic to when they were 'too young'. Based on such thinking, many parents were advised to delay giving babies foods such as peanuts till they were at least 12 months old. (The recent LEAP study challenged that thinking too, showing that allergies to peanuts can be reduced by up to 80 per cent by earlier introduction of peanuts).

While peanuts are the main food we think about when we consider allergies, there are many foods children can be allergic to. According to the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, the most common triggers are eggs, cow's milk, peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, sesame, soy, fish and wheat.

However, according to the Australian Government Department of Health, we are only advised to start giving these kinds of foods to our babies from 8-12 months of age. The first potentially allergenic foods we're advised to give our babies, based on current recommendations, are fish and eggs.

But should we wait this long to give our babies these kind of foods?

Emergency nurse Sarah Hunstead doesn't think so, and she says there's so much unnecessary "fear and avoidance" around allergenic foods.

"It's great to see the evidence that this avoidance is actually not preventative," she says.

She believes introducing solids should be an "exciting developmental milestone", but that many parents are so fearful of their child having an allergic reaction that they withhold foods.

Some parents even go to extreme measures. "I have known some parents who have sat in the waiting room at their local emergency departments to introduce peanut butter of the first time 'just in case'," she says.

While she acknowledges allergies can be serious, she says we should focus our energy on increasing education about them, instead of inciting fear.

For instance, she says most parents don't realise that an allergic reaction usually does not occur the first time a child is given a new food.

In fact, the first time a child has that new food, her body's immune system 'sees' it for the first time. When your child then has that food for a second time, her immune system 'recognises' the food, and can then mount an allergic reaction.

Of course, you still need to practice caution when giving your baby a new food; for instance, you need to avoid giving babies foods that pose a choking risk. (Never give a baby a peanut - instead, offer it in the form of a paste, like smooth peanut butter).

But if you're using commonsense, should you ignore the current guidelines and simply start giving your baby potentially allergenic foods earlier than currently recommended, in order to prevent her from becoming allergic?

While that may be tempting, Hunstead believes it's still best to follow advice given by your doctor or early childhood centre.

That said, it looks like the tide is turning on delaying giving babies certain foods. Hunstead hopes our recommendations to parents will soon change to reflect this new way of thinking.

"I look forward to seeing some new guidelines rolled out here in Australia through the early childhood centres, [though] I wonder how long that will take," she admits.


Source by: http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/baby/baby-food/is-it-time-to-change-baby-food-guidelines-to-help-prevent-allergies-20151021-gkelwe.html

Guinness Milk Shake

Total Time: 5 mins

Makes: 4 servings

Malty Guinness and rich vanilla ice cream: a dreamy, frothy, creamy combination. This milk shake would be perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration or equally delicious sipped poolside in August. For virgin shakes, try our Chocolate Malted Milk Shake or Purple Cow Milk Shake.

What to buy: We found that using a can of Guinness instead of a bottle ensures a creamier consistency.

Instructions

1.Place 4 pint glasses in the freezer to chill.

2.Place the ice cream and Guinness in a blender and blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds.

3.Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the chocolate syrup or sauce down the insides of each glass. Divide the shake among the glasses and garnish with chocolate shavings. Serve immediately.

Source by:http://www.chowhound.com/recipes/guinness-milk-shake-29419

Crackers carrots

One of the first foods we gave our son, carrots have become a favorite in our house. They couldn’t be easier to prepare either!

Simply peel and slice the amount of carrots you’d like to use. Place in a steaming basket over boiling water and steam for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Adding a little bit of water (do not use your cooking water), purée the carrots in a machine such as a Blentec, food processor or Baby Bullet.

Allow the purée to cool enough to feed your baby, place in the fridge to be used within two days or place in ice cube trays to freeze for 4 hours. If freezing, remove the frozen purée from the trays and place in a freezer bag and mark to be used within 3 months.

It’s as easy as that! Once baby gets older, you can start adding the carrot purée with other vegetables and even add it to over cooked brown rice for a chunky meal!

source by:http://chocolateandcarrots.com/crackersandcarrots/2013/03/homemade-baby-food-carrots

Easy-peasy: Making your own baby food can be a snap

By Lauren Johnson

As parents, we spend so much of our little ones’ earliest years chewing on nutrition, from decisions about breast- versus formula-feeding, to thoughts on introducing solids and expanding kiddo’s palate. While the baby-food phase lasts less than a year for most, this short time offers a delicious opportunity to help infants and tots learn to savor healthy foods, varied textures and a buffet of flavors.

“I want my daughter to interact with real food, to know what she’s eating, and to experience a variety of tastes and textures,” said Nina Thomas of Mount Pleasant.

To that end, many moms and dads choose to dish out homemade purees rather than retail rations.

“Even minimal processing removes essential nutrients from foods and alters their taste and texture,” said fellow Mount Pleasant mom Jen Pulsifer, pointing out that a visual comparison of vibrant homemade pureed peas to their dull-green commercial counterpart made choosing what to feed her children easy.

While producing baby food may seem like a tough task to swallow, cooking up wholesome offerings is actually fairly simple and quick. And when it comes to infant fare, homemade options boast fewer additives, less packaging waste and a lower cost than store-bought jars, tubs and pouches.

“I wanted to know exactly what I was putting in my children’s bodies. With so many different GMOs and preservatives added to food these days, I made sure every bit of what they ate was organic,” said Charleston mom Buffie Lilly.

Baby bites

Though the market offers a smorgasbord of cute equipment for baby food makers, gearing up for DIY purees doesn’t have to take a big bite out of your budget or cabinet space. Chances are your cupboards already hold the basic tools necessary for creating your own infant cuisine: a pot or microwave-safe covered bowl, and a blender or food processor. Other handy but not vital utensils include a strainer, a coffee or spice grinder, a food mill and ice cube trays or small freezer-safe storage containers.

Of course, commercial baby food systems, while certainly not necessary, can speed up the process. If you are looking to invest, many parents like the all-in-one steamer-blender-storage systems from Baeba Babycook and Baby Brezza, which simplify day-by-day preparations.

If your plate’s already pretty full, however, you’ll likely find it more efficient to “power cook” and store enough baby food to last from a week to a few months.

“I bought all of my ingredients during my weekly shopping trip and then spent an hour and a half each Sunday preparing large batches,” Thomas said.

The dish

So what to put in the grocery cart or market basket?

“Making my own foods meant that I could buy fresh and local at the farmers’ market,” said Kristen Cassi, owner of Persimmon Café and mom to two. “Buying in-season foods also tends to be less expensive.”

Stock up on meats like poultry, pork, lean beef, and white fish; whole grains; and fresh fruits and vegetables. If necessary, you can always turn to produce that’s canned (think pumpkin, beans, and pears), jarred (like applesauce) or frozen (peas, please). Just be sure to check labels and steer clear of added sugar, salt, fat and unnecessary additives. Popular produce choices include baby carrots, green beans, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, blueberries and plums.

Easy to prepare and packed with healthy fats that feed brain development, creamy avocados make an ideal early baby food. Simply peel, pit and smash with a fork. (Prep bananas the same way.) Voila! You’ve just made your first baby foods.

Grain cereals such as rice and oatmeal are also common first foods, but commercial infant versions are often made from nutritionally stripped white rice. Create your own mineral-packed cereal powders from brown rice (plain, jasmine or basmati), old-fashioned rolled oats, or barley by milling the grains in a food processor, clean spice or coffee grinder, or blender with a milling blade. These DIY cereals will keep for several months stored inside an airtight container in a cool, dry place. To prepare, add a quarter cup of your powdered grain to one cup of boiling water, then whisk over low heat for 10 minutes.

As a vegetarian, Mount Pleasant mom Kara Skahill relied on protein sources such as Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and tofu. Another option? Fully cooked hard-boiled egg yolks separate easily from the whites and can quickly be smashed with the back of a spoon into a creamy protein paste perfect for fortifying fruit and vegetable purees.

Boil it down

Grilling, roasting, baking and steaming retains food’s water-soluble nutrients, but you can also rely on boiling or microwaving to fully cook meats and soften vegetables and fruits that can’t be smashed raw.

“My favorite way to make baby food is to roast vegetables and meats in the oven with some herbs and olive oil,” said stay-at-home mom Melissa Bowman of Isle of Palms.

Once fork-tender, allow foods to cool so steam won’t pop the blender top (let them chill overnight if you prefer to work in baby steps). Puree using an immersion or upright blender or food processor until desired consistency is reached. Some foods, such as peas and meats, may be dry or gritty without a liquid addition, like a simple broth or the nutrient-packed water that’s left over from cooking your veggies. (Add a spoonful of liquid and then blend for a few seconds, repeating until desired consistency is reached.) To create a variety of textures, experiment with processing times; press purees through a sieve to yield smoother baby foods.

Purees will save in the refrigerator for one to two days, but if you’re tackling big batches, it’s best to divide and freeze. A simple ice cube tray (or lidded tray like those from Fresh Baby and Mumi&Bubi) holds several one-ounce servings, and larger portions can be frozen in silicone muffin cups. Once solid, turn out the cubes and group by type in labeled freezer bags. Additional freezer storage options include OXO Tot Baby Blocks in two- and four-ounce sizes and the Infantino Fresh Squeezed pouch filling station. One savvy mom even funneled her foods into breast milk storage bags.

To serve, thaw a day’s worth of foods in the fridge overnight. In a pinch, pouches can be defrosted quickly in hot water and cubes in the microwave (nuke for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until thawed; stir well before feeding to eliminate hot spots).

Whether you do so during the cooking process or just prior to serving, Thomas’s final advice is to “season, season, season.”

“To expose my baby to many different tastes, I would flavor fruits and veggies with coconut oil as well as herbs and spices like curry, garlic, and onion powder, amaranth, ginger, cumin and cinnamon,” she said.

“Now that my kids are past the baby-food stage, I see very clearly the benefits of exposing them to real flavors and textures early on,” agreed Pulsifer. “We cook one meal for the whole family, and my boys regularly enjoy complex foods such as sushi, grilled fish, steak, sautéed carrots, vegetable stir fry and pork chops.” LCP

Mix It Up


• Peas, carrots and tofu with mild curry powder

• Sweet potatoes with cottage cheese and cinnamon

-Kara Skahill

Salmon with yogurt dill sauce

- Kristen Cassi

• Brown rice with chicken or turkey

- Buffie Lilly

• Mashed salmon with pesto

• Pureed spaghetti

- Jen Pulsifer

• Roasted chicken with Parmesan risotto

- Melissa Bowman

• Sweet potato, avocado, & quinoa

• Beets and apples with cinnamon

- Nina Thomas

source by:http://www.lowcountryparent.com/article/20151014/LP/151019999/1216/easy-peasy-making-your-own-baby-food-can-be-a-snap

15 September 2015

Why cook seasonal fruit and vegetables?

When you buy fruit and vegetables in season, and local ones at that, this means you are offering them when they are at their best. The more flavoursome your purées, the more baby will want to eat them!

A real challenge and a whole way of life lie behind this question. Any young parent is especially concerned. Because although baby’s physical and mental well-being comes from a well-balanced diet, the freshness, nutritional properties and variety of fresh produce rely on seasonal availability.

A rainbow of colours along the seasons

If we follow the seasons, the reds, oranges, greens or purples follow on from each other quite naturally. Baby will look at everything that comes out of your bag or trolley: strawberries, beetroot, cabbage, peas, leeks, apples, pears, etc. We hardly need to say that showing him a corn cob will not have the same effect as showing him the same vegetable in a can, which may well look like a can of yellow beads to him.

Savings

Whatever the origin, it is the price per kilo that will say when a product is in season. So, it is when a product is in plentiful supply on the market and inexpensive that you shouldn‘t think twice about giving it to baby several times. This is also the time to freeze diced vegetables or to sterilize a few jars of compote.

Ecology

The shorter the distance a product travels, the less it pollutes the oceans or air it travels across. The more a fruit ripens in the sun, outdoors or in a greenhouse, the less fossil or nuclear fuel it uses.

Nutritional properties

When fruit is seasonal and local it is always richer in vitamins and minerals. Every vegetable has different and complementary properties.

Nutritional quality also depends to a broad extent on the production method: tomatoes and strawberries from soil-less farming are not as rich in nutriments such as polyphenols with protective or antioxidant properties.

And lastly, as vitamins deteriorate quickly, the quicker a fruit or vegetable is eaten once it has been harvested, the more it will contain nutritious elements and the better it will be for health.

Flavour and pleasure

Fruit and vegetables picked when ripe and eaten quickly are also more pleasant and more flavoursome.

source by:http://www.cookingbabyfood.com/dossiersalimentation/why-cook-seasonal-fruit-and-vegetables/

21 September 2015 by Solène

Carrot, celery and orange soup

PREPARATION TIME 5 mn
COOK TIME 20 mn

This soup is packed with vitamins: carrot, celery and orange will provide your baby with a real energy boost!

The recipe

Ingredients

150 g carrot

a small branch of celery

a juicy orange

a little olive oil
Preparation time: 5 minutes – Cooking time: 20 minutes

Peel the carrots and slice into rounds. Wash and cut the branch of celery into chunks.

Put the vegetables into the basket of your Nutribaby and start a 20-minute cooking cycle.

Meanwhile, squeeze the orange to get the juice.

Once the vegetables are cooked, blend them with the orange juice.

It’s ready to eat!

source by:http://www.cookingbabyfood.com/recette/carrot-celery-and-orange-soup/

The foods children should be eating

The foods children should be eating

Eating a balanced diet is all to do with choosing the right foods and eating them in the right proportioon. A balanced diet for adults and children over five-years-old should contain forty five per cent of carbohydrates, twenty per cent protein and no more than thirty five per cent fat.

Children need more fat in their diet than adults, claim nutritionists, because of their high energy requirements (breast milk contains fifty per cent fat) and because their bodies are busy growing.

Scientific research has also shown that oily fish such as tuna, sardines or salmon is vital for brain development and visual development and including these foods in their diet may help to improve the performance of children with learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

Here, we present an at-a-glance guide to the main food types which should be included in your child's diet

Carbohydrates

This group should make up the largest part - around 45 per cent - of your child's diet. Bread, rice and pasta are the body's main source of energy and also provide vitamins, minerals and fibre.

They are also a good source of iron - essential for forming red blood cells which carry oxygen around the body. A good intake of iron is also necessary for energy, intellectual performance and vitality.

Try to choose wholegrain carbohydrates such as brown rice or bread, rather than white bread or rice. These foods release sugar relatively slowly into the bloodstream which helps provide long lasting energy. Also, refined carbohydrates like white bread have lost many of their valuable nutrients during processing.

Iron-enriched cereals provide a good source of iron, but you will need to give a vitamin C rich food such as kiwi fruit or a glass of orange juice at the same time in order to boost iron absorption.

Recommended daily intake for children: Children between one and ten-years-old should eat about five servings of carbohydrates each day. One serving is one slice of bread, a small portion of brown rice or pasta, or a small bowl of cereal.

Fruit and Vegetables

Fruit and vegetable are important as they provide phytochemicals such as vitamins and minerals, which help protect against cancer and heart disease.

Fruit and vegetables are also an important source of fibre. Root vegetables in particular are an important carbohydrate for energy.

Recommended daily intake for children: At least five portions a day. This could include a satsuma, half an apple, four dried apricots, a tablespoon of peas and one tomato.

Dairy

Dairy foods provide protein, vitamins and minerals and are the best source of calcium, important for bone and teeth health. It is important to choose full fat milk and yoghurt because children need 'good fat' for energy when growing.

Recommended daily intake for children: Children should have three portions of milk or dairy products each day. This could be a glass of milk, a pot of yoghurt, or a matchbox size of cheese.

Protein

Meat, poultry, fish, pulses, eggs and nuts provide a good source of protein, which is important for the growth, maintenance and repair of body tissue. Red meat provides the best and most easily absorbed source of iron. Not enough protein can lower resistance to infection.

Oily fish such as tuna, sardines or salmon are another good source of protein as they contain essential fatty acids vital for bones, ligaments and brain growth. Scientific research has shown that a lack of oily fish can lead to dyslexia and learning difficulties.

Recommended daily intake for children: Children should eat meat or chicken three to four times a week and two or more portions of fish each week, one of which should be an oily variety like tuna, sardines or salmon. Protein foods like cheese or eggs are a good source for breakfast.


Source By : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-94693/The-foods-children-eating.html