I started weaning my daughter Amber when she was six months old. I still vividly remember the excitement I felt when she was ready for solids!

As an avid cook, I was curious to see her reactions to trying something other than milk for the first time. But what kind of food should I start off with? The very initial foods that are good for a baby should be easily digestible and unlikely to trigger allergies.

An important note: at this stage, solids are not meant to replace any milk feeds as milk is still the major source of nutrients. Instead, it’s a chance to let them experience different tastes and textures.

What are some of the best first foods for babies? I read up extensively and got valuable advice from my mum on what type of solids to offer. Here are her recommendations:

Root vegetables like pumpkin, sweet potato and carrots

Allergic reactions to root vegetables are rare, and they usually have a natural sweet tasting flavour that babies find easy to accept. Cbb’s first solid was steamed pumpkin purée! Pumpkin aids digestion because it is an excellent source of fibre, and it has essential vitamins and minerals that help support your baby’s development. For instance, the magnesium and calcium in pumpkin help babies build stronger bones.

Avocado

Avocado is another good choice as baby’s first food as it is high in monounsaturated fat, also known as good fat. Did you know that good fat is great for babies? Babies need fat for healthy development at this critical stage, and avocado is a great source of that. It also helps that it doesn’t need to be cooked – just spoon it out of the peel and feed it to your little one, or mix it with a little breast milk or formula milk until you reach the desired consistency. The natural creaminess is a plus! Cbb loves avocados!

Pear

Pear is a favourite of mine. Yes, you read that right! I love giving cbb pear because it helps ensure smooth stools! Even now that she is close to 17 months old, whenever I find that her poop is harder than usual, I will give her a serving of pear and she will have no problem pooping afterwards. When offering pear as one of baby’s first foods, remove the skin and cut it into chunks. Steam for 10 minutes then purée till smooth. If need be, you can add some water to thin it out. Steaming is recommended for babies under eight months as the heat from cooking helps break down sugars and fibres, making them more easily digestible. You can graduate to raw mashed or puréed fruits after the first few weeks.

Apart from advising me on the best first fruits and vegetables for babies, my mum also gave me some precious tips on feeding solids in general:

• It’s not a must to give cereal

We’ve always heard that baby cereal is a great first food because it is easy on the tummy and unlikely to trigger allergic reactions. But many baby cereals have added sugar in them. If you decide to offer your baby cereal, be sure to choose one that is sugar-free and enriched with essential vitamins. For better nutrition, mix some fruit and vegetable purée into it. That said, while cereal isn’t entirely necessary, do ensure that baby is getting iron-rich foods. Iron-fortified cereals can be a good source, as well as dark green leafy vegetables and meat.

• Give fresh food as much as possible

I’m not going to disagree – food pouches are a convenient way to introduce solids to your baby at the beginning. But freshly prepared food definitely tastes better than any pre-packaged versions. The most important discovery for me after my many experiments was that preparing fresh food offers me the flexibility to gradually introduce different textures to my baby. Exposing your baby to various textures is more likely to result in a less fussy child. Also, when prepared optimally, the nutrients in fresh food are better preserved as compared to processed food.

• Try feeding your baby solids 30 minutes before milk, around lunchtime

I struggled to find information on this when I started weaning cbb. I’ve read that solids should preferably be fed around 30 minutes before milk, so that baby will not already be full when we are trying to introduce new food. Don’t expect them to eat a lot initially. For me, when cbb was starting out, she had a maximum of one tablespoon of fruit or vegetable purée in one sitting. It’s ok if your baby takes less than that, or a little more. Every baby is different – take your time and don’t rush through the feeding.

There are also certain misconceptions about introducing solids that my mum debunked. I will share some of my favourites below:

• “Add cereal to baby’s milk bottle so she will sleep through the night”

This belief is not only baseless, it’s dangerous! Your baby will sleep through the night when the time comes. There is a real risk of choking when you do so, and it defeats the purpose of letting baby explore tastes and textures. Please don’t do it!

• “You should never freeze avocados or bananas”

I can truly vouch that this is a myth, because I have done both! Due to oxidation, avocados and bananas do turn brown when exposed to air, but this doesn’t mean that they have turned bad. I have frozen avocado and banana purée and served them to cbb after proper thawing. She enjoys them all the same!

• “You can only introduce egg after baby turns one year old”

This is not true! Unless there is a family history of being allergic to eggs, there is no reason to worry unnecessarily about egg allergies. Just ensure that the eggs are thoroughly cooked, or use pasteurised eggs. I introduced both egg yolk and egg white to cbb when she was eight months old.

To know more about early childhood nutrition for your little one, visit: http://www.healthhub.sg/earlynutrition for more details!

This article also appears on theAsianparent: https://sg.theasianparent.com/great-tips-mum-best-choices-babys-first-foods/

If you like my posts and updates, or would like to be informed of baby/cooking-related giveaways and promos from time to time…..
Like my Facebook page or follow @budgetpantry or @chuabeebee on Instagram! Yes, I just started an Insta account for CBB too!

The post Great tips from my mum: Best choices for baby’s first foods appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Once your baby reaches six months old (or at the age recommended by the pediatrician), it’s time to introduce solids on top of regular milk feeds. This is called the process of weaning.

As a first-time mum, i did a lot of trial and error when I started weaning my child when she was six months old. Believe it or not, although Amber is a total foodie now, my first few attempts at feeding her solids were pretty challenging!

As I experimented with different food textures and tastes, I discovered what Amber didn’t like, what she didn’t mind eating and what she absolutely loved. In this post, I will share some steps on how I made weaning painless for us.

From my own experience and stories from friends, babies also start to become fussier towards food when they’re 9-12 months old. This stage is when they are exposed to eating food other than simple purées and cereal (if you do choose to give them cereal).

So these are my five clever tips on weaning and three easy recipes for a fussy baby!

Five clever tips on weaning your fussy infant:

• Choose a good time of the day
  Pick a time of the day when your baby is satisfied and comfortable. For example, after he’s taken his nap. This way, your little one is more likely to focus happily on the new task: eating.
• Make eating social
  Babies are copycats! Set up your baby’s high chair around the dining table while the family has their meals too. They love to watch us and mimic our behaviour, and meal times can be more enjoyable when there’s fun interaction.

• Make root vegetables your base
  Puréed root vegetables such as pumpkin, carrot and sweet potato are excellent as a gravy base for pasta, noodles and rice. They also go well as a meat sauce, lending a natural sweetness and creamy consistency that makes eating more receptive for a fussy eater.

• Reintroduce food in different textures
  In the initial stages, I found that texture – rather than taste – determined whether Amber could accept the new food or not. Being new to eating solids, she was more inclined towards smooth foods slightly thicker than milk.As she got older, at around eight months, I discovered that she preferred eating food with some texture in them, and slowly started to expose her to chunkier food, like shredded chicken and a variety of chopped (instead of blended) vegetables, which she loves till today.

• Try a variety of food
  It’s tempting to stick to that one ingredient once your picky eater displays signs of even remotely liking it. But don’t fall into that trap. Introducing different foods to your baby makes them more inclined to try new things, and results in them being more receptive to a wider variety of food in terms of colour, tastes, texture and even temperature.

Once babies graduate from eating the simplest fruit and vegetable purées, it’s time to expose them to other foods. Here are three quick and easy recipes that would get their nod of approval.

3 quick and easy recipes for babies (9 months and up)

Salmon Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients:
1 salmon fillet, about 150g
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3 stalks celery, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon full cream milk
A sprinkle of dried dill
2 tablespoons olive oil

Steps:
Boil potatoes in a pot of water for about 20 minutes, until soft enough to mash with a fork. Set aside.

In a pan, add oil and fry salmon for 3-4 minutes on each side. Flake with a fork and sprinkle some dill flakes.

Fry the celery and onion for 15 minutes under low heat until soft. Add the full cream milk and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Combine the salmon into this mixture.

Assemble and bake: Fill a small tin pan or baking dish with the filling, then top with mashed potato. Spritz with a little oil and bake at 190C for 10 minutes.

Eggless pear and banana pancakes

Ingredients:
1 large banana (about 5-6 inches), mashed
3 tablespoons pear purée (fresh or bottled)
2 tablespoons flour (you can use plain, wheat, oat or buckwheat)
1 tablespoon water
Half tablespoon oil

Steps:
Mash banana in a bowl and add the pear purée. Stir in the flour, then add the water and combine.

Lightly oil a non-stick pan and heat up using low flame. Put a tablespoon of batter into the heated pan and cook for 3 minutes until small bubbles appear or till the base is firm enough to flip. Cook the other side for another 3-4 minutes. Be careful not to flip the pancakes too early – these take a bit longer to set.

Cut into bite-sized pieces for your baby to self-feed.

Silky steamed egg with minced meat

Ingredients:
2 eggs (55-60g)
200ml water or homemade stock
150g minced meat of your choice

Steps:
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the water or stock and combine.

Place minced meat in a thin layer at the bottom of a plate. Hold a sieve on top of the plate and pour in the egg-water mixture. Sieving ensures that the egg turns out silky smooth. Check that there are no bubbles and cover the dish with food-grade cling wrap.

Steam on medium heat for 20 minutes.

To know more about early childhood nutrition for your little one, visit: http://www.healthhub.sg/earlynutrition for more details!

This article also appears on theAsianparent: https://sg.theasianparent.com/tips-easy-recipes-weaning-feeding-fussy-infant//

If you like my posts and updates, or would like to be informed of baby/cooking-related giveaways and promos from time to time…..
Like my Facebook page or follow @budgetpantry or @chuabeebee on Instagram! Yes, I just started an Insta account for CBB too!

The post My tips and easy recipes for weaning and feeding a fussy infant appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

You know what, it’s true when they tell you “The days are long but the years are short.” I feel like crying when I’m typing this because whaddya know, cbb is going to be SIX MONTHS OLD! Oh and to set the record straight, cbb is not her real name. You can call her Amber :)

I was going to share her first-solids experience along with some information on weaning that I gathered from my research, but the post would be toooo long then. Look out for another post, detailing common first foods, allergy concerns, how much to give, etc etc coming right up.

I’m starting cbb off with root vegetables, followed by fruit like apple and pear for her first tastes. You can also mix food together later, as baby gets used to the first foods. I’m not an advocate of baby cereal and am not going to let cbb try it at 6 months. Her first food: PUMPKIN!

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Very first foods should be very smooth in texture and quite runny. I didn’t add any ebm or fm to the pumpkin below cos the texture came out just perfect. Preparation was a breeze with my Philips Avent 4-in-1 baby food maker.

5 reasons why I like it:

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Disclaimer: I received a Philips 4-in-1 Baby Food Maker for review purposes and received no monetary payment for this review. All opinions and comments on my blog are my own unless you bribe me with a lot of money, cash only. But until now I haven’t accepted any bribes yet which is worth trading my 良心 for to say something is good when it sucks. Unless you really got a lot of cash to spare, like A LOT, 收买我吧.

If you like my posts and updates, or would like to be informed of baby/cooking-related giveaways and promos from time to time…..
Like my Facebook page or follow @budgetpantry or @chuabeebee on Instagram! Yes, I just started an Insta account for CBB too!

The post CBB at 6 months: Preparing baby’s first solid food appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.