BANANARAMA!

"Wooo-woooo," indeed.

Another classic baby food!  Obviously I don’t recommend feeding fruits like bananas until the baby has reached 6 months—as directed by my pediatrician, What To Expect, & Your Baby’s First Year books—for a couple of reasons: 1.) Babies don’t need to get used to sweeter-tasting things early on because it will be harder for them to eat non-sweet items like vegetables later.  Babies do love sweets so it’s easy to want to give them first, but when you get your first face full of spit-out peas you’ll wish you hadn’t. :/  AND, 2.) The high sugar content in fruits like bananas make them harder to digest in tiny tummies so you can end up with gas & *GASP!* fussiness.  I’m not going to say to not do it at all because it’s your choice, but babies develop a taste for sweet things very quickly.  Just saying…

Bananas are a staple fruit for sure.  They’re portable (well, unless you’re packing a tree around most fruits are, but you get my point.) they’re convenient, they’re nutritious, they’re CHEAP.  At around $0.55 a pound you can always afford a good banana.  They’re also one of the simplest fruits to turn into baby food.  Bananas are packed with potassium*, vitamin C, fiber, & omega-6 fatty acids^….  (Omega 6 fatty acids & other “essential fatty acids” are important in food because the body is incapable of making them itself, but they’re necessary for us to live!)  Unfortunately they’re also packed with sugar, but everything in moderation!  They’re natural sugars, but I’m always going to stress to vary your child’s diet once you’ve weeded out the food allergies.  Preparation couldn’t be easier!  The older your child gets, the less time you spend making a banana!  Early on it’s pureed, later it’s mashed, later it’s cut up into chunks, and even later you just peel it!  Ahh, convenience.

So here’s the lowdown on potassium & babies: Babies need at least 500mg of potassium each day according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.  One serving of this banana puree (half a medium banana) has roughly 300-400mg of potassium.  Sweet!  Potassium is necessary for all cell function in the human body.  Like salts, potassium is an electrolyte & electrolytes are crucial for electrical impulses to make their way through the body from the brain.  These impulses are needed for absolutely every bodily function including the heartbeat & breathing.  Anyone who has too little potassium, infant or adult, runs the risk of their heart stopping.  It’s an easy vitamin to get in your diet & even easier with potassium-rich foods such as bananas, avocados, and cantaloupe.  That is by no means a complete list!

Babies love bananas, so I promise your little munchkin will love this recipe!


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½ medium, ripe banana (a few brown spots)

¼ cup warm water

Cut banana into chunks, put in food processor, pulse a few times, adding warm water periodically until puree reaches desired consistency.  You can also push it through a food mill & add water if needed.  If any chunks remain, you can push the mixture through a sieve, but chances are they are going to be small enough for a child over 6 months.  Honestly doesn’t get easier than that!
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Peace & Baby-Love,

Elias's mommy

*If your baby has suffers from hyperkalemia, talk to your pediatrician about his/her intake of foods containing lots of potassium.

^… To get more information on Omega-6 fatty acids & their role in the body, check this out! http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-6-000317.htm

Sources: http://www.webmd.com; http://www.umm.edu (University of Maryland Medical Center); “What to Expect: The First Year” book by Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, & Sandee Hathaway, B.S.N.

Wouldn't sound half as good if they were "apple-rama"
or "tomato-rama."

Tools of the trade & Why I HATE the "Baby Bullet"

Realizing not everyone uses the same stuff, I thought I'd post what I use right now as a suggestion.  The first thing I wanted to do when I decided to make my own baby food is go out & buy one of those "Baby Bullet" systems by the makers of the counter top "magician" ie. the "Magic Bullet."  It's a food processor with cutesy little cups sporting smiley faces galore!  I think it's kind of disgusting how companies take advantage of mothers who just want to make what's best for their kids.  They make it seem like if we don't buy their products then we must be horrible parents!  There will always be brands trying to keep our confidence down so we'll buy their products, the trick is just trying to ignore that & go with your own instinct. What are the benefits of using the "Baby Bullet" ($80+) instead of a mini processor that can be found at your local mega-mart? (around $10-15)  Here are some of the things included & why they're not exactly necessary:

• A batch & storage tray for freezing baby food:  I don't think it's necessary to freeze baby food unless you're deciding to leave your baby for a week at a time with someone else who has no idea how to process baby food.  Why?  Fresh is best, refrigerated is second-best, & third in line is freezing, nutrition-wise.  So just make enough for what the baby eats & if there's anything left over, refrigerate it for no more than 48 hours.  Ice crystals form in all foods that contain water & the more ice crystals that form, the more the cellular structure of the food will be broken down.  There are occasions where I'm sure you'll need frozen baby food, but you can go out & buy a silicone ice cube tray for around $2, or to go even cheaper you can get a regular ice cube tray for $0.50!  Just cover it with saran wrap, freeze until solid, pop out & stick it in a zip-top bag.  Ta-da!

• "Date Dial" storage cups: I'll admit, it looks really cool, but you don't need to turn a dial to know when you made your baby's food.  Like I said before, you really should only make enough to store for less than 48 hours, but if you have to go further than than, masking tape & a sharpie works just as well.

• "Pocket Nutritionist" Recipe Guide: While it is good to have a recipe guide, there are soooo many resources available to you for baby food recipes.  Ahem, there's this blog for example :)  You can find tens of thousands of recipes online, from your local health department, pediatrician, etc.  If you want a book, you could get one from your local library or even a Barnes & Noble without having to shell out $80 for other stuff you don't need.

AND THAT'S ABOUT IT!

SO WHAT DO YOU REALLY NEED?

• Food processor --I got mine at Walmart for $10 & it is available at Walmart.com for $14. It is a Rival brand mini food processor with a 1.5 cup capacity.  Perfect size, works fantastic, easy to clean & store, safe, & even grinds rice to a fine powder.
• Storage containers --I'll admit it, I'm a supporter of Walmart because there are locations everywhere & I can get cheap, BPA-free containers to store baby food.  I got a 6-pk. of 0.5 cup capacity storage containers with lids for around $2.  The Glad "Mini Round" storage cups are BPA-free*, hold half-cup servings, & contain lids.  8 cups for $2.58 online & in stores.  I just got the 6-pk. of the store brand containers because they were more dishwasher safe & were actually slightly cheaper.  Always the thrifty one!
• Ice Cube Trays --I'm not going to pretend that no one freezes baby food just because I don't want to do it, so invest in some ice cube trays.  If you want to go all-out & get the ones specifically made for baby food, they're around $10 both online & in stores.
• Zip-Top Bags --You gotta put those frozen cubies somewhere!  Just wait until the food is frozen solid, transfer to a zip-top bag, & freeze.  There are times where we can't control the weather, power-outages, etc. so I'm not going to feel like a failure if I must freeze some food.  Hey, works for freezing breast milk!  They even have zip-top bags with a contraption to suck the air out!  NEAT!  Not really, I have one.  Works horribly.  I do have one of those "food saver" things, but if you're cheap you don't want to get those.  However, Rival makes their own version & it's significantly cheaper & works just as well.
• Insulated carrier you probably already have for bottles --keep your baby food cool while traveling long-distances in an insulated lunchbox, bottle-holder, teeny cooler, etc.  Always cheap, always available, gotta keep that food at a safe temperature!

That's what you really need.  As Alton Brown says: 

            "I only allow one 'uni-tasker' in my kitchen & that's a fire extinguisher."  

You can bet if something is made for only one purpose --like making/storing baby food-- you're probably losing money in the long run.  You can get all of the nice gadgets, gizmos, & recipe books & still not pay as much as you would for some silly "Baby Bullet" system.  If I got one as a gift, yes, I would use it, but I'd rather spend that money finding quality ingredients for baby food.

And I'm spent.  Now I must get back to cleaning my bedroom which has been ignored for the past, oh, 3 WEEKS!  If there are any questions, feel free to ask because I realize I kind of rambled here.  It's the rare moment where Elias is sleeping so I really get into my opinions.

Peas & Love,

Alli

*what's the big deal with BPA?  Check it out online! http://children.webmd.com/environmental-exposure-head2toe/bpa

"As seen on TV" might as well be a bulls-eye

for taking advantage of new mothers...

Song, Song of the South: Sweet potatoes! *Stage 1*

Ah, sweet potatoes.  A great alternative to the mashed potatoes every grandmother & great-grandmother tries to sneak across the Thanksgiving table into our babies mouths *sigh*  Not as starchy as its white-fleshed cousin, the sweet potato is full of beta carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, & fiber, just to name a few benefits!  Of course no baby cares about nutritional value, so there's an added bonus to sweet potatoes: they have enough natural sweetness that babies go nuts for it :)  No need to add sugar, so please resist the urge or you'll create a monster!   Believe me, you don't want your baby to get used to sugar.


It's cheap, it's considered a stage 1 food so you can feed it to a child as young as 4 months old*, & there are several ways to cook it.  Personally I steam mine, but don't think you have to run out & purchase a steamer!  I put mine in an aluminum foil packet with some water & throw it in the oven.  See?  Cheap, cheap, cheap!


Here goes for steaming:

• 1 small sweet potato
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
• water (for foil packet)

Peel & cut up sweet potato into small chunks, steam in a steamer or wrap up in aluminum foil with water & bake at 400 Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.  Once done cooking & slightly cooled, put in mini processor with ¼  cup of water & pulse until smooth.  If it’s not watery enough, add remaining water & process until desired consistency.  Makes 1 to 1-½ cups of pureed sweet potatoes.

EASIEST WAY, BUT MESSIER:

One sweet potato, pierced; wrap in aluminum foil like a baked potato, bake at 400 Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until flesh is easily pierced with a butter knife.  Skin will easily peel off, but either wait for the potato to cool or use gloves to peel the skin off!  Once peeled, put in processor & follow same directions as above.

*Can be fed to children who meet the developmental requirements to eat baby food such as: being a "supported sitter," not pushing the food out with his/her tongue immediately after feeding, can hold his/her head up.  Always talk to your pediatrician before introducing baby food into your child's diet.