Baby’s first food should be healthy and easily digestible. First of all, it’s important to look for signs that your baby is ready to start solid food. Usually, pediatrics recommends the six months old mark. However, every baby is different and it can be earlier for some babies. Once your baby is ready to start the solid food journey, here’s some really easy recipe in the beginning phase.
It’s important to provide your growing baby with the right nutrient
At this stage, your baby is undergoing a rapid development. In order to support his / her rapid growth development, you should provide him / her with the right nutrients.
Zinc: Zinc is essential at this age for cell repairing, growth and development.
Calcium: To assist your baby in building strong bones and teeth.
Protein: Promotes growth
Carbohydrate: Provides energy
Iron : Iron is especially important during this stage to promote red blood cells and help to develop the baby’s brain. You can find this in most leafy dark greens.
Fats: By feeding your baby the healthy fats is essential to aid in their brain development. Fats also help your baby to regulate their body temperature and keep their body healthy.
Scroll Down to Check Out Our Top 10 Easy, Healthy & Tasty Baby Puree
Carrot Purée
Carrot is a wonderful first food for babies. It contains various vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, rich in vitamin C and beta- carotene which eventually turns into Vitamin A. Carrot helps to promote the immune system and aids your baby’s eye development. As carrots contain a high amount of fiber, it also helps to regulate your baby’s bowel movement.
How to prepare?
Wash, peel and chop the carrots into small pieces.
In a steamer, put some carrots and steam for 15 – 20 minutes until tender.
Blend the carrot until you achieve puree consistency. Then, add some breastmilk or some water to make it easier for your baby to swallow. Serve this to your baby lukewarm.
Apple Cinnamon Purée
Apple is very easy to digest and has a natural sweet taste to it. Choose apples like Royal Gala instead of Granny Smith in the beginning. Apple is packed with nutrients and vitamins for your little one. Apple is rich in carbohydrates, vitamin C and fiber. Consuming apples helps with baby digestion and provides them with energy.
How to prepare?
Cut and slice the apple into small pieces. Put them in a saucepan and cover with enough water just to prevent burning. Add a dash of cinnamon. Cover with a lid and cook until tender. Usually, it takes between 6 -8 minutes. Blend into smooth puree.
Butternut Squash Purée
Butternut squash is rich in antioxidants, Vitamin A, C & E, fiber and potassium. It’s an excellent choice as a baby’s first food due to it’s creamy and smooth texture. Butternut squash is packed with nutrients and vitamins that help to boost the immune system, strengthen bones and keep their bones healthy.
How to prepare?
Chop the butternut squash into pieces and remove all the seeds. Steam until tender for approximately 15 minutes, then blend into a puree. Optional: You can add a small amount of unsalted butter to make the puree even more creamy.
Sweet Potato Purée
Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber, Vitamin C, E and packed with beta carotene. Eating sweet potato helps to strengthen your little one’s immunity system, maintains a healthy digestive system and improves your baby’s eyesight. Sweet potatoes are also packed with iron and calcium. Sweet potato is one of the vital first foods you should definitely introduce to your baby.
How to prepare?
Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into thin slices. Place them in a steamer and steam for approximately 12 – 15 minutes until tender. Then blend into purée.
Zucchini Purée
Zucchini is packed with vitamin A, magnesium and potassium. By feeding you baby zucchini puree, it helps to strengthen bones and boost the immune system. It has a delicate texture and tastes great with chicken.
How to prepare?
Cut zucchini into small pieces without removing the skin. Steam the zucchini in a steaming basket for about 6 – 8 minutes until tender. As zucchini is rather high in water content, steam some chicken breasts and blend them together into puree.
Egg Purée
Without a doubt, eggs are an excellent superfood for babies. Not only eggs are an excellent source of protein, omega 3 and packed with vitamin D. Egg will help your baby to grow stronger, assists in brain development and keeps them healthy.
How to prepare?
Use a hard boiled egg. Mash them with a fork and add your baby’s usual milk to make it creamier.
No Cook Purée : Pear
Pear is another excellent choice as baby’s first food. Pears has a soft texture and tastes sweet. Not just that, pear is full of vitamin C, K and rich in fiber. Pear helps boost your baby’s immune system, aids in digestion and helps to strengthen your baby’s bone.
How to prepare?
Choose a ripe soft pear, peel the skin. Remove the flesh from the core and blend until smooth.
Freezing & Reheating Purée
You can prepare these easy, healthy and tasty baby purees in larger amounts and freeze them. Freeze them as soon as you can after the puree is cooled down to room temperature. Frozen baby puree can be kept in a freezer for up to six weeks. DO NOT refreeze food that has been thawed.
To reheat the puree, simply remove them from the freezer and cook thoroughly in a saucepan / microwave until piping hot. Let it cool down to a suitable temperature before feeding it to your baby.
Always stir thoroughly and check the food temperature prior to serving them to your baby.
For the below no cook purée recipe, I am using the Pigeon Home Baby Food Maker which works absolutely great. With this one set, I can grate, squeeze, grind or mash on the go. Not only is it completely BPA free, it’s compact and easy storage makes it suitable for usage on the go. This is a super convenient product which I highly recommend!
Disclosure: All the product reviews are based on my own opinion and I’m not paid for it. This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links with no additional costs to you. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
No Cook Purée: Banana
Bananas are a very popular choice as a baby’s first food. It has a sweet taste, great texture and amazing fragrant that most babies love. Not just that, bananas are packed with vitamin B, C, potassium and high in fiber. Banana helps to maintain a healthy digestive tract for your baby.
How to prepare?
Choose a ripe banana and remove the skin. Mash the flesh with a fork and ready to be served.
No Cook Purée: Avocado
Avocado is one the best healthy fat you can serve to your little one. Healthy fats promote your little one’s brain development. Avocado is rich in antioxidants as well and prevents heart disease.
How to prepare?
Choose a ripe avocado and scoop out the flesh. Mash the flesh together with some of your baby’s usual milk.
No Cook Purée: Papaya
Papaya is our favorite fruit to ease my baby’s constipation problem. It contains high soluble fiber which aids with bowel movement. Apart from that, papaya is extremely rich in Vitamin C and beta carotene. Papaya helps to boost your baby’s immune system and improves metabolism.
How to prepare?
Feed only ripe papaya to your baby. Cut the papaya and remove all the black seeds. Then you can either puree the papaya or mash the flesh with a fork until it is smooth.
Lastly, here’s some additional tips for new moms & dads…
Keep a baby food journal
I would recommend you to wait at least three days every time you introduce a new type of food to your baby. This is to check for any potential allergy or reaction your baby might have to a particular food. You can record this information in a baby food journal.
Choose to steam instead of boiling if time allows
It may take more time than boiling, however steaming your baby’s food is the best way to retain the food’s nutrients and vitamins. Ensure all foods are cooked well to ensure all bacteria are killed during the cooking process.
Certain foods are best avoided as first food for baby
All of the baby purée that I have recommended in this article are made of ingredients that generally carry a low allergen risk.
Do take note. Although vegetables such as broccoli or spinach are packed with good nutrients for babies, however you may want to wait a bit before introducing them to your little one. This is because some foods are more difficult to digest than others and may cause painful gases to your baby.
Citrus fruits or shellfish are common foods that may trigger an allergy reaction. Do not give honey to your little one before one year old. It may cause a serious illness known as infant botulism.
Refrain from adding any salt and sugar into your baby’s food. All these easy, healthy and tasty baby puree recipes are free from salt or sugar.
In order to start your baby’s solid food journey, a proper high chair is essential. Click here to read which type of high chair you shouldn’t get for your baby. Here’s my recommendation on the best high chair in the market! (Trust me, I know since I’ve changed like four high chairs before finding the right one).
Featured image photo credit to Rachel Loughman on Unsplash (2020)