I like the traditional Japanese way for starting baby food. I followed this way for my daughter Tinashe and was very pleased. As an extra bonus, Japanese baby first food is essentially gluten free baby food. Here is the advice I followed:
Starting Baby Food Advice - The Japanese Healthy Eating Way
1. Tap water can be drunk by babies 2 weeks old. Water should be lukewarm, not cold. Over time, you can introduce cooler water. 2. When transitioning from mother`s milk, introduce softer foods first. For example, mushy rice mixed with warm water. See the baby food recipes below. 3. Avoid grainy and fiberous foods These foods include: brown rice, whole wheat, celery, and oranges. 4. Seasonal foods are best. A baby`s constitution is sensitive. In order to keep the baby`s internal temperature balanced, seasonal foods should be prepared. For example: winter foods (warming foods) are: soup, warm tea and ginger. Summer foods (cooling foods) are: lukewarm tea, fruit, cucumber, and tomatoes. 5. When serving your baby food, do not put the spoon directly into his/her mouth. Place the spoon close to your baby`s mouth. Your baby should sip the food up by his/herself – they need to practice their mouth/tongue movements. 6. Prepare mild tasting dishes If the taste of the food is too strong the baby won’t be able to decide if it is good for his/her body or not. Also be sure that the food reflects its natural taste. 7. When her teeth appear, encourage her to chew A baby should use her mouth, tongue and gums. Show her the correct actions and she will imitate. 8. Slowly introduce your baby to the difference between tastes Such as salty, sweet, spicy and bitter 9. Encourage mouth movements From the very early time if the baby moves , chew, smile a lot it, it`s good for her brain development. 10. A baby decides his/her favorite taste by the baby by the age of 3. It`s really important not to give your baby lots of sweet food when they are young in order to avoid conditioning them to prefer sweets. Limit or avoid any kind of sugary food/drink including juice.
Baby Food Recipes
Making baby food the Japanese way is simple and healthy. You`ll find that baby food freezer trays are useful. You can make a week`s full of food and pop into the freezer. You`ll find making baby food is quite simple and much healthier than the instant rice cereals available these days. As a working mom, I did a big cook up on Sundays and used BPA free baby food freezer trays. Initially, 50 ml servings were enough.
Introducing Baby Food
Rice Porridge Cook rice until overly soft. It should be quite watery and mushy. Serve warm. Additional ingredient options: carrot ginger garlic spinach parsley tofu fish Explore different flavors and get more creative as your baby gets used to it. Tinashe really enjoyed it.
More recipes coming!
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