Dr. Peter Gott offers sound medical answers to reader questions in the new Lifestyles section...
I'm well into my sixth month of being a new mom.
There have been a lot of laughs, tears and joy along the way. And as many of you might have guessed, I am attempting to make my own baby food from scratch, as I do most meals. I was blessed to receive a baby-food maker from my in-laws, but a "special" machine is certainly not necessary. And to be truthful, I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to use it because it can only hold one medium-sized sweet potato. However, for the time being, it has been a great asset to my baby-food production.
STARTING UP
Feeding your baby can be very intimidating. My kitchen looked like a test kitchen the first time I made a batch of pears for Maddison. I made sure that all counters were wiped down with a bleach mixture, all utensils were clean, etc.
First things first, everything needs to be clean. Clean counters, clean utensils and most importantly, clean hands. I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep our hands clean. You don't need to go hog wild and completely sanitize your kitchen — and I have relaxed a bit over that aspect of it now — but make sure that you have ample space and make sure that all of your utensils are clean.
Next, you need to identify which foods are proper to start out with. Keep in mind that every situation will be different. Most pediatricians recommend starting with rice cereal — I did that and ended up with a very constipated baby, so we moved right along to pears and prunes to ease that issue. There are standard foods that you will see in most cookbooks, baby magazines and in stores. These include pears, peaches, sweet potatoes and bananas, to name a few. Foods like green beans, peas, cauliflower and cabbage can cause gas and may not be the best choice if your baby suffers from colic or gassiness, as they might make matters worse.
There are also foods that need to be avoided because they can cause an allergic reaction. These include cow's milk, egg white, fish, shellfish, strawberries, nuts, peanuts, soy and wheat.
Once your baby begins eating pureed foods, it is recommended that you feed him or her the same food for two or three days in a row. If a food doesn't agree with your baby, it might take a couple of days for it to show up externally, like in the form of a rash.
BEST METHODS
Like I said before, I have a baby-food maker that cooks and purees the food all in one, but as long as you have a stove, a pot and a metal strainer, you'll be all set. When preparing baby's first foods — for example, pears and sweet potatoes — you'll want to steam them rather than boil them because when you put them in water you lose some of the nutrients. Roasting is another good method for foods such as squash, root vegetables and meat. Once cooked, you'll need to puree the food with a blender or put it through a food mill. For the very first foods, you'll want them to be completely smooth, with no lumps or chunks. You may need to add a liquid to the pureed mixture to smooth it out. You can use breast milk, formula or you can even reserve some of the cooking water.
Due to space issues, I will share information about storage, cooking and thawing for my next article. If you absolutely cannot wait, I can certainly send you some information either by e-mail or regular mail.
WORKSHOPS
Clinton Community College will offer a workshop on making baby food from scratch from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 5. The cost is $25. Along with teaching preparation and proper storage techniques, it will offer instruction in preparing infant and toddler snacks. To register, call 562-4294 or visit www.clinton.edu.
As always, for more information or recipe ideas please don't hesitate to call or e-mail me. Hopefully, I will see some of you at the workshop.
Jenna Jones is a registered dietician at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Clinton County. For more information, contact her at 561-7450 or jej35@cornell.edu
