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By JENNA JONES, Eating Right
As promised, here is the continuation of my homemade baby-food article from a few weeks ago. For those who missed that week, you have two options: I can e-mail you my copy or you can go to the Press-Republican's Web site and look in the archives.
It's merely a coincidence that, as I write this, I am attending a Lactation Counselor Certificate Training Program. Once finished with this course and assuming I pass the exam, I will be a certified lactation counselor (CLC). I am mentioning this because I wanted to share some information with you about a very interesting study that I learned pertaining to baby food.
EATING FOR TWO
Julie Mennella, Ph.D., a scientist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, conducted the study, which found that babies can develop a taste for familiar flavors when the mother eats a variety of food during the last trimester and also when she is breast-feeding. This particular study was done to determine if what the mothers consumed during these time frames had any impact on later feedings when baby food was introduced. There were three groups in this study. The first drank carrot juice during the last trimester and water during lactation, the second was the reverse of the first, and the third group drank only water. When the time came to introduce baby cereal to these infants, they made some cereal with water and some with carrot juice. The babies who had been exposed to the carrot juice either in the womb or during breast-feeding seemed to enjoy the cereal made with that liquid as compared to the cereal made with water. So what's the whole point of this story? Well, not only is it important to feed our babies healthy and good foods when it's time to eat solids, but you also need to think about what you're feeding yourself while taking care of your little baby when she or he relies on you as the sole provider.
REMEMBERED FLAVORS
How does this relate to homemade baby food, you might ask? I think it starts from the moment of conception. Babies taste everything that we eat during pregnancy and while we breast-feed. So why wouldn't we take those opportunities to let them eat the foods that are most similar to ours? Wouldn't you rather have fresh beans over canned beans? I know I would. So why not go the extra step and buy fresh or even frozen beans for your baby and make your own as compared to the dull green mush that you can buy for almost $1 a jar? I can say this from my own experience — my baby prefers homemade baby food. As an example, two weeks ago I was out of town and bought some peaches and pears for her to eat while I was gone. She ate some peas and refused the peaches completely. When I got home, I bought some frozen peas, cooked and blended them and she ate half a cup at once. Same thing with fruit — she gobbles up everything I make yet turns her nose up to the jarred stuff. So my point is, babies remember certain tastes from the womb and from breast milk. If they recognize the taste from either of those situations, they are more likely to try that food.
STORAGE TIPS
Baby food that is made fresh can last for three days in the refrigerator and up to three months in the freezer. However, it is important to serve your baby's food — whether homemade or purchased — in a dish separate from its original container.
Then discard any food left in the dish you fed the baby from, even if she took only one bite, for the spoon has transferred bacteria from the baby's mouth to the food.
Freezing baby food is pretty simple. All you need is an ice-cube tray with a cover or you could use a piece of wax paper. Portion out the baby food into the tray, cover and freeze until firm. Once the cubes of food are frozen, I pop them out and store them in freezer bags. Make sure to label and date them so that you can identify the contents — after a week has gone by, it's kind of hard to tell the difference between sweet potatoes and squash.
When thawing baby food, keep in mind that thawing promotes the growth of bacteria. To properly thaw a frozen cube of food, simply take it out of the freezer, place in a glass dish with a lid and put in the refrigerator. I usually take the cube out a day ahead of time to give it enough time to thaw.
Reheating baby food from the thawed state is best done in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Microwaves are not recommended because they tend to cook unevenly and may create hot spots that could burn your baby's mouth. It's also a good idea to get into the habit of checking the temperature of your baby's food before letting him dig in.
I hope that these tips inspire some of you new moms to take the plunge and start making some good-quality food for your baby. I'm sure your baby will thank you in the long run.
For any further information or recipes please don't hesitate to call or e-mail.
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
