Easy recipes for kids below 1 year of age

Food becomes more of an agenda and a task for mothers when there kids jump from breastfeed to solids. And the question of what is best for a child is like a chisel. Solid, semi solid, liquid. Thick liquid, flowy liquid, what should I make? Why is he eating so much? Is he fine? Oh my God! He is not eating at all today. Is he fine? Our lives become a ping-pong ball between room and kitchen.

My blog on hacks to make your children sleep was really appreciated. Thankyou friends. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, here it is

hacks to help your child sleep

And now sleep was kind of sorted, what should they eat becomes the dilemma.
When my son was two days short of 6 months old, I was dancing with joy. I literally made a list of thing I would do which I couldn’t earlier as I was feeding. For 6 months I was tied to him. Pumping didn’t work for us as he abhored the sight of a bottle. Now I would go for a movie, a lavish buffet dinner, that much needed waxing and facial. I was dreaming. I could breathe freedom. Alas!

Not to my suprise. He hated food. Sweet, salt, bland. Every time we sat with a bowl of dal and had some consensus. They didn’t last long. Minutes later it would be all over me, my hair, my clothes.

Surely a new phase began. I no longer smelled of milk. Now I smelt like a pressure cooker. With turmeric marks on my face and rice in my hair. I wanted him to grow up fast. Or go back to just needing milk.

And not to forget the constant reminders as to how great every other kid is, and how other mothers don’t sing and dance to make there monkeys eat. I was practically dancing on all Bollywood numbers, hoping on rhymes just to make him open his mouth. But all in vain.

I took a breath.

Decided to take it slow.

Month 6 onwards:

Don’t be too happy already. They have no clue as to how to open their mouth when the spoon arrives. Now the trick was to teach that, remember food making it to the mouth is also a big achievement. Incase they make through those kicks and punches and heads going left and right.
Recipes

Banana puree: I tried something different. I mashed half a banana, and added 2 ounce of pre prepared formula milk to it. Turned it into banana shake. Tasted just fine but the best part was the consistency. My baby liked the flowy shake, rather than just the banana.

Apple stew: tired of grating and squeezing apples. Try this.
Cut apple into small chunks. Now put it in a pan along with 4 ounce of water . Cook it till gooey and soft. Mash it with the back of a spoon. Now taste it. Bland? Add a little jaggery. This apple stew can be the game changer.

Mashed potatoes: This is an amazing recipe to introduce salt in your child’s pallette. Now just they are easy to make, but super yummy too. All you need is a boiled potato, masher and salted butter. Mash the potato making sure there are no lumps. Now add salted butter to it and mix them well. If the consistency is thick add breast milk or formula milk to it spoon by spoon to set that perfect consistency for the baby to eat it easily.

Semolina kheer: I was a paranoid mom. And words like gluten and lactose intolerance bugged me. So I didn’t start giving him usual milk till he was 12 months old. And cooking in it till he turned 11 months of age. So this is my little twisted kheer.
Cook a spoonful of semolina with 1/4th spoon of ghee. Roast it and as the aroma comes, add 5 ounce of water. Cook it like normal suji kheer. Once done, let it cool. Now add 3 heaps full of formula milk powder. Voilà.

Oats porridge: Another gem in my bag was this. They are healthy and filling. And super easy if the prepration is done in advance. Dry Roast ready to eat oats for a bout a minute in a pan. Now grind them till it becomes powdery in texture. Store these. Whenever you need to cook them, just add one heaped spoon of oats to 5-6 ounce of milk. You can choose between powder milk or formula milk according to your baby’s taste. Stir it thoroughly and check for any lumps. Adjust the consistency if the porridge seems too thick. And yummy healthy oats are ready to serve.

I am positive that a mothers love hate relationship with packed baby food and the dilemma of how much is too much goes on forever. Just look for cues. Its never easy. But still. You don’t have an option.

I became a little leniant when he was around 9 months old. Don’t get me wrong. I was always a vigilante mother when it came to what goes in his mouth.
No chocolates/candies

Junk

Masala and spicy food

Cakes

Nuts

Honey

Till I was in charge things were different. Now he is the boss, I succumb.
Months 8th onwards

My paediatrician was very clear that by the time the baby is 1 year old and grows up to be a toddler he must eat regular food. But how to initiate.

Prantha: I am lucky that no extra spices make there way in our food at home. So I started mashing the cooked veggies and started kneading them in a dough. Everything, be it gourd, beans, peas, pumpkin, eggplant, all the pulses. He ate what we ate. The point was just to make his palate familiar with all the tastes. I succeeded. Even though he ate less at times, yet he ate something different each time.

Porridge khichdi: This recipe resurfaced when my son was around 9 months old. Because when I first tried it he was just spitting it all out. So initially I gave up. But tried my luck again later. Dry roast one tablespoon full of porridge. I did not roast it at this stage because anyways pressure cooking the khochdi softens the porridge. But it you are trying this recipe when your child is still new with spoon and mouth coordination then do grind it. For the khichdi I add one table spoon on split green gram and porridge each. Let it soak in water for atleast 20 mins. Now in a pressure cooker, roast half teaspoon of cumin in one teaspoon of ghee. Pour in the dal and porridge soaked mixture, add turmeric powder and later add salt to taste. Let it cook. Pour some ghee on top and feed your little one with this complete meal. You can add different vegetables to it and cook it for longer. Later mash it with a spoon so that it is easy for baby to eat.

Treat food
Now even baby’s need a treat once a while, my son loved sweet. So I’ll share two of his favourites. The first one has milk, I started preparing this when he was around 11 months old.

Gajar ka Halwa: not the ghee and mawa laden market one, but we had our own version. Grate a small carrot and cook it with half a spoon of ghee. Don’t overcook. It tends to become too chewy. Just soften it. Now add 5 ounce of normal milk to it. Cook it till all the milk is absorbed. Now add a little jaggery to it. Its yummy and healthy.

Honey loops + Chocos : A very dear friend suggested this. And worked wonders for me as it was really great to carry while travelling too. But please ensure of any food resistance in your baby while trying it out.

Take two spoon full of honey loops and a spoon full of Chocos. I took Kelloggs. Powder them. Now add 3 ounce of preprepared formula milk to it. And yipee! Its ready to eat.
All baby’s are different and so are there taste buds. The moment I saw someone’s child eating a full banana, or taking a bottle of milk effortlessly I used to curse myself for not being a good enough mom. I constantly psyched and checked his weight. Both before poop time and after it. If somebody said how healthy he is. I rushed to the kitchen to get chillies. I know my mommy friends would understand. But my advice. Please relax. Anyways we don’t have much of an option.

Try these. And if your baby eats his food don’t forget to share the joy with us.

Happy Reading.

(Content restructured from authors blogpage http://www.mommytomyson.WordPress.com )