Commercial baby potties offer varied recipes. They compete with “home made”, which has advantages… but takes more time. And in the busy daily life of a parent, we don’t always have time to mix fresh fruits and vegetables to make meals. “home” for baby!
What do baby jars contain?
Small pots are subject to very strict manufacturing, hygiene and composition standards.
As early as 1976, a ministerial decree relating to “foods for infants and young children” imposed strict rules (source 1). “Baby food is framed by much stricter regulations than that of common foods”recalls the French Union of Childhood Foods (SFAE), bringing together all of the infant food manufacturers.
Dieticians, nutritionists and pediatricians work together to create baby food jars, so that their composition provides optimal nutritional intake.
The legislation specifies that baby food must be made from carefully selected raw materials in order to offer products with 500 times lower pesticide residue limits on certain substances than common foods (amitraz, iprodione, etc.).
Due to the rapid development of the baby, the needs are specific and different from those of adults (more iron and fat, less protein and salt).
When to start and when to stop baby food?
Until about 6 months, a baby feeds on milk, the best suited to his needs. Then when the food diversification begin, from 4 months (and with the agreement of your pediatrician!)you can then begin to supplement the milk by feeding it with small jars. He will discover new flavors, new textures, and will begin to build his taste, to become familiar with new foods…
Up to what age can you give your baby jars? That’s the big question! It is generally advised to give it to him up to about 3 years old.
How to heat a small pot?
Place your small pot in the microwave and start by heating 30 seconds. Mix, and taste! You have to be very careful that the preparation is not too hot. You can reheat for a few seconds if it’s not hot enough.
Don’t have a microwave or don’t want to use it? Heat up your little pots with steam ! Simply place your small pot directly in the steamer basket, until the contents are thawed and/or reheated.
Which potty to choose for baby’s first meals?
The food found there in the small jars is subject to composition criteria “quantitative” and “qualitative” with values to be respected according to European legislation for proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and sodium. The small jars therefore provide your baby with just what he needs: they are a nutritional guarantee for him.
This does not prevent you, once in the supermarket shelf, from check their composition : it is better to avoid small pots composed of aromas, and prefer natural aromatic herbs. Be careful not to choose a small jar that would contain too much sugar either.
Finally, remember that your tastes are different from those of your toddler. Between one and three years, the child has low salt needs. A small pot is about five times less salty than the corresponding dish prepared for the rest of the family. Never resalt a pot!
As for the texture, it is always recommended to begin diversification in mash form : the texture is closer to that of milk, it will be easier for baby to swallow.
What vegetable to give a 4 month old baby?
From the start of food diversification, you can give your baby the following vegetables:
Are baby jars balanced meals for babies?
A study conducted by the Scottish University of Glasgow, and published in the Archives of Disease In Childhood, analyzed 462 baby foods to determine the nutritional content, and compared it with the “prepared house”.
The results show thata savory dish contains twice as much protein and nutrients as a “home made”: to have the equivalent of a 50 g jar “home” a baby should eat 100 g of small industrial pot.
As for sweet foods, ready-to-eat foods provide too much sugar and not enough protein, but do better than salty foods, since calcium and iron are present in quantities comparable to homemade foods.
Professor Patrick Tounian, gastroenterologist, reassures: “This study is without interest, made to sow confusion… Half of the parents use industrial food and half of the homemade and neither is superior or inferior to the other”.
A message that goes straight to parents who don’t have time to prepare their little pots themselves: of course, the “home made”,it’s nice, but a small industrial potty remains balanced overall for baby!
Making your own little pots, what are the advantages?
Before two years, the child is curious about new flavors and accepts them easily. Take the opportunity to make him discover a whole range of different tastes, to introduce new vegetables, spices, herbs. You are the cook or the cook, treat yourself!
You can also more or less grind the dishes according to your child’s age. The bigger he gets, the more he can chew. Gradually, from a liquid soup you will move on to small pieces of vegetables or proteins. He will get used to family menus more easily.
Note: it is more interesting to prepare a small amount than wasting an entire small jar of which we will have taken one or two spoonfuls and which we then forget in the refrigerator… Your steam cooker-mixer will be quickly amortized.
Three easy do-it-yourself baby food recipes
For a 4-month-old baby: the recipe for two-tone mash
- Steam for 10 minutes 50 g of green beans (fresh or frozen) and a 50 g potato;
- Add a tomato and continue cooking for 10 minutes;
- Mix the potato, the green beans and 5 g of butter and arrange in a deep plate;
- Mix the tomato with the fresh cream and 1 basil leaf. Put everything on the mash.
For a 5-month-old baby: the apple-banana compote recipe
- Peel, core and cut a ripe, juicy apple into small pieces (avoid sour apples!);
- Peel the banana and cut it into slices;
- Steam the fruit for 10 to 15 minutes until the pieces are tender;
- Blend until desired consistency is achieved. For more smoothness, you can add cooking juice or spring water suitable for baby food.
For a 10 month old baby: the recipe for chicken breast with spinach
- Heat 100 g frozen chopped spinach in a saucepan with a little water. Add a tablespoon of fresh cream;
- Cook 30 g of chicken breast in a frying pan over high heat for a few minutes, then mix by adding 3 coriander leaves. Present the spinach with the chicken in the center.