By Georgene Rhena Quilaton-Tambiga
More on baby food
Picking up from my previous topic on homemade baby food, let this be a rejoinder.
It had been a few weeks since I wrote for this column and since then my baby girl has eaten from a smorgasbord of vegetables and meats. With the addition of a glass type blender on our kitchen counter, I discovered that there is no limit to the baby food wonders a mother can make at home.
But let me first share some more basics that were not included on the first article.
Fruit mash
Yellow banana, the one we call tundan, is a super food for babies and kids. It's packed with potassium and vitamin C, plus it is so easy to prepare.
There's no need to pick up that banana flavored box cereal indeed if you just get a piece of tundan and mash it thoroughly with a fork.
Remember though that it's best when you give baby a single-ingredient mash as an introduction to fruits. By and by, mashed banana can be mixed with porridge or lugaw for a fuller baby meal.
Ripe papaya is also great for mashing into baby food especially if baby has difficulty moving bowels after starting her solid food diet.
Broccoli for baby
Another super food is broccoli. I used to buy pureed broccoli in glass jars when my son was but an infant. But, recently, I discovered that it is one of the produce of Canlaon City and is now easily available at the bagsakan on Sundays.
If you don’t have a blender, it is best to steam this ultra green anti-cancer veggie. With minimum water on the steamer, place the broccoli (cut in cube-like pieces).
Make sure it is very soft and well-cooked so it is easy to mash using a fork.
If you have a blender, broil it in water but take care not to drown the broccoli in your pot. The water must be barely enough to cover. Then let it simmer. Dump everything in the blender when it is cooked and sprinkle with a little salt.
Malunggay
While mashed delights are good for meals, it is also great to introduce baby to soup. The top in my list is malunggay soup. I just get it from our daily vegetable preparation or utan Bisaya but make sure it is MSG-free. No seasoning, no flavor enhancer, just plain rock salt to taste.
When my baby girl turned eight months we started her on meat. I began with minced lean pork meat broiled to ultimate tenderness and seasoned only with rock salt. I didn't purée her first batch of meat so she can get used to the texture and flavor at the same time.
Then, she is off to enjoying the vegetable and meat combo on our table. Using traditional recipes of pork or beef broiled with greens, string beans, sayote and squash, she is now on the table food diet.
I simply get a batch good for two days and dump them all in the blender and there I get the famed Earth's Best blended meal that would have cost around Php 80 to 100 on an organic store rack.
I serve pureed food with rice and my baby girl gets a full meal that’s both tasty and healthy. And, she enjoys it so much she eats a bowl-full everytime.
Solid food for baby is a journey for her as it is for mother and the rest of the family. What is important is that as a mother we know exactly what our kids are eating, nothing but pure, clean, well-prepared, healthy meals that are a true delight for the young palate.
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