Do you have to warm up baby food

Making Your Own Baby Food

You don’t have to buy commercially prepared food for your baby. Homemade baby food is easy to make, inexpensive and environmentally friendly. It can be as nutritious, if not more nutritious, than store-bought baby food. Eating homemade baby food teaches your baby to enjoy the same foods that you prepare for the rest of the family, also.

Your baby is ready for table food when they can move their tongue from side to side, chew with their new teeth, and spoon feed themselves with their fingers or with your help. When your baby is between six and 11 months old, you can start gradually adding a variety of table foods to their diet. Refer to HGIC 4100, Feeding Your Infant for a general guideline of suggested times to offer different foods to your infant.

At first, feed your baby single ingredient foods that have been pureed. Offer only one new food at a time for several days in a row. Watch for signs of a food allergy (e.g. rash; hives; coughing; diarrhea or vomiting), and contact the doctor if your baby has any of these signs. Otherwise, give your baby about a week to adjust to a new food before offering another one.

Gradually your baby will be ready for some foods that are not pureed. You can begin mashing their foods with a fork or finely chopping soft foods like vegetables, fruits or cooked chicken. You can feed them small cubes of toast or bread, also.

Do not serve your baby a mixed-ingredient food until they have eaten each individual food separately, and you know they are not allergic to any of them. Mixed foods (e.g. casseroles and pizza) are not appropriate for babies under a year old. These foods may cause an allergic reaction, or they may contain ingredients that could choke your baby.

Pureeing Table Food

Definition: Pureeing food means that you put it through a sieve or grinder to make it into a liquid-like, smooth texture. For a thinner consistency, add water or other liquids.

Equipment: You can puree many foods from the family table for your baby by using a fork, potato masher, blender, strainer, food mill or baby food grinder. Foods can be mashed with a fork or chopped finely for older babies.

Safe Preparation Procedures: Follow clean, sanitary procedures in all food preparation and storage. Wash your hands, all surfaces and equipment with detergent in hot water and rinse thoroughly. Use separate utensils and cutting boards for animal foods (e.g. meat and poultry) and non-animal foods (e.g. vegetables, fruits and breads).

After cleaning food preparation surfaces, sanitize them by flooding the surfaces with bleach solution made from 1 teaspoon unscented chlorine bleach to 1 quart water. Allow solution to stand for several minutes, then rinse and air dry or pat dry with fresh paper towels.

Thoroughly rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water, including those with skins and rinds that are not eaten. While rinsing firm-skin fruits and vegetables, scrub them by rubbing with your hands or with a clean vegetable brush. Remove and throw away bruised or damaged areas where bacteria can thrive on produce. Washing fruits and vegetables with soap, detergent, chlorine bleach solution, or commercial produce wash is not recommended, because they could be absorbed into the produce or leave a residue that could make some babies sick.

Ways to Cook: Steaming and boiling are the best cooking methods to conserve nutrients. Microwave cooking is acceptable, especially for vegetables. Do not add salt, seasonings, sugar, margarine, butter, lard, oil, cream, syrups, gravy, sauces or fat drippings to food for babies less than one year old. Foods taste differently to your baby than they taste to you.

Rub a small amount of pureed food between your fingers to test for smoothness. You may need to add some fluid (e.g. formula, breast milk, fruit juice, water or cooking water) to make it the right consistency.

Foods to Use: Choose high-quality fresh (preferred), frozen or canned vegetables, fruits and meats. The United States now requires Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) to give consumers information about the origin of foods. The following foods sold in retail stores must have a COOL label: meat, poultry, wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables; peanuts, pecans and macadamia nuts, and ginseng sold by designated retailers. However, these foods are not required to have a COOL label if they have been physically or chemically changed through a process such as cooking, curing or smoking.

Vegetables & Fruits: Wash vegetables and fruits well in clean cold running water. Before cooking, remove parts not to be eaten (inedible peels, seeds, pits). Edible skins and peels can be removed either before or after cooking.

Fresh-cooked vegetables and fruits can be pureed with no added salt, sugar, fat or other unnecessary additives. To minimize vitamin loss, boil fresh vegetables or fruits in a covered saucepan with a small amount of water. Or, steam them until just tender enough to either puree, mash or eat as a finger food.

Canned or frozen vegetables and fruits may be pureed, also. When using commercially processed canned or frozen items, check the ingredient label to avoid extra sugar, salt, fat, and other unnecessary additives.

Commonly Pureed Vegetables & Fruits: Ripe mashed bananas; applesauce; dried, cooked prunes; fresh pears and peaches, soft-cooked and pureed; potatoes; sweet potatoes; winter squash; peas; asparagus and green or wax beans. Do not serve citrus fruits or juices until the baby is one year old.

High-Nitrate Vegetables to Limit: A baby under six months old should not eat home-prepared high-nitrate vegetables, including: beets; broccoli; cabbage; carrots; celery; collard greens; lettuce; spinach and turnips. It is best to wait until your child is a year old before feeding them these vegetables. Limit to no more than one to two tablespoons per feeding.

Nitrates in these foods can change to nitrites, which bind iron in the blood, making it hard to carry oxygen. This may cause breathing difficulty and may even make the skin turn blue.

Meats: Remove all bones, skin, connective tissue, gristle and fat from meats, poultry and fish before cooking. After cooking, remove tough parts and visible fat.

All meats, poultry and fish should be well cooked to kill harmful bacteria, viruses or parasites. Baking, boiling, broiling, braising, roasting, stewing, poaching and steaming are good cooking methods, but frying is not. Cook food until soft and tender and it reaches a safe temperature, according to a meat thermometer. Refer to HGIC 3580, Cooking Meat Safely for more information.

Cut cooked meat into small pieces or thin slices and puree. Warm meat is easier to blend than cold meat. Do not cook food in an oven at a temperature below 325 °F. Do not heat pureed meats in the microwave, because hot spots in the meat could seriously burn your baby’s mouth and throat.

Before you feed your child hot dog wieners, luncheon meats or deli meats, thoroughly reheat these meats until steamy hot. Let them cool before serving. Reheating destroys Listeria, a foodborne bacteria that, if present, could make your infant sick.

Eggs: Buy refrigerated eggs with clean, uncracked shells. Store them in the original carton in the main section of the refrigerator, not on the refrigerator door. Use eggs within three to five weeks after getting them home and putting them in your refrigerator.

Hard cook eggs until the yolks and whites are firm and not runny, and then separate the yolks from the whites. Serve only the yolks to babies less than one year old, because egg whites may cause an allergic reaction. To soften the yolks, mash them with some liquid, such as sterile water or infant formula. Make sure that eggs are not kept at room temperature for more than two hours, including serving time.

Never feed a baby raw or partially cooked eggs or foods that contain them (e.g. homemade ice cream, mayonnaise or eggnog). Pasteurized egg products, such as dried egg yolks that are used by some chefs and institutions, are extremely safe to serve your baby. However, pasteurized egg products contain some salt or sugar for stability if frozen.

Dry Beans & Dry Peas: Follow cooking instructions on the package label or a basic cookbook. Do not add seasonings, salt, or fat to the beans or peas. Cook until soft enough to puree or mash easily. If canned beans or peas are used, drain the salty water and rinse them with clean water before pureeing or mashing.

Grain Products: Cook noodles, macaroni, spaghetti, rice, barley and other grain kernels until very soft. Then mash, puree, or finely chop, depending on the baby’s development. Babies can choke on cooked grain kernels that are not mashed or ground.

Unsafe Foods to Avoid: Do not give babies any baked goods or other foods that contain honey (e.g. graham crackers made with honey or Honey Nut Cheerios®). Never add honey or corn syrup to your baby’s food, because it may contain bacterial spores that could cause a life-threatening illness or even death. Avoid canned food from dented, rusted, bulging, leaking or unlabeled cans and jars.

Do not feed your baby any home-canned food except fruits. In addition, do not feed them raw fruit purees, because some raw fruit can carry pathogens and is a food safety risk. Therefore, you should heat the puree of raw fresh fruits (e.g. apples, peaches, pears, melons and other soft fruits) to about 180 °F, or to a simmering temperature, and then cool. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also warns against giving young children unpasteurized fruit juices.

Serving Table Food

Prepare foods for a baby immediately before use, and avoid using leftover food. Allow freshly cooked food to cool for 10 to 15 minutes so that it does not burn your baby’s mouth and throat. Before feeding the food to the baby, taste test the temperature using a CLEAN spoon.

Food that is not eaten right away should be refrigerated or frozen immediately after cooking. Cover, wrap, or protect food, and label with the date and time prepared.

Never leave baby food (solid or liquid) for more than two hours at room temperature (between 40 °F and 140 °F) or for more than one hour if the temperature is above 90 °F. Throw out any foods left unrefrigerated for longer times. When food is left out longer, bacteria can grow to harmful levels and may cause your baby to get sick.

Storing Table Food After Cooking

Refrigerator: Baby food spoils more easily than other foods, because it has been pureed or ground. It also does not contain the preservatives needed in many shelf-stable processed foods. If freshly prepared baby food (pureed food) is not used right away, refrigerate it in shallow covered containers and use within one or two days. Meats, poultry, fish and egg yolks should be used within 24 hours. Make sure your refrigerator maintains the food at a consistent temperature of 40 °F or lower to keep food safe.

Freezer: Freeze pureed baby food in single-serve portions so that it can be heated and safely fed to your baby. There are two recommended ways to freeze it.

Ice Cube Tray Method: For single-serve portions, pour cooled, pureed food into a paper cupcake liner or directly into sections of a clean ice cube tray. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and place in freezer.

Cookie Sheet Method: Drop 1-2 tablespoons of cooked, pureed food in separate spots on a clean cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and put in freezer.

When cubes or pieces of food are frozen solid, put them in a plastic freezer container or bag and store in the freezer. Write the name of the food and the date on the container and use within one month for best quality. Make sure the freezer temperature is cold enough (preferably 0 °F or below) to keep food safe.

Thawing: Frozen food can be thawed, or defrosted, three ways: in the refrigerator; under cold running water or as part of the reheating process. Don’t thaw baby food on the counter at room temperature or in standing water (e. g. in a pan or bowl).

When you remove baby food from the freezer, label it with the date and time removed. Store thawed food in the refrigerator and use most within 48 hours or throw it out. Meats, poultry and fish should be thrown out after 24 hours, however. Do not refreeze baby food that has thawed.

Warming: Baby food can be served cold, at room temperature or slightly warmed. Refrigerated or frozen home-prepared baby food should be thoroughly reheated to at least 165 °F before feeding it to your baby.

There are three ways to warm baby food.

An Electric Baby Dish: This keeps the food at constant temperature, but food should always be stirred and tested for temperature before feeding to the baby.

A Small Heat-resistant Dish Placed in a Saucepan: After dishes are placed in about an inch of water in a saucepan, heat water to simmering, not boiling. When food is warm, remove, stir and test for temperature.

Higher-fat foods, such as meat and eggs, should always be warmed on the stove, because they heat faster and splatter or overheat more.

A Microwave Oven: Microwave ovens heat unevenly and cause “hot spots,” even if the food feels cool to you. If you decide to heat your baby’s food in the microwave, follow these safety tips. Cover the dish with a microwave-safe cover, not plastic wrap. Stir food well and turn dish often. Heat food only a few seconds to a lukewarm temperature. Stir to prevent “hot spots,” then let sit for a few minutes.

Regardless of the warming method you use, always stir and taste test food yourself. Make sure the temperature is lukewarm and won’t cause severe burns to your baby’s mouth and throat.

Feed your baby with a CLEAN spoon, and throw away any leftover food in the baby’s dish or the serving dish. Reheat food only one time, and never refreeze food that has been thawed.

Pureed Baby Food Recipes

Making your own fresh fruit purees is a food safety risk, unless you heat them first. Raw fruit purees are unsafe for babies to eat, because some raw fruit can carry pathogens. Therefore, you should heat the puree of raw fresh fruits (e.g. apples, peaches, pears, melons and other soft fruits) to about 180 °F, or to a simmering temperature, and then cool. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns against giving young children unpasteurized fruit juices, also.

Bananas Plain & Simple:

Choose a ripe banana with an unbroken peel and no damage to the outside. Rinse the banana under running water and remove the peel. Puree or mash the banana with a clean fork. Serve immediately, and throw away leftover banana.

Applesauce Deluxe:

1 medium apple
4 tablespoons (¼ cup) pineapple juice

Peel, quarter and core apple. Combine with pineapple juice and heat to about 180 °F, or a simmering temperature, until soft. Blend until smooth in texture. Let cool before serving to baby.

Apples & Peaches:

1 apple
½ cup + 2 tablespoons water
1 cup peaches (fresh, frozen, or canned in juice)

Peel, core, and dice apple. Combine with ½ cup water in a saucepan, then bring to a boil over high heat. Cook for 5 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then puree mixture until smooth.

While apple is cooling, prepare the peaches. If using fresh peaches, peel and slice them. Combine peaches with 2 tablespoons water in a blender. Puree until smooth. Combine apple and peach mixture and heat the puree to about 180 °F, or to a simmering temperature. Let cool before serving to your baby. Freeze no longer than one month for best quality.

Pureed Fruit Delight:

½ cup freshly cooked or home-canned fruits. Use apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots or cooked dried prunes (without sugar).
2-4 teaspoons liquid (water, formula, breast milk or unsweetened fruit juice – not citrus)

Remove skin and seeds. Press through a sieve, or put ingredients in food mill or blender and puree until smooth. Serve or freeze. Freeze no longer than one month for best quality.

Yummy Fresh Fruit:

¾ cup ripe fruit (uncooked peaches, nectarines, pears or apricots) without sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened fruit juice (not citrus)

Remove skin and seeds. Puree ingredients in baby food mill or blender until smooth. Heat the puree to about 180 °F, or to a simmering temperature. Let cool, then serve or freeze. Freeze no longer than one month for best quality.

Green Peas:

1 cup frozen peas
¾ cup water

Place peas and water in saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, and cook for 6 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then puree until smooth. Serve or freeze. Freeze no longer than one month for best quality.

Vegetable Medley:

½ cup cooked fresh, frozen or canned vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots, yellow squash), no salt added
2-4 tablespoons cooking liquid, formula or water

Cook fresh vegetables, or use frozen or canned vegetables without salt or seasoning. (Read labels for ingredients.) Press vegetable chunks through a sieve or baby food mill. Thin with cooking liquid or formula to eating consistency. Or, put cooked vegetables and liquid in a blender and puree until smooth. Serve or freeze. Freeze no longer than one month for best quality.

Note: After the individual vegetables have been fed several times, some good combinations are: potatoes and carrots, potatoes and green beans, carrots and peas.

Simple Strained Meat or Poultry:
(for babies over 8 months)

½ cup cooked meat (small pieces of lean chicken, beef, turkey or pork)
2-4 tablespoons meat broth or formula

Cook lean meat (fat, skin and connective tissue removed) over low heat in a small amount of water. Puree meat and liquid until smooth. Serve or freeze. Freeze no longer than one month for best quality.

Your Choice Combo Dish:
(for babies over 8 months)

1 cup cooked, cubed or diced meat (cut off fat)
½ cup cooked rice, potatoes, noodles or macaroni
⅔ cup cooked, diced vegetables
¾ to 1 cup liquid (formula, broth or water)

Combine and blend until smooth. Serve or freeze in serving-size containers. If frozen, use within one month for best quality.

Note: Serve combination dishes only after you have fed the individual foods several times.

Egg Yolk Puree:
(for babies over 8 months)

Put eggs in a saucepan and cover them with 1 inch of cold water. Put pan on a burner on medium-high heat. Let water come to a boil, put a lid on the pan, and move the pan onto a cold burner. Set a timer for 15 minutes for large-sized eggs (12 minutes for medium-sized or 18 minutes for extra large-sized). When the time is up, cool the eggs promptly by setting the pan in the sink and running cold water into the pan.

Peel eggs and remove yolks. The recommended way to peel an egg is to gently tap the cooled egg on the countertop or table until it has cracks in it. Roll it between your hands until the cracks turn into small crackles all over the egg. Starting at the large end of the egg, use your fingers to peel off the shell.

Combine egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of formula or water per yolk and mash until smooth. Store in refrigerator and use within one day. Or, freeze and use within one month for best quality.

Note: Use only the yolks. The extra egg whites can be used in the family’s casseroles, salads or other dishes. To avoid problems with allergies, wait until your baby is a year old to feed them egg whites.

Fruit & Yogurt:
(for babies 10 months and older)

¼ cup plain yogurt
¼ cup cooked, unsweetened fruit

Combine yogurt and fruit, mashing lumps of fruit if necessary.

Creamy Custard:
(for babies over 1 year)

3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups milk, warmed

Mix egg yolks and sugar. Stir in milk and mix well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture coats the spoon. Store in refrigerator and use within one to two days.

Home Canning of Baby Food

Fruits Only: Fruits are the only type of baby food that may be canned safely at home. However, the following fruit purees should not be home canned: bananas; figs; Asian pears; tomatoes; cantaloupe and other melons; papaya; ripe mango or coconut. There are no safe recommendations for these fruits. Other fruits can be pureed or mashed (chunk-style), and then processed in the following way.

Hot Pack: Select your favorite fruit or mixture of fruits. Stem, wash, drain, peel and remove pits from fruit if necessary. Measure fruit into a large saucepan, crushing slightly if desired. Add 1 cup hot water for each quart of fruit. Cook slowly until fruit is soft, stirring frequently. Press through a sieve or food mill. If desired for flavor, add sugar to taste. Reheat pulp to boil. If sugar was added, boil until it dissolves. Pack hot fruit into clean, hot half-pint or pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids. Process half-pints or pints in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes of actual boiling over the tops of the jars. For step-by-step instructions on using the boiling water bath method, refer to HGIC 3040, Canning Foods at Home.

Do not use commercial baby food jars for canning, because they require special equipment for sealing that is not available for home use.

To Serve: Heat the blended foods to boiling, simmer for 10 minutes, cool and serve. Store unused portions in the refrigerator and use within 2 days for best quality.

Caution: Do not attempt to can pureed vegetables, red meats or poultry. Proper processing times for pureed foods have not been determined for home use. Instead, can and store these foods using the standard processing procedures. Then puree or blend them at serving times.

Commercial Baby Foods

Sometimes you want to make baby food at home from fresh ingredients, but at other times you may need to feed your baby store-bought baby food, which is a convenient, nutritious option.

Nutrition Labels: Read nutrition labels so you’ll know what ingredients are in the food you buy for your baby. Most commercial baby food companies no longer add salt, sugar and starch like they did in the past. Combination foods (e.g. dinners and desserts) often have added starch and sugar. They also are more expensive and may be less nutritious than individual foods.

Infants grow so fast that they need more calories from fat than older children and adults. Therefore, labels on food for infants and children less than two years old do not list the calories from fat, saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat or cholesterol. Labels also don’t contain the column “Percent Daily Values” or the reference to the 2,000-calorie diet.

Baby food is packaged for different stages (e.g. stage 1, 2 or 3), depending on the texture of the food.

Cautions: Do not feed a baby under one year of age any commercial foods containing whole eggs or egg whites. Never heat commercial baby food in the jars, because they could crack or break when heated in the oven, boiling water or the microwave.

For More Information

For related information on feeding your baby, refer to HGIC 4100, Feeding Your Infant, HGIC 4101, Breast Milk or Infant Formula?, HGIC 4102, Introducing Solid Foods to Infants and HGIC 3640, Food Safety for Pregnant Women & Their Babies.

Originally published 09/05

If this document didn’t answer your questions, please contact HGIC at [email protected] or 1-888-656-9988.

How long does baby food last? Plus, how to prepare and store everything safely

You’ve perfected your little one’s favorite carrot purée recipe and nailed it when it comes to petite portion sizes, but now you’re wondering: How long does baby food last? While, unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all rule when it comes to storing baby food — a lot of it depends on the ingredients and how it’s prepared — there are definite guidelines to follow.

In addition to baby food storage, there also are safety precautions to keep in mind when making, serving and reheating your little one’s food. (Who knew baby food could be so complicated?!) From food prep techniques that minimize the risk of foodborne illness to the proper way to refrigerate, freeze and thaw foods, here are answers to all your questions about keeping your baby’s food safe.

Are you supposed to heat up baby food?

When opening a new jar of baby food, there’s no need to heat it up. You can serve it at room temperature. However, when serving leftovers or food that’s been previously prepared and refrigerated, your little one, like you, probably doesn’t want to eat it cold. (Also, heating it up will zap bacteria. More on that in a bit.)

Is it safe to heat baby food in the microwave?

“The best way to warm up food is either in the microwave or stove,” says Natalia Stasenko, a registered dietician, child nutritionist and owner of Feeding Bytes. “If microwaving, transfer the food into a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for about 15 seconds for every four ounces. Before serving, stir it well to make sure there aren’t any hot pockets and test it yourself. ”

When reheating foods that contain meat or eggs, Stasenko recommends using the stove since the “high fat content may create overheating.”

How do you cook frozen baby food?

According to the Partnership for Food Safety Education, you should choose one of the following three ways to thaw food that’s been previously cooked and frozen:

Once food is defrosted, it should be cooked in the ways recommended above and then cooled to a lukewarm temperature before serving.

What temperature should baby food be?

Bacteria have been killed once the internal temperature reaches 165 F. The best way to ensure refrigerated or frozen food has been sufficiently reheated is to check it with a food thermometer.

Can you save leftover baby food?

Storing baby food once it’s been opened or freshly made depends on both the ingredients, as well as how it’s been prepared. Typically, store-bought food lasts a bit longer than any foods you make from scratch.

Once you open a jar of baby food, place the unused portion in the fridge quickly. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), baby food that has been opened but not refrigerated should be consumed within two hours — possibly less, depending on the food.

“Fruits and vegetables may stay out a bit longer, but meat and poultry should be placed immediately in the fridge to avoid bacterial overgrowth at room temperatures,” says Dr. Sara Siddiqui, a pediatrician and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at NYU Langone’s Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital in New York.

Is it OK to reheat baby food?

“Never reheat cooked food more than once,” Stasenko says. “Doing so can increase the risk of food poisoning.”

So after heating food up for your baby once, toss whatever goes uneaten, even if you didn’t serve it.

How long does baby food last in the fridge?

“Homemade baby food doesn’t last quite as long as jars and pouches from the store,” Stasenko says.

Here are some storage guidelines to follow for both store-bought and homemade baby food.

For store-bought baby food:

“Generally, once opened, fruits and vegetables will last 48 hours in the fridge after opening,” says Siddiqui. “Meats, poultry and eggs should only be stored up to 24 hours.”

For homemade baby food:

“Homemade baby fruits and vegetables should be used within 24 to 48 hours, storing any unused and uncontaminated portions in the refrigerator,” says Siddiqui. “Meats, poultry and eggs should be stored no longer than 24 hours.”

How long does baby food last in the freezer?

Baby foods can be frozen for up to three months, says Siddiqui, when they are stored in freezer-proof containers or ice cube trays that have been covered with heavy duty plastic wrap.

What are the other basics of baby food safety?

Every parent and caregiver making, handling or serving baby food should be aware of these standard safety rules.

Keep things clean

Whether you’re making your own baby food or serving up store-bought goodness, it’s important to be sure everything — and we do mean everything — is clean for baby’s mealtime.

“Parents need to make sure all food prep surfaces, utensils, cutting boards and storage jars are clean and have been washed with hot, soapy water,” says Siddiqui. “Washing hands thoroughly and frequently during food prep and storage will reduce potential contamination, as well.”

The Partnership for Food Safety Education, a nonprofit food safety organization, also stresses the importance of having a designated spot for diaper changing, which — need we even tell you? — should never be the kitchen. And scrubbing up after a diaper change (pee or poo) should always be a nonnegotiable since — brace yourself — “hands contaminated with feces play a significant role in the spread of many bacteria and viruses that can cause food poisoning.”

If you have an older child who’s able to use utensils or pick up food on their own, make sure they clean their hands, as well. If possible, have them use warm water with soap, which has been proven to be more effective than hand sanitizers.

Beware of cross-contamination

While the words “fewer dishes to clean” are music to any parent’s ear, serving your baby food straight from the jar isn’t recommended.

“In order to decrease contamination from normal germs found in saliva, it is best to remove the food that’s needed and serve in a separate container,” says Siddiqui. “Afterwards, discard any food from baby’s bowl that they haven’t eaten since, again, it’s come in contact with saliva.”

On the front-end, take steps to avoid cross-contamination during food prep.

“When making your own baby food, be sure to always use a separate chopping board and knife for raw meat and poultry,” says Stasenko. “Also, keep raw meat and poultry covered and separate from other products in the fridge.”

Carefully inspect

In addition to taking care to properly prepare, store and reheat food, read labels. When using store-bought baby food, be sure to both check the expiration date and make sure the jar lid “pops” when opening it. If it doesn’t, or if you notice chipped glass or rust under the lid, the FDA advises discarding the food. For baby food pouches, make sure the seal isn’t broken.

What you need to know about tinned baby food

How do you heat up tinned baby vegetable puree?

There are several ways to heat up baby food:

The first way is to lower the jar of baby food up to the neck into warm (possibly hot) water, preferably open the lid and gently mix the contents of the jar.

the second way, hold the jar (it is desirable that the jar is not opened) under a stream of warm water. Put in a saucepan, open the water warm and put under a stream of water.

You can put the contents on a plate and put them in the microwave for a certain time, after heating, you need to stir and try to determine the temperature (maybe the dish is not completely warmed up).

I did the old and proven way, both vegetable and fruit. We heat the water and pour it into a deep bowl or plate, in which a jar would fit. And then you just need to put a jar of mashed potatoes there and wait until it warms up. In the same way, you can cool, for example, a bottle, only in cold water.

Yes, there are indeed several ways to warm bottles.

You can use a microwave oven, heat it up in a steam bath, but the old method is fine for me personally - just put a jar of baby puree in hot water.

Another option is to use special electric bottle warmers.

Their advantage is that they can constantly maintain the desired temperature.

This is especially convenient if you feed your baby at night, you can cook everything in the evening, put a jar of mashed potatoes or water for the mixture in an electric heater and you will constantly maintain the temperature in it, so you can immediately take it out and feed or make the mixture not spending time heating water.

These heaters are small and compact, making them easy to carry around.

You can use a microwave oven, heat it up in a steam bath, but the old method is fine for me personally - just put a jar of baby puree in hot water.

How to make puree at home?

If you want to buy food in jars , then you can make puree at home. The most important rule: heat treatment fruits and vegetables should be minimal. This is necessary in order to preserve the greatest amount of essential vitamins and minerals in the products that you use to make puree. To do this, you can use a double boiler or a slow cooker.

In addition, follow a few more general guidelines:

- Rinse all foods thoroughly under running water. This will make it possible to reduce the amount of pesticides on fruits and vegetables. Also rinse food before storage. This will help get rid of the chemicals;

- most of the toxic substances that are in the products are destroyed during the heat treatment. This applies to the chlorine compound. However, when boiling or stewing, they can get into the broth or juice. That is why when preparing food, the child is recommended to drain the water at least twice;

- You can also get rid of nitrates by pre-soaking root crops. Cut the food into small pieces and fill them with water for half an hour.

Tell me the recipe for applesauce.

Ingredients: for 10 cans of 0.5 l: 5.5 kg of unpeeled apples 900 g of sugar natural fruit preserves • Russian cuisine • Recipes for children weight of apples. Boil apples for about 10-15 minutes until softened, then rub them through a colander. Warm up the resulting applesauce and pack in prepared jars. Roll up jars with boiled lids and pasteurize. If you want to prepare applesauce with sugar, then for 1 kg of applesauce you need to add 100-150 g of sugar. Boil applesauce with sugar for 10-15 minutes, pack in jars and pasteurize at a temperature of 85 ° C: jars with a capacity of 350 ml - 13 minutes, 0.5 l - 15 minutes. Enjoy your meal!

When serving, place the puree in bowls and garnish with mint.

Ingredients: for 10 cans of 0.5 l: 5.5 kg of unpeeled apples 900 g of sugar natural canned fruits • Russian cuisine • Children's recipes Preparation: Wash the apples, cut out the damaged areas, put in an enamel pan and pour water at the rate of 10-15% from the weight of apples. Boil apples for about 10-15 minutes until softened, then rub them through a colander. Warm up the resulting applesauce and pack in prepared jars. Roll up jars with boiled lids and pasteurize. If you want to prepare applesauce with sugar, then for 1 kg of applesauce you need to add 100-150 g of sugar. Boil applesauce with sugar for 10-15 minutes, pack in jars and pasteurize at a temperature of 85 ° C: jars with a capacity of 350 ml - 13 minutes, 0.5 l - 15 minutes. Enjoy your meal!

Instructions

Open the puree jar and put half of it into another container - a special container, a plate or an empty puree jar. I'll explain why half. At the beginning of complementary foods, puree is given in several spoons and you should not heat the entire jar if the child does not eat it at a time. When complementary foods have been introduced for a long time, they do not shift, but heat up the entire jar.

Pour hot tap water into a bowl and place the puree container in it. The water level should be up to the level of our puree or slightly higher. If the tap water is not hot enough, pour from the kettle, but not boiling water, but cooled down so that the jar does not crack.

Stir occasionally with a spoon. Depending on the temperature of the water, you need to wait 5-10 minutes. If the water cools too quickly, add new water. You don't need to overheat. We make fruit puree a little warmer than room temperature, vegetable puree even warmer, and meat puree for the longest time.

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Before you feed your baby, mix well and put a drop on your wrist to check the temperature. In this way, home-made mashed potatoes are also heated if the baby has not eaten everything at once.

The third way - the most optimal and efficient - is baby food warmer . Today it can be bought at any children's goods store. And for those parents who daily face the problem of how to heat baby puree

, it is highly recommended to purchase this useful device. It will save both time and effort, and the nerves of mom and baby.
Baby food warmers
work on the principle of the same water bath, only quickly and efficiently.

Baby drinks

Milk. As your baby learns to eat solid foods, his interest in bottled milk may decrease. Breastfed babies usually just change their feeding schedule. Experts believe that breast milk or formula should remain the main source of nutrition for a baby until about 1 year old.

Water. You can offer your baby boiled, cooled water from a baby sippy cup at every feed. Drinking cups with soft spouts are good for this age, but you can experiment to see which cup is best for your child. Remember that some kids don't drink from a cup at all until they're six months old or older, so be patient.

The baby probably won't like the water because it's not sweet, but insist on it anyway. Take a few sips from his cup yourself, turn it into a game, and don't expect your child to want to drink water on his own until you've offered it at least 20 times. And even then, he will only take one or two sips. Keep trying anyway, and eventually he will drink water, but for now, don't worry too much, because the baby gets enough liquid from milk and vegetable or fruit puree.

Juice. Resist the temptation to give your child fruit juice, even if it is diluted. Some may tell you that there is nothing wrong with diluted juice, but in terms of dental care, juice is harmful because fresh fruit contains a lot of sugar and acid. The baby sucks slowly from his drinking cup, and the juice will stay in the mouth for a long time, coming into contact with the teeth and causing cavities.

The only advantage of juice is that the child gets used to it faster than to water, because the juice tastes sweet. But once he tastes the juice, it will be almost impossible to convince him to drink water. And although juice contains healthy vitamin C, it is better to offer your child fresh fruits and vegetables that will not harm the teeth.

How to properly warm up baby food

For all mothers, the issue of baby nutrition has been and remains one of the top priorities. Therefore, one day every parent will face the problem of properly warming up baby food. How to reheat frozen breast milk? And how to heat baby puree

There are three ways to warm baby food. The first way is to heat it up in the microwave. But this is the most “undesirable” way of warming up. Why? Because the food in the microwave is heated unevenly. It can be hot on top, but still cold inside. For mothers who store their milk frozen and then reheat it, the issue of temperature is important, so heating breast milk in the microwave is highly undesirable. You risk destroying all the valuable substances in such an irreplaceable and unique product. In addition, there are fundamental ideological opponents of microwave ovens, for whom this method of heating is completely unsuitable.

The second traditional method is to heat baby food in a water bath. It is safe, but rather long and troublesome. Pour boiling water into a bowl and put a container with food for the child. In another way, you can do it like this: put a saucepan on the stove, put a jar in it, water boils in the saucepan and warms the mashed potatoes. This method was used by our grandmothers and mothers, its only minus is the time that a young mother always has to spare.

The third way - the most optimal and efficient - is baby food warmer . Today it can be bought at any children's goods store. And for those parents who daily face the problem of how to heat baby puree

, it is highly recommended to purchase this useful device. It will save both time and effort, and the nerves of mom and baby.
Baby food warmers
work on the principle of the same water bath, only quickly and efficiently.

Before how to warm baby puree

, open the jar and make sure you hear a pop - this is a simple test for the quality of the contents of the jar. After that, separate the part of the puree that the child will not eat into a separate plate or jar, and leave in the jar itself as much as you need to warm up. After that, put the jar in the baby food warmer, and after three to four minutes, the food for your baby will reach the desired temperature. Such a useful device will be an excellent and very necessary gift for a young mother. After all, she no longer has to worry about cups and saucepans for heating in a water bath. One of the obvious advantages of the heater is also the ability to set a fixed temperature for heating.

With this handy addition, mommy's worries will be much easier and the question of "how to warm up baby puree" will simply no longer arise, and the baby will no longer have to whine for a long time, waiting for his breakfast to warm up.

You can warm up baby food in several ways:

Scheme for the introduction of vegetable complementary foods

First complementary foods: vegetable puree. Broccoli and cauliflower, zucchini and carrots are recommended to start the first feeding. Puree in the amount of 1 teaspoon from one vegetable should be given to the baby in the morning. This will help track if there is an allergic reaction to the introduction of complementary foods. Every 2-3 days you need to increase the amount of puree, by 0.5-1 teaspoon, bringing it to 100 gram servings.

After, for example, cauliflower and zucchini have been introduced, they can be combined during the cooking process. The rest of the feeding is carried out according to the old scheme, the baby is supplemented with breast milk or formula.

Approximately within a week, the volume of puree can be increased to 100-150 grams, which will completely replace one feeding, but this portion is designed for a child older than six months. If you introduced complementary foods earlier, the portion should be slightly reduced.

Is it possible to salt

It is not recommended to add salt and sugar to children's meals, because vegetables and meat contain sodium, which will be enough so that the taste of the product does not seem insipid to the child. Namely, sodium (ordinary salt) irritates the mucous membrane in the stomach, thereby leading to the formation of inflammatory processes.

IMPORTANT! And excessive salt intake can even negatively affect the central nervous system, while the load on the kidneys increases, the load on the cardiovascular system increases, and besides, it slows down the metabolic processes in the body.

Which is better

Puree made from fresh vegetables

The best option for your baby's health is to cook vegetables yourself. In this case, you should choose fruits from your garden or farm, which are guaranteed to be free of nitrates and harmful impurities.

Be sure to pay attention to the appearance of the fruit - they should not show signs of damage - mold, dents and scratches, black spots. You need to choose dry vegetables with a matte sheen, small in size.

Frozen vegetable purée in winter

If vegetables are introduced into a child's diet at a time when fresh vegetables are hard to come by, frozen formula is a great choice. Vegetables need to be decomposed into portion bags, for one or two cooking steps, so as not to defrost them, because it is during repeated freezing that you can lose most of the vitamins in the composition.

For cooking, it is recommended to purchase a separate steamer or multicooker, but a special stand for a regular pot is also suitable. You will also need a blender, it’s good if it comes with a bowl and a separate nozzle in the form of a grinder.

Canned puree for first foods

High-quality canned food is not only sterile, but also homogeneous in consistency. Mom does not need to cook once again, in fact, a small portion of food for the baby - just open the jar and heat it to the desired temperature. In addition, it is so convenient to take a jar with you on the road or a long walk to refresh yourself with your usual food.

Before giving the puree to a baby, warm the jar in a water bath, or immediately transfer it to a child's plate and heat it in a microwave oven to a temperature of no more than 36-37C.

VERY IMPORTANT! The first spoon must be tasted by yourself, so you can feel the sign of spoilage, for example, the sharp taste of the product.

If it is a glass jar, then when opening it, there must be a characteristic cotton, which indicates the tightness of the prepared puree. And it is worth remembering that baby food does not contain salt and sugar, so an adult may not like it, but this does not mean that it is spoiled.

How do I reheat canned baby vegetable puree?

There are several ways to heat up baby food:

The first way is to lower the jar of baby food up to the neck into warm (possibly hot) water, preferably open the lid and gently mix the contents of the jar.

the second way, hold the jar (it is desirable that the jar is not opened) under a stream of warm water. Put in a saucepan, open the water warm and put under a stream of water.

You can put the contents on a plate and put them in the microwave oven for a certain time, after heating, you need to stir and try to determine the temperature (maybe the dish is not completely warmed up).

I made vegetables and fruits in the old and proven way. We heat the water and pour it into a deep bowl or plate, in which a jar would fit. And then you just need to put a jar of mashed potatoes there and wait until it warms up. In the same way, you can cool, for example, a bottle, only in cold water.

Yes, there are indeed several ways to warm bottles.

You can use a microwave oven, heat it up in a steam bath, but the old method is fine for me personally - just put a jar of baby puree in hot water.

Another option is to use special electric bottle warmers.

Their advantage is that they can constantly maintain the desired temperature.

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These warmers are small and compact, making them easy to carry around.

Baby food from a jar: harm or benefit for the baby?

With the slogan “All the best for children”, baby food manufacturers produce thousands of jars of fruits and vegetables every year, constantly fantasizing about the assortment. However, good intentions to feed the younger generation with something tasty and healthy, while saving mom's time, stumble upon parental criticism and skepticism.

Food from a jar appeared in the post-Soviet space relatively recently, but has already acquired myths, distrust and accusations from grandmothers. Is canned food really so harmful and do children need it?

The main answer lies in a simple truth: food in a jar is needed not by a child, but by a mother. Children need a complete and balanced diet, nutrients and vitamins. A modern mother complains about the lack of time and difficult life. A compromise between the needs of adults and children has become ready-made, while brought to the desired consistency, fruits and vegetables. They allow you to save parental time on everyday cooking, washing dishes, going to markets and shops in search of quality broccoli or zucchini. Also, jars with ready-made delicacies help out perfectly during travels, walks and trips to visit. Each family has the right to choose food for their child based on their financial situation and free time.

The opinion that canned food is devoid of nutrients is wrong. In the process of cooking, vegetables and fruits are subjected to gentle types of processing, at the end enriching the puree with beta-carotene, iron, potassium and vitamin C in doses approaching the daily requirement of children of the corresponding age.

Fans of buying products for the children's table in the market should take into account that many fruits and vegetables are grown along highways, in ecologically polluted areas, with the use of chemical fertilizers. Such "gifts of nature" may contain lead, radionuclides and nitrates, which is guaranteed to hit your baby's plate. When choosing products for children, purchase them from places of proven quality or from villagers.

Manufacturers of baby food that undergo regular safety checks are required to grow their products in accordance with a number of regulations and requirements. This, in turn, is a guarantee of quality and increases the chances of parents to feed their child with a healthy dessert.

The long shelf life of food jars does not indicate the presence of chemical preservatives in the composition (note: their use is strictly prohibited), but the use of modern technologies for the heat treatment of products and vacuum packaging that protects against the ingress and reproduction of bacteria. Colors, flavors, spices or flavorings are also absent in quality baby purees. In some cases, manufacturers add rice or corn flour to obtain a uniform consistency and reduce the cost of the finished product, but this is not a required ingredient in the composition.

Some parents notice that after a can of mashed potatoes, the child has difficulty switching to an adult table. This happens if you feed the baby with a product that is not age appropriate. For six-month-old babies, manufacturers produce homogenized purees, for eight-month-olds - puree-like treats, for children older than 10 months - coarsely ground products. Products should be selected taking into account the degree of their grinding, depending on the age of the child and the development of the baby's ability to chew. Age-appropriate food from a jar gradually prepares the child's gastrointestinal tract for "adult" food. In the case when parents prepare a treat for the crumbs at home, the consistency of food must also be changed depending on age.

When choosing ready-made puree in jars, pay attention to the composition: it should contain only natural ingredients and no salt. Sugar is an undesirable component of children's food, try to avoid foods containing it. Fruit and vegetable treats should also not be expired, have signs of opening and deformation of the packaging. Items with an illegible or missing production date should be discarded. After opening the treat, a characteristic dull pop should sound, which indicates the suitability of the product and the correct production and storage conditions.

Motherhood should not turn into a feat, but remain a pleasure. A happy mother will always be more useful for a child than a mother exhausted by everyday life. When choosing canned food or cooking at home, consider your own free time, confidence in the quality of market products, and financial opportunities. Remember that canned food is not a replacement for normal plated food, but a way to optimize it and make life easier for mom.

Happy parenthood and delicious treats for your little one!

Elena Tour

Tell me the recipe for apple puree.

for 10 cans of 0.5 l:

5.5 kg of unpeeled apples

900 g of sugar Natural fruit preserves • Russian cuisine • Recipes for children % by weight of apples.

Boil the apples for about 10-15 minutes until softened, then rub them through a colander.

Warm up the resulting apple puree and pack it into prepared jars.

Roll up jars with boiled lids and pasteurize.

If you want to prepare apple puree with sugar, then add 100-150 g of sugar per 1 kg of apple puree.

Boil applesauce with sugar for 10-15 minutes, pack in jars and pasteurize at 85°C:

Usually it is gluten-free porridge (buckwheat, rice, corn), if the child is not gaining weight, or one-component vegetable puree.

Our first food. Delicious and tender puree: went with a bang. Answers to frequently asked questions.

I would like to share with you the experience of the first weaning, as well as the key information that I learned in preparation for this event.

I have two twin daughters and our very first food was zucchini puree from .

Squash puree "Spelenok" is sold in two versions: a glass jar and Tetra Pak. Tetra Pak is more profitable than a jar, it is larger in volume and at the same time cheaper. From the beginning, I doubted about Tetra Pak, whether it would contain normal mashed potatoes. I bought it, it turned out to be the same as in the jar.

Zucchini is a natural source of pectin fibers and fine fiber. Zucchini puree is the first one-component vegetable puree in the assortment of the Spelyonok trademark. Produced from own raw materials grown and processed at the company's plant. Puree from light zucchini "Spelenok" is prepared without salt, starch and milk protein, therefore it is ideal for a hypoallergenic diet for babies with a risk of food allergies. Zucchini puree contains useful trace elements: potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron, necessary for the health of the child. Recommended as a first vegetable food.

Light yellow-green color with small white patches.
Thin, watery consistency.
Tastes pleasant, slightly sweet.
Contains only squash puree.

The date of manufacture is clearly marked on the package.

Contains marrow only.

I haven't noticed any allergic reactions in my children to marrow. The chair is fine.

What is recommended to start complementary foods?

Usually it is a gluten-free porridge (buckwheat, rice, corn), if the child is not gaining weight, or a one-component vegetable puree.

Our weight is fine, so we started with vegetables.

Complementary foods are recommended to start with cauliflower, broccoli or zucchini.

We chose zucchini because cabbage has an unpleasant smell, is not very tasty and, as far as I know, can increase fermentation and gas formation in the intestines. Therefore, I will not give them either cauliflower or broccoli, I think that a catastrophe will not happen because of this.

Complementary foods are currently recommended to be introduced from six months of age.

I am not in a hurry with complementary foods. I do not strive to quickly feed the children more and more varied. Zucchini began to give, somewhere in 6.5 months. Children by this time already showed food interest, so they ate mashed potatoes willingly.

Any new product is recommended to be introduced gradually. Starting with a spoon and bringing to the age norm. The purpose of complementary foods is to introduce the child to new foods. It is undesirable to give two new products at the same time.

I started giving zucchini to my children from half a very small spoon. The next day, a spoonful, then one and a half, and so on.

At the beginning, I put the right amount of mashed potatoes on a plate and heated it in the microwave. As far as I know, there is no harm in this, the only negative: uneven heating. But my relatives protested: it oxidizes. I do not know what can be oxidized there and whether it is oxidized. But after that, the heated puree began to seem sour to me. Maybe inspired, or maybe it is.

After that, I started heating the puree on gas, in a saucepan with water. I put an open jar or Tetra Pak in a saucepan with water and sent it to gas. Stirred, tasted, controlled the temperature.

I didn't study the feeding recommendations. If the child is already sitting, then it is possible in a high chair, if not, then it is undesirable. At the very beginning of complementary foods, I gave mashed potatoes to children right in their beds. She turned her over on her tummy and fed her with a spoon.

It is recommended to give a new complementary food in the morning, so that during the day you can monitor the well-being and reaction of the child to a new food. At first, I gave puree in the morning, and then when the product became familiar to the child, I could give it at different times, including in the evening.

Precisely from a spoon (not from a bottle), because the food must be processed by saliva enzymes. It is important. It is recommended to buy special silicone spoons. But we ate and eat from a very small metal one.

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This is my experience. It should be borne in mind that each child is individual, you need to monitor your child's reactions to new foods and adapt to them. Consult with pediatricians. Study literature. Health to you and your kids.

I invite me to read, my reviews about other products children :

Here people know how to create a problem for themselves:

Yak Correctly Pidigrevati Sumysh

BUVA, Mom Sumysh, Ditina vid not ї vіdmovitsya, but through pіvgodini її appetite prokinetsya. Zvichayno, for the whole hour sumish okholone. How about obov’yazkovo recreate a new portion, or can you just save the platter in the refrigerator? How can you play the child crazy, how did it get cold, or the food was left unfinished?

You can bring baby sumish

As a rule, you don’t nurse the baby sumish, shards of milk powder are diluted in warm water before the anniversary. Really, the children are good at drinking the sum of the room temperature, or a bit of cooling. Ready for some summish, before the vzhivnannyam, they transfer the obov’yazkove rozіvannya so, as I say in the instructions - do not give them cold children.

You need to save the sum

Deakers allow the possibility of reheating the prepared sum after refrigeration and storage in the refrigerator, otherwise it is not recommended to save the sum until a year later. It’s better for him to play it safe and don’t prepare a meal for a long time, so as not to destroy the poisoning of silence. You can spread the sum of money in the world of necessity, for which you don’t need folding clothes. On trips, manually dispense water from a thermos. At the car, you can play a little plyashechka - only with water - you can use compact mini-heaters, which can be connected to a smoker.

Riziki, salvo Zberezny Ta repeatedly Pіdigriv Sumyshi

Chika Rosigrivati Dytyach Sumysh in Mikrokhvilovtsi

Bagato bahtiyo di -il dig. But it is necessary to take into account the fact that the temperature of the rivers, heated in micro-furnaces, is not the same at the edges of the container and in the center. Choose the minimum tension and the longer heating period, the sum can be overheated (like under a jet of hot water). Under the tidal wave of high temperatures, the milk proteins will burn out, the vitamins will be used, alive bifidobacteria and other fundamental power of the product.

Ready-made formulas for safe heating in balls with an additional water bath, electric heater or warm running water. For the dissolved powder formula, there may be extreme caution.

Skіlki is ready baby sumish can be kept in the refrigerator

In the packing of tetrapacks baby sumish in the refrigerator is stored until vіdkrittya under temperature conditions and in terms, as having designated the brewing plant. It was poured from packing into a dance and it was summed up in a wink.

How much can cost a divorced child of sumish and how to grow sumish

Only diluted in water sumish does not require pіdіgіvannya and vikoristovuєtsya for a long time. If the child has not finished eating the little balls, then it is not possible to save, heat up and drink victorious food again. At the refrigerator, I’ll save a small plyashechka with a bag (for not smoking a baby) the fathers save for their judgment, but no more than two years under a sterile sealed cap. At room temperature, the plaque is not overwhelmed, shards in the heat of the sum can dry up.

Everyone knows that a little child needs a fresh hedgehog. If you want to find out what kind of crazy people you can save, doctors recommend to start preparing a little dance before the anniversary. To save an hour, it’s better to add a few portions of dry powder and warm water. It will be safer for you, and safer for children.

*Ideal life for not having mother's milk. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months. MAMAKO® supports this recommendation. Before introducing new products into the diet of a baby, consult with a trader.

I am introducing complementary foods. Questions.

1. Open the jar, simply place it in a container of boiling water and stir occasionally until the puree is slightly warm. In general, everything is heated in the microwave and nothing terrible happens! )) 2. Water can be measured with a water thermometer 3. Yes, you need to mix the vegetables at first, you won’t immediately give the baby a whole jar, but starting with 1 teaspoon! And then, when the baby is already familiar with new vegetables and tolerates them normally, you can buy two- or three-component purees from those types of vegetables and fruits with which he is familiar. 4. It is better to give all new products in the morning so that you can follow the reaction during the day. Let's have vegetables for lunch. 5. There are rules for each age, look on the internet. And the liquid yes, also introduce a little bit. 6. Yes, I kept the jars for a day and gave them to the trail. day, slightly warm.

As for jars, I think you are right, it is best to introduce complementary foods from jars, as all doctors advised us. And we switched to “adult” food somewhere in a year or a little later.

1. Open the jar, simply place it in a container of boiling water and stir occasionally until the puree is slightly warm. In general, everything is heated in the microwave and nothing terrible happens! )) 2. Water can be measured with a water thermometer 3. Yes, you need to mix the vegetables at first, you won’t immediately give the baby a whole jar, but starting with 1 teaspoon! And then, when the baby is already familiar with new vegetables and tolerates them normally, you can buy two- or three-component purees from those types of vegetables and fruits with which he is familiar. 4. It is better to give all new products in the morning so that you can follow the reaction during the day. Let's have vegetables for lunch. 5. There are rules for each age, look on the internet. And the liquid yes, also introduce a little bit. 6. Yes, I kept the jars for a day and gave them to the trail. day, slightly warm.

First food: vegetable puree

Your baby has grown a little after birth, and it is time for him to introduce new dishes and foods to his diet. It is recommended to start the first complementary foods for babies with vegetable purees if they are completely healthy and develop properly, or with cereal porridges - with deficiencies in body weight. So, how to introduce the first complementary foods in the form of vegetable puree, we read in this article.

Vegetables contain a lot of pectin and vegetable fiber, organic acids and vitamins, a complex of microelements necessary for a growing organism. And even despite the seeming lightness of vegetables, their benefits in the child's diet are undeniable, but they should also be included in the menu in the right way.

How to reheat food in the microwave correctly (pizza, porridge, chicken, baby food)?

Contents:

Can foil be used when heating food in the microwave?
What happens if you heat baby food in the microwave?
How to properly heat pots in the microwave?
Rules for heating milk and water in the microwave
How can I heat food and dishes in the microwave?
How to reheat honey in the microwave?

With the advent of the microwave oven, defrosting and reheating food has become much easier. Today, it is not necessary to turn on the stove to heat up porridge, brown chicken, cook pizza, melt honey, bake an egg. All these manipulations can be entrusted to the microwave, which will cope with the task in a few minutes and even seconds. Most often, this device is purchased to warm up cooked food.

Despite the simplicity of the process, there are specific points, the observance of which allows the manipulation to be carried out correctly and without negative consequences. In addition, it must be remembered that not all components and dishes can be processed in this way.

Important points to consider in order to reheat food efficiently and evenly:

Serve the dish to the table in the same dish in which it was warmed up.
Casseroles, pizzas and fresh baked goods are reheated without a lid. You also need to process meat and chicken with a crust.
Milk, soup, water, products with sauces, porridge and other liquid substances are best covered with a lid. Thanks to this, it will take less time to warm up and the surfaces will not be splattered.
An egg directly in the shell or dipped in water cannot be heated in the microwave, the probability of its explosion is too high.
Thick liquids and food placed in a container in large quantities can be mixed a couple of times. Then it will warm up more evenly.
Pre-moistened vegetables, noodles, porridge and similar side dishes are recommended. To do this, depending on the ingredient composition, you need to use water, wine or milk.
When reheating chicken, meat or fish, the massive pieces should be laid out closer to the center, where it is warmest.
Canned food should be warmed up in just a few seconds, after putting them in a suitable glass container.

Tip: To make sure your cookware is microwave safe, place it in the oven, close the door and set to standard for 10 seconds. If the product is heated from such an impact, then the food in it cannot be heated.

It is necessary to soberly assess the capabilities and dimensions of the microwave oven. You should not try to cram the whole pizza or the whole chicken into it, it will not lead to anything good.

Can foil be used when heating food in the microwave?

Reheating of food components or ready meals in ordinary food or technical foil is strictly prohibited. Any experiments, even short-term ones, will lead to unwanted physical reactions. In the best case, sparks and smoke will pour out of the chamber, in the worst case, the microwave oven will fail, while knocking out traffic jams in the apartment.

Even if the dish in foil has been reheated without critical consequences, it is strictly forbidden to eat such food. Most likely, it will be impregnated with decay molecules of aluminum compounds, which are very harmful to the human body and can provoke the development of a number of pathologies.

Today in hardware stores you can find specialized wrapping paper, the use of which allows you to quickly and efficiently heat up food. Dense components, such as fish or meat, are heated by wrapping in foil. Liquid dishes are covered with an impromptu lid made of material that keeps its shape perfectly. In this case, the standard holding time must be reduced.

What happens if you heat baby food in the microwave?

Contrary to popular belief, it is not recommended to heat baby food or breast milk in this way. In the process of such processing, the products lose almost all useful components, so the child receives absolutely useless food. And expressed milk, having undergone a number of chemical changes, literally turns into a poison that has a negative effect on the kidneys. The best way to heat up baby food is the old fashioned way, using a pot or jar of hot water.

As a last resort, it is allowed to heat ready-made baby food in the form of vegetable or fruit puree in the microwave oven. In this case, open the container, mix the contents and put in a deep container, which we cover with a plastic lid.

How to properly heat pots in the microwave?

Clay pots do not become unusable due to being in a microwave oven, but only if they are made of matte material. Shiny products may crack even if they can easily withstand the temperature of the oven. It is recommended to mix the dish and put it in the microwave for a couple of minutes first. Then mix the product again and heat for another three minutes. Mix again and send to warm up for another 2-3 minutes. All stages are carried out at medium power.

It is strictly forbidden to heat ceramic pots in the microwave! The material consists of pores, the penetration of warm air and electromagnetic waves into which can lead to their explosion.

Rules for heating milk and water in a microwave oven

It is quite possible to heat milk and water in a small amount in the microwave to the desired temperature, the main thing is to approach the manipulation correctly.

Do not rush when heating milk. If you immediately put the liquid on maximum or prolonged heating, then it can run away, covering all the walls and bottom of the device. It is better to pour milk into a deep container and heat it up in a few short runs at medium power, checking the result each time.
When handling water, especially if it is to be added to baby food, care must be taken. You should not warm it up in a glass or cup, they often have cracks that you can not notice. It is better to use profile dishes, and proceed in the same way as with milk.

It is strictly forbidden to cover containers, otherwise the released steam will provoke an explosion.

What can be used to heat food and dishes in the microwave?

Despite the fact that manufacturers allow the use of containers of various types, it is better to use special refractory dishes for specific manipulations. It is usually made of refractory glass or plastic. Today on sale you can find flat and deep plates, jars, bottles, bowls and cups from similar raw materials.