Bajra Porridge

Bajra, Pearl Millet or Black Millet, is widely grown in India. It is very nice kind of grain suitable for baby food and it has many names like

 Kambu in Tamil
 Pearl millet in English.
 Sajje/kambu in Kannada.
 Sajjalu in Telugu.
 Kambam in Malayalam
 Bajra in Marathi

 

After 8 months this grain can be started in baby food because it is easy to digest and high in protein and many minerals. Eating whole grains for babies is good thing to prevent many future diseases and improving immunity of the body. This wholesome and satisfactory porridge will keep baby satisfied for a couple of hours.

 

Ingredients

 

3 tbsp Bajra powder / whole Bajra (black millet)
1 tbsp Jaggery
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. ghee/butter

 

 Method

1.Heat ghee in pan and roast Bajra powder till it slightly changes its color and gives nice aroma.

 

2.Add Jaggery and milk and keep stirring, so there should not be any lumps. Serve lukewarm.

 

3.For whole Bajra, pressure cook the Bajra with ½ cup of water for 3 whistles. Cool. Liquidize the cooked Bajra with ½ cup of milk and Jaggery in a blender till it is smooth in texture. Transfer this into a pan and bring to boil, stirring continuously so that no lumps remain. Serve lukewarm.

 

Chikoo Milkshake

Chikoo/Sapodilla is a sweet fruit that can be introduced into your baby’s diet, between the ages of 6-8 months. It is also a safe to introduce sapodilla to infants because unlike some exotic fruits, it does not cause allergic reactions.

 

Chikoo puree can be good weaning food for 6+ months of baby. It can be mixed with other fruits to make fruit salad and can be made milkshake like this. It is very good fruit for vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, possesses antimicrobial properties. It is considered as baby friendly fruit. It has natural sweetness which baby will love.

 

 

Ingredients

 

1/4 cup Chikoo peeled. deseeded and chopped
3/4 cup milk

 

Method

Blend the ingredients together in a liquidizer and serve immediately.

 

Note

1.Peel off the outer layers first and then take out the seeds. The seeds are right at the center of the fruit and they need to be removed. These seeds are big enough for your baby to cause choking. So, remember this always to peel and deseed it.

 

2.Also make sure to crush the fruit pulp before giving it to your baby. Though the fruit is soft, yet there can be issues when a baby eats the fruit. So, do crush it and make a puree out of it.

Chikoo Puree

Chikoo means Sapodilla, is very good fruit for vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, possesses antimicrobial properties. It is considered as baby friendly fruit. It has natural sweetness which baby will love. It can be easily mashed and mixed with any other fruits to make fruit salad.

 

Chikoo/Sapodilla is a sweet fruit that can be introduced into your baby’s diet, between the ages of 6-8 months. It is also a safe to introduce sapodilla to infants because unlike some exotic fruits, it does not cause allergic reactions.
 

 

Usually, the unripe fruit is very hard. Avoid unripe fruit as it would be very difficult to digest. So, wait for the fruit to ripen. Ripened sapodilla fruit would be soft and it can be crushed if pressed hard. This is the right stage to eat the fruit.

Ingredients

2 medium Chikoo peeled and deseeded
 

Method
Blend chunks of Chikoo through blender to make it smooth. Serve immediately.
 

 

Note

1.Peel off the outer layers first and then take out the seeds. The seeds are right at the center of the fruit and they need to be removed. These seeds are big enough for your baby to cause choking. So, remember this always to peel and deseed it.

 

2.Also make sure to crush the fruit pulp before giving it to your baby. Though the fruit is soft, yet there can be issues when a baby eats the fruit. So, do crush it and make a puree out of it.

Moong Dal Water

Moong dal is very nourishing lentil in Indian cousin. It is used daily in Indian meals. It is very rich in many vitamins,minerals and it is good source of protein in vegetarian diet. Moong dal is very easy to digest with lots of benefits. Its regular use during childhood, pregnancy and lactation helps one to get the required nutrition and promote health.

 

 

Moong Dal is very rich food for babies. Its texture and taste is suitable for infants. Its water is always given as first food to baby within 4-6 months. Once the baby is old, unstrained Moong dal water , or spiced or flavored dal is given to babies.

 

Ingredients

2 tbsp yellow Moong dal (split yellow gram)
 water for cooking

 

Method

 

1.Pressure cook the dal in 1/2 cup of water for 2 whistles.
2.Add an additional 1/2 cup of water to the cooked dal and liquidize it in a blender.
3.Strain the cooked dal and serve lukewarm.

 

Apple Puree & Rice Mash is another baby food to start for 4 months baby.
 

Rice Mash For Babies

Rice is a fundamental food in many cultural cuisines around the world, and it is an important cereal crop that feeds more than half of the world’s population. Rice is widely used grain for baby food also. It is considered as best food for weaning , as it becomes very soft after cooking. Also, it is easy to digest and no chances of gases in babies.

 

 

 

In India, we also prefer giving rice water, which is left after cooking. This water is very rich in nutrients and vitamins, so we do prefer to give this water for babies or infants at home. Rice Mash is best food to start as first foods, we just need to mash cooked rice till the smoother consistency. You can add boiled water or milk to make it more soft or watery consistency.

 

Ingredients

2 tbsp rice
1/2 tsp. ghee

 

Method

 

1.Wash the rice and add 3/4 cup of water. Pressure cook it for 3 whistles.
2.Remove from the pressure cooker and add the ghee. Mix well.
3.Mash it completely to make a smooth consistency. Serve lukewarm.

 

 

Moong dal Water and Barley Water are another very Healthy Recipes as First Foods.

Carrot Puree For Baby

Carrot are very healthy vegetable and very good for babies. This is considered as best veggie to start as first foods. Carrots are very high in Vitamin A. Vitamin A is very important in a developing infant's diet.

Carrots are one of baby's first food. They are easy to digest and are packed full of nutrients such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Calcium. Carrots can be mixed with other vegetables  and fruits. It can be used in baking or soups, vegetables, pasta, noodles or any other type of meal for babies or infants.
 

 

 

How to Make Carrot Puree For Baby

Ingredients

 

1 medium carrot
2 cups water

 

Method

 

1.Rinse and peel all of the carrot. Cut into chunks.

2.Boil carrot chunks in enough water in a saucepan for 7-10 minutes.

3.Once they are tender and soft, make it cool. Puree them in a blender.

 

You can steam the carrots instead of boiling with steaming method. 

 Apple Puree and Rice Mash are another healthy recipes for weaning food.

Barley Apple Porridge For Babies

Barley is very good grain for babies to start as a first food. After cooking barley, you can add any fruit to make nice porridge consistency. I generally used carrot and apple to mix with barley. The consistency should depend on babies liking, if baby is too small and just started on first foods, so more watery is good. If baby is of 8+ months, then it should be little think , so he will likes its bites.

 

As discussed previously, Barley is harmless and no more allergic to babies. It is very healthy option for babies food.

 As per Barleyfoods, barley provides good amount of fiber than rice. It contains good amount of protein, calcium, iron and fiber. It is also considered good in pregnancy period. Nutritional values of Barley can be seen here  

 

 

How To Make Barley Apple Porridge? 

Ingredients

 

1/2 cup whole barley

1 apple ,peeled and cut

2 cups water

 

Method

 

1.Cook barley in pressure cooker with 1 cup water till 3-4 whistle.

2.Add cut apple and 1 cup water and put it on stove again till apple cooked very well. It takes 5-8 minutes. Switch off the flame.

3.Mash with masher or through food blender. Make thin or thick consistency as per baby's age.

Barley Water for 4+ Months of Baby

Barley Water for Babies

Barley is very good for babies health. Barley is a wonder grain and a better source of fiber, iron, potassium and folate than white rice & brown rice and has numerous health benefits like protecting the intestine, lowering cholesterol, lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes and many more.

 

Barley is able to be introduced to babies from 4-6 months of age. Barley is not an allergenic food and is relatively easy to digest. Because of barley's chewy texture , we as adult don't try to have in our diets. But it is good to use in powdered form. We can make it powder at home using food processor.

 

To cook for baby food, we have to use cooker or saucepan. There are two methods for barley to use as a baby food
1.Put 1 cup washed barley with 2 cups of water in pressure cooker and cook till 3-4 whistles.
2.Put 1 cup of barley in saucepan with 2-3 cups of water and put it on medium flame for 20-25 minutes.

 

If you are using powdered form of barley, then just use hot water to mix with barley powder.

How to Make Barley water for Babies?

Ingredients

 

2 tbsp barley
2 tbsp grated Jaggery /gur
 

Method

 

1.Wash and Pressure cook barley with 1 cup of water and the Jaggery.
2.Make a smooth paste in a blender.
3.Strain and allow it to cool completely.
4. Feed baby lukewarm with spoon.

 

Some people add lemon juice, which is very good for babies immunity.

Apple Barley Porridge Recipe

 

Apple Puree

Apples are a great choice for one of an infant's first food. They are easy to prepare, easy to digest and are full of nutrients. Apples are also very versatile and may be added to almost any baby recipe you find. Apple is very nutritional Fruit as it is good source of lots of vitamins and minerals.

 

Apples should be peeled for babies under 8 months of age to ensure that there are no tummy upsets. Also, apple is good because it is unlikely to cause allergies to baby. 

 

Apple are generally favorite of all age, but specially kids and infant definitely loves because of its sweet and nice taste. Its nutritional values can be seen Here

How To Make Apple Puree For Baby 

Ingredients

2 sweet eating apples 

4 to 5 tbsp water
 

Method

 

1.Peel and chop the apples. Put into a heavy based saucepan with the water. Cover and cook over a low heat for 6 to 8 minutes until really tender.

2.Mash it with clean hands or masher. There should not be any lumps remaining.

Carrot Puree is very healthy as first foods.