Baby food super-ingredients: 5 ways to jazz up your recipes

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You have a few homemade baby food recipes you know Baby enjoys, but maybe its time to start tweaking and adding some of these baby super-ingredients:

coconut-baby-food

Coconut Milk
Baby loves sweet potato? Try adding some coconut milk to boost calories while enhancing flavor and nutrition. Coconuts are rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals, and the ‘milk’ contained in them is perfect for blending in with babyfood. Coconut milk also contains fatty acids which are easily absorbed by the body and used for energy. It is not only high in the right kind of fats, it also contains electrolytes that are great for digestion and preventing constipation.

turmeric-baby-food

Tumeric
Making some baby lentil curry? Tumeric is said to have all kinds of super powers from helping with Alzeimher’s to supporting treatment of cancer and osteoarthritis. It is anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and its an antioxidant. It’s also good for the liver and digestion… another pooptastic ingredient for baby!

Because of its magic powers turmeric can interfere with some anti-coagulants and anti-inflammatory medications so do check with your pediatrician if your little one has a medical condition.

 

kale-baby-food

Kale
And you thought spinach was a superfood? We all want our little ones to eat their greens, but vegetables like spinach and broccoli are high in naturally occurring nitrates and oxalates and therefore some cautious parenting ‘experts’ recommend waiting a little later to introduce these greens. Broccoli is also guilty of causing gas… we’ve all been there, right? Kale on the other hand is bursting with all those green veg vitamins with only a trace of oxalates and much lower nitrate levels than spinach. It’s also packed with calcium – it really is a baby food super-ingredient!

 

flax-baby-food

Flax seed
Want to jazz up your veg puree? Flax seed is a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and iron, needed for healthy bone growth and blood cell production. Grind them up or just sprinkle on top, although soaking them first will make them easier to digest, allowing baby maximum health benefits. To top it off, flax seed is high in dietary fibre, so that tummy’s going to be in great working order.

 

quinoa-baby-food

Quinoa
Looking for a protein boost in your baby food? There’s a reason they call it ‘the mother of all grains’, despite being gluten free. Quinoa is a good source of protein, containing essential amino acids,  great for baby vegetarians or those with kids that just don’t like meat. It not only contains plenty of vitamins and minerals, it’s also an anti-oxidant, particularly useful for babies due to their high metabolism and production of free-radicals. It is a little tricky to digest, and therefore most ‘experts’ advise waiting until 8 months to introduce quinoa into Baby’s diet, but once you do, bowel movements a plenty… yup, its very high in fibre too!

 

Information Sources:
momjuntion.com
draxe.com
homemade-baby-food-recipes.com
wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com
parentinghealthybabies.com

Image Credits:
luvo.tetherinc.netdna-cdn.com
youthfulninja.com
oceanmist.com
eatingwell.com
self.com



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About the author

Katherine is an electrochemist, hiking enthusiast, and family lifestyle blogger. As a mom of three, including twins, she enjoys DIY, travel, and eating good food. British born, Katherine moved to the US in 2014, and now called Las Vegas home.

6 thoughts on “Baby food super-ingredients: 5 ways to jazz up your recipes”

  1. I did not know that about Tumeric! My little ones love curry and rice but I have never added it before but I will from now on.These are all really great tips, thank you for sharing them with us at #FamilyFun hope you can come back next week xx

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