There's nothing very difficult about cooking for your baby.
It just requires a little extra care and attention in the
preparation of the ingredients.

Here's the basic procedure:

1. PREPARE YOURSELF
Always wash your hands with soap and hot water and dry
them with a clean towel before you start cooking.
Likewise, carefully wash your equipment (blender, pots,
bottles, etc.) before use.

2. PREPARE THE FOOD
Always wash, peel and dice fruit and vegetables before
cooking. If there are any seeds/stones, remove them.

If you're preparing meat, cut away all the fat before
cooking. Once cooked, cut the meat into very small pieces
and remove any bone or other hard bits.

If you're preparing fish, remove any fat, bones and other
hard bits before cooking. Once cooked, crumble it into
small pieces and remove any remaining traces of bone
and skin.

3. COOKING THE FOOD
With the exception of avocados and bananas, all fruits and
vegetables must be cooked before giving them to your baby
(until he's at least 10 months of age).

Fruit and vegetables can be steam-cooked, boiled, or
micro-waved. Some fruits like apple or pear can also be
oven-cooked.

Steam-cooking is the best option because it retains the
most nutrients. If you don't have a steam-cooker, don't
worry, boiling or micro-waving is fine. Keep the water to
a minimum and try to strike a balance between not
over-cooking (to retain the maximum amount of nutrients)
and not under-cooking (to make digestion easier).

NOTE: Beet, carrots, turnip and spinach should always be
boiled (as opposed to steam-cooked or micro-waved) because
they contain potentially harmful nitrates which are largely
removed during the boiling.

Meats and fish can be cooked in any manner you like
(steam-cooked, boiled, micro-waved, etc.). Just be sure
that they're well cooked and that you remove all fat bits
and hard bits before serving. (If frying or roasting meat
or fish, try to avoid adding fat - or keep it to a bare
minimum).

Don't add any salt, fat or sugar to your baby's food.
It isn't necessary.

4. SERVING THE FOOD
Use a food blender (or a mashing fork) to mix the food to
the right texture for your baby.

If he/she is just starting out with solids, then the food
should be completely 'liquified' and added in small
quantities to his/her bottle. As your baby matures, you'll
begin feeding him/her directly with a spoon. Gradually
make the food slightly thicker and slightly chunkier
(beginning with 'chunks' no bigger than a grain of salt).
Give your baby time to adjust at every stage of the
progression.

If you have cooking water, you can add some to the food
to smoothen it or make it less dry (except for carrots,
spinach, beets and turnip -- use fresh water or milk
instead).

Remember that your baby's mouth is much more sensitive to
heat than yours. His/her food should be warm, not hot.

IN CONCLUSION...
Really, the two most important points to bear in mind
when cooking for your baby are: (1) Make sure that he/she
is able to comfortably deal with the texture of the food,
and (2) Avoid preparing foods that are inappropriate
for his/her age.

Everything else is just plain old cooking.

Nancy.


About the Author
Nancy Miller is author of 'How to Make Your Own Healthy Baby
Food' and a full-time working mom. Visit Nancy's website at
http://www.healthy-baby-food.com