indian baby recipes
3 Palak (Spinach) purees for Baby and Toddler
Spinach(Palak) is a rich source of iron, potassium, and calcium, spinach is highly useful in hemoglobin production and brain development.
Supplies vitamins: Apart from essential minerals, Spinach also provides a good amount of vitamins to your baby’s body.
These include Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, thiamin, folate etc.
Once your baby turns 8 months old or above, you can easily give spinach to him/her in puree form.
This is the most simple and easiest way to give spinach to the little bud.
How to prepare spinach for your baby food recipes
Spinach needs to be washed VERY carefully,even if its freshly packed , still before feeding baby its needs to be carefully rinse.
The best way to wash fresh spinach is to completely submerge the leaves in a bowl of water and use your hands to ‘swish’ them around, dislodging any dirt.
Then you should drain the leaves and refill the bowl with fresh water, repeating the process until the water in the bowl looks clear.
To cook spinach for your baby…
Trim off the roots and chop up any thick stems .
Place the leaves in a cooking pot, but don’t add any cooking water ,best is to steam the spinach while making purees for babies.
You can you tube video on my channel for the detail instructions.
Chop well (if you haven’t already), puree in a blender and serve.
You can introduce these purees into baby’s daily diet.However spinach is not suitable for babies under 8 months old.
So if your baby is younger than 8 months, he’ll have to wait to start these purees
Here are few Palak(pinach) puree for babies
Preparation time : 5 mins
Cook time : 5-7 mins
Serves : 1 bowl
Spinach(Palak) Milk puree
Ingredients
Palak/Spinach Leaves – 5-10
breast milk/formula
Directions || How to prepare Palak/Spinach milk puree
Take water in a pot , place colander above it.
Spread rinsed Palak,and steam for 5 minutes following the directions above.
Take out the Spinach or Palak leaves to a Blender and breast milk or formula milk and blend it to a fine puree.
Spinach(Palak) Rice puree
Ingredients
Palak/Spinach Leaves – 5-10
Water – to cook/steam
mashed well cooked rice.
Directions || How to prepare Palak/Spinach Rice puree
Take water in a pot , place colander above it.
Spread rinsed Palak,and steam for 5 minutes following the directions above.
Take out the Spinach or Palak leaves to a Blender and well cooked mashed rice and blend it to a fine puree.
Serve fresh to your little one.
Spinach/Palak and Potato Baby puree
Ingredients
Palak/Spinach Leaves – 5-10
Water – to cook/steam
1 small size mashed boiled potato
breast milk/formula
Directions || How to prepare Palak/Spinach Potato puree
Take water in a pot , place colander above it.
Spread rinsed Palak,and steam for 5 minutes following the directions above.
Take out the Spinach or Palak leaves to a Blender and mashed potato and blend it to a fine puree.
You can add breast milk or formula to the puree to make it more creamier
Serve fresh to your little one.
Spinach/Palak and Banana Baby puree
Ingredients
Palak/Spinach Leaves – 5-10
Water – to cook/steam
half mashed banana
breast milk/formula
Directions || How to prepare Palak/Spinach Banana puree
Take water in a pot , place colander above it.
Spread rinsed Palak,and steam for 5 minutes following the directions above.
Take out the Spinach or Palak leaves to a Blender and mashed banana and blend it to a fine puree.
You can add breast milk or formula to the puree to make it more creamier
Serve fresh to your little one.
Rice Moong Dal Khichdi | 8 months + baby
Rice Moong dal khichdi is a nutrition rich food for a baby.I have introduced rice and moong dal water separately to my little one , then once she started adjusting to it , I offered her this khicidi at the age of 8 months. This simple rice dal khichdi can be introduced to babies at the age of 8+ months baby.Its easy to chew and prepared with rice ,moong and ghee and its so delicious and healthy that its a recommended food for babies.
Try to feed some small amount first may be 2 to 3 tbsp first and then later you can increase the quantity to a half bowl.
Ingredients
2 tbsp(appox 1/4 cup) rice (surti kolam)
1 tbsp moong dal(yellow spilt beans)
1 teaspoon of ghee
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
1/2 tsp of turmeric
2 cups water
salt to taste(avoid for baby less than 8 months)
Directions || How to prepare Rice Moong dal khichdi for babies
Clean and wash moong dal and rice well.
Soak dal and rice in water for half an hour.
Heat the ghee in a pan.
Put the cumin seeds and hing till cumin crackles.
Next add turmeric and hing to it,saute for few seconds.
Add soaked rice and dal to it.
Add 2 cups of water.
Cook for few more minutes to get the consistency you like. Add some more water if needed.
Mash the khichdi lightly with a spoon and serve with some more ghee on top if you want.
Baby carrot juice
Carrots make a good first vegetable puree as carrots are excellent source of vitamin A,and its rich in fibers which helps infant to have normal bowel movements.Carrots also contain some iron,calcium and Vitamin C. Carrots are also good for your baby eyes. .
You can start giving you baby this juice after 6 months.
While carrot juice is healthy, it should never replace formula or breast milk in your child’s diet,
as your child gets his or her main nutrients from breast milk or formula up until their first birthday.
Carrot juice can be given to babies after the 6th month. About 2 to 4 ounces can be given at the start.
Ingredients required
1 medium size carrot
1/4 cup water boiled and cooled
1/4 tsp sugar(optional)
Directions || How to prepare carrot juice for babies
Wash the carrots thoroughly.
Peel the skin.
Grate the carrot with the handy grater.
Add the grated carrot to a blender,sugar and a bit of water so that you can grind it well.
Take the ground pulp and strain it through a sieve or a muslin cloth.
Dilute the juice with water, especially if you are introducing it to their diet.
The ratio should be 1 parts of juice to 3 parts of water.
For older kids it can be equal amounts of juice and water.
Weight gain healthy mixed cereals and nuts powder
Home made cerelac powder of mix pulses and nuts is the best powder for your baby to help gaining weight.This might be a tedious jobs for mummies but it takes only 1 hour of a month or two to prepare and preserve this healthy powder at home.These kind of ready made powders are available in market too , but nothing like home made hygiene powders ,also you can customize the ingredients of your choice.
Once the powder is ready , you can easily prepare porridge by adding it to a boiling water and add some salt and ghee for a taste.
You can feed your baby this porridge once in a day or alternate day depending on your choice.
Start with 1 tablespoon of this health mix porridge the first day for a week and then slowly and gradually increase it to 2 tablespoons
Ingredients for homemade healthy cerelac powder for weight gain
4 tbsp White/Brown Rice
2 tbsp wheat flour
1 tbsp green moong spilt dal
1 tbsp yellow moong dal
1 tbsp red masoor dal
5-6 almonds
4 cashewnuts
1 tsp ajwain
You can also prepare the same method for larger quantities.You can double the ingredients
Directions || how to prepare home made Healthy mix cerelac powder
Soak all the ingredients in water for 10 minutes, rinse and dry them.
Dry roast all the ingredients as follows
a) Rice
Roast till they become little like puffed rice.
b) mix dal (moong dal,green moong dal and red masoor dal)
Roast them golden brown.
c) Wheat flour
Roast them golden brown.
d) Almonds & cashews
Roast till they change color here and there
Let them cool for few minutes.
Add all the ingredients in a blender including ajwain
The roasted ingredients can either be powdered by blender or mixer grinder.
Shift the the ground flour to make it more finer.
The fine powder can be stored in an airtight container for atleast 1 to 2 months.
Baby recipes for stage two(6 +months)
Ragi Nachni Porridge(7 + months babies)
Ragi(Finger Millet) or Nachni is one of the immune boosting super-foods for babies and growing children.Feeding babies with ragi porridge helps to improve overall immunity and growth. Ragi is good filling food for babies.It’s a good source of iron and contains good quantity of calcium and amino acid. It benefits your babies with good healthy skin and hair.Homemade ragi powder is one of the vital nutritious foods given to most of the babies from sixth month onwards. Instead of store bought powders, it is best suggested to prepare at home.Ragi Porridge is an easy and healthy breakfast porridge for kids. Ragi and jaggery together make a sweet and delicious porridge.
Fruit Yogurts for babies (7+ months)
Yogurt is among the healthiest food because of the significantly high amount of nutrients it contains, particularly protein and calcium.
It is available in markets and can also be easily prepared at home.
Flavored yogurt and Greek yogurt are popular yogurt variants available in supermarkets.
Organic, home-made yogurt is better than packaged yogurt available in the market.
Home-made yogurt can be fed to infants above 7 months.
Rice Vegetables Puree
Rice cereal is considered to be the less allergic food for babies and ideally it should be consume at the start of 5-6 months, At the age of 5-6 months babies can start having semi-solid food. Rice has many health benefits for kids like good source of B complex vitamins and the proteins found in rice are very useful for muscle development. Its a high source of energy and very easy to digest.It can be very well mixed with milk or breast milk and introduce to babies at the early stage.After 6 months you can slowly and gradually introduce vegetables puree for kids.Full recipe..
Oats Apple Porridge/Lapasi
Oats apple porridge is one more great baby food for your baby to be introduced at the age of 6 – 8 months.Oats is a whole-grain food which is rich in fiber ,its contains more soluble fiber than any other grain and its works good on your digestive systems and hence prevents constipation.If you follow vegetarian diet , its the best food for your baby as its equivalent to meat , milk and egg protein.Oats is one of the best nutritious food for your baby.
Apples can be started when baby turns 6 months old. Apples are highly recommended at this stage at its good to avoid constipation and diarrhea. Apples are rich in dietary fiber ,apple is good to treat cough and not to forget it apple is very good to solve dental problems.
So combining both the ingredients together , oats and apple porridge makes the best healthy morning
breakfast or snacks to keep your baby active for the rest of the day.Read Full recipe
Suji/Rava Banana Porridge/Lapasi
Semolina/Sooji/Rava can to be introduced at the age of 6 – 8 months
Suji is rich in potassium ,iron and proteins. Suji is made from durum wheat and hence it helps you to feel full. Sooji provides great energy and hence it keeps your baby active.
Suji tastes great and acceptable to babies too :)Suji also serves as a good diet during fever or when tummy upset as its light to digest.
Banana is just the perfect first food for babies and its recommended to start it in either in 5th or 6th month.Bananas is the one of the “power food” in baby’s diet as its highly rich in vitamin and potassium but low in cholesterol,in short it contains more calories and 0 fat.But make sure you start by smaller portion like 1/4 of banana in the beginning and then slowly and steady increase the quantity
So combining both the ingredients together , oats and apple porridge makes the best healthy morning
breakfast or snacks to keep your baby active for the rest of the day.Read full recipe..
Wheat Almond Porridge
W
heat Almonds porridge is a great baby food for your baby to be introduced at the age of 6 – 8 months.The reason being the first ingredient Almonds have a lot of healthy benefits like containing good fats instead of bad i.e. unsaturated fats, also almonds are also good for brain. The second ingredient wheat is a rich source of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrate is used to generate energy that we require for performing any physical or mental activity.
Thus this recipe is a good energy source for your little prince/princess.Read full recipe
Weight gain healthy mixed cereals and nuts powder
Home made cerelac powder of mix pulses and nuts is the best powder for your baby to help gaining weight.This might be a tedious jobs for mummies but it takes only 1 hour of a month or two to prepare and preserve this healthy powder at home.These kind of ready made powders are available in market too , but nothing like home made hygiene powders ,also you can customize the ingredients of your choice.
Once the powder is ready , you can easily prepare porridge by adding it to a boiling water and add some salt and ghee for a taste.Read full recipe
KomalFiesta 