Healthy Food for 9-12 Months Old Baby

Recipes fby Chef Bhairav Singh

At this, babies can be offered some fresh vegetables. These can be steamed or blanched and mashed and offered as a puree. Carrots, beans, sweet potatoes, all make for delicious vegetables to introduce to your baby.

It is advised that whenever a certain ingredient is introduced to a child, it is given individually rather than a combination of two or more. After introducing one fruit, maintain a three-day wait before introducing any new ingredient. This will help rule out allergies, if any. With babies, you want to make sure you give them the best of nutrition, health and hygiene. To that end, choose fresh, local, organic grains and produce. Do not store and reuse any food that has been touched or half eaten and any food that has been kept out at room temperature for more than 30 minutes. Initially, you may not be confident about what quantity your baby will need. Do not force feed. Start with just a few spoons, depending on appetite.

First week: 1-2 tsp; second week: 2-3 tsp, 3rd week: 1 tbsp; 4th week: 2 tbsp, is a good quantity to start with.

Corn Puree
Ingredients
1 corn cob
Water as required

Method
Remove the husk and steam the corn until tender. Add the corn and water to a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and continue to boil. Remove the corn and cool in a bowl of cold water. Remove the kernels from the cob. Blend until smooth and add water to achieve a creamy consistency.

Ingredients

For Carrot Puree
• 1/2 cup desi gajar, peeled and chopped • water as required • 1/2 tsp ghee (optional) • pinch of home-made roasted jeera powder (optional)

For Sweet Potato Puree
• 1/2½cup sweet potato, peeled and chopped • water as required • 1/2 tsp ghee (optional) • pinch of cardamom powder (optional)

For Beetroot Puree
• 1/2 cup beetroot, peeled and chopped • water as required • 1/2 tsp ghee (optional) • pinch of roasted jeera powder

For Pumpkin Puree
• 1/2 cup pumpkin, peeled and chopped • water as required • 1/2½tsp ghee (optional) • pinch of cardamom powder (optional)

Method: (same for all)

Place the vegetable into a steamer basket and steam until tender. Or add the vegetable and water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and let it cook on low heat until soft. Transfer cooked vegetable into a blender, drizzle some ghee and blend until smooth. Add water if required to adjust consistency. The puree is ready to be fed to your baby. Serve it warm.