Fruits lose nutrients as they are processed, so a ripe fruit contains more of the important nutrients than any cooked or process ones.
It is important to give your baby food that is healthy, fresh, and inexpensive, and preparing fresh fruit is a smart alternative to store-bought baby food. The best food for babies is fruit, and using fruit is the easiest way to make baby food, mainly because there are a lot of fruits that do not need to be cooked in order to prepare them. Plus, if you buy organic fruit you can make your own organic baby food and you might find that you can make it cheaper than the organic baby food sold at your local grocery store.
Fruits to serve your child include ripe melon, succulent kiwis, soft papaya, nectarine or peach flesh, or bananas. Avoid pears and apples—unless mashed—until your child has well-established teeth.
Red and Golden Delicious, Pink Ladies, Fuji, Red Rome, Gala are all apples that can be consumed uncooked by newborns or in the form of applesauce.
To prepare applesauce, start with four or five medium-sized apples, peeled and cored. Chop the apples into small bits and place in a saucepan. Add about an inch of water (or apple juice, but watch the sugar content). Bring the apples to a boil and reduce to simmer. Cover the apples and let them cook under tender, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the apple chunks from the saucepan and puree or mash them well. You can thin the mixture by adding some of the water used for cooking and then sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. If freezing the applesauce, don’t add the spices beforehand, as they will lose their flavor. Serve cold, or serve warm to sooth a teething baby’s tender gums. Avoid serving a constipated or constipation-prone baby applesauce because that may make the situation worse.
Serve fruit at the peak of ripeness, when they are soft or you have adjusted the texture accordingly. You can do so by mashing or cutting the fruit into small, bite-sized pieces. In a saucepan add agar and water and stir until the agar flakes are dissolved in the mixture. Add the juice and heat for a few minutes, stirring continuously. As the mixture sets, stir in the puree, any fruit, several if you would like. Make sure to avoid pineapple because it does not set.
Cut fruit into small pieces after washing and peeling. Remove all the stuff that may be hazardous (choke-size) such as cores, pears, and pieces of the pit. Puree the pieces in the blender on medium chop, adding bottled or filtered water a little at a time, if necessary. Use about a tablespoon at a thyme, if you use apples, to an appropriate consistency. The mixture can always be thickened in the future if served with cereal. Add the mixture to ice cube trays, cover the tray, and carefully place in the freezer. Once frozen, add to freezer bags or containers and label with the date and type of food. Move a cube or two from the freezer to the refrigerator to thaw or cook in the microwave on defrost mode. As your baby grows you can start introducing fruit mixtures. Check out the food at the stores for babies for suggestions or come up with your own creative taste-treat!