Help im getting a bit annoyed

[MustangMumma]

Hi i need a bit of help, i want to start giving my baby son who is 6 months meat, but i dont no how to make it. I've ask a couple of mothers and they look at me like i am a alien. Jo is my 1st child and starting solids is quite scarey. i've already giving him carrot,pumkin and other vegies. I was told by my best friend that i can cook steak for him and not to puree it, just cut it very finely. I am getting really confused with all the advice. Jo has been on soilds for 1mth and i have been buying him canned food with meat in it, i want to stop and make my own so all the advice i can get the better. THANKS

[drewid]

Hey

There is a really great cookbook out by the Womens Weekly called fresh food for babies and toddlers - it has an awesome selection of foods for the young'uns in it :)

[TwoBlue]

If he has had some vegies already and meat in cans and has taken it all ok then this is what i would do....

When my DS got to this stage i purchased a food processor and i started by doing chicken, i actually boiled the chicken and then ran it through the processor, then i added mixed coked veg and some water from the cooked chicken (like broth) and processed it all together and made heaps at a time and froze it in small containers or ice blocks.... you can do the same with grilled lamb or beef, Fish too.

My DS just LOVED these meals and i knew he was getting all home cooked meals, meat and veg :)

We still used the canned meals occasionally due to "slack days" :o

Good luck

[Rockett]

I was going to ask the same question today lol! I have no idea either.
I only have a stab blender,would that be sufficient to puree the meat??
Should I be adding water to the chicken/beef etc for the pureeing process to make it smoother?
Thanks :)

[Kamaikia]

around this age I started giving my son a well cooked peice of steak to chew on and little peices of chicken. I received lots of negative comments from people but my boy loved it - having said that though, he wasn't the sort of child who choked on food - he seemed to understand young that you had to chew

[talon]

I just had a quick squizz through a cookbook i have called "babies and toddlers - good food" produced by the womens weekly and in the 6 to 9 month age group they have recipes for the following:

pureed mixed vegetables
white or cheese sauce
steamed fish puree
fried lamb puree
chicken stock
chicken and vegetable soup
potato soup
lamb shank broth
zucchini and corn pasta
stewed fruit compote
fruit jelly.

the meat recipes are all blended or processed after cooking.

if you want the recipes let me know and i can email them to you :)
the cookbook was last reprinted in 2001 according to the back page so is fairly recent.

[TwoBlue]

I think its good to add a little water to help process the meat but also if you are mixing it with other veg sometimes there is enough "moisture" in the veg.

as for the "stab blender" butterfly, i am not sure, i never tried one, when we started solids i went and bought a cheap processor and it was well worth it !!
Try your blender thingy and see how you go....

[talon]

i have a stab blender which works great on the vegies but have not tried it on meat as yet.

i think it will probably do a good job of pureeing it as long as you cut the meat up into small bits first. give it a try and let us know for future reference! :)

[Moorish]

One common misconception is that a child needs to eat the meat to get any nutritional benefits. Have you ever considered making up some stock from the meat bones then adding stuff too it?
2-3 good quality chicken frames
or
lamb or beef bones from butcher

Cover in a large pot in heaps of water & bring to boil & simmer for about 45-60 mins. Set aside to cool, then place in fridge overnight. In the morning, any fat in the stock will have solidified on the surface & you can scrape it off. Then you have pure stock with goodness that's come straight from the bones. You can use it straight away or freeze in 500ml - 1lt portions to use later. Use for soups, veggie mash, risottos etc. Just add your favourite goodies, rice, noodles, vegies etc. You can also boil some meat (eg small chicken breast) & strip into your soup, mash or risotto.

As for the processor, I've never favoured the stick mixer, I was given a mini food processor (about 2 cups)- priceless - they're about $20 from target, kmart, big W - they look exactly like the big ones - just mini (so cute!) They're great to puree larger food up like meat & veg chunks. As your bubba gets older, you can start processing up your favourite (mild) stir frys & serve over rice - I use this machine for my girls still. It's also useful for salad dressings, marinades etc.

Hope this helps someone!

[fiveofus]

Hi,

When I introduced Morgan to meat I just purchased mince - beef, lamb, chicken etc and this was small enough for him to swallow....I just boiled it and then stored it in ice-cube trays to add to his veges. I found this saved a lot of fussing around with blenders or grinders etc. He had no teeth at this stage and it wasn't a problem for him. As he has got older and more into finger food I give him slightly larger chunks or strips to chew on but just gradually increased the size from the mince.
Hope this works for you as it saves time!!! :)

Cheers,
Bec

[Rockett]

Well,I tried the stab blender on the chicken and it worked quite well suprisingly.
I added some of the water I boiled the chook in and cut it into smaller pieces first,and it came out in quite fine "bits",which bub can eat with no worries.
However,it was a bit time time consuming so I think I'll go get a food processor which everyone seems to rave about!

[Emily's moocow]

I have a bamix which does the job quite well. I have been giving Emily meat and fish since 5 months with no problems. You can add water, milk or stock. Trial and error its called. Chicken blends up really well as does some fish. Just try different things and it depends on how long and how you cook the meat as to how hard or easy it will be to blend.

As for chewing you would be surprised how well a child with no teeth or only one tooth does with food. Their gums are pretty strong.

Hope this helps you all too

Teresa
Mum to Brock, Jacob and Emily

[LucyE]

I used our stab blender (a Braun) successfully to puree meat. The trick is to add something starchy to help with the consistency (potato, rice etc).

Having said that, you shouldn't give babies too much meat because their kidneys are not developed enough to deal with the by products of amino acid break down. By all means try them on it, but don't make it too large a part of their daily intake.

We started off on rice porridge, pureed pears, apples, sweet potato, zuchinni etc. I think the rule of thumb is to try something for 3 days to watch for an adverse reaction before introducing a new food. Watch out for rice cereals that are iron fortified because they can have a constipating effect.

I've found these two books to be fantastic regarding info on starting solids: Baby and Toddler Meals by Robin Barker (who also authored Baby Love) and for a more 'natural' approach Optimum Nutrition for Young Children by Lucy Burney.

[peterpan]

Hi Mummy's,
Thanks JO's Mummy for putting this thread up
Can anyone tell me is it ok to start DS 16weeks
on baby rice yet?
At the moment he has breast and top up with
formula
Thank you for your tips
Angela David & DS Peter

[Briannabear]

Every baby is different. My DD was about 4 1/2 months when we started her on some rice cereal. She is perfectly healthy!! My advice would be to start off very slowly - dont rush it!

[katesmum]

another healthy way of cooking chicken rather than boiling is to steam....

dead easy - put your chicken (we use chicken sliced in half so its not really thick) onto a sandwich plate and wrap completely in foil. Put the plate in your steam and steam for 12 minutes... it's that easy

The chicken is really tender.... actually we cook it this way to eat in sandwiches...
;)