Fruit

[Rainbowbrite]

I was just wondering, now that MJ is LOVING her veg :D I was thinking of starting some fruit.

I've stewed some apples to try tomorrow but i've seen a fruit jell in the supermarket & was wondering if you've got any comments on it?

OR

Is there a way to make jelly for bubs?

Thanks
RB

[Refresh]

Found these couple of recipes for Jelly (stole them from another forum oops :o .)

Dont know if they help or not but I thought they looked interesting:) I dont know if bubs can have gelatine?! Is there gelatine in the commercial ones? Any way these would certainly be good as they get older....


2 tsp gelatine
2 cups (500ml) cranberry and raspberry juice
330g mixed berries, fresh or frozen

Sprinkle gelatine in an even layer onto 1/4 cup of the juice, in a sml bowl, and leave to go spongey. Bring a sml pan of water to the boil, remove from the heat and place the bowl in the pan. The water should come halfway up the side of the bowl. Stir the gelatine until clear and dissolved. Cool slightly and mix with the rest of the juice.

Rinse four 3/4 cup moulds with water (wet moulds make it easier when unmoulding) and pour 2cm of the juice into each. Refrigerate until set.

Meanwhile, if the fruit is frozen, defrost it and add any liquid to the remaining juice. When the bottom layer of jelly has set, divide the fruit among the moudls (reserving a few berrries to garnish) and divide the rest of the juice among the moulds, pouring it over the fruit. Refrigerate until set.

To turn out the jellies, hold each mould in a hot, damp tea towel and turn out onto a plate. Ease away the edge of the jelly with your finger to break the seal. If you turn the jellies onto a damp plate you will be able to move them around, otherwise they will stick. Garnish with the reserved berries.


Gelatin-Free Jello


Ingredients (use vegan versions):
20 cups Juice blend (frozen and reconstituted, not from concentrate or powder), like Pineapple Orange
4 to 6 tablespoon corn starch (Depending on how firm you want it)
Directions:


Heat the juice blend until it gets reasonably hot on stove. Add the cornstarch and stir until it is blended. When it thickens to something like jelly put it in a dish. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours or until firm.

Serves: 10 Preparation time: 2-3 hours

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http://www.fatfree.com/archive/1999/jun/msg00017.html

You can make a vegetarian jello at home that tastes better than jello brand
ever did.

4 tablespoons agar agar flakes (kanten)
1 quart fruit juice

bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes.
Pour into a dish, add fruits if you like.
Chill

[Refresh]

Oh, I see shes only 5 months:) Stewed apple is great! As is banana and avocado (is that a fruit?? lol) Pear is another easy one that they normally like.

[Nickster]

The fruit gel in supermarkets is basically fruit juice and gelatine. You can buy that or make your own (that way you can get creative eg. use freshly juiced apples, carrots, etc.) and then you know what's going into it. I still give DD the jars though only occasionally (good cold when teething!) because I prefer to give her real fruit if you know what I mean? You can stew and puree just about anything!

Here's a recipe for you from Women's Weekly babies and toddler's good food:

FRUIT JELLY

2 cups (500ml) fruit juice
3 tsp powdered gelatine
Place 1/4 cup of the juice in a cup: sprinkle gelatine over juice. Stand cup in small pan of simmering water, stir until gelatine is dissolved. Stir gelatine mixture into remaining juice in medium bowl; refrigerate until firm.

[Rainbowbrite]

Great :D Thanks for that.

One other thing then i'm going. Getting in trouble for neglecting DH :p

With the juice in the mix, should i make my own commercial stuff? What about the baby one available?

Thanks
RB

[Refresh]

I would personally just make my own - its healthier and cheaper:) I dont know about the baby one - but its probably expensive. If you decide to get it just check the ingredients for any additives:)

[Rainbowbrite]

I would personally just make my own - its healthier and cheaper:) I dont know about the baby one - but its probably expensive. If you decide to get it just check the ingredients for any additives:)


Will Do :D Now to hit DH up for a new juicer :p

RB

[Refresh]

Yay! Good luck with it:D

[LucyE]

Just wanted to throw in my 2cents worth. If you're making your own fruit gels, make sure you dilute the juice before adding the setting agent. It should be at least 50% water to juice if not even more dilute. Too much fruit juice can cause upset tummies and don't forget that they're missing out on the fabulous fibre in 'whole' fruit. I only give it as a treat and make mine with agar agar because the commercial gelatine has preservatives in it which I didn't think were necessary for DS just yet :)

[Refresh]

Yeah definately dilute it - I meant to say that! Thanks Lucy :) ...I still dilute juice even for myself - not that we have it very often, just water in this house. Pure fruit juice hits the colon a bit hard :rolleyes:

[Rainbowbrite]

Thanks for that. I had a look at the commercial juice for babies today and its pure juice diluted in filtered water from memory (baby brain). I got a jar of apple & blackcurrent gel to try. I'll have to buy a baby cook book i think.

Also, gave her some homemade stewed pureed apple this morning mixed with farex & she loved it :D

Thanks again for all the tips :) One day when i have more mummy experience i just hope i can help others as much as you have all helped me :)

RB

[LucyE]

If you are looking for a good baby/toddler cookbook, I can recommend Baby and Toddler Meals by Robin Barker (author of BabyLove) and Optimum Nutrition for Young Children by Lucy Burney. I had to order in Optimum Nutrition from my local bookshop but I think it's well worth it and would be my fave because it takes a more nautral holistic approach to food and nutrition.

[Rainbowbrite]

Ok well i've tried the apple for almost a week and she's not interested :confused:

This morning for instance i tried apple & farex, got a closed mouth & turned head after the first mouth.

Then tried apple & blackcurrent gel (commercial) and after the first mouth, same as above.

So i heated up some mashed potato, pumpkin & Carrot - open mouth, shaking hands and whinged when we were finished.

I take it my daughterm doesn't like fruit. I'm going to try Banana soon but not having fruit is not a problem is it?

Thanks in advance :)
RB

[Refresh]

I think its great that she loves veges!!! The fruit can wait...it has heaps more sugar anyway. I think its great to get them used to veges before fruit anyway - so they dont get used to the sugary taste:) I wouldnt worry about it - the veges are doing her soooo much good, just leave the fruit for awhile and then come back to it.....it's hard though isnt it, it gets exciting trying all these new things loL!

Good luck with it, its great to see you care so much about what you are feeeding your precious one:D

[Rainbowbrite]

Hi again,

Just wondering what the correct method of cooking apples & pears for bub is?

Info much appreciated :D

RB

[drewid]

Hey :)

Just peel and chop the apple/pear up into small pieces and cook slowly with a bit of water in a saucepan until tender. Then throw in the food processor, or mash up with a fork.

Just watch out that it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pot, you might need to add more water as it goes.

HTH