Questions on Homemade Baby Food & Baby Feeding – from the mailbag

Mar 3, 2009 Friendly Baby Food Advice, Mail-Bag Questions

We’re back and posting Q & A from our email bag. We will post email Q&A once a week.

On using yogurt:

From Rebecca – “I couldn’t find any info on your site about how long opened containers of yogurt or cottage cheese will keep in the fridge.”

Most makers of cottage cheese and yogurt products suggest that an opened container will remain good in the fridge for up to 10 days. There will be some separation and this is normal; be sure to thoroughly mix the cottage cheese/yogurt prior to serving.

Of course you are asking about how long to keep these products that you will feed to your little one. We are always more cautious with food storage guidelines when it comes to babies and even toddlers. While our grown-up digestive systems may be able to tolerate cottage cheese/yogurt that has been opened for up to 10 days, babies might not. We would recommend no longer than 3 days in the fridge while others might say 2 days or 4 days. As always, we recommend you ask your pediatrician when you are concerned about feeding your baby certain foods!

On using dried fruits and veggies to make purees

From Samantha ” is it okay for me to use dried fruits and veggies for purees, or does that affect the nutritional content?”

You can certainly use dried fruits to make some fruit purees, such as prunes and apricots. We do not recommend that you use dried fruits or dried veggies to make all your fruit or veggie purees for a variety of reasons:

Cost – the cost of using dried fruits and veggies for making homemade baby food would run very very high!

Nutrition – Fresh fruits and veggies are always best with frozen fruits and veggies coming in second. While dried fruits and veggies do retain a good nutritional level, fresh or frozen is always best.

Drying Methods – Many fruits are dried with preservatives such as sulphur dioxide that is not good for our health and also makes the fruits taste funny. Using fruits dried with potassium sorbate is better however it’s always best to find dried fruits that are simply – dried!

P.S. Check out Just Tomatoes for wonderfully yummy and nutritious dried fruits and veggies

On canning homemade baby food instead of freezing homemade baby food

From Libby ” Is it ok to can the baby food instead of freezing it? If so, how long would it last? “

It is not recommended that you can homemade baby food. There are food safety issues with home canned foods, such as an increased risk of botulism, that make canning a bad option for homemade baby food.

You may learn more about canning homemade baby food at our Canning Homemade Baby Food page

Tags: dried fruits, dried vegetables, yogurt

Is Your Broccoli Baby Food Puree Bitter?

Jan 18, 2009 Friendly Baby Food Advice, Mail-Bag Questions

A bitter broccoli baby food puree with an odder than usual odd smell……

Hannah wrote to ask why the broccoli puree she made for her little guy was bitter and had an odd smell to it. She noticed the smell as the broccoli was steaming but said she didn’t really think much about it; “Broccoli always has an odd smell when it’s cooking. But the finished broccoli puree tastes a bit bitter and smells a bit strong. What happened?”

We’re going to assume that you didn’t purchase broccoli that was on the verge of going bad, you sound like you really know your broccoli!

Broccoli can go bitter when you have cooked it at too high of a temperature for far longer than needed. This can result in a bitter taste as well as a funny smell. Spinach can also go bitter and funny smelling under these conditions. Now this does not mean that the broccoli or spinach is not good to eat, it just means that it will not taste good!

There are a few ways to cut the bitter out of some foods. Many of these might not be appropriate for babies however. Here are some methods to cut the bitter:

Add salt
Take off the lid several times during the steaming process – helps release the odors as well as the hot steam
Add some olive oil – just a wee bit – when cooking is completed or even in the steaming water
Add some drips of lemon or lime to the cooked veggie

If you want to salvage the broccoli for your baby, you could add the following:

applesauce
sweet potato
butternut/acorn squash

If you have any experience with cutting the bitter or salvaging your funky broccoli, let us know!

Visit our Broccoli Baby Food Recipes & Information page

Tags: apples, broccoli, butternut squash, sweet potatoes