Because of the fact that they can be easily pureed, carrots are one of the best stage 1 foods for babies. Winter squash and sweet potato are also good for stage 1 food. Carrots tend to be very low on the allergy scale, and also, they are easy for digestion.
Homemade food is not always an option for the parents, mainly because they don’t have time or in case of traveling when there is no way for the parents to prepare something fresh for their baby. It is not wrong to buy your baby food from the store, but you need to know that food also may contain preservatives, which makes it possible for that food to stay on the store’s shelves for up to 2 years. If you think about it, the store-bought food you are giving to your baby might be older than your baby.
That being said, if you have the time and the will, you can easily prepare yummy recipes by yourself and know for sure what enters your baby’s tummy. There is no doubt that homemade baby food is healthier and tastes much better than store-bought baby food.
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What nutritional benefits will your baby get from eating carrots?
There is no doubt that carrots come with huge nutritional value. Carrots are high in red-orange antioxidant, which helps convert vitamin A in your body and are high in beta-carotene. Vitamin A is good not only for your eye health but also helps with supporting your immune system. Carrots also are rich in iron, vitamin C, fiber, and calcium, all good for the baby’s bowel movements.
You might ask yourself what carrots you will need to use?
The carrots you are going to use for the baby food need to be organic and fresh. Before you chop and cook your carrots, you need to wash them and peel them. Peeling the carrots will help to remove any pesticide residue and dirt particles. Some people believe that removing the peel makes the carrots taste better, and if you leave the peel, they will add an earthy taste. Baby carrots are also an option, plus they are already peeled. Organic food is always a better option, but not everyone can afford it, so usual carrots can be also used.
So, how should you cook the carrots when making baby food?
Below you will find the recipe for how to steam your carrots. Also, you will be introduced to other methods of preparing the carrot puree.
1. Steaming
Take a pot and fill it with 3cm of water, in the steamer basket, add the carrots and put them in the pot. When the water in the pot starts boiling, take the lid, cover it and steam your carrot for 15-20 minutes or until you can easily penetrate them with a fork.
2. Boiling
Put your chopped carrots in a saucepan and add enough water to cover the carrots. After the water has started boiling, just reduce the heat and let it simmer. Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer the carrots for about 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
3. Roasting
With this method, you can either roast the carrots whole or chop them into small pieces. Add a little bit of oil and roast the carrots at 220 °C for about 30 minutes or until the carrots become tender.
The next step is making the puree, here is how to do it
As we said above, the carrots need to be peeled and chopped. Use one of the following methods to cook the carrots, meaning either boiling or steaming, or roasting. After you have cooked the carrots, put them in a food processor or a blender.
Blend the carrots until they become smooth. You should also add some sort of liquid. If not, they will be too thick for your baby. You can use formula or breast milk to add more nutrients to the puree, but you can also use just water.
After you are done blending, let the puree cool down and you can either give it to your baby right away or freeze it for later use. This puree can last for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
How to store the carrot puree properly?
After you have blended the carrots to the wanted consistency, you will need to let them cool down and then decide how to store them. The storage options can be BPA-free storage containers. Also, you can use ice cube trays. Silicone ice cube trays might be your best option when your baby is only a few months old because they don’t eat much volume, and the ice cube size will be enough. For older babies, 4 oz jars should be just enough for the up to for meals.
Some glass jars come with measurements on their sides, which makes it a lot easier, and also, you don’t have to worry about the BPA that some plastic containers might contain. The glass jars are safe for the freezer, the microwave, and the dishwasher. If you want to be playful, you can buy all sorts of colorful lids for the jars, and you can also write the dates and some notes on the lids.
What process to use for defrosting and reheating?
To defrost your carrot puree, you should take it out from the freezer the night before you want to use it and place it in the fridge so that it can slowly defrost. If you happen to need the puree right away, you can use a water bath to defrost it. Some will say that the microwave is the best way to defrost the puree, but we will suggest the following two methods:
Defrosting in the refrigerator: Simply take the puree cubes out of the freezer, put them into a jar or a dish, and put them in your refrigerator overnight. If the frozen puree is already stored in a jar, just place it in the fridge.
The water bath: Put the frozen cubes in a smaller container and put that small container into a bigger one that contains warm water. If it is necessary, you can replace the water. When the puree is defrosted, you can divide it into smaller portions and keep it in the fridge until you decide to serve it to your baby. It is very important to NOT re-freeze the defrosted food and to use it within 48 hours after being defrosted.
What other veggies and fruits you can combine with carrots?
There some interesting and yummy combinations you can do with carrots. Once your baby can eat stage 2 foods. Below you will find some of the best combos you can give a try:
Orange vegetables: sweet potatoes, butternut squash
Green vegetables: broccoli, peas, zucchini, green beans, spinach
Fruit combinations: peaches, apples, pears
Carb combinations: lentils, brown rice, quinoa
Protein combos: chicken, beef
You can use ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, paprika, cumin, curry, nutmeg, mint for spices and herbs.
