Healthy Baby Food

Vir my Grandson Enjoying Healthy Baby Food

Healthy Baby Food

I came across an article in Newspaper about infantile obesity and constipation due to mothers feeding biscuits soaked in milk to their little ones. To save upon time and efforts it is wrong to have quick fix approach toward the bringing up of the children. The article made me realize that I have blogged so many things but none for the tiny tots who are yet to be weaned away from mother’s milk. When the baby becomes 6-7 months old then should be introduced to semi solid food. Porridge of biscuits is big no. Give your baby healthy homemade baby food. This dry powder can be prepared for two three months and stored in airtight container in fridge. Fresh food, which is tasty, healthy, nutritious is easy for parents to feed healthy baby food even if their job is too demanding. Do not get detered by the time taken for the whole process. Maximum time is for soaking and drying in which your efforts and presence is not required.

Preparation Time:

• Cleaning Time: 15-20 minutes
• Soaking Time: 12 hours
• Draining and washing Time: 15 minutes
• Drying Time: 6-7 hours in summers
• Roasting Time: 30 minutes
• Grinding Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 1.900 Kg (Approx.), Sufficient for 3 months for a baby of 1 year age for three months.

Ingredients Required For Making Healthy baby Food:

• 500 gm. Nachani (Finger millet, African millet, Koracan, Natcheny)
• 500 gm. Rice any variety (preferably unpolished)
• 500 gm. Dhuli Moong Dal (Yellow split gram)
• 500 gm. Wheat

Directions For Making Healthy Baby Food:

• Clean all ingredients individually of all unrequired materials. Make sure no small pebbles, mud pieces etc. are left in them.
• Wash each ingredient individually till clean water starts coming out of them.
• Add water to each ingredient so much that water is at least 3-4 inches above the material to make sure proper swelling and soaking of the ingredients. Soak for 10-12 hours.
• Drain all water and give a nice wash in flowing water, drain maximum water and dry them under sun on cotton cloths separately. Do not mix them.
• In summers they will take 5-6 hours to dry as the sun heat is intense, but in winters and rainy weather it takes 10-12 hours.

Cleaned,washed,soaked and dried Rice

Cleaned,washed,soaked and dried Wheat

Cleaned,washed,soaked an dried Dhuli Moong dal

Cleaned,washed,soaked and then dried Nachani/Ragi

• Keep a big wok on high heat, when the wok is hot lower the heat and add Moong dal in it.
• Roast with constant stirring and turning the material upside down till the dal attains golden brown color. Make sure the dal does not become dark brown /black.

Moong Dal being Roasted

Roasted Split Green Gram (Dhuli moong dal)

• Remove from wok and keep the roasted dal on a big open plate for cooling.
• Repeat the same with rice, Nachani and wheat.

Wheat is Being Roasted and roasted wheat in the pic. below

Roasted Nachani/Ragi

Roasted Rice

• Nachani and wheat may splutter while getting roasted so take a long handle spoon / ladle but donot hurry by bringing the heat to high.
• Cool all roasted ingredients.
• Grind roasted wheat, rice Moong dal and Nachani.
• Sieve the powder and mix them. In the first grinding all will not get converted to powder, so mixthe remaining solids from all ingredients and grind till fine powder.
• Sieve the final mix of powder and let it cool before filling in the container for storing.
• Some little amount of solid pieces will be left unpoedered do not worry as 50-100 gm. of fine grainy solid is left and this can be made to porridge for elders.

Small grainy solid left after making Healthy baby Food

• Healthy baby food full of calcium, Proteins, Iron, Vitamins and all Micro nutrients is ready to be used as and when required.

Healthy Baby Food

Directions For Using Healthy Baby Food:

• In one cup (150 ml) full cream milk add 2 eating spoons of healthy baby food and stir till a uniform mixture is formed.
• Boil on low flame with continuous stirring till semi liquid. Make sure lumps are not formed while cooking.
• Switch off the heat and cover the container and allow it to cool.
• If you find the cooked meal for your baby is thicker than required add required amount of milk and mix to make a homogenous mass.
• Add little amount of organic jaggery/honey/sugar to sweeten it up.
• Let your baby enjoy this cooked Healthy Baby Food.

Vir's Nanny feeding him Healthy Baby Food

Tips:

• Do not dry the soaked food in oven/ micro wave. If you want the ingredients to dry fast then keep them under the fan. Shade dry or sun dry thyem but never dry in micro/oven.
• Even if the material of ingredients look clean it is imperative to clean all ingredients before washing.
• Washing thoroughly till water of washing comes out clean should be done. Remember even a small amount of dirt/foreign material can cause problem. Your baby is delicate little person.
• Nachani takes time to dry and moong dal takes lots of water for soaking and swells up too much. So soak moong dal in big container with lots of water and spread soaked Nachani thinly on cloth.
• Roasting should be done on low heat in a thick bottom wok to avoid the grains from getting burnt.
• Over roasting will not only spoil the taste but will also destroy the nutrients of grains.
• While grinding Nachani little amount of other three ingredients /powder of other three ingredients can be added to facilitate the grinding of Nachani.
• Do not take Green Gram (Chilke wali moong) instead of yellow gram (Dhuli moong dal) because the outer cover of any dal or fruit is too fibrous for a baby to digest.

Suggested Variations:

• Healthy baby food can be cooked in water and then fresh fruit juices can be added to make the cooked baby food to required consistency.
• Remember babies love variation in taste. Healthy baby food can be cooked in vegetable /Fruit/chicken stock for variation in taste. Healthy baby food cooked in veg/chicken stalk will not be sweetened but a pinch of salt will be added to it. Thus one can make sweet as well as salted baby food.
• Always consult your pediatrician before giving fruit juice and chicken and honey.
• Boil 1 cored apple/Pear in 2 cups of water filter the water and use this stock for cooking Healthy baby Food.