Help with baby pureés

[Monkey Magic]

Hi

My ds has just started having little bits of food, he has an oat based porridge in the morning (rice is giving him terrible tummy ache and wind) and ive also tried him on the Heinz Fruit With Yoghurt mix which he loves. He has had a Cow and Gate Banana Dairy Dessert which he also loves, but im keen to make sure he has some savoury foods too. I want to avoid feeding food from jars and want to make my own, but im struggling to get a smooth consistency when making pureIve tried using a masher, a potato ricer and a mini food processor but its still seems to have small lumps in it. I think its because i am pureeing such a small amount. Has anyone got any tips for making a smoother puree?

Alternatively can anyone give me any tips for what to try him on? Tried carrot, squash and sweet potato (and cominations of all three together) but he didnt like any of them. Tried cauliflower with a cheese sauce and also with some baby chicken gravy which he ate slightly more of, but im stumped for ideas. Is there anything i should definitely avoid? Is there anything that he should not have at this stage? (I know about not adding sugar/salt)

Thanks in advance!

[~inbalance~]

Maybe if you tried making bigger batches you could get a smoother consistency.  I find a hand blender works well because you can mix as you blend making sure to get everything.  If you make big batches you could freeze them in ice cube trays then transfer them to freezer bags, and you have food for up to 3 months!

How old is your LO?  With single fruit veg purees we did pear, apple, banana, blueberry, avocado, carrot, sweet potato, broccoli (just the stems if he doesn't like texture yet), peas, melon.  You could try beets as well.  Big food to avoid are citrus, strawberry, tomato, egg whites.  We've done chicken puree, haven't tried fish yet but that's a good one too. 

Even if he didn't like something the first time, doesn't mean he won't like it later.  Take a break but keep trying the same stuff and he might end up loving it.

If I think of anything else I'll let you know! 

[Pens Fan]

are you in the UK - if so I would recommend the Annabel Karmels books - there is one solely on purees...  My Lo loved her food..

[Shiv52]

I love annabel karmel's books.

My LO was not fussed on more savory things for a while.  Just remember it can take a LO 8-10 tries of a new food before they can really get used to eating it so don't be put off offering them. 

My LO loved sweet potato and apple and pear puree initially but did not like carrot at all.  I found she liked mixtures of foods more and did these from an early age- sweet potato and spinach is a fav!  Brocolli, carrot, tomato and cheese was another,

I made big batches and froze them in ice cube trays too.  Have you tried adding some of your baby's milk or water to make the consistency more to your LOs liking?

[Monkey Magic]

thanks so much to you all for the replies, ill try and answer all your questions now! Just been to Asda and bought a load of little trays and the Annabel Karmel book so am going to wizz up some batches tomorrow and see how we go!

Shiv52 - yes ive added breast milk and ive also done some with the cooking water added. I hadnt ever thought to mix a fruit and a vegetable into one puree so ill try the sweet potato, apple and pear one.

MartinaRae - I used a hand blender with the carrots but i think the problem lay in me not having aa big enough amount to puree. Ill try it again with a bigger batch.
LO is 4 months old and seems to love the fruity flavours, so perhaps the key is to mix the fruit and veg together at first.

[~inbalance~]

4 months is still quite young so I wouldn't stress about if he doesn't like things yet.  Most babies aren't ready for solids at that age anyway, and even so their taste buds aren't really up to par so they might not enjoy food.  He'll probably be more interested as he gets older. 

[Shiv52]

Carrot and apple is also nice!! 

But as pp say he is still young...he may develop more tastes for things as he gets a bit older x