The baby food debate: Purees
Look at you, surviving with a 6 month old. Ready to kick things up to the next level?
Personally, I was not. My baby, however, didn’t care. What else is new, right?
I started out like most moms, following the recommended guidelines that now say baby-led weaning is the best way to get a child eating. It helps avoid some of the food battles later and gets babies working on skills like chewing and tongue control much earlier. And I tried. I really did. I gave my baby the pineapple cores and the mango pits. Held my breath as he gnawed on a piece of steak. And I hated every minute of it.
My kiddo had 8 teeth by 7 months so it added an extra level of danger to the process that most of the eating guides I found didn’t account for.
So I decided to go halfsies. Part baby-led weaning, part purees. And wow do I recommend it.
Doing both let my baby practice chewing on a solid food at least once a day, while he was actually consuming food via puree 2-3 times a day.
The benefits of baby purees
Ok to start with, there is no evidence baby purees are less optimal for growth. Actually, odds are your child will be eating more this way and can help supplement their diet from months 6-12. Plus when you use purees:
Sleep improves: My kiddo started sleeping through the night when he had a full tummy.
Nutrition is easier to balance: When you know what you’re making, it’s easier to add some extras to make purees extra healthy. Like tossing in hemp hearts or blending some spinach into the berry purees.
Cleaner: While this shouldn’t be a main concern, it’s less messy to feed your baby rather than have them smash avocado into their ears.
Can plan ahead: I’d make all my baby food for the week at once and freeze it. That way when my boo was hungry, there is food almost instantly.
Other people can feed the baby: In case I was ever away from my kid, purees made it very easy to know he could eat if he needed to. No one needed to cook him a meal. They could just microwave a pre-made portion and feed him.
The downside of baby purees
But like all things there are good and bad to every strategy. Let’s check out some things to consider:
You don’t get the same oral development: Those BLW kids do learn how to eat more quickly.
Fine motor skills come slower: If you’re baby isn’t eating with their hands, they have less chance to work on their fine motor skills like pinching and picking things up. There are other ways they can work on these skills, of course, but BLW definitely gives them more opportunity.
Pickiness: The theory is babies who start on purees are more picky eaters later. BLW babies have a wider ranger of food and textures they’re exposed to. Personally, my baby eats like a trucker so I can’t comment on this other to say it wasn’t my experience.
Can be hard to get them off purees: Once a baby is used to purees, some can refuse to go back to regular eating once they’re older. Though an easy way around this one is to use the hybrid method and give your baby something solid every day.
The happy medium
I decided to do both purees and BLW to a lesser extent. I made purees for 6-7 months and my son would eat 1-4 portions a day depending on his age. But I also gave him solids every day to help him work on his oral skills. I used the Solid Starts app to guide me and then adjusted for the amount of teeth he kept growing. It’s easy to start with some soft foods like potatoes, berries, and steamed veggies. As he got older, he’d have a puree as a smaller part of his meal so I could ensure he was getting some basic nutrition every day while working on eating more solids.
The bottom line is you need to do what works for you and makes you comfortable. I highly recommend blending the two theories together but there’s no wrong way to approach baby feeding so long as you are being safe about what you give at what age.
The recipes
Ok if you want to try baby purees here are some recipes I swore by. I used a Quook which I loved. It’s a little machine that steams and blends baby food and I used mine almost everyday. I don’t know why it made it easier. I had a steamer. I had a blender. But I didn’t actually make purees until I got the Quook. Go figure.
Apple, carrot, ginger
1 apple, chopped
½ a carrot or about 5 baby carrots, chopped
1/8 teaspoon fresh ginger or a very small slice placed on top
Add everything into your steamer and steam for 15 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Blend until smooth. For extra nutrition, add in hemp hearts or bran and blend once more to mix.
Apple, broccoli, pear
1 apple, chopped
½ cup broccoli, chopped
½ pear, chopped
Steam for 10 minutes then blend.
Tropical smoothie mix
Either get a package of fruit tropical fruit or
½ cup pineapple, chopped
½ cup mango, chopped
½ cup spinach
1 banana, sliced
Steam everything but the banana for 10 minutes. Microwave the banana for 30 seconds before blending everything together. Add hemp hearts for extra nutrition. Banana gets extra sweet when heated so you want to avoid steaming it for long periods.
Dragon fruit, apple
1 apple, chopped
½ cup dragon fruit, chopped
Optional: ½ cup papaya
Optional: Coconut water to thin
Steam for 7 minutes or until apples are soft. Blend and serve.
Miracle poo puree
1 pear
1 plum
1 peach (if in season, more plum if not)
3-4 prunes, soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes
1-2 figs, soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes
Steam everything for 7 minutes and blend. Add in ¼ cup bran and thin with prune juice as needed. Blend. Serve one portion any time your baby is constipated. You can also give a portion every other day to proactively try to avoid any issues. Use with care because this blend will get things moving.
Whatever you decide is the right call for you
Whether you embrace making purees or stick with purely BLW, there is no wrong choice. Babies will learn to chew, they’ll learn to eat with utensils, they’ll learn to bite and spit. It’s just a matter of when that happens. For me, mixing the two theories help my kiddo because an amazing eater who is willing to try new foods.
Good luck with your baby food journey and let me know what you think of the recipes!