Tasty Fruit Baby Food Recipes

Tips and advice…

• Should I give fruit juice to my baby?
• Should I peel fruit for my baby?
• To cook or not to cook – may I serve raw fruit to my baby?
• May I use frozen or canned fruit in my baby food recipes?
• How to freeze baby food

Sugar Free Applesauce

4-5 medium apples, peeled and cored – use naturally sweet varieties, such as:

Gala

Golden or Red Delicious

Fuji

Pink Lady

Red Rome

pinch nutmeg or cinnamon

water

1. Chop the apples roughly and place in a saucepan.
2. Pour in about one inch of water – (you could use apple juice instead, but some varieties will contain sugar)
3. Bring the apples to a boil, then reduce the heat.
4. Cover and simmer slowly until the apple chunks are tender (about 10-15 mins). DON’T cook the apples to the point where the mixture actually looks like applesauce! Cooking it this long will cause it to be watery and tasteless. Instead, remove the apple chunks from the pan and either puree them or mash them well.
5. Thin with a little cooking water if necessary.
6. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg and serve warm or – as a soothing treat for teething babies – nice and cold.

TIP: If you are going to freeze your baby’s applesauce, DON’T add the spices before you freeze it, because they will lose their flavour.

And avoid applesauce altogether is your baby is constipated or prone to constipation, because it is very binding and will make the problem worse.

a sweet treat for your tiny diner...

Dairy-Free Strawberry Mousse

Soft, fluffy and easy to make

Delicious Baked Apples

Choose a nice sweet apple (those listed in the applesauce recipe above are ideal).

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, 180 deg C.
2. Wash the apple and then remove the core (a melon baller is useful for this).
3. Sprinkle a little nutmeg or cinnamon over the apple, then fill the apple with raisins.
4. You may like to add a drop of maple syrup, as the raisins may be quite tart.
5. Wrap the apple in aluminium foil and seal tightly.
6. Bake the apple for around 45 mins, until it feels nice and tender.
7. Remove from the oven and cool slightly, then remove the skin.
8. Mash or puree thoroughly and serve!

Real Fruit Jelly

3 fl oz (1/3 cup) water

1 tbsp agar flakes* or gelatine

7oz (just under 1 cup) fruit puree

10 fl oz (1 1/4 cup) fruit juice

*Agar is derived from seaweed and is used as a thickener. You can find it in most health food stores. It is expensive, but a little goes a long way.

1. In a saucepan, combine the agar and water and stir until the flakes are dissolved.
2. Pour in the juice and heat for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously.
3. Pour into a suitable bowl and place into the refrigerator.
4. As the mixture starts to set, stir in the puree. You can use any fruit – we like to mix several fruits together. Avoid pineapple though – it doesn’t set well.
5. Return to the refrigerator until ready to serve!

Tropical Fruit Salad With Avocado

1/2 ripe avocado, cubed

1/2 small ripe banana, sliced

1/2 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced

1/4 papaya, peeled and sliced

2oz (1/4 cup) natural, plain yogurt

drop of pure maple syrup (optional)

1. For older babies, already enjoying finger foods, simply place all the prepared fruits into a bowl. For younger babies, puree the fruits together.
2. Stir the maple syrup into the yogurt (if you’re using it), then swirl the yogurt on top of the fruit.

For a little nutritional boost, top with a sprinkle of wheat germ.

Perfect Peaches

2 ripe peaches

baby cereal

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F, 180 deg C.
2. Remove the stone and skin from the peaches, then puree the flesh.
3. Simply beat with enough prepared cereal to achieve a consistency perfect for your baby.
4. Then transfer to an oven-proof dish and bake until set (around 15 mins).
5. Cool and serve.

Readers' Pics

“Hurry up Daddy!”

Our baby couldn’t get enough of the perfect peaches!

Leighanne

Send in your baby food photographs…

Readers' Pics

I enhanced your perfect peach recipe by adding fresh pineapple chunks and banana and pureeing everything in a blender. It is so yummy and smells fantastic. I like to call my version of the recipe: Peachy Pinanas, because pinana is the Spanish word for pineapple.

Isela

Banana Surprise

1 small ripe banana

2 large, ripe strawberries

a little breastmilk / formula

NOTE: Strawberries sometimes trigger allergic reactions in babies and you may prefer to avoid them for the first year, particularly if your baby is sensitive, or if there is a family history of food allergy.

Find out more about including strawberries in your baby food recipes

1. Puree the strawberries.
2. Mash the banana with a fork, mixing in enough breastmilk / formula to achieve a creamy consistency.
3. Place in a bowl, then top with the pureed strawberries.
4. Serve immediately – bananas brown very quickly.

The sweetness of the banana blends well with the stronger flavour of the strawberries. Yum!

Fruit Compote With Cinnamon Cream

4oz (1/2 cup) dried apricots

2oz (1/4 cup) sultanas

1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and sliced

1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced

1 pot of pure, natural yogurt (here’s how to make your own)

pinch cinnamon

drop of pure maple syrup (optional)

1. Put the dried apricots and sultanas into a small saucepan and pour in water until it just covers the fruit.
2. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat.
3. Simmer for around 20-30 mins, until the fruit is tender.
4. Add the sliced apple and pear and continue to simmer for 10 mins. (Keep an eye on the water level in the pan, as you may need to add a little extra).
5. Puree the fruits until smooth, then set aside and allow to cool.
6. Stir the maple syrup and the cinnamon into the yogurt – then spoon a blob on top of baby’s fruit compote and serve!

Creamy Kiwi Pudding

1 ripe kiwi fruit

2oz (1/4 cup) prepared baby rice cereal or oatmeal

2oz (1/4 cup) cottage cheese

1. Peel the kiwi fruit, then puree or mash well with a fork.
2. Combine with the cereal and cottage cheese for a creamy treat.

Baked Bananas With Maple Syrup

1 banana

pinch of cinnamon powder

1 tsp maple syrup

1/2 oz (1 tbsp) unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F, 180 deg C.
2. Slice the banana in half lengthways, then place on a piece of foil.
3. Pour over the syrup and cinnamon and top with the butter.
4. Wrap the banana with the foil, seal, then bake for 10-15 minutes.

Muesli

1/2 apple, peeled and chopped

1/2 pear, peeled and chopped

3oz (1/3 cup) dried apricots

5fl oz (5/8 cup) soy milk

1oz (2 tbsp) oats

1. Place the apricots, pear and apple in a saucepan with a little water and simmer until softened. Set aside.
2. Combine the milk and oats in a saucepan and simmer until thickened (about 4 mins). Cool.
3. Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Frozen Banana Pops

1/2 ripe banana

1/2 ripe peach, peeled and with stone removed

4oz (1/2 cup) plain, natural yogurt

a little pure maple syrup (optional)

1. Puree all the ingredients together in a food processor.
2. Pour the mixture into popsicle (lolly) moulds. If you don’t have these, an alternative is to freeze the mixture in a large ice cube tray, or in small disposable cups. All you need to do is push in the popsicle/lolly sticks as the mixture begins to freeze.
3. Serve when frozen. Older babies will be happy to hold the stick – for younger babies, simply squash the banana pops up in a bowl and feed them to baby from the spoon.

TIP: These banana pops make an ideal, soothing treat if your baby is teething.

Sugar free fruity treats…

Healthy popsicles for baby

Delicious AND nutritious!