Fruit and vegetable Recipes for babies aged 4-5 months

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Fruit recipes
 

Apple Choose a sweet variety of eating apple and peel, halve, core and slice 2. Put them into a saucepan, cover with water and cook on a low heat until they are soft. approx 10 minutes.Then puree. (For a more healthier way steam the apples over the water.) Apple and Cinnamon Simmer 2 apples in apple juice with a cinnamon stick. Cook like above and remove cinnamon stick before pureeing	Banana This is the first uncooked fruit that your baby should be given. Use a very ripe banana. Cut 4cm(1.5inches) off and mash well with a fork to make it as smooth as possible. Add some boiled water or baby milk/breast milk if it is to thick and sticky for your baby to swallow. If your banana is not ripe enough you could split the banana and heat it in an oven/microwave for a few minutes to prepare it. Do Not Freeze Bananas
Pear Peel, halve and core 2 pears, then it into small pieces. Put them into a pan and cover with a little water. Cook over a low heat until soft(approx 8 minutes) Or steam, and then puree. When your baby is 6 months or older there is no need to cook the pear first as long as it is ripe.	Papaya Papaya is an excellent fruit to give a very young baby. It has a pleasing sweet taste which is not too strong and blends within seconds to a perfect texture. Cut a medium papaya in half, remove all the black seeds and scoop out the flesh. Steam for 3-5 minutes, then puree. When your baby is 6 months old papaya can be eaten raw.
Cream of fruit Adding a fruit puree to baby/breast milk, baby rice or a rusk can help your baby get used to different textures and tastes. Also when your baby starts eating more exotic fruits like mango and kiwi in the next few months, it will help make them less acidic. Peel, core, steam or boil and puree your fruit. Add 1 tablespoon of unflavoured baby rice or half a low-sugar rusk and 2 tablespoons of baby/breast milk to each 4-portion quantity, and mix together	Three-Fruit Puree This is a great combination of the first 3 fruits your baby an enjoy. Mix 1 dessertspoon each of pear and apple purees (from recipes above) with half a banana, mashed.  After 6 months you can use half a raw ripe pear, peeled, cored and cut into chunks. Put this and the half banana through a blender to make a smooth puree, then mix together with the dessertspoon of cooked apple puree.
Vegetable Recipes
Carrot Small thin carrots are the sweetest to try to use these if possible. Peel, trim and slice 2 medium carrots. Either steam the carrot slices until tender(approx 15 minutes) or boil in 175ml(6fl oz) boiling water(approx 10 minutes. Puree in a blender, food processor or mouli until the desired consistency. For steamed carrot add cooled boiled water, a teaspoon at a time  until it makes a smooth puree. Drain the boiled carrot, reserving the cooking liquid and add as much of this as you can to make it into a puree. (as you baby gets older you will not have to add any extra water.) The cooking time is longer for small babies, once your baby can chew cut the cooking time down to preserve the vitamin C and keep the carrots crispier	Potato Carefully wash 1 100g(4oz) potato remove any blemishes from the skin and cover with 120ml(4floz) of boiling water. Simmer until tender(approx 20-30 minutes) Peel off the skin, then mash until smooth. Add enough baby/breast milk to make the puree the desired consistency. Alternatively, bake a potato in the oven at 400F(200C) Gas mark 6 for 1 hour or until soft. Scoop out the inside and mash with a little baby/breast milk. As your baby gets older keep the skins on as they are good for your baby to chew on when teething. Save fuel and time by cooking these with the family meal or cook many portions.
Swede, Turnip and Parsnip. Use half a Swede or 100g(4oz) of turnip or parsnip. Scrub, peel and cut into cubes. Cover with 175ml(6floz) of boiling water and simmer, covered, until tender.(approx 20 minutes). Drain, reserving the cooking liquid and mash well with a fork adding extra liquid if needed to go make a good puree.	Butternut Squash Butternut squashes are the same shape as avocado pears, they have a hard peach-coloured skin, orange flesh and a great sweet taste. Peel and halve a small butternut squash, weighing about 100g(4oz). Remove seeds and cut the flesh into 2.5 cm(1 inch) cubes. Steam until tender(approx 8 minutes). Transfer to a blender and process until a puree of the desired consistency.
Green Beans Top, tail, remove any stringy beans and cut into 100g(4oz) beans diagonally into thin slices. Steam them until tender(approx 8-10 minutes), then put in a blender and process. Add a little boiled water or baby/breast milk to make a smooth puree. You can use any variety of green beans but smaller, younger ones are more tender. When your baby gets older, green beans make great finger foods	Brocolli and Cauliflower Use 100g(4oz) of brocolli or cauliflower, wash them well and cut them into small florets. Add 150ml(5floz) boiling water, simmer, covered until tender(approx 10-15 minutes). Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Put through a mouli, and add some of the cooking liquid or baby/breast milk to make the puree the desired consistency. Or you can steam the florets for 15 minutes for better flavour and nutrients. Once your baby has teeth and can chew, cut the cooking time down to 8-10 minutes to keep the vegetables crisp. Add boiled water or baby/breast milk to make a smooth puree.
Courgette Wash 2 medium courgette's carefully, remove the ends and slice.(the skin is soft so does not need to be removed)Steam until tender(approx 10-15 minutes), then put through a mouli or mash with a fork.(no need to add any extra liquid)	I have made this recipe for all 5 of my kids and they loved it. 1 sweet potato(i think it is called yam in some countries, 2 potatoes, 1/2 small butternut pumpkin. boil till soft then puree with some of its own stock I also sometimes add Swede turnip and parsnip to this. I have found that for some babies that don't like the texture or taste of potatoes (like my son didn’t) the sweet potato on its own makes a good introduction vegetable..(I wouldn't recommend adding the turnips/parsnips or Swedes until 6 mths because they can be a bit strong sometimes)  from karen, Australia - thanks

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