Wondering what to start as the first foods for your little ones!! Whether an infant (6-12m) or a toddler(12m+), a simple Avocado is the most wonderful option to begin with.
The first foods when being introduced to the babies should be of the right texture—soft, thin and smooth—to prevent choking. First foods should also bring in a variety of nutrients to the baby’s diet. And it is never advisable to give foods to babies with processed ingredients (salt, sugars, preservatives or oils) in them. Definitely AVOID them at this stage.
Why Avocados?
Why not Avocados.
Avocados are natural fresh fruit with nearly 20 nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, fibre and phytonutrients, which are important for an infant/toddler nutrition.
For babies of age from 1-3 years, 25g should be sufficient.
Now here given below are some ways on how to introduce Avocados to infants/toddlers.
What is an Avocado Mashpie?
Its simple 2-3 ingredients mixed and mashed recipes. You can use these following ingredients for your infants(0-12m) and prepare their instant fresh meals without even being an expert chef.
1 – Avocado and Banana
Ingredients
1 ripe, fresh Hass avocado, cut in half and seeded
1 ripe peeled and sliced banana
Instructions
-Peel the banana and dice it to small pieces.
-In a clean or sterilised bowl mash this banana and avocado together to make it a paste or run all these ingredients in a mixer to form a smooth paste.
2-Avocado and Strawberry
Ingredients
1 ripe, fresh Hass avocado, cut in half and seeded
1 ripe, sweet strawberry
Instructions
-Wash and cut the strawberry into pieces.
-Run all these ingredients in a mixer to form a smooth paste.
3 – Avocado and Black Beans
Ingredients
1 tbsp chopped onion
1 clove of garlic (optional)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp cooked black beans
1/2 small avocado
2 tsp cream cheese
1 tsp natural yogurt
salt to taste
a pinch of cumin
Instructions
-Heat the olive oil in a pan.
-When the oil is hot enough put those onions and garlic into it and gently cook till they become soft and tender. Let them cool.
-Meanwhile mash the cooked black beans with a fork or a food processor with some little water. You can choose any method whichever is preferable for your kid.
-Now mash the avocado too.
-Now stir the mashed avocado, beans paste, cream cheese, cooked onions and garlic, yogurt and a pinch of cumin and mix well.
-An optional method here is blend all these ingredients to form a paste if your kid prefers that way.
-Serve immediately.
-You can also freeze the extra in an ice cube tray for later use.
4 – Avocado and Sweet Potato
Ingredients
1/2 medium sweet potato
1 small avocado
Instructions
-Wash the sweet potato thoroughly.
-Now you can either boil the cut pieces of the sweet potato in boiling water for 10 minutes or steam the entire sweet potato (unpeeled) in a cooker for 2-3 whistles.
-Drain and cool the sweet potato pieces.
-Meanwhile, you can prepare the avocado. Peel and cut one half of the avocado and mash it thoroughly.
-Now mash the sweet potatoes also thoroughly and mix it with the mashed avocado to make a smooth paste.
-Serve immediately.
-You can also freeze the extra in an ice cube tray for later use.
5 – Avocado, Banana and Apple
Ingredients
1 red peeled and diced apple
1 ripe, fresh Hass avocado, cut in half and seeded
1 ripe peeled and sliced banana
Instructions
-Cook the apple in boiling water for 5-10 minutes until tender. Drain; let cool.
-Now take a sterilised clean bowl or vessel to mash this apple, avocado and banana until smooth or run all these ingredients in a mixer to form a smooth paste.
-Ready to be served (with a spoon). Or freeze some in ice cube trays or a kulfi mould (popsicle moulds)
6 – Avocado, Strawberry and Mango
Ingredients
1 ripe, fresh Hass avocado, cut in half and seeded
1 ripe, sweet strawberry
1/4 or 1/2 ripe, sweet mango (depends on the size)
Instructions
-Wash and cut the strawberry into pieces.
-Peel and cut the 1/4 part of mango into pieces.
-Put everything in the blender and run all these ingredients in a mixer to form a smooth paste.
Serving Suggestions
For infants:
A little breastmilk or formula can be added to reach the desired consistency based on the baby’s comfort level.
For toddlers:
Ready to be served (with a spoon). Or freeze some in ice cube trays or a kulfi mould (popsicle moulds)
