Week 7: Peaches or Nectarines and Green Beans
Peaches or Nectarines
Peaches or Nectarines For Your Baby
Peaches and nectarines come from the same tree species and are exactly the same except for their skin, fuzzy or not. Peaches are wonderful just fresh and a really easy first food for baby because of the soft consistency. But, it is difficult to find them except in the summer months so you will probably have to stick to jars of baby food until the right season. The problem with the peaches that you find in the grocery store throughout the year is that they are usually from South America. Unfortunately, manufacturers in the United States sell pesticides that are not FDA approved to growers in South America, and these pesticides end up back in our stores. There is no way to wash these off with a peach. Because of it's soft skin, the pesticide residue is actually INSIDE the peach. What you want to do is to buy them in the following order:
- Organic
- Local
- from USA
- or finally from South America (but wait until baby is at least one year old)
Recommended products for your baby:
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
When is baby ready?
6 Months Old
How to buy
Do not buy canned peaches - the contain added sugar and the sugar free ones contain Sucralose (a chemical sweetener that you do not want to give baby). You could buy frozen peaches, but they might not taste great. So you must buy either jars or fresh peaches. You can find fresh peaches out of season BUT they probably have pesticide residue so you probably don't want to feed too many of them to baby. Try to find fresh organic peaches - expensive but delicious.
Homemade Baby Food Recipe
Cut in half and peel the skin off. Cut or mash up peach for baby.
How to store
Store on counter top and wait until ripe.
Are there baby food jars?
Yes.
Should I buy organic?
Yes. 94% of peaches sampled by the USDA were found to contain pesticides.
Adult Recipe
This became all the rage a few years ago. It is a delicious dessert.
Grilled Peaches
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 fresh ripe peaches (unripe peaches will not work)
vegetable oil
vanilla ice cream (optional)
Heat broiler to high. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut peaches along the seam all the way around and twist halves off the pit. Brush cut sides with vegetable oil. Sprinkle cut sides with cinnamon sugar. Cook, cut side up under the broiler about 4 inches away. Cook until sugar is melted and fruit is tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream (sprinkle on extra cinnamon sugar if you like).
Green Beans
Green Beans For Your Baby
This is not an obvious first food for baby, but we want him to get used to green things too! You can find baby food jars with green beans as an ingredient, though it can be difficult. If you have only had green beans in a casserole, try them again! They are delicious when they are really fresh and are terrible when not fresh. Haricot verts are also green beans, just longer and thinner.
Recommended products for your baby:
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
When is baby ready?
7 months old
How to buy
We recommend buying fresh green beans. They truly taste the best. Do not buy cans of green beans because they contain added salt. You can buy frozen beans but their taste and texture is really compromised by the freezing process. If you can find really fresh green beans (in season from May to October) you have a delicious treat. Tough or limp beans just taste terrible.
Homemade Baby Food Recipe
On Stove
Snip off stem end and put in saucepan. Add just enough water to cover bottom of pan (about 1 cup) and put the lid on. Heat until boiling and cook until tender - about 6 minutes (for baby) and crisp for you - about 4 minutes. You could pull out your beans and cook baby's a little more to obtain the right tenderness.
In Microwave
Place in shallow bowl with 2 tablespoons water - cover with lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 2 minutes and shake them - and microwave for 1 minute intervals until they are tender enough for you and baby.
After cooking, mash them with a fork or puree them with a blender to get to your baby's needed consistency.
How to store
Place in plastic bag in bottom of refrigerator. Can keep up to 5 days.
Are there baby food jars?
Yes. Usually mixed with rice cereal.
Should I buy organic?
No. Pesticide contamination is not a problem with beans.
Adult Recipe
Since we just cooked some beans for baby, we could just eat our beans with some salt and pepper or add a salad dressing to dress them up.
Things to add to hot beans:
lemon juice
salt and pepper
butter
salad dressing
Easy Vinaigrette for Beans
extra virgin olive oil (good quality)
red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Coat beans in oil (just guess the amount you need by the amount of beans you have). Add red vinegar to taste and dust with salt and pepper. If you like mustard - just add a little. The key is to keep tasting the beans until you get your favorite flavor.
Eating tip of the week
Keep making food for your baby easy for you. Cook for yourself and then mash some up for baby. There is no reason to make 2 meals if you can help it!
Week #7 Shopping List
Baby Food
- peaches
- green beans
Adult Food
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- light brown sugar
- vegetable oil
- cinnamon
