Week 24: Fish and Celery
Fish
Fish For Your Baby
If you eat fish, there is no reason your baby shouldn't eat it too. Certain fish do have their problems with PCB's and mercury levels, so for a little baby you want to do your best and avoid any potential contaminants. In our Foods to Avoid section of BabyFood101 we have outlined the best fish for feeding baby. From this list, we have chosen farmed Tilapia as a good first fish to introduce to baby. It is bland, cheap, and easy to find in supermarkets. If you have more money, you might try wild Alaskan salmon as a first fish as well. In addition, you can used smoked fish, such as smoked salmon or trout. Be sure that you buy the "wild" varieties.
Recommended products for your baby:
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When is baby ready?
8 months old
How to buy
- Farmed Tilapia, either in the fish section of your supermarket or in the freezer.
- Smoked wild trout or salmon.
Homemade Baby Food Recipe
Cooking fresh fish is really fast and easy. You can pan fry or broil it, and if you keep an eye on it, it will come out delicious.
For broiling
- Heat broiler to hottest setting.
- Grease baking sheet or broiling pan with butter or olive oil.
- Cook for 4 minutes at most! Look to see if fish is opaque and remove from oven. With Tilapia, the fish is so thin that there is no need to flip it over.
For pan frying
- Heat olive oil or butter in saute pan.
- Cook fish until opaque on high heat - 3-4 minutes.
If you bought smoked fish, just cut up and serve.
How to Store
Fresh fish should be used the day you buy it. It degrades really quickly. You can freeze it when you get home from the store so you can cook it later in the week. Smoked fish will keep in the fridge for about a week.
Are there baby food jars?
No.
Organic
Unfortunately, organic feed does not insure that you don't have other contaminants in your fish. Refer to the "Foods to Avoid" section of BabyFood101 to review best choices in fish.
Adult Recipe
The key to eating Tilapia is the seasonings. Tilapia itself doesn't have much flavor, so it is a good fish for people who don't love fish. The key to making it delicious is just adding lemon juice, garlic, parsley, olive oil, or butter. Whatever flavoring you like to add to it will make the difference.
Fish Tacos
1/2 pound Tilapia (cooked as baby food recipe)
1 package salsa
corn tortillas
Just spoon fish and salsa together in tortilla.
Celery
Celery For Your Baby
You may be wondering if you can get celery to be soft enough for your baby. Of course you can and it is more nutritious than you think. There is a way of braising celery that brings out the flavor and changes the consistency to make it palatable for our chubby toothless friends. The best celery is organic celery. It has a really strong celery flavor, and once you taste it you may never go back to the conventionally grown stuff. Of course, finding organic celery can be difficult so just give braising a try with the celery that you find.
Recommended products for your baby:
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
When is baby ready?
8 months old
How to buy
Look for organic celery that is firm with few blemishes.
Homemade Baby Food Recipe
Braised Celery
5 pounds celery cut into 2 inch long pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup water or stock (chicken, vegetable, or beef)
salt and pepper
Heat olive oil in large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook the celery for 2 minutes. Add flour and sprinkle with salt and pepper or add salt and pepper at the end after you have reserved baby's portion. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes more. Add the water, bring to a boil, and then turn the heat to low. Cover and cook until celery is very tender. Mash up for baby consistency.
How to store
Celery will keep in the bottom of your fridge for 2 weeks.
Are there baby food jars?
No.
Should I buy organic?
Yes. 95% of celery sampled by the USDA contained pesticides.
Adult Recipe
same as baby recipe
Eating tip of the week
You are nearing our baby's one year birthday. Give yourself a pat on the back for being so dedicated to giving a nutritious and interesting start to your babies life. Soon, she will be off of breast milk or formula and getting most of her nutrition from solid food!
Week #24 Shopping List
Baby Food
- filets of Tilapia and/or smoked wild trout or wild salmon
- 5 pounds celery
Adult Food
- olive oil
- flour
- packaged salsa (your favorite flavor)
- corn tortillas
