As many mommies know, once your little one is within reach of his or her half birthday, the time has come to start introducing solid foods into baby’s diet. The humble banana offers a huge amount of potential for both parents and babies.
There are many great nutrient-rich options to explore when entering the solid food phase, but many parents have found that bananas are perfect “gateway food” for expanding your growing baby’s palette. Depending on your baby’s behavior and preferences, you may need to try out various blends before you find one that he likes. Here is a helpful guide for introducing solid foods into your baby’s diet.
As a golden rule, it is generally best to introduce one new food at a time to your baby. So, pick a fruit or vegetable and introduce it in pureed form. It is also a good idea to wait two or three days between introducing new foods to make sure that there are no adverse allergic reactions. So take your time!
Mason jars are a wonderful tool to use when introducing your baby to new foods. They also make freezing, storing, and reusing leftover fruit and vegetable purees a breeze! Use your Mason Bottle to make an easy transition from breast milk or formula to solid foods.
One of the best early fruits to introduce is the banana. The great thing about bananas are that they are extremely versatile – you can puree them for a very smooth consistency ideal for younger babies, and also mash them with a fork to include more lumps. This teaches slightly older babies to gum and chew before they even have teeth!
Fortunately, bananas are also not featured on the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list, and can be bought non-organically for cost effectiveness. Bananas also pair great with other sweet-tart fruits such as blueberries or strawberries in smoothies for when your baby gets to that stage!
Here are three ways to prepare a banana or banana combination for your little one:
- First, wash the banana well with three parts water to one part white vinegar to remove any bacteria. You can always skip this step if you want as it can seem a bit overkill, but a vinegar solution is always a great way to make sure your fruit is super clean.
- Mash the banana really well with a fork or hand blender and add breast milk or water until the mixture reaches desired consistency.
- Slightly mash the banana with a fork and serve to your baby who is ready for more chunks and texture in his or her food.
- Puree the banana with a blender, food processor, or handheld blender and mix with other fruits such as blueberries or cooked apples.
*Mashed or pureed bananas will store in the freezer for up to three months in your Mason Bottle!
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