My go to Homemade Baby Food recipe for my son

To me, giving birth to a child is the most beautiful gift of nature. I still remember the moment I took him in my arms for the first time. Every pain that I went through during my pregnancy and childbirth, was forgotten when I looked into his beautiful face.

As a new mother, I do everything in my power to ensure that my baby is safe. That’s why I am always extra careful about my baby’s health- his diet and skin care in particular. Adulterated foods is something I always try to avoid for my son. As a working mother, I tried to ensure before returning to office I could breastfeed my baby in the first six months. . But I was really tense when he passed 6 months of his age because it was the time I had to start giving him solid foods .

When a baby gets 6 months old, he/she needs to be given solid foods like pish pash, soup, fruit juice, soft rice, etc. Since his diet is something I could not compromise with, I had to carefully curate recipes for my baby that will fulfill his nutritional demands.

Many of my relatives suggested giving him processed food. In the market, there are lots of high protein brands. As a new mother, I was really confused whether it would be right to give this type of food from the market or not since it was his first time eating something solid. Even though processed foods have lots of cereals which are necessary for a baby’s growth. It provides proper nutrients so the baby’s health develops with the time being. But should I compromise my baby’s health with chemical based food? Despite many suggestions on baby food, I knew that I wanted to give my baby a chemical free, all natural diet. That is why I started preparing homemade porridge for him. I was careful about choosing the ingredients. I chose those grains that are required for the development and healthy weight gain of a 6 month old baby.

The ingredients i used for making homemade porridge are:

1. White or brown rice: I took 1.5 cup white rice. Brown rice can also be used. It is a good source of carbohydrate.

2. Black gram: I took 1 cup of black gram as it is rich in protein and vitamin B Complex.

3. Green gram: Green gram is really rich in protein, fibre, magnesium and iron. I took 1 cup of green gram.

4. Wheat dalia: This is very important for making cerelac in home. It is fully rich in carbohydrate, protein and magnesium. I took 1 cup of it.

5. Corn: This ingredient consists of vitamin B6, carbohydrate and protein. It is also antioxidant. I took ½ cup of corn.

6. Almond: Almond is rich in fat, protein, calcium, magnesium. I took ½ cup of almond.

7. Cashew: it is a good source of fat, vitamin B6, magnesium and protein. The amount is ½ cup.

8. Cardamom: it is full of dietary fibre and iron. I took 8-10 pieces of it.

9. Sago: I took ½ cup of sago. It provides carbohydrates.

10. Horse gram: It is a good source of protein, iron, calcium. I took ½ cup of it.

11. Lentil seeds: 1 cup of lentil is needed. It contains protein, fibre, iron and folate.

These are the main ingredients I needed to make homemade porridge. Other ingredients like peanuts, cumin, soya beans, pearl millet, barley etc. can be found in the market and can be also added to the porridge additionally.

After getting all the ingredients, I started making the porridge for my little one. It was not easy for me to do all this, especially since I had to balance both my family life and professional career. But my baby’s health was not something I wanted to compromise with.

So at first I soaked all the ingredients in water. Then I rinse them well and let them dry. Next I roasted all the ingredients separately and made them cool. After that I grinded all the ingredients together well with my grinder. After grinding, it turned into a fine powder or flour as I say. I stored this dry mixture in an airtight jar. This can be used for 4-6 months.

Now, when my baby is hungry or when it is his mealtime, I take 2 tablespoons of the powder , mix it with water and cook it for 10 minutes on the stove. Generally I mix some orange juice or grape juice for flavor.

I know exactly what goes inside this recipe and that is why I can trust this recipe to ensure my baby’s health.