steam fruits? confused

[1stimemum]

hi all, ived started son on porridge and various steamed veggies such as broccoli, spinach, sweet potato. He's 5 1/2 mths.

I would like to introduce fruits but read in some books that it must first be steamed? others just give the fruits raw. they are all pureed but why steam fruits? i've fed him banana pureed and he ate it - though not much.

Steam or not? what do other mums do and if i do steam, should i start with apples, pears and what others? and how long do i need to steam?
steaming veggies is easy as I know how long it takes to cook them but how long does it take to 'cook' a fruit?

 

[wenyihsu]

You don't need to steam ALL the different fruits. Certain fruits such as apples and pears need to be steamed so that it's easier to puree. Things such as bananas and avocado obviously don't need to since you can easily mash them up. I can't really tell you how long but I just steamed them until you can easily pierce through with a fork.

 

[lesliefu]

yup- only need to steam the "hard" fruits....starting with apples and pears is a good idea. just steam till it is easy to puree...depending on what you use to steam and how much the time will vary...with my steamer, I normally steam 2-3 apples cut up into small pieces (easier and faster to steam) and it takes about 10-15mins. before serving the pureed fruit, I'd personally always put it into the blender and add water so it's not so sweet - but that's just a personal choice...everyone does it differently! Have fun!

 

[1stimemum]

oh so it more to make it easier to puree and not to make it edible - in the case of veggies... if thats the case, as long as its soft enough to go into the blender?

i intend to start with apples, pears and frankly i cant think of many others! can i mix veggies with fruits? for eg : apples with broccoli or is that weird?

 

[Shenzhennifer]

I read that all fruits/veg should be steamed in the early months anyway, to avoid any possibility of contamination(even from knife, cutting board, etc), with the exception of banana. Anyway, fruit needs to be steamed to make it easy to puree for the little tummies to handle. I started with pear, apple, banana, peach.
Mixing fruits and veg are great - nice for them to taste, for sure. Though some people warn not to give too many sweet foods as they might later reject the non-sweet stuff.

 

[carang]

i don't think i buy the "contamination" bit. afterall, as soon as you put it in the blender, then you have a possibility for contamination again...doesn't make any logical sense to me.

for my kids, we just made an "apple sauce" or a "pear sauce" etc.... my daughter still loves applesauce.

 

[1stimemum]

thanks for the great advice, I steamed apples last week and gave it with rice porridge. surprising he ate it same as he eats vegetables... not keen!! thought the sweetness would have been a hit! ?

I bought Quaker Oat Bran (parknshop) for myself but was wondering if i can give it to son? its bran and a milled powder consistency. was thinking of adding to apple/ pear puree instead of rice porridge. Does anyone have experience with oat bran?

 

[carang]

i would steer clear of it... he could become VERY constipated, very quickly...

 

[lesliefu]

try adding the puree to his milk instead...he gets his milk intake which his body is used to and you can slowly introduce new fruits / veggies with something familiar to him instead of giving him all "new" things.

 

[BabyG]

I personally would not give it at this age. 5 1/2 months is still too young for "adult" food.