Worried about introducing solid food to your baby? Every new parent has been there, trust me.
Introducing solid food for your baby is not rocket science. The best advice we can give you is to choose homemade fruit and vegetable purees. Why? Because it’s the easiest food to prepare and it only takes 5 minutes or less.
You want something that is super healthy and super easy to prepare, even while you’re outside? Stay tuned, because we’re going to take you through an easy five-step process on how to make banana puree for your baby in less than 5 minutes!
Ingredients for Banana Puree
For one banana puree serving, you’ll need:
1/2 of medium banana (make sure it’s fresh and ripe!)
a mixing bowl
a knife
a slicing board
a fork – if you want super-simple approach and not worrying about the texture of the banana puree. For the alternatives, I would recommend a potato masher for a really smooth banana puree without bumps or a blender if you want a super smooth banana puree combined with some other fruit, like apple
a serving bowl or a cup (or you can skip this one and use the mixing bowl instead)
a plastic spoon
Optional: a few drops of breast milk or formula – in some recipes you will find water, but I wouldn’t go with that. Since banana already contains water, adding it can give your banana puree slimy texture.
Optional: one or two tablespoons of baby rice cereals – a great add to your banana puree, giving better texture and taste.
Step #1: Preparing
Before you start making a banana puree, make sure you have the right banana for the job. But how do you select a banana? First of all, look for bananas that are blemish-free and yellow in color. Do not go for those which are slightly brown in color or those which are green at the top.
Slightly brown bananas (usually with tiny brown spots on the skin) means that they have passed their prime time, and it’s not recommended to give that to your babies (use those for some delicious banana bread).
Also, green bananas are not ripe yet, so they will be hard to process/mash – and that’s definitely not recommended when preparing banana puree for your babies.
Step #2: Washing and Slicing
You might wonder why you need to wash your banana first (you’re going to peel the skin, anyway!)? Here’s the trick: when you slice banana with a peel still on, it will remain fresh for a little while longer.
How do you wash a banana? Mix water and vinegar in a 3:1 ratio in a bowl. Use that mix to clean the banana skin by soaking the banana into the bowl. Vinegar will help in removing the bacteria from the skin.
Wash your banana under tap water and dry it with a kitchen towel. Then, use your cutting board and knife and slice the banana into smaller pieces with the skin on. Make sure you peel it before you start mashing!
Step #3: Mashing
If you’re in a hurry (or you’re outside), mash the banana with a fork. It’s the easiest and simplest approach. You’ll be finished in no time. Simply mash the banana slices in the mixing bowl until you get a nice puree texture.
If you want to make a banana puree with a smoother texture, you can use potato masher. It’s also an easy approach and you don’t have to put too much strength to it. Simply press the banana slices in a mixing bowl until you get that nice and smooth texture.
However, if you’re really in the mood for some serious banana puree making (and you have some extra time, too), you can use a blender. The process is pretty much the same: slice the banana into smaller pieces and put them into a blender and use the blender’s puree setting.
Step #4: Serving
After you finish your mashing, use another bowl or cup for serving your banana puree. Now, this is the fun part: you can add some extra ingredients in your banana puree.
For 6-8-months-old babies, you can add a tablespoon of breast milk or formula. This will give a nice texture to your banana puree. Also, it is a great tip that will help your baby adapt to the taste of the new food a lot easier.
For 8-12-months-old babies, you can experiment with tastes and textures. You can add some other fruit to the mix (like apples) or some other vegetables (carrots or avocado). Or, you can add cereals, rice or maybe some yogurt.
Step #5: What to do with the rest?
So, now you know how to make banana puree for your baby, but the question is: What do you do with the rest?
It is not recommended to store it in the refrigerator, because bananas turn brown very quickly. So, if your baby doesn’t eat all of the puree, you should probably toss the rest. If you haven’t peeled your banana, you can store the rest of it in the fridge, but make sure you use it the next day!
Go make some puree!
There you go! It isn’t that hard, is it? Following this simple 5-step guide on how to make banana puree for your baby you will definitely make some fresh homemade food for your little one in less than 5 minutes. And that’s great, because you can make it at home or outside – just bring a fork with you!
