Philips Robot cuiseur vapeur et mixeur Philips AVENT - Manuel (Page 3)

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Starting weaning your baby
It is truly rewarding for any parent to see how
quickly their tiny newborn grows and develops
into a happy, healthy baby. Good nutrition is vital
for the healthy growth and happiness of your
baby. Breast milk is the ideal first food, containing
all the natural nutritional content that is specific
to babies’ needs. Infant formula too has its place
as an alternative for when breastfeeding is not
possible. Generally, after the first month of life,
infants gain an average of 0.5 to 1 kilogram a
month for the first six months. Beyond this stage,
a combination of both milk and solid foods is
required to promote growth whilst infants gain
approximately 0.5 kilogram in weight per month.
At around 4-6 months, babies begin to sit up with
support, are able to control their heads and often
put anything that they can find into their mouths.
At this stage they may seem less satisfied with
the milk that they are given and more conscious
and curious of adult eating habits, especially those
of their parents. This is an indication that they are
now ready to start eating solid foods themselves,
which complements the milk that they are given,
with the added benefit of providing even more
nutrients. This is a very exciting phase for infants
as they can experiment and learn to enjoy new
and different tastes you offer them.
It is true that all babies grow and develop
differently. Many are happy to wait until 6 months
to begin weaning, however others may seem to
be ready before that time. Four months or 17
weeks is the earliest age that you should consider
beginning to wean your baby. For further advice it
would be advisable to consult your health visitor
or local doctor.
When your baby is ready, you will want to make
the first solid foods from fresh ingredients, so
that food nutrients remain as intact as possible.
Buying and preparing foods yourself is the best
way of ensuring this because you know exactly
what your baby is eating. The foods you buy and
how they are stored, prepared and cooked will
affect their nutritional content. It is important to
buy fresh ingredients, to store them according to
any given instructions and to prepare them on a
clean surface.
Steaming is one of the best cooking methods
that helps to preserve flavours. Steaming with
the unique Philips AVENT Combined Steamer
and Blender helps to retain essential nutrients
because the juices that are released from
the food during the steaming phase are
retained for mixing back into the
food during the blending phase.
In this way, as many nutrients
as possible are retained
in the food in order to
provide a healthy diet.
As you know, there are
many reliable sources of
information on weaning,
such as baby clinics,
doctor’s surgeries and
online web-sites that can
help you to decide when
your baby is ready to
start weaning and
move from one stage
to the next.
Enjoy this special stage
in your baby’s life!
Judy More, Freelance
Paediatric Dietician,
www.child-nutrition.co.uk
GB GB
General professional recommendations
• Always store food safely and adhere to use-by
dates. Prepare food in a clean kitchen with clean
utensils and bowls for optimum hygiene. Wash
hands before food preparation, and baby’s hands
before feeding.
• All fruits and vegetables should be carefully
washed before use. Some need peeling.
• Salt should not be added to foods for babies
– try using herbs or mild spices as you would
in your usual family recipes to make the foods
tastier for your baby.
• Sugar should not be added unless a very small
amount is added to tart fruit to make it palatable.
• Baby food should be cooked thoroughly until
piping hot and allowed to cool before serving.
• Microwaving heats foods unevenly and can
cause hotspots which may scald your baby. Make
sure any food you warm up this way is
mixed thoroughly and left to cool before
serving. Use the Philips AVENT Bottle
and Baby Food Warmer to heat your
baby’s food safely and evenly.
• Never re-heat your baby’s
food more than once.
• Most freshly cooked
foods can be stored in the
refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
• Preparing batches and freezing them in ice
cube trays or food containers, such as VIA Cups,
can save you lots of time! VIA Cups are sterile,
stackable and can easily be written on with the
name of the food and the date prepared. Check
your freezer’s instructions to find out how
long you can store baby food safely. It is usually
between 1 and 3 months.
• Do not refreeze food after it has been thawed.
• Some foods, such as raw shellfish, liver, soft
unpasteurised cheeses and honey, are not
suitable for babies under 12 months. Eggs should
always be well cooked. Always check with your
health visitor if you are unsure.
• If there is a family history of allergy, exclusive
breastfeeding to 6 months is strongly
recommended. Continue breastfeeding during
the weaning stage and, when you introduce foods
that can cause allergies, such as milk, eggs, wheat,
nuts, seeds, fish and shellfish, do so one at a time.
• The stage by stage meal planners are examples
of a balanced meal plan with a variety of foods.
Adapt these to use seasonal fruit and vegetables
and your family foods. Generally, sweet potato
can be replaced with potato and you can use any
root vegetables in place of carrot.
Guidelines for best results
• The quantities stated in the recipes usually provide
you with enough food to serve and some left over
to store or freeze. Adapt the quantities stated to
suit your needs, but remember that the steaming
times will vary according to the quantity of food
in the jar. Check the instructions for use for the
approximate steaming times for different foods.
• The final consistency of the food also depends
on the nature and quantity of the ingredients. To
reach the desired consistency, add some of the
usual baby milk or water to thin it down or add
some baby rice or drain some of the cooking
water before blending to thicken it.
• All final quantities are indicative and can vary
depending on the nature of the ingredients and
cooking time.
• The number of portions stated in the recipes
provided below is only an approximation.
Appetite and growth vary from baby to baby, as
does the required portion size.
• The recipes’ photographic guide is aimed to
provide you with a quick visual reference for
cooking with your Combined Steamer Blender.
When using the product for the first times you
are advised to refer to the full recipes’ instructions.
Disclaimer: These recipes have been carefully selected by
nutritional experts like Judy and Gillian. If in doubt, particularly
in cases of known or suspected allergies to certain foods,
please consult your doctor or health visitor as appropriate.