Homemade Baby Food Ideas – No Cooking Required
Jan 24th, 2009 by Christine
We received an interesting question today from Diana in Toronto, Canada who asked us
My husband and I are taking a trip to Mexico and bringing our daughter. She will be 8.5 months at the time. I will not have access to a kitchenette or refrigerator as we are staying at an all inclusive resort. I don’t want to offer any jarred foods. What can I do?? I know I can give her banana and avocado but that likely won’t be enough for 1 week!! Please help!
Diana, having no access to either cooking or refrigeration facilities can be quite a challenge when it comes to continuing to provide homemade baby food – however, we do have some suggestions for you that should help you get through the week and provide a little variety for your baby!
- As you mentioned, avocado and banana are foods that can be easily prepared without cooking. Papaya, melon, peach and plum can also be mashed up and served without cooking (this page provides more information about serving raw foods to your little one).
- A ripe, juicy pear is another option and can be mashed up quite easily.
- If you can buy individual pots of natural yogurt at your resort, these can be served either alone or with mashed fruit added. Including ripe, mashed banana can help sweeten the yogurt, as it may be too tart otherwise. Mashed melon and banana with yogurt is particularly tasty! You could also add grated apple to yogurt – again, no cooking is required.
- Little pots of cottage cheese would be ideal if they are available at your destination. Cottage cheese is great served alone, or with fruit added.
- For a boost of nutrients, We recommend taking some toasted wheat germ with you and adding it to the food you offer your baby.
- If cooked chicken is provided during your meal at your resort, then this could be finely shredded with a fork and mixed with natural yogurt and mashed melon as a simple but tasty chicken salad.
- Canned tuna can be mashed with canned lima beans for a tasty dinner – ensure that the lima beans are either salt-free or low sodium. If they DO contain salt, rinse them thoroughly before use (there is more information about using canned foods in your baby food recipes here).
- Cous cous can be very easily prepared during your break, as long as you have access to fresh, boiled water, which your hotel may be able to provide. Once boiled water is poured over cous cous and the grains have absorbed the moisture, it is ready to eat. It can be combined with fruit purees or yogurt for a more substantial meal.
- For an easy breakfast, you could soak a slice of whole wheat bread in milk, then mash it thoroughly with banana or another fruit puree.
- Another breakfast option would be to bring some Cheerios with you and soak them in applesauce (which you would have to buy in its jarred form) or with another fruit you have pureed yourself (you might like to consider taking a manual food mill along with you to make pureeing easier – the Munchkin Baby Food Mill that appears on this page would be ideal).
- You could also try bringing along some instant oatmeal – not the best choice nutritionally, but acceptable for just one week and only needing the addition of boiling water! You can make it more nutritious by stirring in pureed fruit.
- However, uncooked rolled oats can be used too – if you mix them with apple juice and allow them to soften, then stir in another fruit or yogurt and mash well, they can make a filling and nutritious breakfast (this is something we offered to our little ones when in a similar situation with no cooking facilities).
Can YOU come up with any more suggestions for foods that Diane might be able to offer her baby during her vacation?
Please leave your comments!
If you are in Mexico, please make sure you’re in a safe, modern location. Otherwise, feeding your baby fresh food that is uncooked might put them at risk of food poisoning. Also, make sure the fruit is clean and safe. In many places, conditions aren’t quite sanitary enough… even at a resort, you might make sure all the fruit and vegetables are washed and cleaned thoroughly in sterile water.
(I lived in China for three years. I lost track of how many times I was food poisoned. We had our son after we moved to Japan.)
Thanks both Christine and Kim. The suggestions are awesome!! I never realized I could offer so much! My daughter is starting solids in 1 week therefore I have yet to commence the solids journey
I’m trying to think ahead (into stage 2) when I’m still in stage 1 so it’s been a little difficult determining what I can and can’t offer.
Regarding the sanitation conditions, I’ve thought of that. I’m staying at a 5 star hotel in Los Cabos therefore I’m hoping the cleanliness will show a bit more than some other spots in Mexico.
I will definitely take your advice and ensure everything is sterile and clean before offering the food to my daughter!
Thanks so much! I’m saving all this information!
1. Keep a pair of scissors handy for chopping up foods. (I have one that comes with a nice protective sleeve, just a plain pair of office scissors that I use only for food.) If you use a mill, chopping up the food with the scissors beforehand will help the milling process along. Later, when your baby can eat chunkier foods with a fork, and more variety, the scissors will be a great help, and you won’t have to bring along separate meals!
2. For emergencies, I’ve carried instant baby cereals along, like Earth’s Best baby cereals. I mix some up with water and yogurt first into a thick paste, and then top with fresh yogurt. I has the consistency of ice cream, and my baby LOVES it. You can also mix the baby cereals with any jarred baby foods and pureed fruits.
3. Also, take along some plastic containers or ziploc baggies to save small amounts of food from your own plate that won’t spoil for a few hours and that would mix well with your other goodies. This way, if your baby needs a healthier and more substantive meal or snack when you’re not eating, you can supplement baby’s meal easily.
[...] Homemade Baby Food Ideas – No Cooking Required If you’re going on a trip and will have no access to cooking facilities, here are some ideas to ensure your baby continues to receive healthy, homemade baby food. [...]
[...] Alternatively – to make things really easy – you could check out our post from last January that lists lots of ‘no cook’ baby food ideas for feeding your baby homemade baby food when you’re on … [...]