It’s no secret that babies go bananas for bananas. They are a soft food that’s easy for them to eat, plus they’re yummy!
While you can buy banana baby food in the store, it’s so easy and inexpensive to make at home, that many parents just do it themselves. As long as you have bananas in the house you’re good to go.
We’re going to take a look at how to make banana baby food with frozen bananas as well as some other interesting things you may want to know when it comes to making this tasty treat for your little one.
In this article
Benefits of Bananas
Bananas are not only soft and easy for babies to eat and digest, but they also have health benefits. For starters, they are high in potassium. Potassium is vital for growing babies because it acts as an electrolyte. This not only manages hydration levels but also makes it possible for oxygen to reach their cells.
Bananas also contain several essential vitamins that help babies gain a healthy weight. These include:
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Zinc
- Vitamins A, B6, and B12
- Fiber
- Folate
When they’re ripe, bananas are a great source of carbohydrates. While you’ll puree bananas when your kids are babies, as they get older, the fruit grows with them. You’ll start to notice that you don’t have to mash them up as much and that your baby can begin to eat small pieces.
Making Banana Baby Food
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When you make banana baby food, you can use fresh, ripe bananas or frozen bananas. If you’re using fresh bananas, you’ll want to pay attention to the color of the peel. This is also true if you’re going to freeze the banana to make baby food later.
Green bananas are usually harder and will be difficult to puree. Yellow bananas are sweeter and are good to bite into if you’re eating them alone. But, when you’re making baby food, you’ll want to look for the bananas with the peels that are starting to turn brown.
The browner the peel, the sweeter and softer the banana will be which will be easier for you to mash. These bananas will also be sweeter and creamier.
If you’re using frozen bananas, you want to be sure the banana was whole when it was frozen and that it wasn’t in the freezer longer than six months.
When the banana is frozen, the peel will turn black. But, the banana inside is still good to use. It will also be mushy when it’s thawed, but that’s good because it will be easier to puree.
Mixing Baby Banana Food
Once your frozen banana is thawed, you can cut up slices and put them in a blender or you can mash them with a fork. Using a fork can result in larger pieces, so it’s your call.
When you use a blender, you’re more likely to get a smoother puree. You may need to add a few drops of water if you’re using a blender. If the puree is too thick it’s going to be hard for your baby to swallow.
You can go with straight bananas or you can mix other fruits with it.
Strawberries, blueberries, apples, and pears are all good choices to mix with bananas. You may want to make sure your baby has had them before you start mixing to make sure there are no reactions and that they actually like the fruits.
You can even mix in vegetables like butternut squash and avocado. Again, be careful not to mix too many new flavors at once. Always check with your pediatrician before giving any new foods to your baby. You don’t want to mix too many flavors at once.
Baby Banana Food Recipe
This recipe is so easy because all you need is:
- 1 cup sliced bananas
Put them in a blender to puree or mash them up with your fork. That’s all! It’s so easy and your baby will love it. As we mentioned, you can add in some other fruits, but otherwise, your baby banana food is ready to go.
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How to Store Baby Banana Food
One of the big things about bananas is that they brown quickly. To prevent this from happening you can make your puree in small batches. You can also add a drop of lemon juice to keep it from browning as much. Lemons are safe and a few drops won’t change the taste of the banana.
The puree typically lasts 3-4 days in the fridge. You can also choose to freeze it. If you do, you’ll definitely want to add some lemon juice because it will brown even more when it’s frozen.
You can pour the puree into a silicone ice cube tray. Once the cubes are frozen you can store them in a freezer-safe bag or container. When frozen, the banana puree is usually good for up to three months.
You can thaw your banana puree by leaving it in your refrigerator overnight. Some parents thaw the puree by using hot water, but this can get tedious because you have to be careful not to thaw it too much that you overheat the bananas.
By leaving it in your fridge, you can be sure that it thaws out and it will never get warm.
Banana baby food is an easy treat to make your little one. It doesn’t take much time or many ingredients. Since you can freeze it too, you can make a batch and have it ready for a couple of months so your baby can go bananas any time she wants!
