Yoghurt and Fruit for Babies

Last time Aldi had their awesome yoghurt makers on special, I missed out- not this time!  I'm going out today to see if I can track one down, I heard rave reviews about them last year!

Home made yoghurt is not only cheap (all you need is milk and a live bacteria culture), it's so good for you!  Most supermarket brands contain gelatin or setting agents, preservatives and added sugars, colours and flavours to make them either cheaper to make, or more appealing to taste.  Organic yoghurts are now readily available but can be expensive to buy.  Making it yourself means you have absolute control over what goes in once you've made a first batch, you can use that yoghurt as a 'starter' (live culture) to make subsequent batches.

Yoghurt is a great baby food- it's smooth, nutritious and good for intestinal flora.  Though doctors recommend against dairy under the age of one, this really only refers to milk, and is to discourage replacing a breast or formula feed with a glass of milk, which is not as nutritious.

Making yoghurt at home means you can also experiment with Goat or Sheep's milk, both of which are cleaner, less processed and less allergenic than cow's milk dairy.  My little man can't tolerate even organic cow yoghurt so we are planning to try him on goat yoghurt this weekend- I'll let you know how he goes!

Plain organic yoghurt can taste a bit gamey, so adding fruit will improve the flavour and add a bit of variety.  Unfortunately fresh, quality fruit is pretty limited at the moment.  I have just made a batches of Apricot and Fig puree from dried fruit, and some frozen blueberries.  Frozen fruits are often more nutritious and 'fresher' than fresh fruit as they are frozen immediately, not left sitting in a truck or on a shelf for a weeks.  Dry fruits mean we have access to a bigger variety or fruits all year round and are fine to use, as long as they are sulphite free, with no added preservatives, sugar or salt.  You can always pick naturally dried apricots- they are dark brown rather than fluorescent orange! Of course organic is best and you can sometimes get this in the supermarket, but more likely from your local health food store.  To use dried fruit, cover with water and simmer gently until it's plump and soft.  Then, mash or puree into the desired consistency.  Most frozen fruits need to be cooked as well- because of the higher water content, you can boil or steam these.

Check out Wholesome Baby Food for great recipes!  They've got sections on yoghurt, kids smoothies and various fruits, including the more exotic ones.