Avocados are a great first food for your baby. They are an excellent source of unsaturated fatty acids and have a higher proportion of this "good" fat than any other fruit except the olive. Yes, they are actually fruits, even though they are commonly thought of as vegetables. Try suing mashed avocados a a "vegetable butter", a replacement for butter that can be spread on crackers or sandwiches.
Equivalents 1 medium avocado = 1 cup
Age given at least 4 months
In Season year around, peak December through May
Choosing
when selecting avocados, look carefully for damage, which sows up as soft dark spots in the skin. tan-colored patches are ok. when picked up, an avocado should feel heavy for it's size. if you're not going to eat the avocado for a few days, select and avocado that is firm, but not rock hard, and ripen it at home. if you plan on eating it immediately, select a ripe avocado as described next.
Ripening
firm avocados will never ripen in the refrigerator - let them sit at room temp for up to 6 days. place them in a brown paper bag to speed ripening. avocados are ripe when they yield to gentle pressure and feel soft all over. another way to test for ripeness is to gently squeeze the whole avocado with all five fingers. (sing all five fingers prevents bruises) if they flesh feels like it is separating from the seed, the avocado is ripe. as avocados ripen, the skin becomes a darker green.s till another way to test for ripeness is to insert a toothpick in the stem end. if it moves easily, the avocado is ripe. avocados are easy to peel when they are ripe; they peel is hard to remove when avocados are under-ripe.
Storing
after ripened store the whole avocado in the refrigerator vegetable crisper for up to two weeks. your young baby will certainly leave avocado left overs. store cut avocados by leaving the skins on and keeping the pit in the uneaten portion. you can brush the fruit part with lemon juice (if baby is old enough for citrus) to keep it from turning brown. it's ok to eat the brown part, but you can easily scrap it off with a knife. wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
Freezing using the Food Cube Method
the easiest way i've found to freeze avocado in food cubes is this: take a sharp knife and cut avocado in half crosswise so that you have two "cups" remove the huge seed. use a spoon to scoop out the flesh from peel and place on a flat dish. use a fork to mash flesh on dish. spoon into ice cube trays and pat flat with your clean fingers. freeze up to 3 months. i suggest you give your baby 1-2 tablespoons for 1/2 to 1 food cube every day for some of the fatty acids she needs for brain development.
Avocados were my DD's first food, and they're her favorite food too! :) She will eat ANYTHING if it's mixed with avocado lol. She loves it plain but it's good mixed with...
avocado banana oatmeal
avocado and green veggies (peas, grean beans, spinach)
avocado and sweet potato
and in a few months I will put in some cooked vidalia onion.
I love them too...mmm...guacamole....
If you get one that's rock hard, leave it on your counter a few days until it has some give. Then put it in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat it.
I started giving J. avocado the other day. I ran it through the food mill and made avocado spaghetti ;-}. He's... unenthused. But I froze some and we'll try again later. (Yes, you can freeze avocado!)
Quoting DanaMel:
Thanks for the advice. I was going to try avocados, but I didn't know how to choose one...I don't eat them.
Quoting Lanasmom:Hmm...hard to describe what avocados are supposed to taste like, except to say they're yummy!
I tried avocados but when i pureed it, it came out grainy and tasted terrible.
Could it be under ripe? Has anyone else eaten them, and what are they suppose to taste like?
Umm...I don't know about grainy, but an unripened avocado probably tastes somewhat bitter.
Here's some info as to how to tell if you have a ripe avocado, and if not, how to ripen them:
A ripe avocado is relatively firm, but will yield to gentle pressure when held in the palm of the hand and squeezed. Color cannot always be trusted to determine whether or not an avocado is ripe. Indeed, the squeeze test is the most accurate.
If you plan to use avocados immediately, buy ripe ones. But if you want to buy them a few days before you plan to use them, you can buy them when they are hard and do not yield to squeezing. Then just set them out in a cool place and wait for them to get ripe.
But what if you want them to get ripe faster? A good trick is to put the avocados in a brown paper bag. Putting an apple in the bag with the avocados speeds the process even more.
Once you do cut into an avocado you want to eat it as quickly as possible. Avocados will quickly brown when exposed to air, even if refrigerated. You can just skim the brown layer from the surface of the avocado and make use of the rest. But a good way to stop browning is to sprinkle lime or lemon juice over the avocado (especially in guacamole form). Another good technique is to put the avocado seed in the bowl with your guacamole.
Baby Led Weaning
- cali4niachef
on May. 7, 2007 at 12:49 PM