DON'T FORGET THE BASICS Always test temperature of food before you serve it. Keep in mind that your baby's mouth is more sensitive than yours. Be sure to pay attention to good hygiene practices when preparing your baby's food.

NEVER BEFORE 4 MONTHS You may find that your friends and family -- with best of intentions -- will tell you to begin adding cereals to bottle when your baby is just a few weeks old. The story goes that this will help him/her sleep better at night. Please ignore this advice -- it is a myth. Your baby's body isn't ready to cope with any solid foods yet. Do NOT give your baby ANY solid foods before he/she reaches four months of age. Most babies begin transition somewhere between five and seven months (no later than eight months is recommended).

Finally, always keep in mind that every baby is unique. While there are some rules that are true for every child, feeding your baby is largely a process of 'learning on job'. After all, it's your baby who'll let you know when he/she is ready to try out new foods and it's your baby who'll tell you what he/she likes or doesn't like.

Use good old common sense. Follow guidelines, but don't be ruled by them.

Have Fun!

Nancy.

Meats and fish can be cooked in any manner you like (steam-cooked, boiled, micro-waved, etc.). Just be sure that they're well cooked and that you remove all fat bits and hard bits before serving. (If frying or roasting meat or fish, try to avoid adding fat - or keep it to a bare minimum).

Don't add any salt, fat or sugar to your baby's food. It isn't necessary.

4. SERVING THE FOOD Use a food blender (or a mashing fork) to mix food to right texture for your baby.

If he/she is just starting out with solids, then food should be completely 'liquified' and added in small quantities to his/her bottle. As your baby matures, you'll begin feeding him/her directly with a spoon. Gradually make food slightly thicker and slightly chunkier (beginning with 'chunks' no bigger than a grain of salt). Give your baby time to adjust at every stage of progression.

If you have cooking water, you can add some to food to smoothen it or make it less dry (except for carrots, spinach, beets and turnip -- use fresh water or milk instead).

Remember that your baby's mouth is much more sensitive to heat than yours. His/her food should be warm, not hot.

IN CONCLUSION... Really, two most important points to bear in mind when cooking for your baby are: (1) Make sure that he/she is able to comfortably deal with texture of food, and (2) Avoid preparing foods that are inappropriate for his/her age.

Everything else is just plain old cooking.

Nancy.