Avocado baby food offers a nutritious first step in solid foods for babies. To begin with, avocados contain 20 vitamins and minerals, including folate, potassium, iron, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K, plus several variants of vitamin B. In addition, avocados are packed with protein, fiber, and healthy fats without no cholesterol or sodium. Avocados are very low in saturated fat, too. Babies need omega-3 fatty acids to promote brain and eye development, and avocados are one of the fattiest plant foods that are a great source of oleic acid, an important omega-3 that’s also found in olive oil.
- Easy, fun-flavored yummy avocado/fruit puree
- Super nutritious, avocado/green vegetable puree
- Crispy, easy-to-grab coated avocado slices
- Vitamin-packed avocado/banana smoothie
- Avocado baby food and sweet potato puree
- Delicious avocado blueberry muffins
- Protein Power avocado/egg puree
- How early can avocados be introduced to baby?
Conveniently, avocados are also soft and easy for babies to gum and swallow. They’re simple for busy parents and caregivers to mash with a fork or puree in a food processor. Plus, avocados are easy to combine with other healthy foods for simple baby foods. So, which avocado baby foods should you make at home? Here are seven simple recipe ideas for your little one to enjoy that are a snap to make.
Easy, fun-flavored yummy avocado/fruit puree
For a quick avocado baby food meal, puree avocado in a food processor or small blender with a sweet fruit, and your baby will gobble it up. Here are some fruits that make a tasty combination with avocado:
- Banana
- Apple
- Pear
- Kiwi
- Pineapple
- Strawberry
With these purees, as with any baby food purees, you can add water, breast milk, or formula to change the consistency. Avocados are rather firm and will make a whipped consistency, but if you add liquid, the puree will thin out. The thinner the consistency, the easier the puree is for a baby to swallow. There isn’t any need to cook avocados, but with harder fruits like apples, you may want to steam them first before pureeing.
You can also alternate the amounts of each ingredient as needed. You can add one whole avocado in with half an apple of steamed slices with a little water, or you could throw in one to 10 strawberries, depending on what you find your baby prefers. The avocado to fruit ratio is totally up to you and dependent on what baby likes.
Super nutritious, avocado/green vegetable puree
Go green with this tasty and healthy avocado/veggie puree. These vegetables make nutritious and delicious combo purees with avocado:
- Peas
- Broccoli
- Kale
- Spinach
- Asparagus
Just like the fruit purees, you can add liquid to change the consistency and play with the ratio to find the combination your baby likes best.
Crispy, easy-to-grab coated avocado slices
If you’ve ever tried serving your baby raw avocado, you know it’s very slippery. However, cutting the avocado into slices allows babies to grasp and feed themselves, helping to develop fine motor skills. Moreover, you can coat the slices in a breadcrumb mixture made of crumbled baby crackers, puffs, or wafers to make the slices easier to hold. It also makes good use of the dust at the bottom of the puffs container.
Vitamin-packed avocado/banana smoothie
Of course, you can DIY any smoothie recipe, but here are a few avocado combos perfect for a nutritious smoothie for baby:
- Avocado, banana, spinach, and yogurt
- Avocado, banana, blueberries, and baby oatmeal
- Avocado, banana, mango, and peach
- Avocado, banana, and strawberries
Mix and match all you want to find that perfect avocado/banana smoothie your baby loves. Pop it all in the blender with your choice of liquid (water, breast milk, or formula) and you’re done! You can add flax or chia seeds to any of these recipes for extra nutrition or maple syrup for a touch of sweetness.
Avocado baby food and sweet potato puree
Sweet potatoes are cheap, naturally sweet on the little one’s taste buds, and easy to cook and puree. After you cook two cups of diced sweet potatoes, mix them with the pulp of one avocado in a blender. Then, add one cup of water at a time, until you get the thickness of the puree you’re looking for.
Delicious avocado blueberry muffins
If you’re ready to get more complex, go all out by baking avocados into muffins using this recipe. You’ll get 36 mini muffins that store in a Tupperware container on the counter for a week. This one is best for older babies who can chew beyond purees. They’re great for toddlers too.
Protein Power avocado/egg puree
For this nutrition powerhouse meal, add a hard-boiled egg (never serve raw or undercooked egg to a baby) to a half of an avocado with a tablespoon of water (or breast milk or formula) and blend. For even better consistency, add only the hard-boiled yolk to the mixture and set the hard-boiled whites aside for another recipe.
How early can avocados be introduced to baby?
You can give your baby their first taste of avocado right around the six-month milestone. It’s around the same time that you’ll be introducing fruits, vegetables, and solid foods other than rice cereal.
Feeding a baby raw, mashed avocado is certainly a good introductory food, but with these combinations, you’ll be enhancing the flavors and increasing the nutrition, all while helping to avoid a picky eater by giving a diversity of tastes in each meal. An avocado can freeze for up to a month before losing its nutritional value and taste, so store the extra puree in ice cube trays and defrost as needed. Since avocados can turn brown so quickly, freeze them right away if you’re not going to serve them immediately. Don’t forget to sneak yourself a taste while you’re cooking. Avocados are a healthy pick for adults too.
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