Keda Black - Baby and Toddler Meal Prep Plan

CONTENTS PREFACE What is batch cooking? Batch cooking is the idea of cooking in advance for the whole week. In concrete terms, you spend about 2 hours in the kitchen on a Sunday, after doing the shopping, for example. Its about doing the bulk of the work at this time. Then on each weekday, you only need to spend 10 minutes or so in the kitchen to finish preparing and heating your babys meals. good reasons
to adopt batch cooking REDUCE STRESS No more panicking each morning trying to work out what to make for your baby that day. With batch cooking, everything is planned and you dont have to think about it.

These little meals from home are also easy to transport and quick to heat up. EAT BETTER AND ONLY HOMEMADE Being organised means you have something homemade on hand each day, however simple it is, instead of relying too much on store-bought products. LESS WASTE Everything you buy is used. Fresh produce is cooked sooner, especially vegetables, which means they dont clutter up the refrigerator or go mouldy at the bottom of the crisper, and all leftovers are frozen. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK PRACTICAL ADVICE NOTICE This book is not a substitute for official recommendations and for the advice of your doctor, which can change over time and is, above all, specially tailored to each child. THE MAIN PERIODS The meal plans are divided into 4 main periods: 46 months 69 months months 12 months+ This division is suggested for the purposes of organisation, simplicity and understanding. THE MAIN PERIODS The meal plans are divided into 4 main periods: 46 months 69 months months 12 months+ This division is suggested for the purposes of organisation, simplicity and understanding.

It begins with the minimum age for sampling certain foods, which doesnt in any way mean that it is a precise timetable that should be strictly followed. Your child might only start at 6 months, for example, so their meals at 7 months wont be as varied and substantial as those of a child who started earlier. Babies can take their time to taste certain ingredients and textures. The meal plans should be adapted to your babys own rhythm, tastes, needs, teeth... Often the meal plans allow for a little left over that you can put in the freezer: you can adapt your new meals each week to what you have from the previous week. COOKING FOR YOUR BABYCooking methods Steaming, cooking in just a little water in a covered saucepan, and boiling are preferable to other methods, and the first two are better for preserving nutrients.

Cook foods for a fairly long time (adjust the cooking times to suit the size of the pieces and the steamer) so that the vegetables are soft and can be pured easily until smooth. For the very first pures, which are really more about introducing flavours than nutrition, boiling is probably the quickest and most practical option. Pan-frying is not suggested for many dishes. When you start preparing small meals (at around 9 months), you can brown food (meat in particular) quickly in a little fat, over medium heat, for the flavour. In the beginning, vegetables, fish and meat tend to be cooked separately. Salt, sugar, fat and spices Eliminate salt and sugar altogether to start with, and then introduce them sparingly (at about 12 months or a little before, but only very tiny pinches). Salt, sugar, fat and spices Eliminate salt and sugar altogether to start with, and then introduce them sparingly (at about 12 months or a little before, but only very tiny pinches).

Fat is not forbidden. Adding a little bit to pures is a quick way of improving their flavour. You can use all kinds of herbs and spices, introducing them little by little in very small quantities, and making sure you pure them well. Your babys food can be adapted from the family meal: set aside a portion of pumpkin to cook without salt, pure a small piece of chicken... In the book, the meal plans are designed specifically for babies, which is why some quantities (meat and fish in particular) are very small, but youll work out how to incorporate them into your overall shopping list. Equipment Cooking for your baby doesnt require any special equipment.

A saucepan and lid A steamer, or a Chinese bamboo steamer basket, or a metal steamer insert Something for pureing (blender, processor, stick blender), mashing (masher or fork), or you might even want to use a food mill (it takes longer but it produces a very nice texture). Dont pure potato in a blender or food processor as it will become gluey. A kitchen scale to divide up your pures for the week and check quantities of meat or fish (although you will soon be able to judge the amount your baby needs by eye without having to weigh it). As a general rule, 1 teaspoon of meat or fish is equivalent to about 10 g ( oz). Choosing produce Just as for adults, its a good idea to eat seasonally. The more organic fruits and vegetables, the better.

Peel fruits and vegetables in the beginning to make very smooth pures. Later, if the fruits and vegetables are organic and well washed, theres no reason to peel everything. STORAGE In theory, a homemade fruit or vegetable pure kept in the refrigerator should be consumed within 48 hours. This is why, when cooking for your baby in advance, we recommend freezing anything that wont be eaten the next day (or the day after). The ideal is to thaw each days food the day before or in the morning, in the refrigerator of course.