How to prepare ripe plantains for babies

Ripe plantains are good for babies. Because they are sweet, my babies love almost every ripe plantain meal we make for them. Our little babies love it when I put a little of some ripe plantain dish in their mouth and they immediately begin to lick their lips loudly.

Making ripe plantains for babies is easy. Do not be scared of introducing your babies to plantain meals. Plantains are a rich source of potassium and Iron, every baby needs these nutrients to grow well. Because ripe plantains are sweet, some Nigerian parents are careful about feeding their babies with them, for fear that they may purge the babies. No. My children ate ripe plantain meals and I can confidently say that ripe plantains never purged any of them. Some  are teens already as I type this post.

Ripe plantains are good for six month old babies. When you start introducing your cute baby to solid foods, remember to include ripe plantains. Homemade Nigerian food recipes for babies are very easy to cook. They don’t take time like when we cook egusi and pounded yam for us adults. Nigerian baby foods are not complicated at all. They require simple and affordable ingredients, a hygienic environment and very little or no pepper at all.

Aside loads of energy, ripe plantains have many other health benefits for babies. For my babies, I introduce them to solids like ripe plantains earlier than six months like I said in my homemade nutritious baby pap with soya bean powder post where I explained that by three months my babies already got introduced to watery pap and before 6 months, they are eating every solid food served in a soft version.

When we cook ripe plantains for babies, we prefer to boil the plantains. Frying is ok if you can mash the cooked plantains but boiling is better nutrition wise.

WHY DRINKING WATER IS IMPORTANT WHEN YOU FEED BABIES WITH SOLID FOODS

When you feed babies with solids, remember to give drinking water frequently to help push down the food. These six month or nine month old babies are still learners, they not used to solid foods and may not be able to swallow without the help of drinking water. Foods may stick to their throat if feeding is not properly supervised and water given very frequently.

At this age, the baby’s digestive organs are still learning to digest solid foods and need help from water. Bowel movement too is better when we give enough water while feeding them solids. If you don’t give enough water when babies start to get introduced to solid foods, they may find it hard toileting. Water helps the babies with food digestion and ease of bowel movements.

They may not be able to show you signs that they need water, so, just keep drinking water beside the baby food and give as you feed.

STEPS ON HOW TO PREPARE RIPE PLANTAINS FOR BABIES

1. Wash and place plantains in a deep cooking pot.
2. Add boiling water to cover the plantains in the pot. Cover and let them cook till soft and non sticky.
3. Drain the hot water, peel off the soft plantain skin. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and immediately mash with a potato masher, mortar and pestle or spoon. Mash while plantains are still hot. A drop of oil makes for easier mashing though.
4. Check that they taste great which I’m sure they do. Feel free to drop warm water while mashing, if you want the mashed meal softer.
5. Leave to cool before serving the baby. Mash plantains hot BUT let the mashed ripe plantain cool down before serving them. (Here, what I do is sprinkle in a little palm oil, just little, mix and feed the baby but there are many other options and sauces to use when feeding babies mashed ripe plantains).
6. Serve with some sauce or stew sprinkled on the mashed ripe plantains (NO PEPPER IN 6 MONTH OLD BABY FOOD PLEASE).

 

WHY SOME BABIES WILL LIKE OR NOT LIKE RIPE PLANTAIN MEALS

NOTE: When babies show a lack of interest in ripe plantain meals, most of the time it’s because they don’t like the sauce or stew mixed with the plantains. For my babies, they enjoyed the mashed plantains served plain without sauces. This way they eat so well and after the meal, what I do is feed them some protein and vegetable as desert kind of but not mixed together with the plantains.

You can keep your egg, deboned cooked fish, stewed chicken or whatever form of protein you are giving the baby, set that aside and feed the baby later. But if your baby likes them all mixed together, feel free to feed the cutie.

If you are ready to introduce your baby to solid foods but do not know where to start, we have a post on where to start with introducing babies to solids.

Are you aware that feeding babies with solid foods from six months helps them sleep better?