Banana puree is an excellent addition to your baby’s diet with its beautiful selection of amazing nutrients. It has a delectable flavor, is less allergic, and is creamy. Since banana alone will be inedible for babies, you can mash it in a blender or even manually with your hands and present it for eating.
While they are originally cultivated in Southeast Asia, they may grow in various warm regions, subjected to feasible climatic and soil conditions. In addition, bananas come with many incredible health benefits for your babies.
Moreover, bananas are a great addition to your meals as dessert. Hence, making banana puree for baby is a recipe many parents swear by. So, here, in this article, we’ll share an easy recipe to make a banana puree.
Health Benefits of Bananas in Kids
Bananas are high in dietary fiber and easily digestible, which helps newborns and children avoid constipation. Unripe bananas also have resistant starch, which kids’ bodies do not digest. When these two forms of fiber are amalgamated, it keeps blood sugar levels under check post-meals.
Additionally, by slowing the stomach emptying process, they may aid in the appetite control of babies. It is high in vitamins, especially vitamin B6, which aids the overall development of children. They are also enriched with calcium, which promotes children’s bone health.
Besides, bananas contain potassium and magnesium, which are beneficial for heart health. Studies suggest potassium-rich diets can reduce the risk of human heart diseases by as much as 27%. However, magnesium shortage can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and blood fat levels. Thus, you would undoubtedly want to consider increasing the banana intake of your children.
Moreover, potassium-enriched bananas are beneficial for maintaining your babies’ kidneys in good shape. Multiple studies have also claimed that regular consumption of unripe bananas filled with resistant starch can increase insulin sensitivity.
Pectin fiber is also found in ripe and unripe bananas, which aid constipation relief and stool softening in your babies. However, constipation is a common symptom in pregnancy too. So, even pregnant women are recommended to have bananas to maintain their own and child’s bowel functionality.
Flavonoids and amines are two types of powerful antioxidants found in bananas. They protect babies’ cells from oxidative damage produced by free radicals. Otherwise, these radicals can build up in the body without antioxidants over time and cause harm if their levels become too high.
How to Make Banana Puree for Baby?
With such remarkable health benefits, making banana puree for baby is necessary. The steps needed to make it are pretty simple and easy to follow. However, even though it is simple, it packs a lot of punch, which explains why many people, including your baby, will love it.
Well, there are many types and uses of banana puree. You can make banana smoothies, porridges, oats purees, custard, etc., and add anything you think will be healthy and packed with nutrients. These can also serve as highly nutritious sides to eat in your pregnancy while watching moves at home with a bucket full of popcorns.
However, here, we’ve come up with the best and most convenient recipe for how to make banana puree for baby. Here are all the steps to prepare the simplest banana puree.
Keep them in a clean bowl after peeling the cover of around 1-2 ripe bananas. Make sure you use ripe ones; otherwise, it will become hard to mash, and the taste will also be bad.
Ensure that the bananas are not kept in the open for a long time. If not, they will turn black, and you should avoid that.
Then add some water and milk (formula or breast milk) to the bananas and start mashing the mixture with a fork or spoon. The amount of milk can be varied based on your calculations and preferences.
However, sometimes lumps may remain in the mixture when you mash it manually. And it may lead to your baby choking and having a tough time eating it. So, if you want to avoid those, you can use a blender.
Taste it and make sure that it is the right consistency. If you want a thicker banana puree, you can consider adding an extra banana.
Can You Freeze Banana Puree for Baby?
Making a banana puree is easy and hardly takes time. However, doing it every day can become a huge chore that you start hating. So, you must be wondering, “Can you freeze banana puree.” Well, lucky you, the answer is a “Yes.” So, the convenient work-around way is to make it in batches and freeze them. Do not worry about it going bad or rotten. Eating banana puree after freezing can be equally healthy.
However, you will need to keep it at room temperature for some time.There are multiple ways to freeze them, and you can try all of them out. Then, you can decide on the one that works out for you. This way, you can freeze the banana puree for baby and keep it longer.
Fill your ice cube tray halfway with the banana puree. Don’t try to cram everything into each slot. Then, enfold it with a sheet of cling film to prevent spills and keep the puree away from odors.
Leave the tray in the freezer to make the banana puree solidify. Then, after a few hours, you can remove them from the tray and put them in a freezer bag for some more time in the refrigerator.
For How Long Can You Freeze Banana Puree for Baby?
Even if the banana puree is left in the fridge untouched, it still has risks of decomposing, and the color and taste can go bad very soon. Hence, we advise freezing banana puree for no more than 3-months.
Make sure that your banana puree for baby is kept away from the air to avoid it browning too quickly. However, you’ll have to defrost the banana puree to bring it to the average room temperature as you’ll be serving it to your infant.
Final Thoughts
We understand that planning a diet for babies can be challenging and overwhelming for many busy parents with a hectic schedule. Moreover, you have to make food items and ensure that it is cooked properly to avoid health problems from arising.
So, making banana puree for baby is the best combination of saving time and cooking delicious and nutritious food. They can be made in multiple batches and frozen ahead of time.
Also, make sure that you follow the necessary precautions to prevent your banana puree from going bad. Nevertheless, you can always consult a pediatrician for help regarding your baby’s diet.