Parents raising children abroad always have at least two options at the crossroads of parenting. Will it be local or Korean? At all these crossroads, I have always chosen “the easier and more comfortable of the two,” unless one is significantly beneficial to the baby. (Easy and comfortable here, of course, means easy and convenient for me 😅) Believing that a mother’s happiness is her child’s happiness haha (last post: selfish and lazy mother’s parenting)
Anyway, in the case of baby food, French was the easier and more convenient option.
Today, I want to talk a little bit about French baby food.
When to Start Weaning in France
In France, it is usually recommended to start at 6 months. (The number of months we are talking about here always refers to the number of full months) Depending on the signs the child shows, it may start earlier than 6 months, but weaning food is not to be started before 4 months.
baby food signal
– knows how to sit alone
– Appearance that formula or breast milk alone is not sufficient
– Shows great interest in the food adults eat, licks their lips, pretends to accept food when given to them, pretends to eat it, etc.
The reason we start weaning from 6 months is because you can no longer fill all the nutrients your child needs with only breast milk or formula. Also, around 6 months, the baby’s digestive system is more developed and can gradually digest solid food. If you have a family history before 4 months, you should be wary of starting weaning because there is a higher chance of developing allergies.
French Baby Food Precautions
According to “Manger Bouger Eat and Move”, a site promoting healthy eating habits operated by the French Ministry of Health, a baby should eat at least 500ml of formula or breast milk a day, no matter how weaning begins. And when the baby can eat at least one meal only with weaning food, from then on, feed the second-stage formula. For breastfed babies, keep it as it is.
After the first stone, there is no change in feeding at least 500ml of formula or breast milk as before, but the daily amount of breastfeeding should not exceed 800ml. It should not exceed 800ml, including breast milk, powdered milk, and various types of dairy products. This is because it is not good for babies at this age to consume too much protein.
approximately
10 g of cheese = 40 ml of powdered milk
Unsweetened yogurt: milk powder = 1:1
However, for accurate calculation, it is better to compare the protein content of the ingredient list.
Also, make sure to only make one change at a time. When you change one thing, whether it’s a new ingredient, texture (whether it’s smooth puree or lumpy), or how you eat it (whether it’s bottled or spooned), don’t change the others.
What is French baby food?
The biggest feature of French baby food is to preserve the taste of the original ingredients as much as possible so that babies can enjoy various tastes. The basic recipe for French baby food is to steam the ingredients and blend them. In the early stages of baby food, one raw material is steamed and finely ground.
Of course, this method is not unique to France, but it is true that it is distinctly different from Korean-style baby food, which mixes all the ingredients with Mi-seok to make the taste and texture softer when making baby food.
Bebemalang’s first baby food was zucchini puree. A puree made by grinding 100% zucchini without mixing rice wine.
What you need to start with French baby food
The most essential items are a steamer and a blender. I used a steamer I already had and a hand blender. Since steaming the ingredients is the whole recipe, I considered buying a baby food master at first, but due to my personality, I hate annoying things (last post: ) I felt like making it myself wouldn’t take long, so I couldn’t use the equipment recklessly. . If you continue to make French-style baby food at home, it is also worth using a baby food master that allows you to steam and grind with one machine.
The steamer I use is an IKEA STABIL steamer that looks like this, but it seems to have been discontinued.
In addition, cooking tools such as chopping boards and knives can be prepared separately for baby food, but I think it is okay to use existing tools as long as they are cleaned well and careful not to cross-contaminate.
how to start french baby food
I followed it by referring to a site called cooking for my baby, a French baby food site.
Cooking for my baby French baby food start table
This method is to sequentially introduce vegetable ingredients such as carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and sweet potatoes, which are suitable as the first ingredients of baby food.
lunch snack
Week 1, puree made from one vegetable for 3 days X
Week 2: Puree made from one vegetable for 3 days each X
Week 3: 2 vegetable purees for 3 days, 1 fruit puree for 3 days each
Week 4 2 vegetable purees for 3 days each Fruit 1 ingredient puree for 3 days or 2 ingredients puree for 3 days
For the first 2 weeks, give baby food only at lunch. At this time, a thin form of puree made from one vegetable is given for 3 days. Allergic reactions may appear in minutes or may take days. The amount of weaning food starts with a few spoons and feeds as much as the child wants. If your child doesn’t like a certain material, don’t force it and try again in about a week.
If you tolerate the new ingredient well for the first two weeks, try mixing the puree of the two ingredients in a thin form for the next two weeks. At this time, it is made by mixing ingredients that have already been tasted in weeks 1 and 2.
From the 3rd and 4th weeks, you can try fruit puree not only for lunch but also for afternoon snacks. As with the vegetable puree, give it for 3 days made from one fruit. Once you get used to one ingredient puree, try a puree that combines two ingredients.
During lunch, weaning food is given first, and then powdered milk is given by subtracting the amount of baby food. And if the amount of baby food you eat is more than 120ml, it means that you are ready to replace one meal with baby food.
Since this article is long, I will write the appropriate French baby food ingredients for each month and the monthly intake in a separate article.