Avocado is frequently used in baby foods because of its creaminess and easy-to-process pulp. Additionally, you may wish to introduce several avocado baby food recipes because they are high in essential nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and a balanced quantity of fats, all of which are important for a growing infant. Many parents wonder whether avocado can be given as the first food to a baby who has just started eating solids. This article discusses various aspects of avocado for babies and provides the finest avocado-based baby food recipes.
When Can Babies Have Avocado?
Avocado can be the first food for your baby, which means you can feed an infant avocado at the age of six months (1). While the creamy texture comes from fat, it is a “good” fat, and is vital for the baby’s growth. Avocados are also packed with several other vital nutrients for the infant.
Health Benefits Of Avocado For Babies
Your baby reaps the following health benefits when he eats avocado:
Nutritional Value Per 100g Of Avocado
Source: United States Department of Agriculture (9) Now, let’s understand how you could choose the best avocados.
How To Select And Store Avocados?
Selection: Avocados you buy in the market are often unripe. While it is okay for adults, babies will probably not like the slightly bitter taste of the unripe fruit.
The best way to check if an avocado is ripe is to gently press it in the palm of your hand. A ripe avocado will feel firm, but yield a bit to the pressure from the hand (10). An unripe avocado will feel palpably hard, and an overripe one will crack or burst open when pressed.
Choose avocados that have a dark green skin and a rough and bumpy feel.
Observe the pulp once you cut an avocado at home. The pulp of a ripe avocado is light green and gets yellowish-green around the skin of the fruit.
Storage: It is best to consume sliced avocados fresh since the pulp is rich in fat and could be susceptible to bacterial degeneration. If you intend to store some sliced avocado, then turn it into puree, pour the puree into an ice cube tray, and freeze it (11). Consume it within a couple of days by thawing the fruit before eating. Fresh fruit should be your first option since even the frozen avocado puree can lead to loss of nutrients. Selecting and storing avocados is easy. And, in the next section, we tell you how to cook avocados for your baby.
How To Process Avocados For Baby Food?
Avocados are best eaten raw. Just like bananas, you remove the peel of the avocado and eat the pulp. Boiling or direct heating can make oils in the avocado pulp taste unappealing (12). However, you can bake and grill an avocado. You can also process the raw pulp for baby food. Here are the different ways to process avocados for babies: Now, let’s take a look at a few recipes that use the above techniques of cooking the fruit.
Amazing Avocado Baby Food Recipes
Avocado makes an excellent accompaniment to several food items, thanks to its creamy texture and taste. Here are 11 delicious avocado baby food recipes.
1. Pear and avocado puree
The subtle sweetness of pear compliments the creamy texture of the avocado pulp to make a delicious combination in this fruit puree. You will need:
1 pear 1 avocado 1-2 cups water
How to:
2. Avocado and banana mash
The sweetness of banana meets the creaminess of avocado to make this fruity dessert for your little one. You will need:
1 banana 1 avocado
How to:
3. Sweet potato and avocado puree
Sweet potato goes well with avocado to make a nutritional baby food that naturally tastes sweet. You will need:
2 cups diced sweet potato 1 avocado 4 cups of water
How to:
4. Mango and avocado puree
You can combine the delicious tropical fruit with avocado to either make a puree or smoothie. You will need:
1 mango 1 avocado 1 cup water
How to:
5. Chicken and avocado puree
Combine the protein-rich chicken with the good fat of avocado to make an avocado meal for your baby. You will need:
1 1/2 cups of boneless chicken pieces 1 avocado 4-5 cups of water
How to:
6. Carrot and avocado puree:
Carrots are rich in vitamins thus making this combination of avocado and carrots an excellent multi-vitamin meal for an infant. You will need:
1 cup diced carrots 1 avocado 3-4 cups of water
How to:
7. Peas and avocado mash
Mashed peas and avocado should surely be a green, delight packed with protein from peas and healthy fats from avocado. You will need:
1 1/2 cups peas 1 avocado 2 cups of water
How to:
8. Avocado and formula smoothie
If you love avocado smoothie yourself, then you can prepare some for your baby as well. You will need:
1 medium-sized avocado 2-3 spoon formula 5-6 cups of water
How to:
9. Apple and avocado puree
Apples go well with avocado and the two pack a lot of nourishment together for a healthy nutrition of your infant. You will need:
1 apple 1 avocado 2-3 cups of water
How to:
10. Avocado yogurt
A baby should not have cow’s milk before the age of 12 months, but it is okay to give yogurt. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that processed dairy products such as yogurt can be introduced into a baby’s diet after six months and preferably in combination with a fruit or vegetable (13). It means you can combine avocado and yogurt to make a tasty treat for your little one. You will need:
1 1/2 cup whole cow’s milk yogurt (preferably homemade) 1 avocado
How to:
11. Frozen avocado cubes
It makes an excellent avocado baby food for the hot summer months. You will need:
3 avocados 4 cups of water
How to: In addition to the above recipes, you may feed avocado in combination with other fruits.
Avocado Baby Food Combinations
You can combine avocado with the following foods to make the most delicious baby food recipes:
Fruits with innately sweet pulp such as bananas and mango taste the best with avocados. You can combine other fruits of your choice since avocado tastes good with almost any fruit.
Make your baby’s formula interesting and flavorful with a dash of avocado.
Yogurt will undoubtedly taste the best for an infant when combined with avocado.
You can combine avocado with meat to bring that creamy texture to meat purees.
Avocado is a wonderful fruit that packs a lot of nourishment. But it might be unsuitable to some infants.
Can A Baby Be Allergic To Avocados?
Yes. Infants can be allergic to avocado, and skins hives (medically called urticaria) is the most common symptom of avocado allergy. Other symptoms of avocado allergy are diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, swelling of the face, and drowsiness. If your infant is allergic to banana and melon, then do not feed avocado as infants with allergies to these fruits are 90% likely to be allergic to avocado. If your baby has other allergies or allergic conditions such as asthma and eczema, then you can delay the introduction of avocados up to the age of nine months (14). You should also consult a pediatrician before introducing the fruit. In any case, be alert to the signs of avocado allergy in the baby. You may have some more questions about the avocado fruit, and we address those queries in the section below.
