Cooking, Freezing & Sterilising
Cooking
What is the best way to cook vegetables for your Baby?
Steaming is the best way to preserve the fresh taste and vitamins in vegetables. Vitamins B and C are water soluble and can easily be destroyed by overcooking especially when boiled. Broccoli loses over 60% of its antioxidants when boiled but less than 7% when steamed. Microwaving vegetables is another way to preserve their nutrients. Some vegetables like sweet potato or butternut squash are good baked in the oven. Baking in the oven caramelises their natural sugars and gives them a delicious flavour.
Is it safe to cook my baby’s food in a microwave?
If you cook in a microwave nutrients don’t leach out into the water like they do when vegetables are boiled. A microwave cooks vegetables quickly and you don’t need much water. Some people worry that cooking in a microwave is bad for our health but don’t be put off. Microwaving is a safe way to cook as long as you follow the manufacturer’s instructions. It’s particularly good for fish which takes only a few minutes to cook in a microwave.
I know that butternut squash is popular with babies but how do you cook it?
I like baking butternut squash in the oven as it caramelises the flavour and gives the butternut squash a lovely sweet taste. Cut the butternut squash in half, remove the seeds and brush the cut side with melted butter. Wrap each half in foil and bake in an oven preheated to 180C for about an hour and a quarter until tender. Alternatively peel and chop the squash and steam it for about 12 minutes or until tender.
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