A healthy recipe: Apple and Pumpkin Mash
You may not get everything right as a new parent, but making your own baby food is one thing you can feel good about. Click here for more details.
By Dr. Debmita Dutta

If you are a mom, one of the questions you are probably asking is – “What can I feed my baby?”
I’m sharing with you one of the 3 recipes. The other two will reach you shortly in the next two parts. These are recipes for nutritious and tasty food that is exciting and fun to eat as well.
Your baby is going to love it when you serve this to your little bundle of joy.
Recipe 1
Apple and Pumpkin Mash

Apple and pumpkin mash is a recipe that will work for your baby right from the time she/he is 8 months old. It is a delicious mash and brings out the natural flavours of pumpkin and apple. The recipe does not use any sweetening agents or spices and is a great way to help your baby fall in love with vegetables and fruits at the same time. Apples and pumpkins are loaded with important vitamins and minerals and are a delightful introduction to nutritious foods that will quickly make it to your baby’s favourite food list.
Ingredients
Red pumpkin (sweet pumpkin) – 100 gms

Apple (red) – 1
Method
- Take 4 pieces of pumpkin. Each piece can be about 1 inch in size. Wash well and peel.
- Peel the apple. Wash well.
- Cut up the apple and the pumpkin into small pieces.
- Place the pieces of apple and pumpkin in a steel box.
- Place the steel box in a pressure cooker.
- Fill the cooker outside the box with water. The water level must reach half the height of the box.
- Close the cooker and place on the stove.
- Keep the flame on high until steam starts whooshing out of the whistle opening.
- At this point reduce the flame to simmer and allow the steaming to continue for the next 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes – turn off the flame and allow the cooker to cool.
- Open the cooker and take out the steel box with a pair of tongs.
- Mash the contents of the box with a fork to make a lightly textured mash.
- Cool sufficiently before offering it to your baby.
Note:
Offer this recipe only after you have introduced your baby to pumpkin and apple individually in the standard recommended way and you are certain that your baby is not allergic to any of them.
Written by
Dr. Debmita Dutta
Dr. Debmita Dutta MBBS, MD is a doctor, a parenting consultant, and the founder of WPA whatparentsask.com She conducts online and offline workshops on parenting for schools and corporate organisations. She also conducts online and offline prenatal and infant care classes. She is a well-known thought-leader in parenting and an expert on play, learning and eating habits. She is the author of 7 books on parenting published by Juggernaut Books and her books are among their most read books. She is frequently quoted in national and international publications of repute for her empathetic and compassionate approach and her application of physiology and neuroscience to parenting.
Smart Mums Journal