Going out should not mean that you have to compromise on health and nutrition, especially that of your baby. I would like to share some tips for carrying homemade food for your baby when you go out.
Mashed or pureed sweet potatoes are great to carry when you go out because they freeze well. I used to carry mashed sweet potatoes with me till Devansh started eating khichdis and daal rice properly. I used to boil sweet potatoes, mash them finely (you can also puree them), and then freeze them in an airtight container like Tupperware. I used to carry the container in an insulated lunch bag so that the sweet potatoes thawed slowly. I still remember the first time I fed Devansh sweet potatoes outside. My husband and I had taken Devansh to a mall when he was a little over six months old. We were sitting in a food court, Devansh was perched in his stroller, and I had placed his container on the food tray. We were having our food simultaneously as I was feeding Devansh. The expression on Devansh’s face was priceless. He was overjoyed that he too was eating like everyone else around him. He felt all grown up and important. :-)
As Devansh grew older, I started carrying moong daal khichdi, mixed daal khichdi, dalia, and moong-daal rice with me. I used to make these dishes without adding any vegetables, as vegetables tend to get spoiled faster. You can also carry rice kanji. You just need to let the food cool down to at least room temperature before you close the container. This is because bacteria grow faster in warmer temperatures causing the food to get spoiled. I used to cook these dishes to have a slightly thicker consistency than what I fed Devansh. At the time of serving, I added hot water to them. I used to carry a thermos in which I would fill boiling water. Adding hot water heats up the food, this really proves useful when you don’t have access to a cooking stove. I would use a steel dish to mix hot water because I don’t trust even the high-grade plastic with hot water. I have never carried curd rice for Devansh before but I think frozen curd rice will also be convenient to carry. You can carry the container in an insulated lunch bag/box so that the curd rice thaws slowly, that way it’ll last longer.
Another food that I found useful while traveling was oatmeal. This however requires access to the stove for 5 minutes. If I was visiting a relative or a family friend and I didn’t have enough time to cook khichdis for Devansh, I used to carry Quaker’s oats, some milk, and honey with me. To prepare the oatmeal, I used to boil it in some milk for about 5 minutes while stirring it continuously. At the time of serving, I would mix some honey in it. Now, however Devansh refuses to eat oatmeal as he finds it bland. :-)
A lot of readers are reaching my blog while searching for “health food for traveling”. I hope these readers who may not be exactly looking for baby food will also find these tips useful. Do share your feedback, tips, comments…. I would love to hear from you.
