Summer and Fall are two seasons that are my favorites when it comes to foods for babies. These two seasons are complete opposites in terms of the foods (and the weather) that are brought to harvest every year.
Each season offers a delicious bounty of colorful, nutritious and easy to prepare foods for babies, and the entire family too. In the summertime, I love to pair melons with other fruits in simple fruit salads, smoothies and ice pops.
The summer season means there will be an abundance of melons. Melon can be a wonderful food/fruit to serve to babies. Many parents overlook the humble melon as a food for baby and I hope this post will help change that!
Melons are a bit tricky to prepare and serve as a baby food.
If your baby is still eating purees, pureeing a melon may result in melon juice. If you are going to puree melon, please be sure to keep a close watch on the texture you are creating. One too many pulses of the food processor and you will have melon juice.
Summer Puree
For this deliciously pink puree, I chose the very tasty and luscious canary melon and blended fresh ripe strawberries. If you have never purchased a canary melon, your family is in for a treat. A canary melon has bright yellow rind and a vanilla cream colored flesh that has a little hue of pink towards the middle. The flesh is a bit “wet” and squishy like a pear I find the canary melon to be a bit sweeter than a honeydew or cantaloupe melon and it also has a tangy taste.
Serve to Babies 8 Months+
For babies, melons may be served around 8 months of age and of course, with your pediatrician’s consult. Some babies do experience rashes from melons; these rashes may appear on the bottom and around the mouth and are rarely due to an actual allergy. One of my twins could not eat melon without getting a rash until he was almost 2 years old!
A Caution About Strawberries
As for strawberries, they are a known allergen so please be sure to ask your pediatrician about the appropriate age to introduce them to your baby. Many of the old rules regarding waiting until baby is 12 months or older to introduce foods that are known allergens are being relaxed. Studies conducted from 2008 and onward have shown that holding off on allergenic foods really does not help to stop or hinder an eventual food allergy. I am sure that opinions will vary and would love to learn what your pediatrician has said.