Parents consider adding sweet potatoes to their baby’s weaning diet. Sweet potatoes are rich in carbohydrates and also provide beta-carotene. They are rich in several nutrients needed for the baby’s healthy growth and development, such as calcium, potassium, vitamins A, B-complex, C, and fiber (1). Sweet potatoes have a soft texture, and their naturally sweet flavor appeals to babies instantaneously. You can combine sweet potatoes with several vegetables, especially those the baby avoids or dislikes. The soft texture of the vegetable makes it easy to process it for baby food. You must also select and store sweet potatoes properly to ensure healthy consumption for the baby. In this post, we answer all your queries about how to make sweet potato baby food, feed them to babies, and also provide some sweet potato baby food recipes.
When Can Babies Have Sweet Potato?
Most babies can safely consume well-cooked sweet potatoes as a lump-free puree or mash from six months of age (2). Boiling, baking, roasting, and stir-frying are some ways you can make sweet potato recipes for your baby. You will also be introducing other vegetables into their diet as finger foods. Therefore, introduce one vegetable at a time to ensure the baby responds well to that particular vegetable. If the baby refuses to eat sweet potato, give it a break and reintroduce it after a week or two in a different format. Sweet potatoes are high in carbohydrates and vitamins that are important for your baby’s growth. They also have other health benefits.
Health Benefits Of Sweet Potato for Babies
Sweet potato is a tuberous root vegetable consumed in various parts of the world. It is different from potato, but the two are distantly related, thus the similar-sounding names. Fundamentally, sweet potato and potato are unique with different nutritional values. Here are the major health benefits of sweet potatoes for your baby:
1. Vitamin A and beta-carotene
Sweet potato is an amazing baby food that comes packed with vitamin A which is needed for the healthy development of the eyes while it also has a lot of beta-carotene, a compound that synthesizes into Vitamin A in the body. Sweet potato thus has an incredible 14187 units of Vitamin A (3). That makes it a vegetable with one of the highest overall concentrations of Vitamin A making it an ideal solid food for your growing baby.
2. Starch and fiber
Sweet potato is a good source of starch and dietary fiber. Generally, half a cup of sweet potato (65g) can offer babies 8.2g of starch and 1.99g of fiber (4). The body breaks starch into sugars and uses it as energy. Dietary fiber helps digestion, adds bulk to the diet, and keeps gastric issues, such as constipation, at bay (5).
3. Contains multivitamins
It is not just vitamin A but there are other several vitamins present in sweet potato viz. vitamin C, E, K, and vitamin B1 to B6 and B9 ( 4). Babies need a steady supply of these vitamins for the healthy development of various organs and in attaining their developmental milestones on time.
4. Presence of important minerals
Sweet potato is a source of nearly all essential minerals the body needs, namely calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and zinc. Intake of nutrients, such as calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, can contribute to developing and strengthening the baby’s bones. On the other hand, nutrients such as iron and vitamin B6 could help prevent anemia.
5. Contains bioactive compounds
Sweet potatoes contain several bioactive compounds that possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial properties (6). The combined effects of these nutritional and phytochemical compounds could contribute to strengthening a baby’s immune system. Here is the nutritional chart that breaks down the quantity of these nutrients in 100 gm of sweet potato (4) (7).
Nutritional Value Per 100gm Of Sweet Potato
*AI = Adequate intake – nutrient level assumed to ensure nutritional adequacy *RAE per serving = Retinol Activity Equivalent, 1 mcg RAE = 1 mcg retinol and 2 mcg beta-carotene *AT = Alpha tocopherol, 1 mg RRR-alpha-tocopherol = 2 mg all rac-alpha-tocopherol Source: US Department of Agriculture and Dietary Guidelines For Americans 2020-2025
How To Select And Store Sweet Potato?
Select: Choose sweet potatoes that have smooth and bright skin with little blemishes. The skin color should preferably be uniform across the vegetable. Do not buy those that have deep holes or cuts on them, as it could be home to worms. Sweet potatoes can be prone to decay due to improper storage. Therefore, check for any sign of discoloration or liquid oozing out of it. Also, buy these vegetables from a trustworthy market to avoid purchasing ones, which are contaminated with pesticides. Storage: There is no need to store sweet potatoes in the refrigerator. You can store them at room temperature. You must consume them within a week. If you intend to store them for longer, then you can keep them in a cool, dark, and dry place (such as a cellar) where the temperature is around 15ºC. However, do not store them for more than a month.
How To Cook Sweet Potatoes For Babies?
Sweet potatoes can be cooked in a variety of ways from baking to barbecue. Remember to always peel off its skin since it is rich in fiber, which is hard for a baby to digest. You can peel the skin after the sweet potato has been cooked or later as we see in the following ways of cooking sweet potatoes:
Baking: Baking makes the sweet potatoes soft and palatable without making them soggy. Just preheat the oven to a temperature of 200ºC. Poke holes into the sweet potatoes and bake them in the oven for 45 minutes or till they reach the desired softness. Once done, just cut them into two halves and scoop the pulp out, which you can then mash or puree.
Boiling: The easy way. Simply peel the sweet potatoes, toss them into a pressure cooker and cook for up to three or four whistles. You can also chop the sweet potatoes into small pieces before putting them in the cooker. Reuse the stock water while making the sweet potato puree or mash.
Steaming: Steaming brings a unique tenderness to the sweet vegetable. Peel the sweet potato, slice it in half, place them in shallow water in a frying pan and steam them on medium flame for 20-25 minutes or till desired tenderness is achieved. You can even use a steaming rack to get that classic steamed vegetable taste and look.
Barbecue: Where there is a party, there is a barbecue! When it comes to your baby’s party food, you can give him some roasted sweet potatoes. Use the barbecue grill to roast sweet potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil for 45 minutes on the coal. This will give you results similar to baking with a unique taste that your baby will love.
Now that you know how to cook sweet potato let’s see the various baby food preparations you can make with the sweet potato.
How To Cut Sweet Potatoes For Babies?
Most babies aged six months and older can eat well-cooked sweet potato mash or puree. Alternatively, you can cut the peeled and cooked sweet potatoes in age-appropriate ways and serve them to babies practicing self-feeding. For six-month-old babies, cut a peeled and well-cooked sweet potato into two-inch thick slices and serve to the baby. If you feel the pieces are too soft to hold on to, you can mash them with a fork and serve the mash/puree to your baby for self-feeding using a spoon. For babies aged nine months and above, you can cut bite-sized (well-cooked) sweet potato pieces and serve them to babies. However, before doing this, observe your baby’s pincer grasp development and their comfort in holding and self-consume smaller pieces of sweet potato. For babies between 12 and 24 months, they can continue consuming sweet potatoes in various forms using their hands and utensils, such as forks and spoons. You can add sweet potatoes to other foods, such as veggies, to make delectable finger foods for your munchkin.
Sweet Potato Recipes For Babies
You can make some amazing homemade sweet potato baby food for your weaning baby. These recipes help you give all the goodness of sweet potato in a form they can consume easily. Make these baby foods with any sweet potato such as red sweet potato, white sweet potato, purple sweet potato, Japanese sweet potato, etc. Most of these recipes employ the use of water to homogenize the consistency of the preparation since water can be safely given to a baby older than six months (8).
Sweet Potato Puree Recipes
Sweet potatoes can be great first food for babies since they can be cooked and mashed for the baby to eat. But how to puree sweet potato for a baby? In fact, you can puree sweet potato alone or in combination with other vegetables or chicken. It is a great way of feeding it to your baby. All these sweet potato puree recipes are ideal for babies older than six months.
1. Sweet potato puree
You will need:
Sweet potato Water
How to:
2. Sweet potato apple puree
You will need:
Apples Sweet potato Water
How to:
3. Sweet potato and chicken puree
You will need:
Fresh boneless chicken Sweet potato
How to:
4. Sweet potato and peas puree
You will need:
Sweet potatoes Peas Apple sauce (optional) Water
How to: This is a quick, nutritious recipe, which can come in very handy, especially if the little one is hungry at night.
5. Sweet potato and carrot puree
You will need:
Sweet potatoes Carrots Water
How to:
Other Sweet Potato Recipes
Below are more great ways of feeding the sweet vegetable to your little one!
6. Sweet potato mash for babies
Ideal for age: Six months and above You will need:
Sweet potatoes Water
How to:
7. Sweet potato and banana mash
Ideal for age: 6 months and above You will need:
Sweet potatoes Bananas Water
How to:
8. Sweet potato and chicken soup
Ideal for age: 8 months and above You will need:
100g minced chicken 5 cups water 1 cup cooked sweet potato
How to:
9. Sweet potato porridge
Ideal for age: 12 months and above You will need:
1 cup rice 4 sweet potatoes 3 cups water 1 cup milk
How to:
10. Sweet potato pancake
Ideal for age: 18 months and above You will need:
2 tbsp fresh unsalted and melted butter with no preservatives ½ cup mashed steamed or baked sweet potatoes 1 egg ⅓ cup all-purpose flour ½ tsp baking powder ¼ cup milk
How to:
11. Sweet potato puffs
Ideal for age: 18 months and above You will need:
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes 3 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tbsp water 1 tbsp fresh apple sauce 1 cup baby cereal ½ cup flour
How to:
12. Sweet potato wedges or fries
Ideal for age: 18 months and above You will need:
Sweet potatoes Vegetable oil Baby cereal (optional)
How to: You can feed these sweet potato baby food preparations whenever you like. There are other ways of feeding sweet potato to your baby, by combining it with vegetables and cereals.
Sweet Potato Food Combinations For Babies
Some foods can taste great when in combination with sweet potato. Take the advantage of its sweetness and combine these foods to make them more palatable to your little one.
Vegetables: Babies may find vegetables bland therefore mix them with sweet potato to sweeten the taste. You can use any vegetable like beans, carrots, peas, pumpkin, bottle gourd, etc.
Baby cereals: Mix some baby cereal with sweet potato, and you will find the plate gets licked clean. You can mix cereals made from any grain like rice, barley, and oats.
Non-vegetarian food items: Non-vegetarian food can be a hit or a miss when you feed them to your baby for the first time. To ensure he loves that meat stock and gets all its vital nutrients, mix it with some mashed sweet potatoes to add a tinge of sweetness to it.
Yogurt: Yogurt and sweet potato work great together especially when the sweet potatoes are mashed.
Fruits: Of course, fruits of any kind can be mixed with sweet potato to enhance the taste. Mix sweet potatoes with fruits purees to bump up their natural sweetness and make your baby relish them more.
Can A Baby Be Allergic To Sweet Potato?
Just like any other food, a baby may be allergic to sweet potatoes, too (9). However, the chances are fewer than in other vegetables such as carrot and spinach (which are also good sources of beta-carotene). Therefore, always be on the lookout for the following symptoms after giving your baby sweet potato for the first time. These symptoms may appear minutes to hours after the consumption of a food allergen:
Skin hives: Small reddish bumps on the skin quite often seen in clusters
Shortness of breath: There will be a general feeling of breathlessness, and the baby may wheeze and gasp for air.
Abdominal pain: Pain could be accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea
Swelling of mouth: Lips and tongue will appear swollen along with swelling in neck muscles that may cause severe discomfort during swallowing.
General weakness and dizziness: The baby will appear dizzy and may suddenly seem fatigued and weak as an effect of the food allergy.
