If the zucchini is cooked as directed, it is easy for babies to digest—generally speaking. Do I need to peel zucchini for baby puree? No, you don't need to peel zucchini for baby puree or any zucchini baby food. Plus, the peel adds nutrients like fiber and helps the color of the puree stay nice and bright.
You can keep the skin on zucchini, even when serving to younger babies.
It can be offered to babies as soon as they're ready to start solids, usually around 6 months. It's important to remember that your baby is unique and that rather than going by the calendar, you need to make sure your baby is DEVELOPMENTALLY ready to start solids.
Trim the stem from the zucchini. Cut it lengthwise into thick sticks (think the width of 2 fingers) or quartered spears. Steam, roast, sauté or bake the zucchini until it is soft enough to smush between 2 fingers but still firm to grasp. Offer the baby to eat by hand.
Is zucchini a choking hazard for babies? Chunks of raw vegetables are a top choking hazard for children under 4. Prepare zucchini for your baby or toddler by always cooking it until it's very soft and can be squished between your fingers, and cut it up into small, age-appropriate pieces.
6 months+:
And don't bother peeling the skin—at this age, baby can scrape the soft zucchini flesh away from the skin and the skin will help it hold the piece together in baby's hand. Shredded zucchini is another way to offer this nutritious vegetable to your baby.
Do You Peel Zucchini? You'll get the most health benefits if you eat the colorful skin, which holds the healthy carotenoids. Zucchini skin is soft, thin, and perfectly edible, so don't peel it off.
Zucchini for your baby
Zucchini is easy to cook, easy to digest, and doesn't have a strong flavour which is great to start a baby with.
Vegetables with high water content tend to become mushy and bland if they aren't rid of excess moisture before cooking.
Pureed carrots, pumpkin, spinach… your baby might have already tried these typical “baby foods”. Expand the veggie menu: your baby might enjoy other vegetables such as butternut squash or brinjal, which can both be steamed until tender for effortless mashing.
Don't Peel It:
If it's barely a peel, and more like a part of the fruit or vegetable. Cherries, blueberries and other berries, peas and green beans are all good examples. Be sure to puree thoroughly, and if it still seems a little too chunky, you can separate the skins by straining through a fine mesh sieve.
A medium sized zucchini about 7 inches long and 2-3 inches in diameter will yield around one cup of shredded zucchini. Should zucchini be peeled before shredding? There is no need to peel zucchini before shredding it. In baked goods, the skin will become soft and add color and nutrients to your dish.
The lutein in zucchini encourages skin health by reducing inflammation responses. It also promote skin hydration, this means when the skin is exposed to sunlight, lutein reduces the inflammation response and cause less damage to the moisture barrier of the skin.
When to Move to Textured Foods. Generally speaking, most babies are ready to transition from purees to textured foods between 6-9 months.
Sprinkle the zucchini with salt and leave to drain in a colander for 1 hour. Squeeze dry in a clean tea towel.
Wait to clean zucchini until just before using. Clean well under cool running water. Coarse vegetable brushes can damage the skin; instead, rub with your hands to help remove dirt and bacteria before cutting.
Definitely remove the seeds. By the time the zucchini has large and well formed seeds, it is tougher and the seeds are tough to eat and often taste bitter. They will not be pleasant in the zucchini bread, so it's recommended that you scoop them out before adding the flesh to the bread.
Can babies eat zucchini? Yes! Babies can enjoy zucchini as young as 6 months old when they begin to try other solid foods. Courgette baby puree is one of the best stage 1 baby food recipes because it's so mild, typically is not on the list of common food allergies, and is easy for babies to eat.
Can you eat zucchini skin? Unlike other types of squash, zucchinis have soft skin that's easy to digest. The skin, flowers, and seeds are all edible. Eating the skin also contributes to your daily intake of fiber.
Easy to digest first foods are ideal first foods because they have been mindfully introduced and do not provoke a reaction. Some examples of common easy to digest first foods may include avocado, sweet potato, apple, carrot, banana, and goat's milk*. Of course, every child is unique so easy to digest foods may differ.
There is no need to peel zucchini, but if you choose to, use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin. Think about how you use zucchini and cut it accordingly. You can slice it into thick rounds, chunks, or dices.