Food Foundations For Children
There’s a basically book in this subject (and I will do one!) but I’ll do my best to cover off some helpful information and tips on nourishing babies and toddlers here….
Starting babies on solids is an equally exciting but daunting time. While one would assume it’s the most natural of things, I remember reaching this milestone with my first son Archie and having no idea what I’m supposed to give him or how to do it! I have done a lot of research, cooking and feeding since then so I’m pleased to share some of my learnings and tips with you in the hope that it will make your experience enjoyable and enriching!
I believe that food foundations are really important in not only nourishing babies and children, but creating a positive relationship with food and a healthy palate. My general approach towards feeding the kids is very much like my own. Mostly unprocessed, spray free (where possible), seasonal, nutritious and delicious whole foods. Just real food. With balance!
When to start?
There are different viewpoints on when to start your baby on solids but most of the literature has it at about 4-6 months. This is because from around 6 months babies require more than breast milk to meet their nutritional needs, especially iron, vitamin D and more protein. I followed my intuition and started Archie at around 5 months as I felt that he was ready then (and my milk supply wasn’t great). My milk supply was much better with Charlie and he didn’t show interest in food until 6 months so I started him a little later.
Some signs that your baby may be ready for solids include him/her showing interest in your food by eyeing it off or trying to put it in their mouth, being able to sit up in a high chair and support their head.
Keep it simple:
When starting out, keep it simple and focus on single foods so that children have a chance to get to know a flavour in its purity. By this I mean something like plain pumpkin mash or plain sweet potato mash. It might seem boring to us, but remember they have never tasted such a thing before! After a few attempts, you can add a healthy fat like oil or ghee, and then a pinch of spices like cinnamon or nutmeg. I know a lot of literature out there suggests starting babies on rice porridge but this never felt right to me. I just didn’t feel like their very first taste of food should be out of a packet and taste like cardboard! Fortunately, my paediatrician agreed and also advised to “give him everything in the first year.”
Why fat?
Healthy fats from foods like fish, eggs, nuts, milk and vegetables are very important for building the brain and nervous system in the early years. One of my favourite fats is ghee (you will see me using this a lot) as it’s delicious and more digestible than butter because it’s pure butterfat separated from the milk solids. It’s revered in Ayurveda as it’s believed to help in the absorption of other important vitamins and minerals.
How often?
New foods can be introduced as quickly as you like, there’s no need to do pumpkin for a week and then move on to the next thing. Having said that, I eased my boys into various foods gradually, starting with the simplest, like cooked and mashed root vegetables, apple and pears as well as banana and avocado, to give their little developing digestive systems a chance to get used to all of these new foods and taste food in their purest form. They can be served alone or mixed with a liquid like breast milk, formula or boiled and cooled water.
What if they spit it out?
This is perfectly fine.
There are many reasons why babies might appear to show resistance to a food: simply because it’s new, the texture is different, the flavour is confronting or they just don’t feel like it. The first time I gave both of my kids plain, unsweetened Greek yoghurt it sent shivers up their spine and I was sure they would never eat it again but lo and behold, when they got to know it they grew to love it. My youngest Charlie often spits out food when there’s a new texture so I know to either chop his herbs more finely or I offer it regularly so he becomes used to it.
As they become toddlers, feeding children can’t sometimes be more challenging as they become distracted or might want to express their will. But it’s also possible that they might not be hungry so I try not to force them to eat. I’ll leave their plate of food there for them to return to if and when they do they get hungry. Avoiding snacks at least an hour before meal times can also be helpful as children will be hungry enough to enjoy a more substantial meal.
“ I would offer my kids a particular food at least 10-15 times before I deciding they don’t like it (which never happened in the end).”
Variety and Flavour
Try and introduce as much deliciousness as you can in the first year because if they haven’t tried it then, they are more likely to potentially reject it later since they don’t know it. Interestingly, I have noticed that a lot of kids actually love fermented and sour foods like gherkins and sauerkraut. My children are both obsessed with kraut and love to eat things like lemons and finger limes. They were also both very happy to eat liver, which I don’t particularly like but I was conscious not to let my food preferences influence what I give them. I also don’t favour sweet over savoury. I try and show just as much enthusiasm for broccoli as I would for banana, it’s all just food.
“ ‘They know what they like, and they like what they know’ is a good little mantra, so if they try something enough times they are likely to like it because they know it. It’s familiar.”
Focus on fresh, seasonal, real food
Generally, I try to avoid things that are processed or come out of a packet. By avoiding packaged and processed foods, it also means that you’re avoiding any added sugars or salt, colours, numbers, flavours and preservatives. There can be a place for certain additive free pre-packaged foods, especially during travel or hectic times, but I think that if babies’ meals are made up of a lot of them (even if they say “organic”!), it can be difficult to then re-train their palates to eat fresh food down the track as it really doesn’t taste the same. The other point here is that packaged food is rarely “seasonal” food and I think it’s important to try and eat seasonally as the various fresh foods that are naturally abundant at particular times of the year also happen to be very well suited to our needs in those times. For example, it’s no coincidence that nature provides an abundance of comforting, grounding root vegetables and vitamin C rich citrus during winter, and juicy watermelons in the summer when we need the hydration.
This is why I love farmer’s markets. They’re a great place to both meet producers and ask them about what they’re growing and observe what comes in and out of season. We’ve really come to appreciate things like blueberries when they return to the markets after many months without them, or cherries and mangoes during the summer. It’s also amazing to taste the difference in the milk depending on what the weather has been doing. These are subtle things but they really give me so much joy and I believe that following the rhythm of the seasons when feeding children is a strong foundation for vitality and healthy eating. If there isn’t a market in your area, it’s just worth keeping an eye for what’s in season and it’s usually better priced too.
To cook or not to cook?
Cooking fresh food for babies and young children goes a very long way towards building a healthy, diverse palate and relationship with food. Food for babies can often be an after-thought and children’s food can often be a very diluted (and far less nutritious) version of what the adults are eating, but they really don’t need to be and it’s worth getting amongst the idea of “family” meals rather than separate meals for various members of the family from the get-go. Not only does it make life easier in the long-run, but when babies and children see us eating food this is telling them that it’s also good for them. In many of my “Family” recipes like Lamb shanks with Sweet potato mash I show how these dishes can be adapted for babies and toddlers. For example, you can set aside some mash for the baby while the rest of the family enjoys the full meal. As baby gets older, you can add some of the lamb stock and veggies to the mash and eventually some of the soft meat too.
While I cook the majority of our meals fresh, preparing food in batches and freezing might be your only option with work or having many mouths to feed and that’s ok too. Your home made food will always taste better and be more nutritious than something from a store or packet. In fact it’s a good idea to have some back ups in the freezer especially on the difficult days. And believe me, we all have them!
Be kind to yourself and lose the guilt!
This leads me to a really important point: I hope that most of what I say here is helpful, but there’s no such thing as doing it perfectly. There won’t always be the time, organisation or even budget to put on lamb shanks. Or the brain power to even think about what to cook that night and that’s totally ok and normal! Some days are pure survival and believe me I know it all too well. On those days, kids will happily eat some cheese on toast and baby can have a simple porridge or rice pudding.
It’s helpful to have staples like good quality pesto, passata, canned beans, free range eggs, frozen peas, bone broth or stock, dried grains and pasta in the pantry, fridge and freezer and they can be used to make a very quick meal on the emergency days.
Let’s talk about some of these First Foods...
Food that is fresh, in season and ideally spray free is not only optimal for its nutritional value but it also tastes better. For example, while apples and pears often feature in the “first foods” list they are best eaten in Autumn/Winter when they are in season. My youngest Charlie started on solids in summer so it was a while before he tried these fruits because they weren’t fresh and tasted tart. Instead, his first fruits were things like mangoes and melon. When it came to first foods, I favoured the savoury over the sweet, just to help develop their palate for such foods early on.
Grounding vegetables:
Grounding foods like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots, beetroot, zucchini, parsnip are excellent First Foods, starting off just as they are, cooked and pureed. After a few tastes, you can add a good fat like coconut oil, ghee, bone broth, egg yolk or liver for extra flavour and nourishment. It’s best for the Nightshades like tomato, eggplant, capsicum and potatoes to wait until after 8 months.
First fruits:
Fruit should be ripe and in season. Banana, avocado, mango, figs and melon and great First Fruits in the warmer months (and can be eaten raw and pureed), while apples, cherries, apricots, peaches and pears make great First Fruits in the cooler months (these need to be cooked and pureed). Citrus fruit like oranges should be avoided until 12 months. In my experience, banana sometimes lead to constipation in the earlier months, and I found that papaya often helped to get things moving again!
Iron:
Some of the best sources of iron are egg yolk and liver, and these are both excellent First Foods. I’d buy good quality organic chicken liver from the butcher, portion it up into teaspoon or tablespoon quantities in zip lock bags and then freeze it so it’s ready to go. I added the liver to Archie’s vegetable purees a couple of times a week. I would do this by grating some of the little frozen portion into the hot puree which would cook it. This is actually a good example of not placing my food preferences onto the kids: I’m not a fan of chicken liver but both kids gobbled it up. After a few weeks, I introduced poached chicken and fish (about a tablespoons worth), and after a few months a little red meat too. These would always be pureed after adding them to vegetable.
I would serve the egg yolk by soft boiling the egg for about 5-6 minutes and then scooping out the runny egg into a cooked warm veggie puree. It’s best to avoid the egg whites in the first 12 months as the proteins can be difficult to digest and this is what can sometimes cause an allergy or intolerance. It is always worth getting the best quality eggs you can find, true free range and organic, not only for ethical purposes but because they are such a high quality food when sourced well.
Good fats:
Good fats are delicious, nourishing and very important First Foods. I like to enrich meals with good fats like a teaspoon of coconut oil, ghee or bone broth. Everything tastes better with ghee, whether it’s porridge or pumpkin puree, trust me! With bone broth, you can either add it to the finished puree or cook the veggies or grains in it. Fats store things like chemicals and pesticides so it’s important to buy the best quality fat you can.
“What is ghee? It’s made by melting pure butter and separating it into milk solids and butterfat, which is the ghee. Because you’re removing the milk solids it can often be tolerated by those that are dairy sensitive and is much gentler on the tummy for babies since it’s pure butterfat. Plus it tastes delicious.”
Nuts:
There is a lot of literature surrounding nuts and it’s highly dependant on every child. Nuts are more difficult to digest than most foods and many are not fresh or prepared properly (soaked and dried) so it’s no wonder that they can be a problem for children. They are highly nutritious and very delicious though, so I started introducing them in small amounts in form of nut butter added to porridge or fruit puree as the boys approached 12 months.
Grains:
Once baby has had a taste of fruits, vegetables and some fats, gluten free grains like quinoa, millet and brown rice can be introduced (gluten free grains are easier on the developing digestive system). To make them gentler on the tummy and to help release the nutrients that are locked in, It’s best to prepare them by soaking them the night before with some lemon juice and then cook then as normal the next day. Pre-soaking also makes cooking faster. Brown rice and quinoa are favourites as Darren and I like to eat those too. I introduced oats closer to 12 months and these have also been a breakfast staple as we all love them. Oats can be cooked in water and after a few weeks, in some bone broth. I would often forget to pre-soak and this is ok, you can still cook your grains as normal. It’s important to note that this is just the “optimal” thing to do and helpful to know, but one should never feel bad if you don’t do it all.
What about bread?
From around 9-12 months, I’d give Archie some sourdough bread (usually rye as that’s what I eat) to chew on occasionally. I found the sourdough crust was especially good for teething. I don’t personally have any issues with gluten but I prefer sourdough breads as they are slow fermented with a starter which makes them more digestible. My only reservation for introducing gluten later is to allow their digestive system a chance to develop, and so even then introducing the gluten in a more easily digestible form (soaked) is also helpful. While some children will be allergic or intolerant to certain foods, for many it’s less about this and more about the food itself (where it’s sourced and how it’s prepared) and when it’s introduced that may bring an adverse reaction. For example, a bleached white flour that’s been sitting on a shelf for months, in a highly processed bread made with colours, numbers and preservatives is a very different bread to a slow fermented sourdough made with natural ingredients. Especially for a developing little tummy.
Dairy:
There are various schools of thought on the pros and cons of dairy for children so it’s always best to consult your trusted health practitioner, thus I have consulted mine, Dr Howard Chilton. The main advantage of conventional dairy is calcium but it can also be found in large doses in nut milks like almond, fish and vegetables. In fact, gram for gram for gram, green vegetables like kale and bok choy have more calcium than full fat cows milk. For example, 1 cup of cows milk contains 300mg of calcium and 85 grams of sardines contain 371 grams.* However, there are many more benefits to “cultured” dairy like kefir and yoghurt in terms of their probiotic and nutritional value. Any dairy should be full fat and with no additives, as the fat helps to absorb the protein in the milk. It’s worth having a good look at the ingredients list on yoghurt tubs as most have many unnecessary additives like thickeners and sugars.
Based on this and the fact that I was breast feeding, the main dairy I gave the boys in their first year was ghee and occasionally some full fat cultured yoghurt as a snack from about 8 months. After this I also included pure butter in some dishes and other cultured dairy like kefir and creme fraiche. I introduced pure non-homogenised cow’s milk after 12 months.
Sugar and Salt:
Any added sugar should be avoided altogether, and honey should wait until after 12 months as it’s said to contain spores that could lead to botulism. Salt should also be avoided before 12 months, so if I was serving a family meal I would set aside the baby portion before adding the salt. After a few weeks and months though, a little bit of sea salt in the family meal for baby is ok. It’s more about being conscious about not over working their developing organs.
When it comes to toddlers and sugar, I also try and avoid it (especially refined and “added”) in many things things that don’t need it like yoghurt and snacks, but it’s a little bit more of a challenge of course! There are many supposedly “healthy” yoghurts on the market and with closer investigation they contain as much sugar as ice cream. But rather than labelling sugar or sweets as good or bad, I just treat them as a “sometimes” food because in certain instances they do have their place like birthdays, special occasions or even a rainy afternoon. Especially when it’s in a home made treat.
I think there’s a big difference between a homemade cake made with real ingredients including sugar, compared to store bought confectionery with all the other funky ingredients in them like colours and numbers. Apart from knowing what’s in them, making sweet treats from scratch is a fun thing to do with kids. It can also be a helpful deterrent in that sometimes when Archie asks for ice cream I explain that it will take us 4 hours to make it so he’ll grab an apple instead! I think the goal is creating a healthy and balanced approach towards sweets, one that’s based on enjoyment, real flavour and even nourishment, rather than guilt or reward.
Some of my favourite first food purees:
I used to make a double portion of these to feed both babies and I as they were so delicious!
Millet porridge with water or pure coconut milk, apple or pear, ghee and a pinch of cinnamon. Best to soak the grain overnight (if possible, but I’d usually forget!) and the cook according to the instructions, with the fruit to make them gentler on the tummy. I let it steam for at least 5 minutes before pureeing with ghee a pinch of cinnamon. After 12 months, I’d sometimes add some nut butter.
Pumpkin, carrot and egg yolk. I steam the pumpkin and carrot until soft, and in a separate pot I boil an egg for about 7 minutes so the yolk is still a little soft. I add them together and puree.
Sweet potato, squash and coconut oil. I steam the sweet potato and squash until soft, add the coconut oil and puree.
Banana and avocado. This is a fantastic travel food as they have skins and there’s no cooking required! Archie has his plain and I add crunchy nuts and bee pollen to mine.
Watermelon, papaya and full cream yoghurt. Just blend and enjoy.
* Your Cherished Baby, Dr Howard Chilton, page 284. Dr Chilton has been a babies’ physician for over 35 years, following training in London, Oxford and the United States. For much of this time he was Director of Newborn Care at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney. He continues to work clinically there, at the Prince of Wales Private Hospital and in his own practise in Bangalow, New South Wales, where I have seen him.
I’m thinking of putting all these food in a 12 month chart…would this be helpful?
xx