Spicey Baby Food, Baby
For many years I was a guest speaker for the Evergreen Hospital Post natal mom and baby support groups. I would haul a butane burner, pan, some toasted brown rice, a little grinder, and tiny cups to serve samples in up the escalator to the meeting room – I needed luggage with wheels. The room was chock full of moms and babies and toys and blankets so I had to use my big voice. What I was yelling, while stirring freshly ground rice and water into cereal, was that if I could make this cereal in this room while talking to them, I was sure they could do it at home. I also brought in some boxed baby cereal (which sort of looks and smells like shredded plastic) and let them decide with their eyes, noses and taste buds which might be better to eat. The choice was obvious.
Cheered on by the Evergreen’s wonderful Molly Pessl, registered nurse, childbirth educator and Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant, I reminded moms that nowhere is it written or proven that it is detrimental to give babies food with flavor. Why train the baby to prefer bland, tasteless food? If you do, you will end up with a 3-year old who will demand plain macaroni for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They simply want the empty carbs with no flavor that they are used to. Molly says, “what’s wrong with giving baby spicy food?” Amen Molly. Years later pediatricians came out with the same conclusion. Subsequently, we saw the birth of “cultural” jarred baby food. Hmm. Why buy curry in a jar when you could make it fresh for everyone and just give baby part of it?
This fire-in-the-belly I have about feeding babies and children better food has been kicking my hind end down the path toward writing, teaching and now video blogging for a couple of decades. I rant about it if only slightly prompted. We can do better for our children. It doesn’t take that much effort. Don’t feed baby curry in a jar while you eat take-out curry from the Whole Foods deli. Save money. Make a simple curry dish. Eat together. Eat the same food together. It’s a big strand in the tie that binds.
Tags: baby cereal, baby food, brown rice, culinate, curried baby food, curry, Evergreen Hospital, feeding babies, Molly Pessl, rice ceral, starting solids
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I agree completely! My 10 month old had not been eating well for a few weeks, until I mixed a very garlicky spaghetti sauce from dinner the night before with his cereal. He gobbled it down and wanted more, so we moved on to indian and thai, and he loves it all. My mom reminded me that he was used to my spicy diet, not his bland cereal and veggies. He’s eating a lot better these days- it has been nearly 2 months.
Comment by Wendy — April 17, 2009 @ 7:02 am
Our boy started with spicy momma milk and began adding what we were eating when he started eating solids. He’s 4 now, and the acceptance of a wide variety of foods has continued nearly across the board ever since.
Comment by Allison — May 7, 2009 @ 8:17 pm