Get ready to ditch your preconceived notions of what exactly baby food is: we’re going to blow your socks off. Out with the hundreds of tiny-ass jars, in with the food processor. Your little one is ready for solids, and we’re going to help you become the best baby food maker in the entire world!
Or at least in your neighborhood.
Here’s the deal: babies need the same nourishment that we do. Their bodies might accept jars of pale green purée, but that doesn’t mean they will grow well from it. We want to give you a better understanding of what types of food your baby (and entire family) should be consuming, as opposed to what kinds often lead to dysfunctional and sensitive bellies. If you want a truly happy, healthy, optimally nourished wee one, then read on.
ORGANIC MATTERS
Although organic produce is more expensive, we definitely endorse it. The reality is that most crops are sprayed with either herbicides, pesticides, or both. Farmers who choose to produce organic crops pay heavy fees to do so, which is why their fare is more expensive. We used to be unsure about whether or not organic produce is really worth the extra buck, but after witnessing (firsthand) crop dusters and hazmat-suit-wearing farmers spraying their fields, the answer became clear pretty quickly.
Here are some brief definitions of what the term "certified organic" means in the United States:
• Organic crops: Irradiation, sewage sludge, prohibited pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and genetically modified organisms are not used;
• Organic livestock: Producers meet animal health and welfare standards, abstain from using antibiotics or growth hormones, use 100 percent organic feed, and provide their animals with access to the outdoors;
• Organic multi-ingredient foods: The product contains 95 percent or more certified organic content. If the label claims that the foodstuff was made with specified organic ingredients, you can be sure that those specific ingredients have been certified organic.v
THE DIRTY DOZEN AND THE CLEAN FIFTEEN
If you’re concerned about the additional cost of buying organic produce, then you may be interested in this: internationally respected Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki has listed what he calls the “dirty dozen and clean fifteen” on his website.vi Essentially, the “dirty dozen” refers to produce that is almost always sprayed and should therefore be purchased organic. The “clean fifteen” refers to produce that is often free of chemical sprays and therefore doesn’t require an organic sticker. Here’s what that list currently looks like:
THE DIRTY DOZEN
• Apples
• Sweet bell peppers
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Nectarines
• Grapes
• Celery
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Cucumbers
• Blueberries
• Potatoes
THE CLEAN FIFTEEN
• Onions
• Sweet corn
• Pineapples
• Avocados
• Cabbage
• Sweet peas
• Asparagus
• Mangoes
• Eggplants
• Kiwi
• Cantaloupes
• Sweet potatoes
• Grapefruit
• Watermelons
• Mushrooms
THE PERFECT PANTRY FOR BLISSFUL BABY FOOD
Although nutritional guidelines seem to change every couple of years, we advise you to listen to your own common sense and not be afraid to ask questions. Commercially prepared puréed meats and soggy peas are not what will nourish your little one. Just like your body craves quality nutrients, so does your baby’s. We all run optimally on clean, whole, nutritious foods, such as fruits, vegetables, roots, beans, legumes, seeds, and whole grains. So why not keep it simple, and start your baby’s slow and steady transition from breastmilk (or good quality formula) to solid foods with the following gems?
FRUIT
Teeming with antioxidants and fiber, fruit is an essential addition to your baby’s daily menu. Fruit will keep her regular and hydrated, and kids love it for its natural sweetness. It’s more hydrating and easily packed up and taken with you on trips when raw, but cooked fruit is great, too. In fact, we have a delicious Fall Fruit Compote recipe in the Sweet Somethings portion of this book (see page 230)!
Although grapes are traditionally fabulous snacks for kids, we left them out due to the inherent choking hazard to kids under the age of two (which is pretty much the age range this book is geared toward). It’s also important to remember that any piece of fruit with a pit should never be given to your baby or toddler whole—get that pit outta there, first!
• Apples
• Apricots
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Berries
• Cherries
• Figs
• Kiwi
• Melons (all kinds)
• Peaches
• Pears
• Plums
Veggies are the absolute mainstay of anyone’s diet—not just your baby’s. It’s so important to help cultivate your baby’s sense of taste for vegetables; the larger the variety you can offer her early on, the better. Both raw and steamed veggies should be offered; just take care not to boil them to a mushy mess—all the nutrients will escape into the water, leaving a very bland, nutrient-weak result.
• Asparagus
• Bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn
• Eggplant
• Kale
• Spinach
• Squash (all kinds)
• Tomatoes
ROOTS
Root vegetables are extremely mineral-rich and a great form of starch. They’re often sweet and contribute to a healthy digestive system. Some roots don’t have to be peeled; in fact, the peel harbors a mass amount of nutrients. (Carrots and beets are two such examples.) If you wish to offer raw roots to your baby, then we suggest using a julienne peeler and giving your baby very thin strips instead of chunks.
• Beets
• Carrots
• Ginger
• Onions
• Sweet potatoes
• Yams
BEANS + LEGUMES
Beans and legumes are very high in plant-based protein, which is important to note when consuming a plant-based diet. Babies generally love noshing on beans—they’re the perfect finger food!
The following steps should be taken to ensure a relatively gas-free experience for your baby, which can get uncomfortable. If the beans are canned, be sure to rinse them very, very well before offering to your baby. If you’re rehydrating them from dried form, do so overnight in a bowl big enough so that the water covers the beans completely, and then add an extra cup or two of water to the top. In the morning, ditch the water, rinse them well, and then cook them in new water until soft. While cooking, add a bay leaf, which will help make beans more digestible, and scrape off any bubbles you see as you go.
• Chickpeas
• Green beans
• Kidney beans
• Lentils
• Navy beans
• Peas
• Pinto beans
GRAINS
Again, grains are a super important addition to your baby’s diet. No carb-free meals here! Aside from being perfect little finger foods, grains are crucial in providing energy for your little one’s growing brain.
This is the part where we want to stress that there is a massive difference between white rice and brown, just as there is between white and brown bread: grains that have been altered to become more visually appealing or texturally pleasing have been stripped of their nutrients during this process. Sometimes the food manufacturer attempts a misguided effort to add some nutrients back in, but that’s weird. If you can get your baby used to whole, brown, sprouted grains right away, you’ll be thanking us down the road. Nutritionally speaking, they’re not even comparable to anything more processed.
• Brown, sprouted rice
• Buckwheat
• Millet
• (Gluten-free) Oats
• Quinoa
NUTS + SEEDS
When to introduce nuts and seeds to your baby is totally up to you, but experts recommend waiting at least a year. Once your baby has celebrated her first birthday, nuts and seeds become a bigger part of her diet. Foods like almond flour, cashew milk, and tahini (sesame butter) can help round out your baby’s list of favorite go-to foods. For choking reasons, we suggest not giving your baby whole nuts. Start her off with very small portions, and be diligent about observing her carefully for the first few days after trying a new nut or seed (especially peanuts). It’s also worth mentioning that many nuts (again—especially peanuts) are heavily sprayed with herbicide. For this reason, we definitely suggest purchasing only organic, raw nuts.
• Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• Chia seeds
• Hemp hearts
• Almonds
• Cashews
• Walnuts
• Peanuts
• Pecans
HUMAN BREASTMILK + ALTERNATIVES
Obviously, breastmilk is the number one choice when it comes to hydrating your baby. It’s the perfect amount of sugar, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals for your baby—nothing compares. When breastmilk is going, going, gone, the rest of these milk substitutes will be helpful. If you know your baby is okay with soy, then you can add organic soy milk to this list, but we’re leaving it out, just in case.
The best-case scenario for your baby is to be breastfed at least one year and then be hydrated with the following milk alternatives, water, and fresh-pressed juice (more on fresh-pressed juice later). As long as your baby is eating a large variety of different whole foods, there should be no need for commercial baby formula, which is typically comprised of nonessential ingredients that your baby doesn’t need in her body. (Preservatives, added sugar, and other chemicals. Yadda, yadda.)
• Almond milk
• Breastmilk
• Brown rice milk
• Cashew milk
• Coconut milk
• Hemp milk
HERBS + SPICES
Herbs and spices are incredibly important not only for their role in diversifying your baby’s palate but also to medicinally help your baby in so many ways. For example, mint is very good for the digestive tract, and rosemary is energy-stimulating and helps with hair and nail growth. Thyme is great for throat infections, and turmeric has been shown to minimize abnormal cell growth. Try adding some of these superfoods to your baby’s diet, and see what she thinks.
• Chili powder
• Cilantro
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Mint
• Nutmeg
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Turmeric
NATURAL SWEETENERS
When you look at the ingredients of commercially prepared baby food, it’s shocking how much sugar is typically added to them. What’s even more incredible is that often that “sugar” comes in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is a genetically modified, cheap sweetener that has been correlated with behavioral problems in children and metabolic disturbances (such as obesity and dementia) in everyone.vii
Yuck.
One major benefit of making your own baby’s food is the control you have over these types of ingredients. It’s no secret that humans love sugar—it’s what our brains feed on, and it gives us energy. The right type of sugar will provide long-lasting energy that slowly wears out. The wrong type of sugar (like HFCS) will spike our blood sugar levels, which our body responds to by quickly producing extra insulin to combat it, which results in a hard crash that little kiddies feel big time.
The sweeteners below are good ones—they’re natural and delicious, and our body recognizes them and therefore processes them properly. No need for panicked insulin release and no giant crash. Honey, get your sweet on with these suckers:
• Beets
• Brown rice syrup
• Carrots
• Dates
• Pure honey*
• Mangoes
• Pure maple syrup
• Pineapple
• Stevia
• Sweet potatoes
*Experts suggest waiting until your baby is about twelve months old before introducing unpasteurized honey.
