My "first foods" experience

Hi Marjorie -



I loved your post! You brought up several recommendations that I struggled with as a new mother. The one that I have always found laughable was the sincere recommendation from multiple parenting books and care providers to start kids on vegetables and not fruit, otherwise they will have a sweet tooth. Have any of these people actually tasted breast milk? It is very sweet, like melted ice cream. If the sweetness level of your first taste experience had anything to do with future candy-cravings or vegetable-hate, all breastfed babies would be total sugar-monsters. And some formulas are fairly sweet, too, but I haven't tasted many.



The other one that I never quite understood was the spice level. In my reading I have seen some dire predictions about gastric reflux, but it seems to be mostly adults projecting their own medical myths onto babies. It is not backed up with hard research as far as I can tell. Most "international" mothers that I have talked to have introduced their children to spiced foods early, although there is a general taboo about heavily chili-ed food. The peppery heat is usually dialed down. When my son was eight months old, we went out for Indian food, and he ate a large amount (for him) of saag paneer, a mild but well spiced spinach puree with yogurt, onions and cheese. The waiters looked on with approval, while patrons in the restaurant were clearly horrified (like somehow I was abusing him!). When I spoke to my Indian and Pakistani friends about it, they just shrugged. Apparently, their kids all loved some version of that dish when they were little, and the paneer cheese is a very common early food.



As for your discussion of allergies, I wondered about the wisdom of spacing the introduction of foods to every 3 to 5 days. The idea, as espoused by the parenting magazines and books, is that if you introduce slowly you will be able to pinpoint the culprit if a food allergy occurs. I remember sitting there with my 7 month old son, looking at my nutritious dinner of a vegetable soup (kind of like your husband with the Taiwanese fish soup) and realizing that it had about 12 ingredients and it would take him 2 months to "have permission" to eat it if I followed that recommendation. In my discussions with women who have raised their children in other areas of the world, this taboo never came up. I think it is a uniquely American approach, too, in that it assumes illness...that somehow an allergy is inevitable. I have also encountered many parents here in Chicago who don't understand that the spaced introduction is for detection of allergies, and rather think that rapid introduction or introducing mixed foods will lead to allergies. The whole "sweet tooth" recommendation also reflects a disordered approach to diet that is peculiarly American. Why would so many parenting experts believe that somehow you will inadvertently "program" your kids to hate vegetables? The issue here is that most kids have minimal access to high quality produce, or if they do, cheaper and more appealing highly processed foods (think chicken nuggets) are offered alongside it.



I think squash is a great idea. Squash as a first food in the late fall in New England resonates with all of my research and first-person interviews with mothers about first foods, especially those from poorer regions of the globe. Eat what is fresh, local and seasonal. Feed that to your children because that is what is available and safe and cheap. In Belgium, for example, the first food is usually leeks: cheap, fresh and available. With my own son, we started with avocados and squash. It was the middle of winter, and I know avocados aren't local, but we live in an almost exclusively Mexican neighborhood. In the winter avocados are in season in Mexico (especially Michoacan, according to my neighbors) and they are four for a dollar at our local market. I didn't start him on cereal for a variety of reasons. Mostly I felt that fruits and vegetables tasted better than a rice slurry. In my experience, the first couple months of solids is mostly about the taste anyway, very little seems to actually go down the hatch, and milk is what sustains them.



We started my son on solids at 6 months. To people who challenged me about delaying introduction of solids, I would cite the food allergy concerns. It seemed to end the subject effectively. Mainly, though, it was because I was breastfeeding exclusively and working full-time. I was worried about sustaining my lactation for as long as possible, especially given the challenges of my schedule. I worried that introducing solids early would disrupt our breastfeeding relationship. Also, he was thriving on on breast milk and it was so easy just to lift up my shirt to feed him. I wanted to prolong that ease....solids add new drama and time to the family meal.

Hmm...that reminds me...family meal. For me, this became the most important concept. It felt awkward to be feeding my child a separate meal from what we were eating because 1) I was busy and didn't like dealing with another prepared dish, 2) our food looked better than his mash and 3) we weren't sharing the same taste experience. After a few months, I would survey what I was cooking, set some aside before I added chilies or peanuts (the one high-allergen-risk I conceded), and then cut it up into non-chokeable size. That seemed to be the most satisfying experience for all of us. Sometimes he would have a little dish of yogurt or cottage cheese on the side. I ending up just modifying all of our diet somewhat towards baby friendly tastes (i.e. squash ravioli instead of chili-fried shrimp), but it was all food that we enjoyed. This is not to say he ate, or eats currently, every component of the meal I give him. But he gets a chance to try it, no one makes a big deal about "cleaning the plate", and in the end he is growing well and generally open to a variety of tastes.

Starting Solid Food

Hi Abbie!

In between finger-puppet shows and dramatic board book readings, I've been stealing as much time as I can spare researching first-foods for my little guy. He's only three and a half months now, so I still have a little time, but my husband, a fellow food-lover, is itching to get him started on the early side of the usual recommendations (4-6 months). I've found information ranging from the standard U.S. nutritionist's spiel of rice cereal to the local Women's Center's advice that "there is no evidence of any benefit to starting with cereals; you can pick from a variety of fruits or vegetables." My child's nurse recommended we follow cereal with vegetables because the sweetness of fruit might ruin any hope of creating a future vegetable-lover. I've discovered that Canada and the UK both consider meat a good early choice after cereal (to my husbands delight), while the U.S. actively discourages its introduction until later. Also, it seems that even though information on first-foods from around the world can be scarce, many cultures seem to incorporate solid foods earlier than we do here. What is one to do?

I know one resounding concern about introducing solids too early is that it could interfere with the established breast-feeding routine. In our case, unfortunately, my baby is bottle-fed a soy formula, so we have no concerns in that regard. Another major issue seems to be the increased likelihood of allergies with an earlier introduction of foods. I am having a hard time sorting out if this is true for all foods or just foods likely to cause a problem anyway (like shellfish, eggs, peanuts, etc.). Even this philosophy seems fraught with controversy with some studies contending that withholding the potential allergens in early life makes one more susceptible to adverse reactions later.

From what I have found, introducing first-foods one at a time is the favored approach (i.e. no curry until the baby has individually tasted every single component separately and exclusively for five to seven days at a time with no reaction). I can see how this would work out initially, like now we'll start carrots, carrots, carrots, carrots, carrots, but I am already sick of typing "carrots," let alone feeding it to my little new food explorer...bah. I think of my husband, born in Taiwan and most likely fed some sort of fish soup with a dozen ingredients at what we, in the U.S., would consider an insanely early age (*trust me*), and I resent having to feel like I would be a big rule-breaker if I choose to do things at a faster pace with more variety than the established "recommended guidelines" allow. In the paper "Infant Feeding: Can We Spice It Up a Bit," (Blumber, S., Journal of the American Dietetic Association , Volume 106 , Issue 4 , pp 504 - 505), Margaret Begany, a neonatal dietitian at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia says, "I believe it is fairly common in other cultures to introduce a wide variety of foods, including spicy foods, much earlier than we do in the United States." The same paper quotes Melinda Johnson, a spokesperson for the ADA, as saying "infants of parents from countries such as India, China, South America, and the Caribbean have been exposed to more spices than many of their American counterparts." I guess this is a topic for us to revisit a little later, but I already anticipate some concerns...

Jimmy and I are leaning towards waiting until the four-month mark and starting with squash, since it's local, seasonal, affordable, and delicious. I would love to hear how you started with your child and the thought process behind it.

Thanks!
-Marjorie

Coke Syrup

Hi Abbie!

Sorry to hear your little one was having tummy issues! My mom (English/Irish background) also gave us flat ginger ale and something called "coke syrup," which you could buy at the pharmacy when we were little. A quick search reveals that it is still available at some pharmacies and online. It appears to simply be concentrated coca cola, which itself had medicinal origins. My mom would pour a small amount of coke syrup over ice and have us sip it slowly when we had the flu or an upset tummy. I remember it tasting very sweet and delicious.

I have never tried hibiscus tea, but it's bright red color sounds beautiful. It makes sense that the introduction of new foods when a child is sick and less open to change would be a challenge...If the food remedies are things you wouldn't normally feed your child unless they are sick, you have a dilemma. I wonder if it's worth introducing the "sick foods" during well periods, so they get used to them? On the other hand, I remember really looking forward to my coke syrup, ginger ale, saltines, noodle soup, and popsicles when I was sick. It became part of the ritual for us as kids and signaled that we were getting special attention and treatment. I would hesitate to over-do the sick foods in well times, because I wouldn't want the foods to lose that part of their power.

-Marjorie

P.S. I checked with my mother-in-law about her suggestion of using honey-water for dry skin in babies, and yes, she did mean bee honey. This was a generation ago, so I wouldn't be surprised if women of our generation no longer do this in light of new medical guidelines.

Tummy soothing foods

Hi Marjorie!

The information about Taiwanese first foods was great. The honey water thing would definitely be taboo here -- according to the medical literature, infants 12 months and under need to avoid honey because of the risk of botulism. Do you think she was referring to bee honey?

We had a rough few days here ... a toddler with an upset tummy in the middle of potty training is not an easy situation. I was interested that your mother-in-law recommended ginger drinks for tummy soothing. My mother (eastern European background) would make us drink flat gingerale or flat coca-cola.

The food writer Elisabeth Luard reports that garlic and and garlic broth is a traditional tummy soother in Provence. My Mexican friends use rice water, and my Sudanese colleague recommends hibiscus water as a general panacea for toddler ills. All these home remedies have in common that they are liquids, and my guess is that a key benefit in using all of them is maintaining hydration.

The issue I face with the sodas, broths and teas is that when a child is sick and cranky, he's not ready to try new foods or flavors. Introducing a new soup or a brightly flavored tea is probably not going to fly. We defaulted to rice, crackers and diluted apple juice. I went to the Mexican store around the block and bought some hibiscus flowers to make tea....have you ever made it? It is a beautiful red color, with a very delicate flavor. He took a few sips, and in the end just wanted a sippy cup of water.

He is back to himself now. I will be interested to compile more suggestions for traditional tummy soothers from across the globe.

Abbie

Taiwanese First Food Traditions

Hi Abbie!
I quizzed my mother-in-law about Taiwanese first-food traditions. Thirty odd years have passed since she had young babies, so some of the suggested ages for things are her best estimates, but you get the gist. Here's what I found out:

Babies typically start around 6-7 months on rice soup (muay. Basically, rice in a water broth cooked to the point of being mushy) and the broth of pork, beef, or fish soups with the fat skimmed off. Also, maybe a little plain boiled fish (with bones carefully removed), tofu, shredded meat, and poached egg.

At 13-14 months, you can introduce a little more grease and a little salt. Small amounts of most table-food is OK (not too spicy, but some spice is fine), and also chicken soup, carrots, celery, spinach, daikon cake (shred daikon, boil in water until translucent, add rice flour, small pieces of meat, onion, and white pepper, mash into a flat cake and steam), and thin-noodle soup with eggs (mi-swa. Sort of a cross between egg-drop soup and chicken noodle soup.).

Taboo food before 12 months is too much grease, taro (causes gas), and sticky rice (causes upset stomach - probably heart burn, because that is what happens to me!).

Health-promoting foods are fish ("makes you smarter") and fish oil (imported from Japan and spoon fed, not in capsule form). Starting at 17-18 months, ginger tea or ginger ale is used for upset stomachs/diarrhea, and freshly squeezed fruit juice (orange and grape) for a healthy immune system. Babies are sometimes given honey-water to help with dry skin ("so they're head will smell better" ?) and to help get rid of jaundice. (I find this very interesting, because aren't we taught not to give infants honey for the first year?).

As for liquids, infants are often given fortified powdered milk in addition to breast milk, and then soy milk (not cows milk).

Mothers are typically the ones who feed babies. As soon as babies show interest in feeding themselves, they start to do it.

All-time baby favorites: Watermelon and fish.

I'll try to get some more ideas from her sisters and sister-in-laws as I see them.

The dilemma about baby food

We are friends from college who started families around the same time. Both of us hoped to feed our kids whole foods with real flavors. As committed and adventurous home cooks, neither one of us planned on feeding our kids from a Gerber jar. As we started looking into home-cooked baby food traditions, we realized there was little information out there for moms ready to move beyond rice cereal and fruit purees. "Gourmet" baby food recipes were dumbed down versions of adult food, usually with less flavor. There were recipes that tried to hide vegetables in "kid-friendly" flavors like chocolate. There were recipes that made you fashion a medieval castle in order to convince your child to bite into it. Wasn't there anything out there for moms who already make homemade bread, cheese and preserves? Wasn't there anything for familes who don't eat "American" food every night? Wasn't there anything better than "recipes" for fruit salad? What do moms across the globe do? What are baby food folkways, both near and afar?

In pursuit of this information, we hit up university libraries, anthropology collections, and the medical literature. Information was scarce. We don't understand this culinary black-hole. A few theories:

1) across time, most cultures just fed kids what was fresh and available to everyone
2) female cultural practice, including the care and feeding of children, is not an area of interest in the academic patriarchy
3) information like this is likely part of an oral tradition, and indeed, the idea of a written recipe for adult food is fairly new
4) introduction of industrial baby food created a gaping abyss worldwide between generations of mothers
5) "making your own baby food" has been demonized as of questionable nutritional benefit and "too much work" for the busy modern mom

We searched high and low, and given the little information out there about traditional practice, defaulted into whole mashed food and raw food, planning to slowly introduced adult food and flavors. We believe there are moms out there who are interested in this information. Not for being "green" or trendy foodies, but because we are searching for a return to tradition and lost folkways after several generations of industrial brainwashing.

On this blog we are going to explore and post information on global baby food traditions. Using published literature and personal interviews, we will ask:

What are traditional first foods (the first things babies are fed)? At what age are they traditionally started on solids?
What are more "advanced" foods for infants and toddlers?
What foods are taboo and why?
What foods are considered health-promoting or medicinal?
What liquids are the babies given?
How and who feeds the baby? When is the baby expected to feed themselves?
What foods are "all-time baby favorites"?

We will also post on the care and feeding of our own children, currently 2 years old and 3 months. We are hoping to speak to moms who know their way around the kitchen, who believe in fresh, local food, who like to explore the world throught their cooking, and who want to create wholesome food traditions for their families.