First foods
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Embarking on the Solids Journey: A Guide to Infant Nutrition
Commencing the journey of introducing solids to a baby's diet sparks a myriad of questions in the minds of parents. "How to start solids? Which is the best first food? How do I prepare food for my baby?" These queries echo the concerns of caregivers eager to provide the optimal nutritional foundation for their little ones. Amidst diverse cultural practices and scientific perspectives, navigating this culinary expedition demands thoughtful consideration and a personalized approach.
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Diverse Perspectives on First Foods
The world is a tapestry of communities, each with its own culinary traditions, including the choice of the first food for infants. Scientifically, various schools of thought offer distinct recommendations. Some advocate for fruits as the inaugural solid, emphasizing their natural sweetness. Conversely, others argue for the introduction of vegetables first, aiming to prevent the development of a preference for sweet flavors. Another perspective suggests commencing with whole cereals, gradually incorporating vegetables and fruits.
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Fruits and Vegetables: The Primal Choice
Undoubtedly, fruits and vegetables emerge as the primary contenders for the title of the best first foods. Aligning with the natural dietary inclinations of human beings, rich in essential vitamins and minerals, they form the cornerstone of wholesome nutrition. Cereals, often considered a staple, are critiqued for their prominence in the Western diet, potentially contributing to modern lifestyle disorders. Thus, a prudent approach favors initiating solids with either a fruit or a vegetable, postponing the introduction of cereals.
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The Ragi Advantage: A Nutrient-Rich Cereal
Among cereals, ragi, or finger millet, stands out as a commendable choice. Beyond its culinary appeal, ragi boasts high levels of iron and calcium, crucial minerals that gain significance after six months of age. To enhance its nutritional profile, ragi can be sprouted and malted. Sprouting increases vitamin content, while malting renders the cereal more palatable. A simple, home-prepared ragi flour, derived from sprouted and malted ragi, serves as an excellent base for a nutritious porridge.
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The Perfect Ragi Porridge Recipe
Creating a wholesome ragi porridge involves a straightforward process. Soak whole ragi, dry sprouts under shade, and roast without oil or ghee. After cooling, grind into a smooth flour and store. To prepare the porridge, mix one heaped spoon of ragi flour with water over heat until a custard-like consistency is achieved. This nutrient-rich, iron-packed porridge offers a gentle introduction to solids, promoting ease of digestion.
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Sugar and Salt: Treading Carefully
The introduction of salt or sugar is a delicate decision, with recommendations leaning towards avoiding them until the eighth or ninth month. These additives can shape taste preferences and pose potential risks to a developing kidney. Jaggery, a natural sweetener, becomes a suitable choice for sweetness, while honey is reserved for after the first year due to potential bacterial risks.
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Cultural Traditions and Gradual Introduction
In diverse cultures, rituals such as "annaprasanam" mark the initiation of solids, emphasizing the significance of cultural practices in the introduction of new foods. When introducing solids, a gradual approach is paramount. Start with one or two spoons of ragi porridge for the initial days, preferably during morning hours when the baby is hungry. As acceptance grows, gradually increase the quantity of ragi, introducing variety by incorporating dhal, vegetables, and fruits.
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Diversifying Cereals: Rice and More
Rice, a staple in many households, is introduced in various forms to the baby. Special rice varieties like uggu, prepared by washing, soaking, drying, and powdering, offer an instant porridge when boiled with water. Over time, pulses can be added to expand the nutritional spectrum. Other cereals such as jowar, maize, finger millets, bajra, barley, quinoa, dahlia, oats, and bombai rawa can also be introduced, considering factors like digestibility and potential gluten sensitivity.
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Selecting Dhals and Vegetables: A Wholesome Combination
When selecting dhals or lentils, moong dhal, greengram dhal, bengal gram dhal, or turdal are recommended for their ease of cooking. Soaking lentils for at least 24 hours enhances their nutritional value. Boiling dhals with vegetables like tomato, palak, ridge gourd, bottle gourd, and round cucumber yields tasty recipes. Avoiding the use of mixers or grinders, and instead mashing with a cup and spoon, preserves natural textures and flavors, aiding in the baby's overall food acceptance.
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Expanding the Palette: Oats, Barley, and Gluten Awareness
Oats, barley, rye, and wheat, rich in gluten, can be introduced after the seventh month. However, awareness of potential gluten sensitivity is crucial, with a preference for delayed introduction, potentially after 10 months or even after a year. The diverse array of cereals and their combinations can be introduced gradually, one at a time, every 3 to 5 days, allowing for observation of immediate and delayed reactions.
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Feeding Position and Responsible Practices
Maintaining appropriate feeding positions, such as seating the baby in a high chair or infant seat in a propped-up position, ensures safe and comfortable mealtimes. Avoiding the use of bottles and incorporating natural textures and flavors are pivotal practices for developing a child's palate. Introducing a wide variety of foods within the first few months of solids initiation fosters a broad taste profile, minimizing picky eating tendencies.
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Navigating Dhals: From Water to Whole
Choosing the type of dhal to introduce first is a common query. Theoretically, any dhal is acceptable, with moong dhal being easier to prepare. Whole lentils offer superior nutrition, with soaking further enhancing their benefits. Soaking overnight or for at least a few hours before cooking is advisable. Introducing dhals initially in water form and gradually progressing to actual dhals provides a smooth transition.
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Conclusion: A Wholesome Introduction to Solids
In essence, the introduction of solids to a baby's diet is a nuanced and thoughtful process. Focusing on nutrient-rich choices, emphasizing natural textures and flavors, and adhering to gradual introductions contribute to a positive and wholesome culinary journey for the infant. As caregivers embark on this adventure, attuning to the unique preferences and responses of each baby forms the foundation for a healthy and enjoyable relationship with food.
Questions:
My 5 months old baby has been taking carrot juice for about a week. I want to start rice cereal. Which brand do you prefer?
My pediatrician has asked me to start cereals for my baby. But I read on the internet that the best food to start is any vegetable. Please advice.
Answer:
How to start solids? Which is the best first food? How do I prepare food for my baby? Mothers often ask me such questions. There is actually no “wonder” or “best” food. There are several communities in the world and each one has their own “first food”. Scientifically, there are different schools of thoughts. Some recommend fruits as first foods. Some others are of the opinion that vegetables have to be the first foods because, fruits are sweet and can make the baby develop preference towards sweet foods. Another school of thought is to introduce whole cereals and then start adding vegetables and fruits to the cereal gradually.
The best foods to start with undoubtedly are fruits and vegetables. Human beings are meant to thrive on fruits and vegetables. Cereals are basically grasses meant for animals to eat. The advent of Western Civilization has made cereals main food for human beings, which is actually detrimental to human health and is the leading cause for various lifestyle disorders in the current generation. Hence it is prudent that one must introduce either a fruit or a vegetable as starting food and there must be no hurry to introduce cereals. Actually, it is better to introduce cereals as late as possible.
The best cereal is of course ragi, also known as finger millet. Why? Ragi is rich in iron and calcium. The requirement of these two minerals increases after 6 months of age.
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Ragi can be sprouted and malted. This makes the cereal rich in vitamins and amylase. Amylase-rich foods aid in digestion. Malting makes the cereal more tasty and edible. I encourage mothers to use sprouted and malted form of ragi, preferably prepared at home. Ragi is cheap and easily available in food stores. The procedure for making sprouted and malted ragi is simple and described here. Pick up one kg of whole ragi and wash it well. Soak for about 2 to 3 hours and tie in wet cotton cloth. Leave aside for about a day. The ragi will develop small sprouts. Dry the sprouted ragi in sun shade and then roast it in low flame without using any oil or ghee. Now cool it under the fan to room temperature. After it cools down, grind it to a smooth flour in dry grinder. Sieve it and store it in air-tight boxes along non-humid racks.
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Make porridge out of this ragi flour. In about 100 ml of water in a vessel, add one heaped spoon of ragi. Place this vessel on the stove and mix the ragi and water well so that no lumps are formed. This becomes a porridge within few minutes. The porridge should be semisolid like custard or idli dough. Don't add salt or sugar to this. Not even jaggery. Feed this to the baby after cooling it a bit. This, according to me is the best first food. This food is rich in iron, calcium and vitamins. It is easily digestible because it is rich in amylase. It is bland to taste and baby's prefer bland taste!!!
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Adding salt or sugar will make the baby develop preference to salty or sweet foods. Also, added salt can be a burden to kidneys. Hence it is better to avoid salt and sugar until 8 months of age. Jaggery can be added from eighth month on wards. Better to use organic jaggery. Honey can be used after one year of age. Honey has a particular bacteria which can lead to a dangerous tummy infection. That is why we recommend giving it after one year of age. Honey has many beneficial health attributes. It is worth including it in the diet after one year of age.
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To start with, give one or two spoons of ragi porridge for 2 to 3 days. Give it once a day, preferably in the morning hours. Give it when the baby is hungry so that the acceptance is better. Give milk after eating solids and not before. Gradually increase the quantity of ragi. You can add a few drops of ghee if you wish to. Once the baby is comfortable with ragi, you can start adding dhal, vegetables and fruits to it. Any dhal can be used. Moong dhal or greengram dhal and bengal gram dhal or Turdhal are preferable because they are easy to cook. Dhal must be boiled and mashed first and then added to ragi. Even vegetables must be boiled and mashed. Carrot, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, beans, beetroot and palak are good vegetables to start with. Potato, tomato, ladies finger, sweet potato, sweet pumpkin and peas can be added gradually. Vegetables and dhals must be mashed with cup and spoon. Mashing in mixers or grinders is a wrong practice for several reasons. One, it cannot be completely hygienic. Also, the baby won't be able to relish natural textures and flavors. The taste buds are just forming and we want to teach the baby how the texture and flavor of each food is. Grinding alters the natural texture and flavor of the food. Also, I noticed that babies who are given pasty foods during early weaning months are unlikely to eat from family pot soon. They are likely to become picky eaters. Their mothers may need to grind food every meal even after their first birthday. Thus, the thumb rule is, to teach and allow the baby to relish natural textures and flavors of different types of food. Again, it is very important to introduce as many varieties of foods as possible within the first few months of introducing solids to help the baby develop taste for different types of foods. Vegetables and dhals can be mixed in cereals like ragi and rice or can be given individually.
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Another wonderful cereal that can be introduced to the baby is rice! Rice is a staple diet for most Indians and is cooked everyday in many families in the country. Rice is introduced in different forms to the baby. Rice must be cooked with more than 3 parts of water for every part of rice, so that it is soft and easily mashable with cup and spoon. In some communities, a special form of rice called uggu is made. The rice is washed well and and soaked for about 2 hours. It is then dried under sunlight. This is then powdered and then stored in airtight boxes. Some prefer to roast the rice before grinding. The rice powder prepared thus is boiled with 2 parts of water to make an instant porridge to the baby. After some days, after the baby gets used to rice, various pulses can also be added. Even they are washed, soaked, dried, roasted and grinded with rice. Uggu is prepared is some Andhra and Karnataka families. Few drops of ghee can be added to the cereal. Each time Uggu powder is prepared the coarseness must gradually increase to help the baby eat coarser food. Rice can be powdered and kept without washing and drying also. It may be a fantastic idea to switch to organic rice which is harvested with no pesticides.
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The third carbohydrate food (actually not a cereal) I recommend is sago or sabudana which is derived from tapioca. It is easy to cook and easily digestible. Soaking for few minutes before cooking makes it easier to cook. Parched rice, which is rich in iron can also be introduced early.
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To these cereals, you need to add a dhal (or lentils) or a fruit or a vegetable or a vegetable and dhal to make it a wholesome meal. It is preferable not to add salt or sugar until eighth or ninth month. To sweeten a food, fruit squash or powdered organic jaggery is better. Honey, as discussed before, must be introduced only after one year.
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Other cereals which can be introduced to baby are jowar, maize, finger millets fox millets, bajra, barley, quinoa, dahlia, oats and bombai rawa. Jowar and maize are hard to digest and must be introduced late. Oats, barley, rye and wheat are gluten-rich foods. They can be introduced early, like in seventh month. But some babies can be gluten-sensitive and develop rashes and other symptoms. It is difficult to pick up these symptoms and relate to gluten sensitivity. Hence, it is better to introduce them later, like after 10 months or even after one year. It may be worth asking family history of gluten and other food sensitivities. New foods must be introduced one at a time, preferably once in 3 to 5 days. Immediate reactions can be observed within one day, whereas, delayed reactions can be seen as late as 5 days. Initially, make the food thin to help baby swallow easily. Thinning can be done with water, breast milk or formula milk. Gradually increase the thickness. Never give any food or juice using bottle. It is very important to feed in appropriate position. The baby must be seated in a high chair or infant seat in propped up position. Pillows can be used to achieve this.
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Which type of dhal should be introduced first is a common question asked. Theoretically, any dhal should be ok. Moong dhal is easier to make. Turdal is easier to include in everyday's meal. Ideally, whole lentils are good and offer more nutrition. Their nutrition value increases hundred fold if soaked for 24 hours. Atleast try to soak overnight. Green gram, bengal gram, chick peas and red gram can be soaked and used. Some mothers may prefer to start with dhal water and then gradually introduce actual dhal. Dhal can be boiled with few vegetables like tomato, palak, ridge gourd, bottle gourd and round cucumber to make a tasty recipe. Dhal can also be boiled with rice to prepare a dish called kichidi, a favorite North Indian recipe.