Simplified Nutritious Baby Feeding (with Recipe)
As a dietitian with a kid just past the age of one, people are curious about how we’ve decided to start solid foods. With the toddler phase right around the corner, there are new foods and new challenges. In our continuous effort to make the best choices we can in the most simple and low stress way possible, here are our favorite feeding tips for raising a healthy, flavor forward eater and the recipe we make several times a week for the boy: egg sticks with a variety of add in ingredients.
So far, I feel like we’ve done a great job raising an eater who is open to new flavors and textures. He eats everything. He’s never snubbed anything. One of his favorite foods is a spicy shredded pork dish that uses fish sauce. Spinach, he’ll eat without question and prioritizes it over other foods. He likes lamb and salmon. More or less, he eats what we eat. We like to think in part it’s because he picks up on our openness to a variety of spices, herbs. Any time he shows interest, we let him have a bite. Which makes me wonder, how much the average person is underestimating their kid’s interest in bigger flavors.
A major realization I’ve had over the past few weeks in particular, is how quickly kids pick up on our habits without ‘showing’ them. All habits! Eating habits, emotion habits, and definitely household habits. For example Reid has picked up ‘wiping the table’ from me, so now he’ll take a dish cloth or If You Care Reusable Paper Towels and head to the coffee table to wipe it off with gleeful abandon. He knows we take off shoes before we go in the house, so he kicks off his slide on loafers once the stroller hits the porch. Kids pick up on nearly everything.
While we take care to make sustainable, low waste, high value choices in our home, knowing that someone we’re hoping to form into a ‘good human’ is watching makes it more important than ever to set a good example. In an ideal world, I hope he comes to naturally make choices that reduce waste and are sustainable. Picking better products is an easy step (just think about what you decided to buy in your first apartment based on what you grew up using). We’ve used If You Care products for several years (we always have their parchment paper) since one of their brand landmark traits that if disposed of responsibly (certified biodegradable), there should be nothing left. With food, we try to buy seasonally, use all leftovers, and avoid food waste. The egg stick recipe below is one of our easy ways to do this since you can add in sautéed vegetables or little protein bits. Because Reid loves these (and the stick shape makes it easy for him to pick up), it’s a good way to introduce new flavors by pairing it with something he already likes (a key tactic from the ‘dietitian feeding kids healthy foods’ toolbox).
Simplified Nutritious Baby Feeding Tips:
Starting solids: We followed a baby led weaning-ish start that skipped the puree phase and encouraged self feeding. Rent a book from your local library to learn more!
Learn safe shapes: The Solid Starts app is a resource of a vast array of foods that tells you what shape is safe for different age groups. You’ll also see notes on whether or not the food is safe for early months (for example some varieties of fish). This helps you feel confident introducing new foods.
Use a mat: Use a large washable mat on the table so you don’t stress about mess and you don’t focus on policing plates being moved. To be honest, we ordered the same kind we use under our cat food in the mudroom.
Have a cloth on hand: I keep a muslin cloth from the spit up days, or a If You Care Reusable Paper Towel for wiping hands and the table. Since the If You Care paper towels absorb 16x its weight in water, I don’t have to keep running back and forth to get traditional paper towels. They’re also better than bamboo towels which leave fibers behind since these use a specialized production process.
Find the right seat: We didn’t get a high chair. We’ve used a booster seat that puts him at the correct height at our table from the start. But most importantly, we bought a second one to keep outside on our outdoor table so we can enjoy the nice weather without having to maneuver things during meals. It allows him to dine like part of the family and seeing what we’re eating to form good habits.
Making food ahead of time: I do a batch of veg sautéing or separating out fruit or chopping meats after he goes to bed. A few minutes of prep goes such a long way for less stress and nutritious options the next day.
Pre-portion foods: After I do food prep, items go in If You Care Sandwich Bags (made from renewable Scandinavian spruce trees) or silicon bags depending on if we are going somewhere or staying in. These go in a small bin in the fridge so I can pull the entire container out during meals. The If You Care Sandwich Bags are grease proof which makes the good for adult snacks like nuts, or sandwiches for the entire family, or eggs like I’ll show you below. You can also use them in the microwave.
Perfect for toddlers or for adult sandwiches! An easy way to introduce new flavors and produce/protein foods.
Easy Egg Sticks
INGREDIENTS
4 large eggs
1 T chopped herbs
1 T chopped sautéed vegetables optional
1 T shredded cheese optional
Salt and pepper *note do not use salt if your child is under the age of 1
DIRECTIONS
Whisk eggs in a large bowl until light yellow.
Heat a pan (whatever variety of ‘non stick’ you are comfortable with) and add eggs.
Allow the base to set, add toppings.
Cover with the top offset for about 5 minutes.
Turn off heat. Ready when top is steamed. Cool, slice into sticks. S
Serve plain for kids or in a sandwich for adults!
Dietitian Nutritionist and cookbook author sharing flavor-forward recipes and simplified science-driven wellness.
