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Basil Baby Food?!?

I could dedicate 6 weeks to the topic of how and what to feed your kid. I will say right now that for the most part, I have stuck to my guns and done with my kids exactly what I’ve been advising others to do for years. Even to the point of making breast milk without being pregnant. (Moderately insane) I’ve been a real stickler about not starting solids until 6 months because that is truly what is beaten into our heads as American pediatricians. To do otherwise is utter sacrilege. Of course, you know I’m not completely rigid so I’ve always said that 6 months to the day is not the point. If it’s a week or 2 on either side, that’s okay. (My next note is going to be about why I’m going to be a sinner with Zoe and start earlier…not the reasons you think, so stay tuned!) The most important thing is that you recognize that baby food and cereal are not the mainstays of a baby’s nutrition and that the point of feeding them is not to get vitamin C into them, but rather teach them how to take something that looks and feels and tastes funny into their mouths, roll it around and swallow it down.

Forget whether the first food is yellow or green. I could care less. But one thing we do in America is recommend that new foods are not introduced all at once but rather slowly, adding something different every few days to make sure the baby tolerates it and doesn’t have an allergic reaction. So when you buy baby food in the US, you buy “carrots” and the ingredients are “carrots.” Mixed veggies and turkey dinner are for later stages of feeding, once you’ve made sure your kid can handle most of what you’ve sent her way.

So imagine my shock and horror when I went to the grocery yesterday to buy Eva some new foods since she started cereal last week and seems to really dig it. There was not ONE single baby food that contained one item. It was all combos, from apple-pomegranate-raspberry to creamed fish pie! Creamed fish pie?!? I didn’t know what to do. So I bought the least offensive combinations: squash and sweetcorn and spinach, parsnip and basil. BASIL?!? Really?!? Who puts basil in baby food?! What baby needs basil? My daughter’s first food is going to be basil? I can’t do it. I brought it home and stared at the package for a while and then I went to my computer and ordered a baby food maker. I swore I would never do it. Jarred baby food is good enough for my kids. (as are tap water and binkies that fell on the floor) But basil? Honestly. So here I am, facing at least a couple weeks of slicing, steaming, pureeing and freezing because I have to cling to some remnants of my training. I’ll probably even go so far as to cook up a big batch of basil and see what happens.

Dr. Lara Zibners, Apr 06, 2010

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Oh lara
basil,rosemary, sage, parsley,thyme, I’ve used them all to infuse a bit of flavour and also so I could yell back at him when he’s 18 about the wonderful gourmet meals he had at 6 months. Mind you he only had added herbs when I was feeling creative and could be bothered and only with pastaas far as I remember.
I didn’t do the jars mainly cause I preach daily how easy it is to cook a home cooked meal to customers I felt I must and at least I know what went into it
not that hard. 2 carrots go a long way for the first couple of weeks of weaning so steam em, ice cube tray em and have them ready so it’s nit a daily chore.
Ps do not purée chicken- it’s stringy and disgusting- chop it tiny when time comes round.

    – Grainne o shea (04/06 04:52 PM)

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