What to feed your baby once she's ready for solids? Have no fear! Longtime Mothering food writer Cynthia Lair is here with some simple, fresh, and nourishing ideas for your little one. Reprinted from Mothering issue 147, March–April 2008. 8 pages. Digital Format.
EXCERPT
"Around the globe, babies begin eating with a variety of solid foods. In Oceania, babies are given pre-chewed fish, grubs, and liver. Polynesians prefer a pudding-like mixture of breadfruit and coconut cream. Inuit babies are started on seaweed and seal blubber, while Japanese health-care providers recommend a thin rice porridge, eventually made thicker and topped with dried fish, tuna, tofu, and mashed pumpkin.
In our culture, there is debate about whether a baby’s first solid food should be a cereal, a fruit, or a vegetable. If your child is considered underweight, a health-care practitioner or relative may encourage you to start with cereals. Others may recommend starting the baby on fruits and vegetables, which are digested more easily and quickly than grains. Some think grains are too complex, and that introducing cereals too early can give babies digestive trouble or lead to allergies."
