Babies First Foods

Three reasons to avoid rice cereal and grains for babies first foods

1.) Rice cereal and all extruded grains are a processed food.

Feeding your baby is serious business, do you really want to leave that responsibility to big business and government recommendations?! Rice cereal and all extruded grain “Cereals are mixed or mashed with water to make a paste and then forced out a tine hole under high temperatures and pressures. The shape of the die on the hole determines whether the final product will be a flake, a little O, a puffed grain or a shredded grain (for shredded wheat or triscuits). Extrusion represents extreme cruelty to our grains.” ¹

You can read more about this in an article called Be Kind to your Grains…

2.) Babies have limited enzyme production, which is necessary for the digestion of carbohydrates and vegetables.

Foods like cereals, grains and breads are difficult for babies to digest. The enzyme amylase is needed for those foods, and babies don’t make this enzyme until their big molar teeth are fully developed. The only carbohydrate enzyme a baby does process is lactase, for the digesting of lactose in milk. Therefore, grain carbohydrates should be the last of foods introduced. ²

Babies are born with the ability to digest breast milk, which is over 50% fat and the rest is protein. So why would I give my baby grains and rice if they can’t digest it?

Dr. Thomas Cowan over at FourFouldHealing.com explains… from 6 months to one year you must cook vegetables (with the exception of veggie ferments). Definitely start introducing soured naturally fermented vegetable ferments to get your child use that sour taste. Read more about this here ³

3. Provide the best nutrition to avoid physical degeneration

I grew up with severe degeneration that showed up in crooked teeth, allergies, learning difficulties and a small mouth that could not hold all my teeth and bad eye sight. My eye sight was so poor, I could get out of bed without putting my glasses on the morning. That’s bad folks. I will be forever grateful to my parents for investing thousands of dollars to repair my teeth and for Lasik surgery. But, really those just cover the real issue… I am not functioning well and this is due to poor nutrition. My parents and my parents parents …. were vegetarians.

My husband and I want to give our baby the best chance for a healthy vibrant life.

My degeneration might not be fixed in one generation, but providing the best nutrition for our baby is one step in the right direction. Life is already hard enough with out extra challenges caused poor nutrition.

The teeth tell the tale.

Would you rather have naturally great eyesight, straight teeth and a wide face OR physical limitations due to poor nutrition? ⁴

Photos Copyright © Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation®, All Rights Reserved

For more on this subject check out Nourishing a Growing a Growing Baby is the best article to get your baby transitioned to solids. I have it posted in my kitchen. Check it out here.  Here’s a summary of the article written by Jen Allbritton, CN…

Foods By Age

4-6 Months

Minimal solid foods as tolerated by baby
Egg yolk–if tolerated, preferably from pastured chickens, lightly boiled and salted
Banana–mashed, for babies who are very mature and seem hungry
Cod liver oil— 1/4 teaspoon high vitamin or 1/2 teaspoon regular, given with an eye dropper

6-8 months

Organic liver–grated frozen and added to egg yolk
Pureed meats–lamb, turkey, beef, chicken, liver and fish
Soup broth–(chicken, beef, lamb, fish) added to pureed meats and vegetables, or offered as a drink
Fermented foods–small amounts of yoghurt, kefir, sweet potato, taro, if desired
Raw mashed fruits–banana, melon, mangoes, papaya, avocado
Cooked, pureed fruits–organic apricot, peaches, pears, apples, cherries, berries
Cooked vegetables–zucchini, squash, sweet potato, carrots, beets, with butter or coconut oil

8-12 months

Continue to add variety and increase thickness and lumpiness of the foods already given from 4-8 months
Creamed vegetable soups
Homemade stews–all ingredients cut small or mashed
Dairy–cottage cheese, mild harder raw cheese, cream, custards
Finger foods–when baby can grab and adequately chew, such as lightly steamed veggie sticks, mild cheese, avocado chunks, pieces of banana
Cod liver oil–increase to 1/2 teaspoon high vitamin or 1 teaspoons regular dose

Over 1 Year

Grains and legumes–properly soaked and cooked
Crispy nut butters–see recipes in Nourishing Traditions
Leafy green vegetables–cooked, with butter
Raw salad vegetables–cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.
Citrus fruit–fresh, organic
Whole egg–cooked

Source: Nourishing a Growing a Growing Baby by Allbritton, CN

I started first foods at 5 1/2 months with egg yolk with a pinch of salt but Isabella had quite the violent reaction to it (throwing up until her stomach was empty) so I switched to raw liver (frozen at least 14 days) with broth and salt. Liver did the trick she loved it and I knew she was getting fabulous nutrients.

As your baby transitions to toddler, take a look at this article Foods to Tantalize Toddlers and Preschoolers.

Here’s a home video I took of Isabella eating beef, fat & chicken broth with a bit of Celtic sea salt:

Months later at 17 months, feeding herself…

Want expert advice? Check out the two best books on feeding children…

First, The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care by Sally Fallon Morell and Thomas Cowan, M.D.

Second, Super Nutrition for Babies by Katherine Erlich and Kelly Genzlinger.

David Brownstein M.D. did the forward. This book is also endorsed by Sally Fallon Morell, Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel, Ph.D., C.C.N., and Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride, M.D.

This article was featured on Party Wave Wednesday, Unprocessed Fridays, Fresh Eggs Daily Barn Hop, and Tasty Traditions.

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