A Unique Child: Health & Nutrition - Spoilt for choice

Christmas is fast approaching and now is probably not the time to wave the warning finger about over-indulgence but, as soon as the festivities are over, thoughts turn to simpler foods that are more about well-being and less about partying.

I am always swept up in the January movement towards healthy reinvention. Yes, I will exercise every day and, yes, I will eat steamed vegetables and lightly poached fish and absolutely no added sugar, but intention and reality don’t always come together. Last year, I rocked up to my local pool in January, thinking I was continuing a briefly interrupted fitness regime, only to be greeted by the receptionist with the crushing words, ‘Ah, hello! Nice to see you again, it must be January.’ Rumbled!

Recently I read an article about the Mayr Centre in Austria where the chronically ill as well as the worried well have been checking in for a detox for more than 40 years. The Mayr’s successful formula focuses on healthy digestion and strips back nutrition to its bones. Sugar, salt and caffeine are banned and meals are simple in the extreme and always cooked, never raw, because this is thought to be gentler on the digestive system.

The reporter likened the meals to baby food, which I suppose is true if you’re talking about the lack of salt, sugar and caffeine, but the implication was that baby food is mushy and bland. But really, why should baby food be bland? Yes, we need to leave out salt, sugar and, maybe, hot spices, but apart from that, babies can eat pretty much everything we eat, and now is the time to introduce them to a world of wonderful flavours.

COMPLEMENTARY FEEDING

At Snapdragons we usually begin complementary feeding when babies are around six months old but, of course, this is always in partnership with the parents and we consult with them carefully to discover their wishes as to how they are approaching weaning.

Usually, the first foods offered are simple blends of cooked vegetables, pureed, and served with some finger food such as cooked carrot batons on the side.

Of course, it is important to monitor any reactions to new foods, but we don’t need to limit the range of flavours and textures that babies are introduced to.

When the baby begins to eat solid food, introducing a wider variety of flavours early on makes a child more familiar with, and therefore more accepting of, these flavours as a toddler, which is often when children can become more picky.

Research on the amount of vegetables children eat in different countries found, rather unsurprisingly, that children offered a greater range of vegetables grow up to eat more of them than those whose choices were limited as babies. Foods that are naturally sweet, such as carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes, are often offered as first foods because they seem more palatable to babies, but we tend to pair them with some slightly more challenging flavours such as broccoli and kale to increase the variety of nutrients and to tone down the sweetness.

Gradually, we add starchy foods, such as potato, bread, rice and pasta, as well as proteins such as meat, fish, well-cooked eggs, beans and pasteurised dairy foods including full-fat natural yoghurt. As much as possible, the weaning babies will be eating the same as the older children, even if it is only an element of that meal, and because our chefs do not use salt, our menus are suitable for them.

BABY-LED WEANING

We always encourage babies to feed themselves independently as soon as they can as this is such an important part of their physical development and is also thought to help avoid over-eating. At first, the amount of food a baby eats is tiny and most of their nutrients are still obtained from breast or formula milk, so first meals are all about the sensory joy of tasting, smelling and feeling the food.

We are increasingly being asked by parents to support their child with baby-led weaning, which we are happy to do. The only stipulation for this is that the baby must be able to sit up unaided, reach out for and grab objects effectively and take objects to their mouth, making gnawing or chewing movements, all of which would usually be the case in a six-month-old.

Baby-led weaning certainly takes the stress out of mealtimes because the baby is simply offered the same food as everyone else without the hassle of blending – you just need to make sure it is chopped into manageable-sized handfuls that the baby can grip easily, usually batons. A loaded spoon can be used for foods such as risotto, but the baby is left to pick it up themselves. Baby-led weaning means that nobody but the baby puts food in their mouth. It’s best to place a variety of foods directly on the table or highchair tray because bowls and plates simply get in the way. This method comes with a warning: it gets messy!

GAGGING AND CHOKING

Sometimes people worry that this method of weaning is dangerous because babies can gag on the food as they learn how to move it around the mouth and chew it. Gagging does not involve food in the breathing passage and is a natural part of the baby’s learning. Choking, however, is a hazard with any child and, of course, no child would be left to eat without adult supervision. Interestingly, choking is thought to be less common with baby-led weaned babies because they don’t get used to smooth food before learning how to chew lumps.

FOODS TO AVOID

Whichever method of weaning we use, the list of foods to avoid applies: no salt (including stock cubes and gravy mixes), added sugar, honey, undercooked eggs, swordfish and unpasteurised dairy – but I’m sure you all know this. If in doubt, the NHS has plenty of information which is updated regularly.

I think the best weaning advice is to get creative with your flavour combinations, introducing as many different vegetables as possible while the baby still has no preconceived ideas about what not to like. And don’t turn to jars and packets – they are expensive, processed, often rely too much on overly sweet fruit purees and are completely unnecessary because babies just need good, ordinary food – and it doesn’t need to be bland or mushy.

Mary Llewellin is operations manager at Snapdragons. Snapdragons Keynsham has the Food For Life Partnership Gold Catering Mark and was winner of the Nursery WorldNursery Food Award in 2012 and 2014.

MORE INFORMATION

www.nhs.uk/start4life/first-foods

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