Developing a baby's palate

Both of my children are now teenagers and both are very open minded about trying new foods. As babies, they started on bland (but certainly not too bland, just not spicy) foods, but never baby foods. What I made, is what they got. If it was a spicy meal, then I took a bit out for them before I added the hot spices. There favorite finger food was cubed tofu. Easy to pick up and easy to "chew" with no teeth. I let them try everything we had and they developed their own taste as they got older. Nothing safe (no honey, shellfish, that type of thing) was off limits. They both have very healthy eating habits now and eat a varied diet.

Though I started my son on the baby food that everyone begins their kids with-start with fruits, veggies, grains then meats...he was fine until he was around 9-10 months when he realized how good table food really was. I actually started giving him a little of spanish rice or vegetarian biriyani (an indian mixture of rice and spices with veggies), as well as uppuma (indian cream of wheat with mashed veggies), everything i would make myself-not store bought or restaurant made, and i would overcook it a little for his sake. I didnt add any spices like green or red peppers-that could be too harsh for his sensitive palate...but giving him these at an early age helped him adapt to what we eat at our table...at the same time as a 2nd generation indian, i wanted him to be able to enjoy not only indian foods but also adapt to other foods...if pasta was for dinner-i would give him pasta-a little overcooked and appropriate size for him...Now that he is 3 he is at an age where he isnt very picky about his food-he enjoys every type of food, and we enjoy his company at dinner in most places.

I have experienced three kids with three differnet appetites and food preferences. My first, a son, was a big eater, and enjoyed any type of jarred baby food given. My second, a daughter, hated anything baby food, and preferred breast/bottle to most anything. Now with my third, I have become wiser and more economical and have started making my own baby food. (It's really easy!!) I agree with the author- have you tasted your baby's food? The jarred food has been so overprocessed to extend shelf life that it tastes like the shelf! I do know your baby will let you know his/her taste preferences, and as they develop, so do their palates. I grew up in a strongly old world Italian family, and my mother (not Italian) was abborhed to see my grandmother chew table food and give it to me. As disgusting as it sounds, processed, pureed, and jarred baby food was not around for the thousands of years infants have been fed and cared for by their mothers. With only the exception of introducing high allergenic foods too early to babies who may be sensitive, pureed organic foods are the only way to go!

I started giving my daughter table food right before her first birthday. If we had something at dinner that could easily be smashed up for her, I gave her a taste. If she liked it, I gave her a little more, if not we went back to her baby food jar. I think starting so early helped her be a more adventurous eater. She will try just about anything, as long as someone else seems to enjoy it. Some things she likes, some not as much. But in a day where I see a number of parents serving their kids chicken nuggets every night or cooking separate meals to get their kids to eat, I cook one meal for everyone in the house and most of the time it all gets eaten. I will say try not to go too spicy or bold at first. Try by just adding a bit of spice to the baby food (skipping the salt, or at least most of it) or taking some of your dinner and smashing it up for baby. Just a word of warning, I did notice my daughter did not really care for jarred baby food soon after giving her some table food. About the only thing she would eat straight from the jar was fruit, I'm assuming because it still had a taste to it. Encouraging baby to try new things cant really hurt as long as you are still taking their health into mind, which you sound like you are. So I say go for it, but dont be surprised when your baby starts turning down that jar of baby food. I would'nt choose bland either!

For the most part I think that children's palates will develop whichever way they do regardless of our loving interference. But for my own 1-yr old I've given her nothing but homemade, organic, healthy foods. First the veggies, then the fruits, and once she started to grab food off our plates, she got her own finger foods. Mostly steamed veggies, brown rise, whole-grain breads. I know I can't control her life for forever, but for right now I can keep her healthy. Keeping her away from junk food for as long as possible is the way to go!

My wife is very much the careful type – she reads all the books on the best practices for child food.... she has an entire library shelf of books on child development and yes, many of these start with "What To Expect...." But I like the approach you mention used by the previous generation – aka the "old-school" method. I mean, it's worked for many, many generations! What hubris has come into these authors that tell us the strict guidelines for child feeding?? As if.

So when my wife is not around – I feed our 17month daughter all kinds of good stuff – curry chicken, steak, chocolate, gummy bears – the good stuff in life.... and guess what? she loves it!!!! why wouldnt she? her taste buds are human after all, arent they? I just wish my wife and all the other tight-wad 1st-time mothers would just chill out and see the bigger picture with parenthood....

My son just turned a year old, and while I tried to be careful of what he was eating, he refused the mushy, bland baby food and cereal to the point that I was concerned he wasn't getting what he needed nutritionally. The moment I tried table food, the problem was solved. He now eats whatever we're eating aside from common allergy culprits like nuts and dairy. I have found that he will try anything as long as we're eating it too. This option has been much more cost efficient for us, and it also helps my husband and I to have accountability in what we are eating as well. We make better choices, because we know our little guy will be asking for a bite as soon as he sees us eating it. You don't HAVE to sacrifice flavor when you choose healthy, just be cautious and read your labels! Use common sense about spices and everything will be fine.

I offered our son some table foods prior to age 1, but his diet was primarily milk until he was age 1. Our family always eats supper together and I serve a variety of (mostly) healthy food. At age 18 mos-2 years he was very picky and difficult at the table, but we stuck with a varied food menu. Now he is three and eats a very good diet-he loves collard greens, salad, broccoilli, etc and all fruits. In fact, he prefers those over some tastier foods such as pizza. One thing I have noted though-some food preferences or dislikes I believe are genetic. My son hates peanut butter and never eats it.. Even peanut butter candy! Go figure

Sometimes your baby will tell you when he/she is ready. My ten month old, after finding out there are better things to life than rice cereal (can you believe it??!!) swats the spoon out of my hand every time I try to feed him that mush (even if I mix in fruit). But he'll gladly gum Cheerios to his heart's content. Lesson learned: Variety is the spice of life. There are healthy alternatives that I can incorporate into his diet.

My pediatrician recommended the "Super Baby Food " book to me. The food is natural, no added seasonings, salt or sugar. The best advice it gave is to repeatedly give your baby a variety of foods, if they don't like carrots today, wait a week and try again. On average a child needs to try something 12-14 times before they really don't like it. Different foods every day. My child is almost 5 years old now. We introduced the foods, dairy, veggies, fruits, grains, and meats- constantly rotating the variety. Every meal balanced . There is nothing she will not eat- all veggies including broccoli,asparagus ;all meats, both cooked fish and sushi, oatmeal, cream of wheat; all fruits. She eats more variety than I ever have in my life. As she got older she acquired a liking to regular seasonings, but up until age 3, I didn't add any salt, seasonings, butter, or sugars to any food. I also very rarely gave her fried foods. I am very proud of her eating habits...she also knows what are healthy foods and what are snacks and treats.

My twins just turned 13 mos. They've been eating table food for snacks and to supplement meals since they were 9 mos. They never cared much for jarred food, and by 10 mos., they were refusing formula. With the OK from my pediatrician, I started them on table food, whole milk, and a vitamin supplement at 10 mos. They had always been smallish, but now they've gained 25 percentile points in weight to be above the 50th percentile. Now, they eat anything I give them, including lima beans!

I think our parents, who fed us mashed up table food knew what they were doing. These feeding guidelines are to benefit the formula companies and the babyfood companies–ever look at the freebies that the pediatricians and hospitals send out? They get incentives to recommend certain products.

I just think you have to figure out what works for you and your kids and go with it.

My son hated the pureed babyfoods so we made our own purees (that actually tasted pretty good). However, the issue isn't really the spices or the varety, but WHAT variety. My son was already diagnosed with several food allergies (through my breastmilk) before we started him on babyfoods, and we were told to use a delayed solids introduction with him. The real risk is introducing foods with dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, sesame, wheat, and corn too early. You can make some VERY baby-friendly and tasty things without those ingredients. My son did and excellent job transitioning to just eating whatever we are eating at dinner, and he likes a lot of foods that most toddlers don't seem to. It never made him stop wanting to nurse or not like his rice milk. I think that is a funny fear.

I have always just gone with my gut. I add a little salt or sugar have always offered food that was healthy so my children don't know any different. Every night since they could eat regular food they have a meat, starch and vegetable. Both of my sons will tell you that their favorite food is Broccoli – and they get really excited if I add a little cheddar to it on accasion. On the other hand, my peditrician, who is also a dear friend, told me the other day that her son (who is the same age as my little one, 24 months) has not ingested a vegetable in 10 months. I don't force my children to eat healthy, there is just nothing else offered.

I have 4 children and my pediatrician told me NOT to introduce any foods to the baby until they were 1 year old. He mentioned that they were 'empty calories'.

By one month of age, all of my children appeared to want cereal, bananas or something more substantial than just formual.

At one month, I did feed all of my children baby cereal for a few months, followed by introducing applesauce, bananas, green beans, etc.......very slowly and most of the foods I did make myself (organic) and puree.

They just loved chicken & dumplings, spinach, brocolli, asparagus, et al.

I believe the entire process of feeding your children is based on their specific needs, requirements and be aware of any underlying health issues. Just common sense basically.

Calm down you new Moms and see what your baby wants. It's just one day at a time.........and CONGRATS TO YOU!

Barbara Upshaw
Alpharetta, GA

Barbara,

I would have listened to the Doctor...giving a newborn grown up food...that just doesn't sound like a great idea. Glad it worked out for you but I wouldn't be recommending that to others.

If you can at all possibly find the time to do this, make your own baby food.

I couldn't stomach the nasty stuff in jars, so I got recommendations from other moms and found a great cookbook (Mommy Made – much less pretentious than Super Baby Foods – which I also have). Essentially you either bake or microwave with water vegetables or fruits, wait until they cool, and then you puree them. No added stuff. You introduce a new food about once week as recommended by the book on when certain foods should be introduced (no citrus until 1 year of age, for example)

Real food. Very tasty. VERY healthy.

My two-year old went through this program and now eats what we eat. That includes asparagus, tomatoes, all sorts of fruits, corn cut off the cob, etc. No fits. My two-month old will get the same stuff when the pediatrician puts him on solids.

I gave my baby table food rigt from about 4 months. First it was pureed then when she strted teething , @ 10 it was just cut in peices. she had her fruit grated or mashed from about 4 months, then some lentil soup, yoghurt ,boiled peas and raisins. Gerber Oatmeal was perhaps the only store processed food she had. Now she is about three, and she eats whatever we eat. She loves the citrusy stuff, strawberries, oranges, lemons etc and eats home cooked chicken, fish, pasta, noodles (less spicy) . She was on formula for only the first fifteen days . She did have her share of picky eating and weight -dropping when she was about 2 years, but I think in the long run making her try new foods, and making her eat table foods was the best thing for her becuase now she is not afraid to try anything new and she can eat whatever we eat whithout us having to say no .

We have a one year old son who loves to taste an try everything that we eat. There are several of the Gerber foods that he will not even taste (and i can not blame him) because it smells and also taste terrible. He eats small portions of all our food even when we are out at restaurants, any thing he takes an interest in we let him taste. He does eat some baby food but anytime he sees us with food he comes running to try it. We think that it is good for him to try all foods even ones we do not like.
We avoid sweets but encourage him to eat fruits anytime we have them, He loves water mellon, cantaloupe, peaches and granny smith apple sauce. These are given to him as treats and snacks. We can only hope that by allowing him to try our foods that he will have the same healthy eating habits that we have through out his life.