With the birth of my son happening last month, so many things run through my mind. Now I have another part of me to take care of, to protect, to provide for in all essence of life and to ensure the healthy growth of my child.
For the first year of your baby’s life, the benefits of a paleo diet should ideally come through the mother’s breast milk, Babies grow so fast in the first stages of life that a healthy eating mum with all the vital nutrients is crucial for the growth of your child. When babies are born, they don’t have a sense of taste and thus adapt to their mother’s eating habits from birth. Although as time rolls on and your bundle of joy gets bigger, the milk will no longer be substantial for growth although it is still beneficial for life and it is recommended to breastfeed for as long as possible, in today’s day and age that makes it extremely difficult, trying to juggle work, meetings, everyday household chores, spending time with your spouse etc. Most people don’t even cook for themselves let alone set aside a few hours a day to breastfeed their child. Everything has become a lot easier – it is all available as takeout, even baby food. But don’t be fooled, most store-bought baby food is usually extremely processed that contain starchy fillers, added sugar and high amounts of sodium, after sometime of feeding your baby with this sort of poison, you find that your child may become hyper active, restless or aggravated. And you might think something is wrong with them, but in fact there is something wrong with their diet.
As a chef I have an advantage on how to prepare food suitable for everyone but I’ve never really thought too deep in preparing baby food, I’ve done it before as I come from a big family where that was a part of life. But since I started working as a Paleo chef, and knowing the benefits of this type of lifestyle, I have started to think of suitable, healthy, organic foods that are balanced and nutritious that I will feed my baby later on down the track. Or maybe even your baby if your time is scarce. Interested? Let me know.
There are different types of foods that can be pureed and given to your baby which are balanced, healthy and tasty, instead of rice and oats that don’t have any health benefits at all. Making homemade broths to puree the vegetables or using breast milk to blend up bananas and avocados is also a good tip I’ve read about, ensuring that the source of your produce is reliable, organic and totally natural. That’s the important part. No use putting in all the hard work to cook and be healthy then fall short on the most important factor – the ingredients.
I don’t see a point in adding a recipe as baby food doesn’t need much explanation as long as your ingredients are fresh organic, free range, grass-fed and 100% nasty free that’s what matters the most.
Words + Photos by: Chef Patrick Ikinofo
