Janice Carter Lifestyle Medicine Coach
Starting your baby on solids, the whole food plant-based way
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abies need time to learn how to eat, so they won’t swallow much of the food we offer at first. That’s because they may not know what to do with the food you just presented. Just as they needed time to learn how to crawl or roll over, they need time to learn how to eat, chew, and swallow food. So, don’t be surprised if at first your baby doesn’t eat much. This is totally normal and may take 1 - 2 months for them to grasp the art of eating. When a baby is showing signs of readiness and sitting upright by about 6 months, you can start introducing solids. It is not wise to introduce Whole Food Plant Based(WFPB) food and solids before 6 months as their gut is not ready for a lot of WFPB baby food. One meal per day is enough to start with when first introducing baby solids. Homemade foods are best as they are fresher and have a higher nutrient load than packaged baby foods which are highly processed therefore needing nutrient boosters because of the processing. When you are cooking your family’s vegetables, cook extra and freeze into ice cube trays for easy portioning and defrosting. Starting at 6 months a baby can start trying the following foods one at a time to check for allergic reactions. • • • • • • • •
Mashed very ripe banana Stewed apple Stewed pear Mashed avocado Very soft sweet potato, pumpkin, or carrots peeled and steamed Steamed greens Baby infant cereal (iron-enriched) in breastmilk or formula. No salt, sugar, fat or other flavours
Once you and your baby feel comfortable with these foods, it is recommended to prioritize plant foods rich in iron. Iron is a nutrient that is so important for little WFPB eaters as they need about 1.8x more iron than non-plant-based kids. This is because the type of iron in plant foods (non-heme iron) is not as readily absorbed as that found in animal foods. Non-heme iron is bound to a compound called phytate that makes it a little challenging for our bodies to absorb. However, pairing an iron-rich food with Vitamin C can help with iron absorption. Provide foods like tofu, lentil balls, hummus, and ironfortified infant cereal.
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Some examples of plant foods that provide iron are: beans, lentils, hummus, tofu, gluten free legume-based pasta, broccoli, spinach, nut & seed butters, barley, and prunes. Focus on providing one iron rich food at each meal. The first 2-3 months of introducing baby to solids is the easiest as it is for them mostly just an experience of flavours, taste, and textures as opposed to their main source of nutrition. Parents should not worry too much about what actually gets eaten in the first few months of doing WFPB baby led weaning or introducing baby solids. Babies should still use breastmilk or formula until 12 months of age as their main source of nutrition. Always feed your baby breastmilk or formula before feeding baby solids 30-60 minutes later. A lot of first-time parents worry about feeding their babies when they start solids, or are unsure of how and when to first introduce solids. This worry can also bring more confusion for WFPB parents who can struggle to get the right information from their child health nurses or doctor who does not advocate a WFPB diet. Cow’s milk, soy milk or any other plant-based milk are not suitable as the MAIN milk drink so do not swap formula for rice/ soy or any other milk before the age of 12 months. It is however safe to include plant milk in baby cereals or in other baby solids recipes. After eight months, it is recommended to do a mix of pureed vegetables. This is often more practical for mums and helps babies improve their self-feeding skills. It also provides a broader range of flavours and lines up with what the family is eating. At all ages make sure to stay next to your baby when serving WFPB baby food and solids and check they are not choking.
At seven months • • •
add 1 meal per day to have 1-3 meals per day by the end of 7 months. Introducing more vegetables and fruits slowly. No salt, sugar, fat and oil needed in baby food.
At eight months •
• •
Start offering 3 meals a day that are balanced with fruit, vegetables, good fats and protein vegetables such as parsnip, broccoli, cauliflower and mashed beans and lentils in purees. Introduce more grains such as oats in baby porridge. You can introduce small pieces of protein such as tofu.
