What spices did you introduce to baby and when?

[Anonymous]

6 month old baby has started solids, and about half the food he eats is the food we make, just with less salt

So far he is a fan of cumin, crushed black pepper, cinnamon, garlic/garlic powder, and rosemary

It's only been a few weeks, so not that many chances to try a lot of different dishes yet

My main question is, when did you add hot spices, like cayenne, paprika, or chipotle powder? how did your baby take to them?

We are Mexican and use chile peppers a lot in our cooking, so far we have simply taken food out of the pan and added them/salsa to just our portions

[Anonymous]

I'm Indian, I get you! We added the regular spices to food pretty early on, but definitely toned it down and added more to our tastes later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Indian, I get you! We added the regular spices to food pretty early on, but definitely toned it down and added more to our tastes later.

for daal or chickpea curries, did you blend them into a puree, or just give them as is, maybe a little bit mushed?

I want to give him chickpeas and lentils, and while a puree covers finding out if he's allergic I do also want him to be exposed to the tastes of each food

But not sure if this is just me getting in my head, since after all people rarely taste lentils of chickpeas by themselves (might have answered my own question while writing this out lol)

[Anonymous]

As soon as they started solids. Babies like new flavors and spices. If allergies are a concern just start small. If they definitely don't like a certain spice the first time, reintroduce it later in a different food.

[Anonymous]

We tried chili powder - but just a little not enough for an adult to perceive as spicy. She likes it as long as just an little bit.

[Anonymous]

I’m Latina and we use a lot of peppers and spices in our food. I introduced them, toned down, as soon as they started eating solids. They were eating regular strength foods by the time they were one and a half or two. They would just eat off my plate and my plate was spicy.

[Anonymous]

Honestly I avoid hot spicy and too much salt but other stay pretty normal.

[Anonymous]

I just made the baby a mushier version of what dh and I ate. I avoided very spicy dishes or toned them down.

I do not believe in baby food or making a 2nd dinner for anyone.

[Anonymous]

After the initial few plain mashed foods we just did whatever we were eating. Or if they needed a softer version (steamed vs roasted or whatever) I used the same sauces and spices I used on our versions.

For the record, as teens, I now have one fantastic eater and one who has borderline ARPHID who barely eats anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m Latina and we use a lot of peppers and spices in our food. I introduced them, toned down, as soon as they started eating solids. They were eating regular strength foods by the time they were one and a half or two. They would just eat off my plate and my plate was spicy.

Same.
I’m from the Caribbean

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Indian, I get you! We added the regular spices to food pretty early on, but definitely toned it down and added more to our tastes later.

for daal or chickpea curries, did you blend them into a puree, or just give them as is, maybe a little bit mushed?

I want to give him chickpeas and lentils, and while a puree covers finding out if he's allergic I do also want him to be exposed to the tastes of each food

But not sure if this is just me getting in my head, since after all people rarely taste lentils of chickpeas by themselves (might have answered my own question while writing this out lol)

Why would you not be able to taste food in a puree? Have ever eaten...huumus? It certainly has a taste to me.

[Anonymous]

Added the regular spices to everything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m Latina and we use a lot of peppers and spices in our food. I introduced them, toned down, as soon as they started eating solids. They were eating regular strength foods by the time they were one and a half or two. They would just eat off my plate and my plate was spicy.

Same.
I’m from the Caribbean

Same.
We are Indians. My kids did not take to the high chair and instead they liked to cruise from lap to lap as we ate our meals. My parents were visiting us usually and they encouraged me to loosen up and let the kids cruise and try out foods from different plates (DH, mine, grandparents) - so they were usually on our laps, eating from our plate. Most of the times, we gave them tiny portions first to see their reaction. We also mashed the foods with our fingers on our plate before feeding it to them. Made mealtimes a wonderful (but very messy) adventure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m Latina and we use a lot of peppers and spices in our food. I introduced them, toned down, as soon as they started eating solids. They were eating regular strength foods by the time they were one and a half or two. They would just eat off my plate and my plate was spicy.

Same.
I’m from the Caribbean

Same.
We are Indians. My kids did not take to the high chair and instead they liked to cruise from lap to lap as we ate our meals. My parents were visiting us usually and they encouraged me to loosen up and let the kids cruise and try out foods from different plates (DH, mine, grandparents) - so they were usually on our laps, eating from our plate. Most of the times, we gave them tiny portions first to see their reaction. We also mashed the foods with our fingers on our plate before feeding it to them. Made mealtimes a wonderful (but very messy) adventure.

^^ Also, we usually had some sweetened yogurt, kheer, halwa, milk, ghee, butter at the table and if the kids found something spicy, we could easily give them to dampen the heat. But, by and large, my kids loved all kinds of foods and they were great eaters even as little kids. We could actually take them to restaurants and share our food with them. We never ordered from the kid's menu.

[Anonymous]

Just follow the kid's lead. My DD was grabbing things from my plate from 9 months onward. Don't let them have, like, a fistful of wasabi. But a baby sized bite of any dish should be fine.

My only caution would be if they are so young and so messy that they might get chili in their eye by accident.