Cookbook / Advice for feeding baby homemade food?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

We adopted our son and tried to use donated breast milk, but it didn't work out. He's 6 1/2 months now and eating solid food, so I'm happy to be weaning him off of formula.

Any suggestions on a cook book/blog/source for homemade vegan baby food? We do eat some fish, but no meat or dairy.

I greatly appreciate any advice! I'm feeling overwhelmed and clueless about portions and nutritional guidelines for an infant. I know he's covered for the next few months with formula, but I'm trying to wrap my head around this ahead of time.

Many thanks!

[Anonymous]

Baby-Led Weaning. We followed their strategy mostly, and it worked out great.

Real Food for Mother and Baby

Overall, I would say offer him what you are having, and eat with him. If you don't want him to fill up on carbs, keep the carbs out of sight at the beginning of the meal. Plenty of beans and whatever proteins you eat, and be sure to have healthy fats. You can add these by mixing in olive oil, offering avocado, and fish. My DD has eaten fish since she was tiny, just watch out for the bones. Babies are pretty good at self-regulating their intake, so as long as you are offering protein and healthy fat in abundance, and not allowing him to fill up on fruit or juice beforehand, you're good to go.

[Anonymous]

"Before one, eating is just for fun." Getting them used to tastes and textures (as well as testing for allergies - giving every new food a three day trial before moving on to the next food)

Sticking to most fruits, vegetables and cereals in the beginning is also recommended.

There is nothing to cooking/preparing baby food. You steam or roast the vegetable or fruit and puree it in a blender. I made larger portions and froze what he couldn't eat in a couple days.

I once read that a portion for a toddler is one-quarter to one-half of an adult portion.

I go for balance now that DC is 1.5 and not on formula or bottles at all. Five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day, four to five servings of milk, two servings of grains and healthy oils (maybe more than that), and .55 grams of protein per pound of weight which is really easy to do with dairy and eggs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Before one, eating is just for fun." Getting them used to tastes and textures (as well as testing for allergies - giving every new food a three day trial before moving on to the next food)

Sticking to most fruits, vegetables and cereals in the beginning is also recommended.

There is nothing to cooking/preparing baby food. You steam or roast the vegetable or fruit and puree it in a blender. I made larger portions and froze what he couldn't eat in a couple days.

I once read that a portion for a toddler is one-quarter to one-half of an adult portion.

I go for balance now that DC is 1.5 and not on formula or bottles at all. Five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day, four to five servings of milk, two servings of grains and healthy oils (maybe more than that), and .55 grams of protein per pound of weight which is really easy to do with dairy and eggs.

Oh sorry, I didn't see that you were vegan. You should definitely see a pediatric nutritionist about what to feed your toddler. Getting enough protein into their little stomachs is much harder without dairy.

[Anonymous]

"Baby Led Weaning" is a fad and total crap.

Especially for a vegan infant, I would follow PP's advice and see a pediatric nutritionist. Growing brains need much more fat than adult brains (another reason why baby-led weaning is crap).

[Anonymous]

You need expert advice on how to feed a vegan child, OP. We are vegetarians and still sought out professional advice to make sure we weren't depriving DD of vital nutrients that she needed to grow.

I have no clue how I would get enough calcium and fat into her diet without dairy and eggs. You need professional nutritional advice.

[Anonymous]

You can't wean him off formula until 1 at the youngest.

Vegan =/= some fish. When you go to the pediatric nutritionist (and you should), tell them you are looking for pescetarian resources. IME, babies LOVE fish (both of mine gobble down salmon, mackerel, sardines, etc) and it's a huge nutrition boost for their growing brains.

[Anonymous]

Why would you wean a 6 month old off formula. They need a minimum of a year. I would be concerned about having a child a vegan. Our child is vegetarian and its fine but I would be concerned and do vegetarian until they are older.

BTW: your child is your child, not an adopted child.

And, you are not vegan if you eat fish!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need expert advice on how to feed a vegan child, OP. We are vegetarians and still sought out professional advice to make sure we weren't depriving DD of vital nutrients that she needed to grow.

I have no clue how I would get enough calcium and fat into her diet without dairy and eggs. You need professional nutritional advice.

Not OP (and not vegan or vegetarian -- I'm a huge omnivore) but you don't need dairy for fat and calcium. You can go with other fatty foods like nut butters, fatty fish, and fatty fruits (e.g., avocados) and pair those with green leafy vegetables or legumes/beans/seaweed for calcium (tofu and kelp/some seaweeds have a lot of calcium, for example). Asians usually don't eat dairy and they have lower rates of osteoporosis than white people!

Now, eggs -- I think kids really SHOULD eat those. They are jam-packed with choline and other insanely important nutrients. If OP is already eating fish, I think an argument could be made for eggs, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Baby Led Weaning" is a fad and total crap.

Especially for a vegan infant, I would follow PP's advice and see a pediatric nutritionist. Growing brains need much more fat than adult brains (another reason why baby-led weaning is crap).

That's funny. We give plenty of healthy fats and we do baby led feeding a lot. Avocados are a big hit, pieces of bread with hummus, sweet potatoes roasted in olive oil or coconut oil.

But, by all means, see a pediatric nutritionist. And you're not "weaning" off of formula yet. This is still the primary source of nutrients for your baby.

[Anonymous]

Super Baby Food.

[Anonymous]

You should be very wary of internet sources for a vegan baby, unless you've already spoken with a nutritionist. My understanding is that there are certain vitamins that are crucial to physical and mental development that are lacking in the vegan diet, and that deficiencies have have lifelong implications. Before leaning too heavily on vegan community sources, it's important to hear from a mainstream specialist!

[Anonymous]

Baby Led Weaning has a lot of useful stuff about how to present food in ways that are appropriate for your baby's motor skills, the difference between gagging and choking, and lots of other stuff that is not related to nutrition. We basically followed their plan with our DD and she is a varied and enthusiastic eater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you wean a 6 month old off formula. They need a minimum of a year. I would be concerned about having a child a vegan. Our child is vegetarian and its fine but I would be concerned and do vegetarian until they are older.

BTW: your child is your child, not an adopted child.

And, you are not vegan if you eat fish!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't wean him off formula until 1 at the youngest.

Vegan =/= some fish. When you go to the pediatric nutritionist (and you should), tell them you are looking for pescetarian resources. IME, babies LOVE fish (both of mine gobble down salmon, mackerel, sardines, etc) and it's a huge nutrition boost for their growing brains.

Vegans do not eat fish or fish products.