Seasoning baby's food?

bigbear · July 2012

Do you put any salt in your baby's food?

Most docs will say no and a lot of websites will explain the same. But I'm reading more and more that it is perfectly ok to add some salt to your baby's food to make it taste better and that their bodies are perectly capable and equiped to process "seasoned" food.

What's your take on this?

kmm2150 · July 2012

My understanding is that it's ok to "season" food with things like herbs, garlic, etc., to add flavor but NOT to add salt because this does affect they way their bodies absorb fluids and their kidneys cannot handle it.

https://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/824.aspx?CategoryID=51&SubCategoryID=167

here is one bit of info; just google babies and salt and you'll find lots more.

namara5532 · July 2012

I don't go out of my way to season his food, but I have no problem feeding him something on my plate that's seasoned. I obviously avoid feeding him anything with hot sauce or otherwise spicey, but a little salt and seasoning won't hurt him. The majority of his food is unseasoned homemade purees, but when we're out I somethings give him little tastes of things.

bigbear · July 2012

I wasn't going to go and just start cooking food for my baby and immediately add salt and pepper.

But if the baby refuses let's say spinach if you would season it and try again. My plan is to make baby food and not buy jars as I feel like that has to have a lot of not so good stuff for your baby that is worse than a few grains of salt... I mean how would otherwise chicken and gravy sit in a jar on a shelf for 2 weeks LOL

Katie31759 · July 2012

Salt isn't great for anyone so as far as adding it to baby food, why get them used to something that isn't healthy. I'd probably just try a different vegetable for now.

beccajanedowning · July 2012

Katie31759:
Salt isn't great for anyone so as far as adding it to baby food, why get them used to something that isn't healthy. I'd probably just try a different vegetable for now.

This.

bigbear · July 2012

HilarityEnsued:
bigbear:

My plan is to make baby food and not buy jars as I feel like that has to have a lot of not so good stuff for your baby that is worse than a few grains of salt...

This is actually not true at all. If you look at the ingredients in many of the baby food jars it contains just the fruit or vegetable and water. For example, in sweet potato puree, the ingredients are just organic sweet potatoes and water.

I was thinking more for the meats that are jared, but I could be wrong, like I said it's just "I feel like" it can't be good LOL

shortstuff15 · July 2012

Honestly, I do BLW so she just gets whatever we are eating now. I don't use a lot of salt in my cooking anyway, but what I do put on it ends up on her plate too, as well as whatever other seasonings I have put on the meal.

bigbear · July 2012

HilarityEnsued:
bigbear:
HilarityEnsued:
bigbear:

My plan is to make baby food and not buy jars as I feel like that has to have a lot of not so good stuff for your baby that is worse than a few grains of salt...

This is actually not true at all. If you look at the ingredients in many of the baby food jars it contains just the fruit or vegetable and water. For example, in sweet potato puree, the ingredients are just organic sweet potatoes and water.

I was thinking more for the meats that are jared, but I could be wrong, like I said it's just "I feel like" it can't be good LOL

Well jarred meat grosses me the eff out anyway. Our pedi suggested offering meat only after we've cycled through all the fruits and veggies. I'm going to wait until DS is ready for small pieces of table food before offering jarred meat. I can't help but think of SPAM when I think about jarred meat anyway. Gross.

Exactly! Ick!

kmm2150 · July 2012

Katie31759:
Salt isn't great for anyone so as far as adding it to baby food, why get them used to something that isn't healthy. I'd probably just try a different vegetable for now.

Just wanted to reiterate, it's not just a matter of trying to keep LO from developing a taste for salt, their little bodies CANNOT process anything but a very small amount of salt; it is harmful to give them too much salt. I believe even with BLW, it's recommended that you separate out LO's portion of anything you're cooking if you're going to add salt.

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fyrefairie · July 2012

My understanding of introducing solids is if at first they refuse, try try again. Not add salt.

Here's the thing, their kidneys really cannot handle it. The average adult is only supposed to have like a teaspoon or so of salt, which is really not much. Salt and potassium have a astronimic impact on how the body processes fluids and this impacts everything, include cardiac functioning. So adding sodium, even in small amounts, seems like way more risk than its worth just to get the kid to eat spinach. Sodium, in adults in recommended amounts is necessary to sustain life. So while its true to whoever said she wasn't going to add tablespoons, it really does take much. I would puree the spinach with a fruit to work it into the diet, for example, before considering seasonings let alone salt

Haley.Beth · July 2012

I don't think salt is necessary. I season dd's food with various spices and herbs, and she will eat it much better. For example, I tried giving her sweet peas, and she gave me a horrible look and spit it out. I added a tiny bit of cracked pepper and onion powder and she gobbled it up! She did the same with bananas and cinnamon. You don't need salt to make things taste better.

bigbear · July 2012

thanks everyone!

This is awesome info! Again, just to be clear, I certainly wasnt planning on adding, like one of you already assumed correctly, by the spoon full, As a matter of fact, I wasn't really planning anything I was just curious what everyone else thinks/knows about this as I'm about to start introducing solids to DD. She's only had oatmeal and banana twice so far. So I know salt in large qty's isn't good for anybody certainly not babies. But since I don't know quite as much about it all yet I didn't necessarly think that adding a bit for taste is horrible but again, didn't know all the ins and outs. that's why I like to ask my questions here and get anwsers from people who are directly dealing with the same things this very moment.

I'd love to hear what you use instead of salt, what herbs and sice combos work for what.

Haley.Beth · July 2012

bigbear:
thanks everyone!

This is awesome info! Again, just to be clear, I certainly wasnt planning on adding, like one of you already assumed correctly, by the spoon full, As a matter of fact, I wasn't really planning anything I was just curious what everyone else thinks/knows about this as I'm about to start introducing solids to DD. She's only had oatmeal and banana twice so far. So I know salt in large qty's isn't good for anybody certainly not babies. But since I don't know quite as much about it all yet I didn't necessarly think that adding a bit for taste is horrible but again, didn't know all the ins and outs. that's why I like to ask my questions here and get anwsers from people who are directly dealing with the same things this very moment.

I'd love to hear what you use instead of salt, what herbs and sice combos work for what.

This is what we've tried so far. Rather, this is all I remember or know of, because dh stays home more with her, and he's a cook, so I'm sure he gives her more different things lol. Dd seems to like texture to her food (she just spits out purees!) so I usually add a grain to the purees and a little spice to make it taste better.

-Bananas, oatmeal, and nutmeg and/or cinnamon
-Sweet potatoes, barley, and cinnamon & cloves
-Sweet peas, rice, onion powder, and cracked black pepper
-Green beans, rice, garlic powder, and cracked black pepper
-Avocados, cracked black pepper, and lime juice

I keep it simple. I spice things as I would like them spiced, and I always taste her food before I give it to her. If I don't think it tastes good, I don't expect her to eat it! We haven't found anything she doesn't like to eat if it's fixed up properly. If I think of anything else I will post more!

bigbear · July 2012

Haley.Beth:
bigbear:

thanks everyone!

This is awesome info! Again, just to be clear, I certainly wasnt planning on adding, like one of you already assumed correctly, by the spoon full, As a matter of fact, I wasn't really planning anything I was just curious what everyone else thinks/knows about this as I'm about to start introducing solids to DD. She's only had oatmeal and banana twice so far. So I know salt in large qty's isn't good for anybody certainly not babies. But since I don't know quite as much about it all yet I didn't necessarly think that adding a bit for taste is horrible but again, didn't know all the ins and outs. that's why I like to ask my questions here and get anwsers from people who are directly dealing with the same things this very moment.

I'd love to hear what you use instead of salt, what herbs and sice combos work for what.

This is what we've tried so far. Rather, this is all I remember or know of, because dh stays home more with her, and he's a cook, so I'm sure he gives her more different things lol. Dd seems to like texture to her food (she just spits out purees!) so I usually add a grain to the purees and a little spice to make it taste better.

-Bananas, oatmeal, and nutmeg and/or cinnamon
-Sweet potatoes, barley, and cinnamon & cloves
-Sweet peas, rice, onion powder, and cracked black pepper
-Green beans, rice, garlic powder, and cracked black pepper
-Avocados, cracked black pepper, and lime juice

I keep it simple. I spice things as I would like them spiced, and I always taste her food before I give it to her. If I don't think it tastes good, I don't expect her to eat it! We haven't found anything she doesn't like to eat if it's fixed up properly. If I think of anything else I will post more!

Awesome! Thanks so much!

Huahine · July 2012

FarmBoysWife:

Again, just because you can.. doesn't mean you should.. and why? Why do you NEED salt? not that I'm a salt-Nazi but seriously? Someone, anyone, lurker, regular, AE, or the freaking pope- give me a good reason why you need to add salt to foods (and I'm not talking about salt pork, I'm taking baking a freaking cake foods)

Salt plays an important role in the chemistry of baking. Cut and pasted from another website:

Recipes for baked goods usually call for a pinch of salt because it helps conceal bitter tastes. But the mineral also plays a key role in gluten formation, says Patti Christie, a biochemist who teaches a series of popular kitchen-chemistry courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

?The reason you add salt to dough is to make dough more elastic,? Christie explains. ?Charged amino acids in the flour are going to interact with the ions in the salt, and that helps line up the gluten fibers. Your bread is going to have better texture.?

As for sugary treats, a bit of salt added to batters and doughs helps to balance sweetness and enhance other flavors during baking. And if added as a finishing touch to, say, chocolate-chip cookies, salt provides a pleasing textural contrast.

KitKat83 · July 2012

We add nutmeg to carrots and he LOVES it

We also fed him butternut squash soup last night, we didn't add any salt, but it does have cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, apple cider, cream cheese, OXO (which I think contains salt)

CharlieTheUnicorn · July 2012

I've never seasoned anything my LOs have eaten, until they were old enough to request condiments and/or eat exactly what we are eating. I would much rather they get a taste for the food as it was meant to taste, in it's natural state. And salt, well, that's just not a good idea at all...

anewmrsS · July 2012

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