Baby 411 & Toddler 411 Blog

Baby 411 exclusive interview with Uchi chef/author Tyson Cole: How to get kids to eat their veggies!

As parents we all struggle with getting our kids to eat vegetables or to branch out beyond beige food. Curious to know what an expert in the kitchen does for his or her kids? We are, too!

So, we asked Tyson Cole—James Beard nominated, Food and Wine magazine’s “Best New Chef” award winning chef /owner of Uchi and Uchiko/author of Uchi:The Cookbook and father to three young children— how he tackles this issue. Full disclosure: his professional chef wife, Rebekkah, also chimed in! What we learned: even professional chef parents can have a picky-eater child! (She doesn’t know what she’s missing. We’d be happy to eat her leftovers….)

Here is the full interview:

Q. What were the first solid foods you offering your kids when they were babies?

A. We started with organic yogurt mixed with rice and mashed in fruit.  The kids ate lots of cheesy eggs, too.  That is, except for our 10 month old, who seems to have an intolerance to anything from a cow. She likes tofu cooked in a seasoned chicken broth, peanut butter and agave toast, eggs, and all kinds of fruit.

Q. Did you make your own baby food?

A. With three kids, we are all about convenience. When we had time to prepare their baby food, we did. But, we NEVER stressed if we gave them something from a jar. We always opted for organic baby food, but we tasted it first and added whatever seasoning it needed.

Q. Did your kids protest veggies when they became toddlers? Did you just continue to offer them, sneak them in, or use any creative strategies?

A. Our oldest child is the “picky eater” in our family, although she’s getting less and less picky as she gets older.  We just kept putting veggies on her plate and told her she had to try one bite and that was all but, she had to try it every meal.  No pressure or rewards for cleaning the entire plate. And yes, I have been known to puree veggies and add them to different sauces for various dishes.

Q. What’s the secret to making veggies taste good and look appealing to a toddler?

A. Lots of colors and dips.  We’ll mix yellow or orange bell peppers with golden raisins, clementines, sunflower seeds or slivered almonds, with juice from half a lemon, grapeseed or olive oil, and sea salt.  Our kids love it!

Or, we’ll cut different crunchy veggies into sticks and serve it in a pretty glass with a citrus vinaigrette dressing for dipping (very popular).  We offer a variety of raw veggies to try.

Our kids will also eat kale, believe it or not. Kale chips are pretty easy to make. Just roast torn pieces with olive or grapeseed oil, a little salt, and any other spices that are appealing.

My best piece of advice is to be creative and think like a kid!

Q. Any other secrets or take home tips for parents?

A. Here are a few:

1. Start a veggie/herb garden even if you don’t have a lot of room. Let your children plant, tend, and harvest (with your help, of course).

2. Get your kids in the kitchen. Cook and bake with them!  Let them help be part of the creative process.  We bake several different kinds of muffins and we add our “secret” (sounds more appealing than “healthy”) ingredients.

3. Have pizza night!  Put out lots of fresh veggies, greens, herbs, cheeses, spices/seasonings, and let them go to town.

4. Have cleaned fruit and veggies out on the counter. We snack on them while we work together in the kitchen. It helps take the “eat your veggies!” pressure off when it comes time to sit down and eat.

 

Thanks for all these great tips, Tyson and Rebekkah!

Tyson Cole is the chef/owner of Uchi and Uchiko restaurants in Austin, TX.  A meal at either place is worth the trip to Austin.

His first cookbook, called Uchi: The Cookbook, is available in bookstores and online March 1.

Baby Iron 411

Iron is the big news coming out of the American Academy of Pediatrics national convention this week. We know that iron is a necessary nutrient for brain development. And iron deficiency in childhood can have lifelong, irreversible effects (kinda scary, huh?)

Thus, the Academy's nutrition committee is recommending iron supplementation for babies who are born prematurely and those who are still breastfed between 4-6 months of age. The policy statement is rather complex, so here is a recap of the major recommendations in plain English!

1. Babies who are born full term and are fed with an iron-containing formula do NOT need iron vitamin supplements. Parents should introduce iron-rich foods into their babies diets, though, when they do start solid foods. (See the list at the end of this post for food ideas!)

2. Babies who are exclusively breastfed or those who get some breastmilk supplemented with formula DO need an iron-supplement starting at 4 months of age until 6 months of age when they start eating solid food, which contains iron. Your child's doc can recommend an iron supplement that is the right dose for your baby.

3. Babies from 6-12 months of age should get about 11 mg per day of iron in their diets. The AAP nutrition committee recommends starting red meat sooner rather than later and high-iron containing vegetables, and iron-fortified cereals to get those dietary needs met.

4. Toddlers from 1-3 years of age need 7 mg per day of iron in their diets.

5. If you have a toddler who definitely does not eat iron-containing foods (and those toddlers can be picky, as we know), then talk to your child's doc about an iron vitamin supplement.

6. Babies who are born prematurely (under 37 weeks) should get an iron supplement (2mg/kg--your doc can give you the dosing) by 1 month of age. Preemies who are breastfed should continue to get that iron supplement until they are weaned to formula or they begin solid foods at 6 months of age.

7. All children should be screened for iron deficiency anemia at 12 months of age.

Bottom line: Many babies get the iron they need, but make a concerted effort to offer iron rich foods once your baby starts eating solid foods. And, if you have a preemie or you are exclusively breastfeeding, be sure to ask your child's doc about iron supplements.

Iron rich foods: (heme iron is easier for the body to absorb). Check out Baby 411 and Toddler 411 Nutrition chapters for a detailed list!

2.5 oz lamb                1.2 mg heme iron

2.5 oz chicken            1.0 mg heme iron

3 oz dk meat turkey     2.0 mg heme iron  

3 oz pork                    0.9 mg heme iron

3 oz clams                    23.8 heme iron 

4 oz cream spinach    0.7 mg nonheme iron

1/2 c instant oatmeal    7 mg nonheme iron

1/2 c seedless raising    1.6 mg nonheme iron

1/2 c cooked lentils        3.3 mg nonheme iron

 

 

Should infant formula freebies be banned?

Like attendees of the Academy Awards, new moms get bling bags after delivery. (While your labor may not have been Oscar worthy, you do deserve something for that feat!) But those goodies are coming from infant formula manufacturers who spend big marketing dollars distributing samples of their product.

An op-ed piece in the LA Times this week called this tradition into question. The author rightly mentions that the World Health Organization discourages distribution of free formula samples in hospitals that encourage breastfeeding. Despite this, most American hospitals ignore this advice.

I understand why the op-ed author is so concerned.
Fact: Breast milk is superior to infant formula.

Fact: 75% of U.S. newborns are breastfed.  Great!

Fact: 43% of U.S. babies are still breastfed at six months of age. Not so great.

Fact: 22% of U.S. babies are still breastfed at one year of age. Really not so great.

But, do moms decide to stop breastfeeding because they got a free sample at the hospital? After working with families for 15 years, honestly, I believe there are more significant factors that influence this decision. Flat nipples. Engorgement. Breast infections. Sheer exhaustion. Pressure when returning to work.

Breastfeeding is not for wimps.  Most women stop nursing when dealing with the early hurdles in the first weeks...not realizing that nursing is a walk in the park after that.

I understand that some families may view the formula sample as an implicit endorsement of the product. But, we should find other ways to improve breastfeeding rates than blame formula companies for our failures. In an ideal breastfeeding friendly world, insurance companies would cover the cost of private lactation consultant services and breast pump rentals. And, healthcare providers would do a better job of educating our communities and socioeconomic classes who do not routinely breastfeed. 

I agree that those formula freebies are unnecessary--maybe hospitals should hand out a good breastfeeding instruction manual instead if they want to give new moms a really useful gift.

You need some iron, baby

It’s standard operating procedure for babies who are born prematurely to go home from the NICU taking an iron supplement. But, what about those babies who are born just a few weeks early and weigh between 4.5-5.5 pounds? New research suggests that they benefit from an iron supplement from six weeks of age until six months of age. With the increase in late preterm births (babies born between 34-36 6/7 weeks), there are more of these little newborns around. In fact, about 3-5% of babies fall into this category.

 

Don’t babies get iron from breast milk or formula? Yes... And, babies who start solid food from 4-6 months might get a little iron from their baby cereal. For full-term babies, that’s probably all they need to get their iron needs met. But smaller babies need a supplement because they are at greater risk of iron-deficiency anemia than their larger friends.

 

Bottom line: Babies need iron for brain and nervous system development, so it’s wise for little babies to get a daily dose of iron to help out!

Turning one? Cow's milk 411

Once your baby becomes a toddler at his first birthday, he no longer needs to be drinking infant formula. Breast milk is fine if mom is still nursing, but if not, here's what you need to know about making the big switch to cow's milk. We helped the folks at babygooroo on this useful article. 

Does the world really need chocolate toddler formula?

The latest controversy swirling around in the baby product world is that mega-giant formula maker Mead-Johnson pulled their chocolate toddler formula off the market last week under pressure from nutritionists and other health experts. Read all about it at my WebMD blog.

New Vitamin D drops

If you have been following our blog on this topic, you know that the AAP changed its recommendations for Vitamin D supplements this past fall. All breastfed babies, and babies receiving less than 32 oz a day of formula should get a Vitamin D supplement.

Previously, I recommended Tri-Vi-Sol (a trio of Vitamin A,D, and C) for those supplements. Now, there is a new option—D-Vi-Sol. Yep, you guessed it, it is just Vitamin D. Look for it in stores now.

Whole or 2%? What's the right answer for one-year olds?

Here’s a surprise change, brought to you by the AAP Nutrition Committee again and the American Heart Association. Previously, it was recommended that all toddlers from age one to two years of age drink whole milk. The reason? Toddlers need more fat in their diets to promote their rapid brain development.

However, our obesity epidemic is rooted in a problem starting early in life: Many toddlers already get way too much fat in their daily diets. So there is no need for whole milk on top of this.

Hence, the new recommendation states that you and your child’s doctor should decide if your 1 to 2 year old should drink whole or 2% milk. This decision is based on your child’s growth chart and his diet.

Once he turns two, your child should drink what the rest of the family is drinking—that should be nonfat or 1% milk. Sorry, folks, the extra milk fat isn’t healthy for anyone in the house.

New high-allergy food guidelines

As we’ve discussed previously on our blog, researchers have found some evidence that EARLIER introduction to high-allergy foods (like peanut products) may actually REDUCE the risk of having a food allergy. This is the exact opposite of what has been accepted wisdom for many years!

Based on this, the American Academy of Pediatrics Nutrition Committee has changed their recommendations. They now say that infants over six months of age can try a variety of foods such as seafood, shellfish, eggs, peanut products, and nut products.

Wow—that is a major change. We do suggest you discuss this with your baby’s doc as she may have her own opinions and suggestions based on your child and family’s health history. And, remember to only offer one new food every few days so you can identify which food is a problem, if there is one.

Note: Honey is still taboo until after one year of age. It’s the botulism risk, not a food allergy that makes it off limits.

Soy milk before a year of age

This post is a response to Tony regarding soy milk. The recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics is that babies under one year of age receive breast milk (preferably) or infant formula so that they receive the nutrients they need. While soy milk is a fine alternative to cow's milk after one year of age, it is not an acceptable alternative to breast or infant formula in kiddos under a year.

Hope that clarifies it for you. Thanks for writing in.