Ragi: A super first food for your baby

Grains are an inseparable part of our diet. Every Indian household has grains like oatmeal, wheat, rice, etc. because of its nutritional value. These grains are great sources of macronutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, and fats that are necessary for meeting certain nutritional requirements of your body. Whole grains like these also make great first food for babies. To keep up with the growth of babies, you need foods that can provide adequate nutrition and support their growth and development.

At the onset of summer, you realise that your baby’s craving for food reduces considerably. The summer heat makes her grumpy and she refuses to eat. Lack of nutritious food intake could become a cause for constant worry, as it most certainly will affect your little one’s health.

 The change in season also brings about a change in your diet. Seasonal vegetables and fruits offer a variety to your daily meals. It is also an exciting opportunity to introduce your baby to different food items.

A newborn baby is fed breast milk or formula until 12 months. Starting from the sixth month, you can introduce solid foods to your baby.

As your bundle of joy reaches 6 months of age, complimentary food in the form of mashed or pureed becomes a part of their daily nutrition intake. These soft lumps or puree food help the baby to develop chewing skills and strengthens the tongue, which aids in speech development.

A meal plan is a systematic approach towards ensuring a regular intake of nutrients needed by infants in the age bracket of 6 to 24 months. This is the transition stage for the infant becoming a toddler. Therefore, this phase right up to 24 months is crucial from the point of view of developing cognitive, emotional and social skills of your little one.

Have you come across advertisements that say highly nutritious organic food or 100% organic food? Lately, organic food is gaining popularity as compared to the conventional or inorganic food. Due to its high nutritive value, parents are often attracted towards organic foods to feed their babies. But, what is organic food? In organic agriculture, fewer chemicals are used to produce crops. And, there is an absence of veterinary medicines such as antibiotics in rearing animals. A product labelled as organic food should be free of artificial food additives. These crops are grown using natural fertilizers such as manure to improve the growth of the plant. Fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products, and meat are some of the commonly available organic foods.

 It is recommended that babies be breastfed up to the age of 1 year. Due to change in dietary requirements from 6 months onwards, babies need to be given solid food.

Along with consuming breastmilk, your child needs food rich in sodium, zinc, iron, magnesium, vitamins, and minerals. Micronutrients are essential for growth and development of your child’s body. These can be incorporated into your child’s meal plan in the form of these 5 food types.