MelissaJoanne's I-am-pregnantblog

MelissaJoanne
	Age: 30 Country: US Province/region: Illinois City: Chicago Partner: husband - Tony Children: Yes, 1 Pregnant: No Due date: 09 0 ,0000 Occupation: mama (also opera singer, voice teacher. maker and seller of artistic things, fitness instructor)
	Online: 2 hours ago. Last updated: 25 days ago. Member since: 683 days
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04-6-2009 - What are "whole foods"?

My mood while writing this blog:
Ok

I posted a message on a poll last night about offering Zemirah whole foods starting at 6 months old, which apparently led to some debate about what I was talking about, and the comment:
"Babies can`t eat whole foods at 6 months... their just not capable. That`s why jarred food was invented... duh"
So, I thought that a good definition and some photographic examples could follow.

Whole foods: Whole foods are those that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed. They typically do not contain added ingredients, such as sugar, salt, or fat. Fruits and vegetables are great examples of whole foods. They are unprocessed, unrefined, and can be eaten without any additives or modifications.
Whole foods can include: * Fruits * Vegetables * Legumes (beans, soybeans, peas, lentils) * Nuts and seeds * Milk * Whole grains * Meats, chicken, and fish (though as a vegetarian, I don't partake of these - but a chicken breast rather than a processed chicken nugget would be a 'whole food') * Eggs

And as far as babies, they're perfectly capable of self-feeding at six months old, when they can sit unassisted, and can pick up items using a pincher grasp.
The basic crux of baby-led-weaning: You just hand them the food in a suitably-sized piece and if they like it they eat it and if they don't they won't. Initial self-feeding attempts often result in very little food ingested as the baby explores textures and tastes, but the baby will soon start to swallow and digest what is offered.

Isn't it a choking risk?
No - Many parents are used to the idea of giving babies puréed food and to some, giving such a young child finger food might sound dangerous. However, babies weaned using the baby-led method are actually less likely to choke on their food, as they are not capable of moving food from the front of the mouth to the back until they have learned to chew. In turn, they do not learn to chew until they have learned to grasp objects and place them in their mouth. Therefore the baby's general development keeps pace with her ability to manage food.

Here are a few examples from Zemirah:

Zemirah and apple

with some lemon thyme that she picked in the garden

whole wheat pasta, bread, green beans, blueberries, tomato, peach with flaxseed, and a little help from kitty friend Henri

yogurt with flaxseed

banana

and a bonus picture because Zemirah looks so darn cute standing in a laundry basket!

5 Comments on What are "whole foods"?

babydecember - Monday, 14 Dec
I know this is an old blog, but I just felt like commenting. Have you ever heard of the cook book "Feeding the Whole Family" by Cynthia Lair? (http://www.feedingfamily.com). I majored in nutrition in college, and I took a whole foods class by Cynthia Lair. I have so much respect for her! Her cookbooks are based around whole foods, and I'm guessing the majority of her recipes are vegetarian. She gives suggestions at the end of each recipe how to feed it to your little child, because it's important that children eat what their parents eat and don't get a separate meal of hot dogs and macaroni & cheese every night! She purees a lot of the foods for babies, but I bet a lot of them would be edible in larger pieces. Anyway, just thought I'd comment :)

aloha.ma - Saturday, 8 Aug
Hey! I just read your blog about "whole foods" which I kind of got a good laugh about...not your part though...the "whole foods" concern. So what would you suggest to start with ...food wise. My son is 6 months and Ive made his sweet pot, banana, etc. theyve all been pureed though...Ive given him dry cereal or toast and he seems to LOVE it ..Im not sure how much is going down ..but I know it takes time. I picked up one of those meshed holder things...(cannot for the life of me think of the name) and want to put veggies and fruit in it...would that be a good starting point? Sorry if Im coming at you like a student..but it sounded as if it really worked for you...and with baby #2 Im a lot more aware and want to be informed with all suggestions. Thanks a bunch!

heaven - Friday, 5 Jun
omg i have the same pic of mariah in the basket! hehe

btw mariah eats rasberries and is able to bite amd chew whole foods just fine

sadielady - Friday, 5 Jun
Sooo many people gave me crap about giving chloe "real" food. but now a bunch of my mommy friends are trying it too :) thanks

RadicalMama - Thursday, 4 Jun
This is such a wonderful (and non-confrontational) way to explain BLW and whole foods! Though I really don't get how someone cannot know what whole foods means.... Oh well, I will give her the benefit of the doubt and say she just had a mommy brain moment! DD was given cereal by her great grandmother when she was 4 months, something I was against, but I did not mention it, and she just assumed as she had given it to all 6 of her babies. I didn't get upset with her, I just explained BLW and she said that it was a wonderful concept, but her way worked. She fed her cereal every night for the week we stayed with her, I did not protest because it was the first time we had met, and it did not hurt her. But I am fairly laid back and one week of cereal was not going to set the pace for our whole feeding experience. DD has been eatting all the food we eat (with the exception of spicey) since 8 months, far ahead of alot of other babes who were fed purrees! I hope you inspired some other moms!

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