Mother feeding baby

Photo: © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation

Starting your children off with healthy foods when they are babies will help give them a jump start on lifelong good eating habits, say Tanya Wenman and Tanya Wenman Steel, authors of Real Food for Healthy Kids. They share some tips to help parents make their baby's first foods healthy and wholesome.
Woman freezing baby food

Photo: © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation

Make Your Own Baby Food
It may seem like a tedious task, but Tanya says making your own baby food is simple. "It is actually more inexpensive and faster [to make your own baby food] than it would be to buy jarred baby food," Tanya says. "You can freeze the remaining and use it as needed.

Veggies before fruit
Child sitting behind a plate of peas

Photo: © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation

Serve Veggies Before Fruit
Most adults would usually eat vegetables before having some fruit, and Tanya says you should feed your baby in that order as well. "When you start babies off, you always start them off with the more savory food first," Tanya says. 


Mix it up
Mother shopping for fruit with her baby

Photo: © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation

Try a Variety of Fruits and Vegetables
Don't always stick with the old baby food standbys like peas and plums. Tracey says carrots, butternut squash, avocado, kiwi and bananas are all great first foods, too.

Addressing wheat allergies

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Hold Off on Wheat Cereal
Tracey says wheat allergies are becoming more common among babies and if you don't know if your baby is allergic to it, you should wait on feeding her wheat cereal for as long as you possibly can. "You can stick with rice cereal," she says.

Smaller bites
A baby being fed vegtables

Photo: © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation

Introduce a New Food in Small Samples
Once you serve a sample of any new food, record any subtle signs from your baby, such as stomach pain and redness that may point to allergic reactions, Tanya says. If no allergic reaction occurs, you can serve the food again.

Get recipes from Tracey and Tanya
The information provided here is for entertainment and informational purposes. You should consult your own physician before starting any treatment, diet or exercise program. The opinions expressed by the hosts, guests and callers to Oprah Radio are strictly their own.