With the wide availability of Baby-led weaning books and researches, it’s advisable to start indulging your baby with spiced food as early as 6 to 8 months. The idea and fact with experience behind this being the sooner the baby develops a relative sense of taste for spice, the easier it’ll be to introduce new foods and textures.
It’s very logical and commonly understood if you have been eating spiced up foods while breastfeeding, well in that case your baby may have already been exposed to the taste. Spices need to be introduced one at a time in small amounts. Advisable is to wait for about four to six days before introducing another spice or indulging in new food. This is the best way to possibly bar on the allergic reaction and can be spotted relevantly.
These spices flavor baby food and can have health benefits. Let’s discuss the number of Spices available for babies. To mention a few,
- Cinnamon
- Cumin
- Cardamom
- Clove
- Turmeric
- Nutmeg
- Saffron
- Vanilla
- Pepper
- Rosemary
- Coriander
- Asafetida
- Mint
- Fenugreek seeds
- Garlic
The list never ends, hence just a few to start with. In continuation to this let’s quickly learn the art of Spicing the baby food with the Magic of the other 4 C’s spices that are, Cinnamon, Cardamom Cumin, and Clove. Now let’s quickly get Cinnamoned.
1. Cinnamon
Cinnamon is one of the most delicious spices blessed with great medicinal qualities and is among the baby-friendly spices. Naturally delivering mild flavors and definitely palatable, hence suggested introducing our little one to the tastes and benefits of spices as early as possible in the porridges, purees, savories, and energy ladoos. Getting the Cinnamon back into action in the food and not just storing them is the first step to start benefiting.
Cinnamon in English is Daalacheeneee or Dalcinni in Hindi and Kannada is Pattai in Tamil is the inner bark of a particular tree called Cinnamomum. This spice is available in stick form and powder, well with respect to babies, Cinnamon stick can be given to babies at the teething stage for holding and biting releasing the teething pain making them calmer because of its enzymes and it’s also available in powder form which can be added and sprinkles onto the foods, purees, and savories.
Baby Food Combination
• Sprinkling Cinnamon powder into processed fruits like applesauce, mashed bananas, pear purees for that matter any fruit puree and fruit sauce.
• Its flavors blend well with vegetables such as Sweet potato, Carrot soups, beetroot jam, tomato soup or puree with two or their vegetables combination purees and soups.
• Being a mother of a fussy eater my way to use cinnamon is to sprinkle on cooked Oatmeal, Rice cereal, Yogurt, Savories, and all the homemade health mixes with Millet and Dry fruits and cake mixes as suggested by one of my baker friends.
• Sprinkling it over the tea
• Garnishing on the savories
• Using Cinnamon Oil in basic food or can be categorized
• Adding on to the baby milk and baby formula
Goodness of Cinnamon
• Eases sensitive stomachs
• Regulate blood sugar
• Loaded with powerful antioxidants making it a superfood or super spice
• Helps in digestion
• Cinnamon powder with honey is given for curbing cold
• Cinnamon water boosts immunity
• Anti-inflammatory properties help the body fight infections and lower the risk of disease
• Cuts the risk of heart diseases and reduces Blood pressure
• Lowers Blood sugar level with an anti-diabetic effect
• Protective against Cancer
• Fights Bacterial and Fungal infections
• Protects Brain Function and enhances brain development
• Naturally protects Dental Health and initiates Fresh Breath
Special qualities of Cinnamon
• Recent research shows that Cinnamon regulates and initiates one’s learning ability, sharpens memory power and brain abilities.
• Reduces anxiety
With all this knowledge about Cinnamon, it’s better late, than never to start spicing up baby food with this ingenious spice delivering abundant benefits for the bay’s development and growth. In short, it’s available in all dry fruits stores, supermarkets, and spices shops.
How to make homemade Cinnamon Powder?
Consider grinding the Cinnamon sticks in a mixed grinder in short turns and sieve it fine, well now we are good to go, Cinnamon powder is ready to store in air-tight containers locking the aroma and freshness once cooled.
“Baby-friendly” spices are mild, easy and light on new and developing taste buds, and simple to digest in the little tummy. Being parents we often hear the word and panic instantly thinking on “spice” and assume by default as “spicy taste.” Well, this does not necessarily need to be spicy spice, there are easing spices as well..
Each of these above-mentioned spices is safe, easy to use, easily available, and most of all, filled with flavorful goodness, adding simple and light flavor to the little one’s food.
2. Cardamoms
Exceptionally aromatic Cardamoms naturally adding spice and sweetness right from baby food to adults are holding medicinal qualities in their Green pods the tiny black seeds. Green Cardamom or locally called Elaichi can be introduced to babies from or after 7 months + in the form of Cardamom powder. We can add this can be added to porridges, fruit purees, veggie purees, health mixes, and even pancakes which feeding babies with their regular food and during their mealtime.
How much quantity of Cardamom can be added to baby food?
Preferably to start with 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon makes its presence felt in the food added to and spreads its goodness in the baby food.
Health Benefits of Cardamom for babies
• Eases digestion by increases the movement of food in the intestines
• Tackles cold and cough among babies
• Nutritionally rich in Copper, Iron, and Vitamins like Riboflavin, Vitamin C prevents Anemia
• Have mouth cleansing properties and mouth odor control
How and where to use it?
Porridges, Fruit purees, baby savories, cooked health mixes, for the night’s hot milk initiating good sleep, yogurt, mashed bananas, fruit milkshakes, and selective vegetable soups depending on the baby taste.
3. Cumin
Brown slender dried long seeds the Cumin’s are the spices with a lot of medicinal qualities, which are added as seasoning to all kinds of cuisines suiting to all kinds of dishes and especially baby food to start with the early foods and health mixes. (Cumin seeds are locally called Jeera seeds)
When can we introduce Cumin to babies?
Babies after completing 6 months +, can be introduced to small quantities of Cumin powder. A quantity of 1/4 teaspoon of Cumin Powder can be administered in the foods.
How and where can we use Cumin powder and Cumin seed?
The powder can be added to purees, Rice and Millet Khichdi, rice and dal water, porridges, vegetable soups, health mixes.
Cumin seeds can be added to roti, chapati, and other main course and vegetable curries that are customized to baby and toddlers’ food taste.
Health Benefits of Cumin for Babies
• Initiates digestion
• Effective against fungal and microbial growth
• The gassy nature of the foods can be curbed down by adding Cumin powder
• Kills the intestinal worms
• Reduces anxiety and induces sleep
• Treats colic babies
• For cold and cough, we can give Cumin water
• Strengthens and boosts the immune system
4. Clove
Cloves are locally called Laung in Hindi and lavanga in Kannada, These Cloves can be given to babies after 8 months. These long black Cloves are highly recommended for introducing in the baby food and toddlers savories as well.
How and where can we use Clove powder, Clove oil for babies?
Cloves can be added to baby fruit purees like apple sauce, porridge’s, health mixes.
Clove oil is used for babies with teething pain easing out the baby
How many Cloves can be added to baby food?
2 or 3 Cloves can be added to the baby food and conveniently should be removed before feeding them to the baby. As the cloves have already spread their goodness and health benefit to the baby food.
Health Benefits of Cloves
• Microbial growth in the mouth can be curbed off
• Teething pains of the baby can be at ease using the Clove Oil by rubbing it on the baby gums
• Natural smell to foods
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