How to Serve Salmon Sliders to Your BLW Baby

January 25, 2018June 20, 2018 Natalie Leave a comment

How to Serve Salmon Sliders to Your BLW Baby

We all know that fish is a very nourishing food. Full of high quality protein, easily-absorbed iron and healthy fats like omega-3’s, this underwater delight is unmatched in supporting the development of little minds and bodies.

So why don’t we often see fish given to babies? It’s all about texture. Cooked fish is often flaky, which means it does not hold well together and BLW babies have a difficult time to get the pieces to their mouth. Well here at Nutrition for Baby we believe any-fin is possible, so look no further than our salmon slider recipe to get an affordable fish serving into your BLW infants diet.

Watch this video to see how easy it is to prep salmon sliders for your BLW baby:

Warning*

BLW is contraindicated for babies at risk of dysphagia, such as babies who have an anatomic disorder (cleft palate, tongue tie), a neurological disorder (developmental delay, hypotonia, oral hypotonia) or a genetic disorder. Follow-up by a health professional (doctor, pediatric registered dietitian) is necessary for babies at risk of anemia such as babies born prematurely, babies with low birth weight (less than 3000 g), worries related to growth, babies born to an anemic mother, baby for whom cow’s milk was introduced early and/or a vegan baby.

*Cusson and Labonté, Baby-Led Weaning Conference, June 2018, Nutrium, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal

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How to Prepare Salmon Sliders for Your BLW Baby

Start with two cans of no salt added salmon. In a large bowl, mash the salmon with a fork. Add two large eggs to help bind everything together; stir to combine.

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Now to add flavour! Add 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped dill, zest of 1 lime or lemon, one teaspoon of pepper, a half cup of chopped greens (spinach or kale work very well), a half cup of finely chopped onion and finally three cloves of minced garlic. Stir until well combined.

Roll the mixture into 8 patties. Over medium heat, warm the fat of your choice, and cook each patty for 5 minutes on each side.

Let cool and serve to baby.

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Precautions

Before doing Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) with your baby, it is important to proceed safely by contacting a pediatric registered dietitian. Among other things, make sure that:

your baby is ready and does not start too early
your baby is sitting at 90 degrees
you do not place food in his/her mouth with your fingers
the environment is calm during meals
you offer the right foods to your baby (always test the texture of the food in between your tongue and roof of your mouth)
you watch your baby eat at all times
you contact a pediatric registered dietitian to make sure you are proceeding safely

Salmon slider recipe for babies

Ingredients

2 cans salmon in water no salt added (7 oz or 213 g each)

2 eggs

zest of 1 unwaxed lime

1 tsp (5 ml) pepper

1/2 cup (125 ml) spinach or kale, chopped

1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh dill, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup (125 ml) onion, chopped (about 1 small onion)

1 tbsp (15 ml) cooking fat (unsalted butter or duck fat)

Preparation

Drain and pat dry canned salmon. Mix all ingredients together (except cooking fat). Shape into sliders about 3 tbsp (45 ml) each. Heat skillet over medium heat, add fat and pan fry them for 5 minutes on each side. Let cool and offer to your baby. Can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Do you serve fish to your BLW baby? Let us know your methods in the comment section!

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Can babies eat foods grilled on the barbecue?

June 16, 2017June 20, 2018 jessicacoll Leave a comment

Can babies eat foods grilled on the barbecue?

It’s getting hot outside and it’s time to light the barbecue. You might be wondering if babies can eat food grilled on the barbecue. The question is: are barbecuing and Baby Led Weaning (BLW) compatible?

The answer is yes, starting at around 6 months old. You do want to make sure you do it safely (as with everything else) because research shows that cooking meat, poultry and fish at high temperatures may increase you and your baby’s risk of cancer.

Here are a few tips from the cancer.ca website:

Marinate meat, poultry and fish before cooking. Studies have shown that marinating these foods can prevent the formation of cancer-causing chemicals.
When barbecuing, choose lean cuts of meat, poultry and seafood over higher-fat meats. Trim off visible fat. This will reduce the amount of harmful chemicals that develop from the smoke created by burning fat.
Barbecue slowly and keep the food away from the hot coals so that flames are less likely to engulf the food to prevent charring.
Try grilling vegetables, veggie burgers and fruit slices. Most experts agree that plant-based foods do not form the cancer-causing substances when cooked at high heat.

Foods grilled on the barbecue are great for babies because they maintain their shape yet babies can easily bite into them. Asparagus are delicious this time of year. Why not try barbecued asparagus? Here is a 6-month old enjoying asparagus on the barbecue:

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Precautions

Before doing Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) with your baby, it is important to proceed safely by contacting a pediatric registered dietitian. Among other things, make sure that:

your baby is ready and does not start too early
your baby is sitting at 90 degrees
you do not place food in his/her mouth with your fingers
the environment is calm during meals
you offer the right foods to your baby (always test the texture of the food in between your tongue and roof of your mouth)
you watch your baby eat at all times
you contact a pediatric registered dietitian to make sure you are proceeding safely
you read the warning below

Warning*

*Cusson and Labonté, Baby-Led Weaning Conference, June 2018, Nutrium, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal

Even grilled mushrooms are totally appropriate for babies:

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If your baby just sucks on a strip of meat without actually eating any, he or she is still getting some iron. It could also occupy a baby for quite some time!

Here are some free barbecue recipes that you can try for your baby:

Chicken satay with creamy peanut sauce (includes a cooking demo video)

Simple burgers for babies (feel free to cook these on the barbecue)

Grilled lamb chops for babies

Minty Lamb Meatballs

For more Baby Led Weaning (BLW) recipes for babies, GET YOUR FREE COOKBOOK FOR BABIES HERE.

What will you grill on the barbecue this weekend?

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Thai Salmon Bites

May 15, 2017June 20, 2018 jessicacoll Leave a comment

Thai Salmon Bites

There is no need to wait until your baby is 12 months to offer him/her fish. In fact, it’s a good idea to offer fish to babies from 6 to 12 months because it’s packed with good fats, iron and zinc. The problem with fish is that it usually doesn’t hold together very well. It’s dry and falls apart easily when babies handle it.

Precautions

Before doing Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) with your baby, it is important to proceed safely by contacting a pediatric registered dietitian. Among other things, make sure that:

your baby is ready and does not start too early
your baby is sitting at 90 degrees
you do not place food in his/her mouth with your fingers
the environment is calm during meals
you offer the right foods to your baby (always test the texture of the food in between your tongue and roof of your mouth)
you watch your baby eat at all times
you contact a pediatric registered dietitian to make sure you are proceeding safely
you read the warning below

Warning*

*Cusson and Labonté, Baby-Led Weaning Conference, June 2018, Nutrium, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal

I created this recipe with fish that actually holds together. The trick? Cut up the fish into bite-sized pieces while it’s still semi-frozen BEFORE baking it.

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To prepare the recipe, I cut the skinless salmon into squares. Then, I marinated the fish in a delicious mixture of oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, pepper, lime zest, ginger, coconut and cumin. Then, I baked them in the oven for 6 minutes.

These can be served as a fancy appetizer or as the main course along with some zesty roasted cauliflower. They’re 100% juicy and they actually hold together.

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Thai Salmon Bites recipe

450g salmon, boneless, skinless

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon or lime juice

1 tsp (5 ml) garlic powder

½ tsp (2.5 ml) pepper

1 tsp (5 ml) lemon or lime zest

1 tsp (5 ml) ground ginger

1 tbsp (15 ml) coconut, shredded, unsweetened

½ tsp (2.5 ml) cumin

Place salmon in the freezer for about 20 minutes until semi frozen. In a medium bowl, add the rest of the ingredients. Remove salmon from the freezer and cut salmon into 3 cm (1 inch) squares. Than, add the salmon to the bowl and cover on all sides. Let marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C) and place salmon bites onto a covered baking sheet. Finally, bake for 6 minutes or until fully cooked. Let cool and offer to your baby. Can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cannot be frozen.

How often do you eat fish?

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