I followed a conscious feeding regime with my eldest boy many years ago. I started with pureed carrot; then carrot/apple; followed by apple alone. The idea was to introduce taste and flavour alongside sweetness so that his awareness would accept taste/flavour. From here I moved into other pureed veg/fruit mixes, adding rice and oat cream (creamy bit of porridge). Once he was no longer satiated with this I added red lentils (proteins) to the mix and then other ‘heavier’ legumes. Finally (at about ten months) I added meat/fish in small amounts. All along I made sure foods had mild flavours/tastes so to train his palate to the sensation of these. Not to do so would allow his to ‘feed without flavour’ or get used to bland foods.

By the time he was two and a half he could tell me there was too much basil in the tomato soup. Knowing about taste/flavour and nutrition is a wonderful thing when it comes to children. Truly we open their minds early, through flavour and taste sensations and awareness.

I was not trained in this at the time and merely followed common sense thinking. Logic like when the incisors come down they can bite, when the molars come down they can chew (proteins, esp. animal)

Love the experience it is a joy

Regards

Jim Dempsey

-eat seasonally
-eat locally
-eat according to your heritage (ie: if your genetically mediterranean, try not to live off a Japanese diet)
-eat whole foods (whole egg and whole fish are included in this category)

of course, this must be modified to address medical issues.