How to Serve Meat to Babies
How to Serve Meat to Babies
Dust off your slow-cooker and pull out your best roasting pan because today we are looking into how to safely provide meat to babies when doing Baby Led Weaning (BLW).
I also answer common questions parents have at the end so read on to learn more about how to respond to your clients.
First, why meat?
At around 6 months old, a baby's iron needs are the highest they will ever be. At the same time, their iron stores are starting to dwindle, especially if exclusively breastfed.
Meat is not only rich in iron, but it has a specific type of iron that's only found in animal-derived foods called heme iron. Heme iron is better absorbed than the iron found in plants, called non-heme iron.
Meat also has lots of protein, zinc, vitamin B12, and fats.
Since babies are typically not eating a large amount of food at this age, meat is a “bang for your bite” food. Even just sucking on the meat juices provides that precious iron as well as other minerals.
Being Safe
Providing meat to a BLW infant does take a bit of additional care for it to be safe. Listed below is advice from Health Canada:
Avoid meat or fish that is :
Raw, like sushi or rare steak
Highly processed like bacon, hotdogs or processed deli meats
Fried, using breading and unhealthy oils
Offer meat or fish that has been:
Cooked to these minimum internal temperatures, ideally using a digital thermometer at the thickest part of the meat (ensure the metal tip is not hitting the bone) :
Beef/veal/lamb: 77°C (170°F)
Pork: 71˚ C (160˚F)
Ground beef/veal/lamb/pork: 71˚C (160˚F)
Poultry (pieces): 74˚C (165˚F)
Poultry (whole): 82˚C (180˚F)
Poultry (ground): 74˚C (165˚F)
Fish: 70˚C (158˚F)
Shellfish: 74˚C (165˚F)
Meat/Fish Leftovers: 74˚C (165˚F); reheat only once
Properly stored in a ≤4˚C (39˚F) fridge or ≤-18˚C (0˚F) freezer (refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours)
Made into the right size and shape:
Pieces of meat about as long as an adult pinkie finger (~2-3 inches long) and that are log shaped work best
Made safe by removing pointy bones and skin
Cooked without salt or sugar
Buying Meat
Different families will purchase meat from different sources.
Conventional meat, the type found at local and chain grocery stores, may contain growth hormones and antibiotics. However, Health Canada sets a maximal limit to the amount left in food, which should be below harmful levels.
Families you work with may choose to buy organic meats, which are those produced without the use of antibiotics or hormones.
They may also decide to support local farmers; often small farms cannot afford the organic certification, but do not use antibiotics or hormones in their meat production.
At our house, we buy a large animal from a local farm and split it between friends to save time and money.
Check out this link for more info about hormones and antibiotics in meat.
When to Offer Meat to a Baby?
Meat can be offered to a baby any time it is on the menu, this also helps include baby in the family meal. It is important to offer babies iron-rich foods 2 times per day to help them reach their iron needs. While this does not always have to be meat, it is a well-absorbed option.
The key is to make sure that the meat is soft enough for baby so that it is safe.
How to Prepare Meat for a Baby
Meatballs
A 6 month old’s hand movement ability is quite limited and they can’t pick up small pieces of food yet. At this stage they still have a palmer grasp.
They don’t even have the ability to re-position a piece of food in their hands so a log-shaped meatball work best. A good rule of thumb is to share it about the length of an adult pinky finger. That way, the baby will grab the log-shaped meatball and some of it will be sticking out of their fist, this way they can easily take bites.
Encourage families to experiment with different shapes like golf ball sized meatballs once baby gets more practice.
Take 1 lb of ground meat (any meat; chicken, beef, lamb, veal, bison)
Add spices and herbs
Shape it into meatballs
Bake in the oven at 400*F (200*C) for about 20 minutes
Meatballs are super convenient because they can be frozen and taken out when you needed.
Check out my minty lamb meatballs for a fancy yet easy meal. Here is another video about How to Prepare Meatballs for a Baby.
Sausages
sausage, blw, baby led weaning, baby food, recipe, meat, meat for baby
I’m not talking about store-bought sausages as those can be quite tough, salty and might contain some ultra-processed ingredients.
I’m talking about easy homemade sausages without any casings. You can find my amazingly tasty homemade sausage recipe in my BLW recipe book.
Kebabs
Kebabs can be made from ground beef or bison, mixed with your favourite herbs and spices, shaped about 4 inches (10 cm) long. Simply thread the seasoned mixture onto a skewer and cook on the barbecue for about 10 minutes.
Slow cooked
Meat can be cooked in a slow cooker or pressure cooker to make meals like pulled pork or stews. Advise clients to not add salt while preparing the meal because babies really don’t need a lot of it. Families can add salt to their own portions!
Meat on the bone
Meat on a bone works really well because there is an integrated handle so babies can get a good grip. Some examples: garlicky chicken drumsticks and grilled lamb chops.
Meat in soup
Meat can even be offered from a soup because it’s usually quite tender. All that needs to be done is remove the chicken (or other meat) from the soup and offer it to baby.
Liver pâté
The most smooth textured and the highest in iron is liver pâté. It can be offered on a pre-loaded spoon or spread on another food such as a piece of toast or cracker.
Meatloaf
Here is my fav meatloaf recipe!
Common questions, my answers:
You may hear some of these while counselling families, check out my answers below for potential ways to respond.
What is the best meat to offer to your baby?
There isn't a best meat to offer to a baby but I do want to say that liver contains a lot of iron so that's always a good option. Vary the types of meat offered, like chicken, veal, pork, beef. Offer baby the types of meat that are eaten at home.
Can I start meat after 6 months old? My pediatrician recommended that I start at 9 months because of digestion.
Meat isn't more difficult to digest compared to other foods, for most babies. If you're offering iron-rich foods that aren't meat before 9 months old and your baby is meeting his or her high iron needs, you can introduce meat at 9 months old if you prefer.
I want to give my baby meat but blending it makes me want to vomit and I am not sure how to give him it BLW style. He is 7 months old with no teeth. Meat is such a tough texture!
Babies can eat meat as long as it's soft, even without teeth. Most of the work is done with their gums (they're strong) so teeth aren't needed. No need to blend the meat. You can choose a cooking method from above and offer it to your baby as you would eat it.
How can I prepare meat to avoid having my baby gag when he eats it?
Choose a cooking method from above to prepare meat safely for your baby. It's normal that your baby gags and this is actually a protective (and wanted) reflex that should go away with time.
How much meat should my baby eat in a day and how to cook it so it tastes good and is easy to chew?
The rule of thumb is to offer a serving size of about the size of your pinky finger to your baby at a time. That way the piece is easy to pick up and handle. Depending on the age of your baby and what else your baby eats in a day, try to offer an iron-rich food twice a day between 6-12 months old. The iron-rich food can be meat or another iron-rich food that's not meat.
At what age to give sushi or raw meat like ham?
Officially, Health Canada recommends to wait until your child is 6 years old before offering raw meat and fish like sushi. Ham is very salty so I'd wait until your baby is at least 1 to offer a few pieces here and there.
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