The objective of flavour-led weaning is to prepare baby for the big table by using flavours that reflect your personal home cooking. Home cooking varies from home to home, culture to culture. It’s what makes us all unique, and our food so yummy! The key to flavour-led weaning is to incorporate as many of these flavours into your little one’s diet as possible, whether you are following a spoon-fed or baby-led weaning method. And as baby grows, you can develop her palate further by introducing herbs and spices.
Imagine the stem of a flower with a closed flower bud at the top. The stem represents basic first tastes (around 6 months/at least 17 weeks). After first tastes and simple mixed ingredient purees have been accepted, and your baby is at least 6 months old, you can get creative by adding herbs and spices to your baby’s meals. This is when the flower bud (your little one’s taste buds) will begin to open and blossom. The more you nurture your little one’s taste buds by offering delicious flavours – bitter, sour, sweet and savoury – the more her taste buds will open and flourish, and the more diverse her palate will become. In my experience, there are many benefits to encouraging a diverse flavour palate for baby:
Baby will develop a positive relationship with food, excited to try tasty new meals
It reduces the chance of fussy-eating behaviours emerging
Natural flavour enhancers may contribute added health benefits
As your baby’s diet becomes more reliant on solid food it will be less challenging for you to help her achieve a well-balanced diet, if she is accepting of new foods
A broad and balanced diet is essential to make sure that your baby is receiving all of the vitamins and minerals required for healthy growth.
WHAT IS FLAVOUR-LED WEANING?
THE FLAVOUR-LED WEANING FLOWER
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