What are the characteristics of optimal first foods?
For the first time, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 provides recommendations by life stage, including birth to 24-months. At about 6 months, the Dietary Guidelines recommend infants be introduced to a variety of nutrient-dense foods to ensure adequate nutrition and exposure to flavors, textures, and different types of foods. When choosing complementary foods to avocados for a baby’s diet, they should be rich in nutrients, an appropriate size, consistency and shape to allow easy swallowing, and stay within limits of dietary components such as added sugars and sodium.
We also pondered this question, and that’s why we set out to find just what made for ideal first foods. Analyzing the science, we identified these three key attributes:
Consistency
Foods need to have the right texture -soft, thin and smooth- to prevent choking.
Nutrient-Density
First foods should bring in a variety of nutrients to the baby’s diet.
Freshness!
Wholesome, fresh foods like avocados are less likely to contain added sugars, salt and other processed ingredients, which make them a great addition to babies’ diets.
Avocados can be mixed and mashed to meet all of the top considerations recommended for first foods:
- Avocados have a smooth, creamy consistency that has been recognized by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as an appropriate first food.
- Avocados contribute nearly 20 nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and phytonutrients that are important to infant/toddler nutrition.
- Fresh avocados are sodium, cholesterol, and sugar-free
See how the goodness of avocados for babies’ tiny tummies is brought to life in this new infographic. It’s a great resource to share with new moms!
