How I introduced peanut butter to my baby

My kid is 1 year and 10 months now and she’s been eating peanut butter since she was 7 months old and had started on pureed solids. Before I started her on it, I consulted my pediatrician and he gave me the go ahead to give her most things (except honey and uncooked fish). I wanted her to get something filling and nutritious, especially for times when she was fussing over eating food. So I figured, this is a good filler. I also wanted to start her early on so that she wouldn’t develop peanut allergies. I was not having any of that as the owner of a nut butter brand :).

Whatever your reason for wanting to start your kids on peanut butter, I can assure you that Happy Jars is one of the cleanest options on the market. With 100% pure peanuts in the Pure Peanuts High Protein Spread, and 100% pure almonds in the Pure Almonds High Protein Spread, both these are great first nut butter options. When your baby starts consuming solid food, you can introduce them to allergy-prone foods like eggs, soy, peanuts, and dairy in a paced manner, and as per their liking.

There's a science behind it - introducing peanut butter and other allergenic foods early on could help your child develop tolerance against allergies. The medical jury is still out on that so please do your own research and come to your own conclusions. As a mother, I wanted my little one to start early on certain foods to ensure she develops a well-rounded immunity system.

So, how exactly do you start? This is my personal story as a mum, so please always add your paediatrician’s advice to this before you introduce it to your bub.

When to start

I started Iyra on peanut butter when she was 7 months old. She had started eating pureed solids. She had no teeth, but enjoyed daal, chawal and veggies mashed to a pulp. That’s usually when babies start consuming protein. I was also introducing her to chicken curry (without any spices or pieces). She took to the Jaggery Creamy natural peanut butter immediately, and so I gave her that until she turned one.

SHOP FOR THE LITTLE ONE NUT BUTTER COMBO

How much to give

The 32g serving size is for adults, so don’t follow that for children of course. I used to give Iyra licks from the front of a teaspoon at first. I gave her some soft banana bites with a touch of peanut butter on it. Be mindful that peanuts & peanut butter are sticky, and the natural ones even more so, because there’s no emulsifiers. Always keep a glass of water or milk around in case they don’t like the texture in their mouth. Give licks, not spoonfuls, and offer water in between bites.

Once you’ve tried the peanut butter on them the first time, wait for 2 days to watch for any allergic reactions. If they’re ok, then you can go ahead and feed it to them again. I now give my daughter nut butter twice a week.

Which ones to try

Always do the creamy textures. The crunchy nuts are impossible for them to chew when they have little or no teeth. They can be a choking hazard. I gave Iyra the Jaggery Creamy for 4-5 months, until I first introduced her to chocolate (in her birthday cake :) ).

After that, I moved her over to the Dark Chocolate Almond Butter. This one has 80% Almonds, Dark Chocolate and some Jaggery. It does have sugar and a few emulsifiers because of the chocolate in there (all ingredients are declared on the back of pack), but I’m a mom that prefers to keep it realistic. She is going to eat chocolate as she grows up so I want her to have the taste for chocolate from now. Again, that’s a personal mum-to-mum choice.

Adding them to food

The usual meal with a twist is super easy and takes less than a minute to make! You can add peanut butter to the baby’s regular cereal, porridge or khichdi. It makes it a filling meal and adds protein. You can also add the Unsweetened Creamy Peanut Butter to the vegetable puree you’re making for them. It’s a healthy, colourful, savoury and nutritious meal.

It's such a special time introducing your baby to new foods & I hope my experience has gotten you excited about your own journey with your little one. 

Enjoy!

P.S. here's a video of Iyra enjoying her first nut butter. Ignore the Jaggery Crunchy bottle - there was creamy in there :).

Also, check out what Tanya Mehra, a certified Child Nutritionist has to say.

The image on the top is of Baby Nyrika. Image credits to her mum Natasha (@tashajitender). The image on the Youtube Thumbnail is of Baby Noor. Image credits to her mum Tanya (@tannzymommy). Thank you for sharing this with us!

Images on the banner are of Baby Nyrika, Baby Iyra and Baby Bodhi (image credits to mums Natasha, Surabhi & Michele)