Hi there, I'm new to this board. Just wondering if anyone here has experience or ideas for feeding raw infants and/or toddlers...? Our 14-month-old has been oh I'd say 90% or more raw so far. She only has 4 teeth so her best nutrition is from breast milk and green smoothies and sesame/almond butters. I'm trying to increase her options since I am the only family member who is mostly raw. I never intended for her to remain raw (unless she chooses this!), but hoped to keep her mostly raw for her first 2+ years. But I think having her raw along with me mostly raw is a great iinfluence on our family as a whole! Thanks for any recommendations! Drea

babies like mashed fruit

I give my toddler so much. Since he is older he can chew more. But I would process or blend anything. Mix spinach and avocado and process, or just avocado. Process apples and pears. When we have a salad I just put his on my chopping block and chop it up really samll. You can put all kinds of things in a soup or smoothie. I made apple-strawberry and Pear-raspberry soup the other day and they were fantastic. Cucumber and tomato soup is good. When you make a soup like that you can put parsley, spinach and other healthy suff in it. We soak raisins and process nuts mixed with raisins for a gooey candy. After I soak raisins, dates or figs I put the liquid in a cup for the little one to drink. I also give him citrus juice. Once you start making these you just can't think of much they can't eat. I have not made a soup mine hasn't liked. I made corn chowder the other day and he gobbled that up, to my surprise.

Like with cooked foods, you have to experiment with raw flavors and textures that your baby likes. To my dismay, my 18 month old would never touch avocado or most sweet fruits. But she loves sliced red peppers, grated broccoli, baby carrots, whole apples--but only in those states. She would never eat shredded carrots, for instance. She won't touch a whole broccoli floret. She likes orange slices, but only to squeeze and pummel to a bloody pulp. Babies are so finicky that way.

I think texture is really key with babies. So just keep experiementing. Jicama or zucchini "noodles" are good. Flax seed crackers make a convenient snack. And frozen bananas are great for teething little ones.

Thanks for all the great ideas!!! I do give her some of those things, especially avocado and spinach, yum! Also, the raw oatmeal according to the recipe on this site. Sometimes she'll eat sprouted buckwheat cereal, but it's not her favorite. Apples, pears,clementines ( I have to peel the membranes off or she just sucks the juice out of it), bananas, avocados, tomatoes and broccoli are her favorite. I realize too that as a baby she is actually more likely to eat any of the many recipes on this site than my older children are who are not on a raw diet. She likes flax crackers, but since we EC, I limit the amount of flax because it causes her to eliminate more than the usual 3-4 times/day! But now I am realizing that she eats more variety than I thought! I love your ideas of more soups like corn chowder and the "candy" and sweet soak water and the jicama and zucchini noodles... mmmmmmm! Thank you sooooo much from both of us!!