Go Meat!

I like the Hillshire Farm Go Meat commercial, because darn it, I like meat! And so do a lot of babies. The old train of thought used to be babies should not eat meat before one year of age, but that is changing. According to the book Baby Bites written by registered dietitian Bridget Swinney,

There are threee groups of infants who might benefit from meat as a first food as opposed to cereal: breastfed infants, premature infants and low birth weight infants. A recent study at the University of Colorado showed that a significant number of breastfed infants had marginal zinc and iron status. Introducing meat instead of cereal greatly increased zinc intake and appeared to increase head growth. Research has shown breastfed babies to be equally accepting of meat and cereal as a first food. Though cereal looks better to adults, babies don't seem to prefer it.

Meat as a first food is not uncommon in many places around the world. Do your own research and talk to your child's pediatrician - you may want to consider giving meat prior to baby's first birthday.

My biggest concern with serving meat as a first food was food safety. Serving an infant under-cooked meat or poultry can be very dangerous. If you've ever experienced salmonella or E. coli poisoning, you can understand the many reasons why it can be dangerous for an infant to experience these illnesses; diarrhea, dehydration, etc. So it's important to be sure that all meats served to an infant have been fully cooked to FDA recommended internal temperatures. I have found the best way to achieve safe internal temperatures without drying the food is through poaching (for poultry) and slow cooking for meats (beef and pork). That means it's time to get out that slow cooker! Heck, Fall is just around the corner anyway, right?

Further, make sure the meat you are considering feeding a baby does not contain additives or preservatives, such as sodium nitrate, and that the meat has not been given hormones or antibiotics. For this reason, it is important to check the ingredients of deli meats, as almost all of them contain sodium nitrate.

So, what meats are best? Beef, chicken, pork, duck, buffalo? In the past, the common thought was that chicken was the best first meat, but these days, beef seems to be emerging as a popular choice for its high iron content. You'll have to decide which meat is best for your baby, and when to feed your baby meat for the first time. Hungry Baby had chicken as a first meat at 7 months. Try buffalo or even lamb.

Following is a simple chicken recipe. I will post a recipe for buffalo burgers in the near future.

Basic Chicken

1 Organic cornish game hen
pat of butter
salt, to taste
garlic powder, to taste

Preheat toaster oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine butter, a dash of salt and a dash of garlic powder. Set aside.

Wash and pat dry game hen. Gently lift skin of game hen and rub butter between skin and meat. Place hen breast side up on tray with a rack (chicken will drip fat and juices, so it is important to raise the chicken on a rack or slotted tray to keep chicken out of the drippings). Bake for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour; juices will run clear and an internal temperature reading between the thigh and body (not touching the bone!) will read 165 degrees. If you like a brown chicken, increase heat to 450 for the last 5 - 10 minutes of cooking, but watch it in the toaster oven as the hen tends to be closer to the heating element. Remove from oven and allow to rest.

Pour drippings from chicken into a fat separator or a 2-cup measuring cup and allow to sit for 15 minutes. The fat will separate from the juices and rise to the top. Pour off fat, or use a turkey baster to remove the fat from the top.

If serving an infant, remove meat from breast and put through a food mill or food processor, adding juices as needed for moisture. I add approximately 1/2 to 3/4 cup of juices for each hen I puree. Chicken can be served immediately or frozen in ice cube trays for later.

If serving an older child, shred or cube chicken breast and serve.

Hungry Baby enjoys chicken mixed with peaches or mangos. Also serve with peas, carrots, squash or rice.

This recipe can be easily doubled for a couple, or purchase a larger chicken and bake in a conventional oven for the whole family. The internal temperature is the same - 165 degrees.