TASTE - a lifetime adventure with food

It takes time for babies to learn to appreciate lots of different food tastes and textures. Around the six month mark, babies naturally enter a phase that makes this process possible. Organix calls it "the weaning window" – it's the strongest time for learning about new tastes and helping to shape your child's healthy diet. 

Babies naturally prefer sweet flavours, such as breast milk. All other taste preferences are learned and adapted by exposure throughout infancy.  The type of food offered in infancy seems to predict foods that will still be in your little one's diet later in childhood. Research also highlights a sensitive period for the introduction of textured foods.

Teach your baby how to love different tastes and textures with these top tips from TASTE: 

• Dr Gillian Harris, Consultant Paediatric Psychologist, says, "Offer your baby a wide variety of flavours early on.  In early infancy it takes very few exposures to learn to like new tastes - in toddlers it may take up to 14 exposures to learn to like a food".
• Make life easier on yourself and start your baby on the tricky foods early. Gillian says, "Bitter tasting foods, like broccoli, are more difficult for your baby to learn to accept. However, even difficult tastes like this can eventually be well accepted if introduced early."
• Keep offering your baby tastes and textures previously rejected. Paediatric Dietician Judy More advises, "Give your baby plenty of chances to learn to like a food".
• Even food that has been accepted before might be rejected because it looks different, such as a biscuit that's broken.  Most children will grow out of this response, so don't worry.
• Dr Frankie Phillips, Nutritional Advisor to Organix, advises, "Let carrots taste of carrots. It's best to avoid masking or disguising the taste - you'll want your baby to recognise the real food being offered."
• Judy advises, "Keep offering soft finger foods at each meal, this will also help your baby learn to deal with lumps. If your baby bites a larger lump than they can mange to swallow, they will gag it back. This is different to choking and is part of the learning process".
• Don't worry about teeth – it doesn't matter how many teeth your baby has, babies use their gums for chewing. If your baby spits lumps out, don't worry, just keep trying. "Don't revert to food without lumps as your baby needs the practice," says Judy.
• "Give your baby a spoon to play with," suggests Judy.  It'll help keep your baby interested at mealtime.  And encourage your little one to touch food. "Your baby learns about food through touch as well as sight and taste," says Judy.
• Look out for likes and dislikes. While encouraging your baby to enjoy a wide variety of tastes and textures, keep an eye out for patterns that help them to enjoy their food more – eating one food at a time, or liking certain flavours mixed together.
• Offer two courses: from about seven to eight months giving your baby two courses at mealtimes gives you the chance to introduce a wider range of foods.

Download a free copy of TASTE at https://www.organix.com/taste