Baby's First Sushi Adventure
I strongly believe that women should eat all kinds of food during pregnancy (except for the foods that experts and Mayo Clinic warn against, such as unpasteurized dairy products and juices, raw seafood and meats, and unwashed fruits and veggies). Exposing the embryos and fetuses to all types of nutritious delectables is more likely to prevent allergies than cause them.
Peanuts, gluten, dairy, eggs... "American kids have higher allergy risk" and "food allergies are a Western epidemic." Avoiding these food groups while pregnant, mothers may be doing their unborn children a great disservice. Likewise, when mothers are always sterilizing their homes, run to the doctors for antibiotics for mere sniffles, and are overly protective of their children (OMG dirt!), their children end up sicker (asthmatic, poor immune systems, poor digestion, etc...)
But I digress. What I really wanted to share with you was Phil Bae's first sushi experiences. When Phil turned five months old, we started feeding him solid foods, starting with homemade purees, congees, and soft fruits and veggies. (Recipes to come!)
Phil reaching for a piece of California roll at one of our favorite family sushi restaurants in NYC. Does he look like a girl, by the way? Someone said to us, "Oh what a cute girl she is! G for girl, right?" Um...
Now that Phil is one year old, he's a master of feeding himself finger foods. He loves sushi, especially California rolls (we take out the fake crab meat because it's too salty) and Avocado rolls. (Phil can eat four out of six pieces of sushi of a roll.)
I don't feed Phil miso soup because it's too salty, but I do give him pieces of seaweed, which he loves! (And it's packed with iodine.)
Phil analyzing a piece of seaweed from miso soup
When we first took Phil to restaurants, he misbehaved. We discovered that it was because he was hungry and wanted to eat just like his parents! He behaves very well at restaurants now. We keep him occupied with finger foods and have milk and water ready whenever he's thirsty.
I highly recommend you take your babies to sushi restaurants and expose them to delicious rolls (veggie rolls for now such as Avocado or Sweet Potato). They will love touching the rolls too (so squishy and sticky).
If your babies don't have egg allergies, egg rolls would be great too. I wouldn't recommend for you to expose your babies to raw fish yet... Their developing stomaches and intestines won't be able to handle raw food until they're older.
The Japanese are known for their longevity and for being healthy. There's a reason why they live and age so well. They're eating great, super foods. You should start your babies early and teach them excellent eating habits.
Phil and Mama had a Great Sushi Adventure and Can't Wait to Have More!
Sushi Nutrition:
Avocado Roll: Around 22 calories a piece, one gram of fat, 4.5 gram of carbs, 1 gram of fiber and 0.4 gram of protein (this is just a rough estimate per piece, calculated from the information provided here)