Broccoli as a first food for babies
Broccoli is a great first food for babies. It’s an interesting shape for babies to explore with their hands - it is literal mini green trees - and when cut into palm-sized florets they make a great first finger food! Nutritionally Broccoli - like other green veg- has a whole host of vitamins including A, C and K, folate, and minerals like iron and calcium, as well as bio-active flavonoids
I also recommend offering your baby some tastes of whole bitter veggies early on in the weaning journey as research has shown this can increase babies acceptance of these foods later on. I constantly see parents in clinic struggling to get their children to eat nutritious foods like veggies and high protein foods like fish and chicken - and so I really promote setting the foundations early and exposing your baby to these foods in their whole unprocessed form to give them the best chance of accepting these foods
Broccoli is one of the veggies I include in my week one weaning plan which you can grab your free copy here
HOW TO PREP
Grab a chopping board and cut the broccoli into large florets (the larger size makes them easier to grab for little ones learning to eat). Then boil or steam for as long as you prefer. To get the most out of broccoli nutritionally when boiling you want to do so for just a few mins, no more than around 4-5 mins, to keep it nice and crunchy! But for babies having their first few tastes you want to cook it a little longer for a softer texture, at least 10-15 minutes if not longer. You want the stems to squish easily between your fingers. Check the florets regularly and keep going until you get this texture. Once they are soft and squishy they are also super easy to mash into an almost pureed texture, so they are a really low prep way to offer veggies via a spoon if you choose to do this. Once your baby has had a few tastes of whole unprocessed broccoli you can begin to add things to bulk up the nutrients - adding in healthy fats, protein and iron. You can try stirring through some coconut yoghurt or a meat stock, mashing in some cooked wild salmon or stirring through a smooth nut butter like almond or peanut.
If you decide to offer a firmer floret you can try cutting the stems in half right down the middle to make them less round which is safer
YOU NEED
4 broccoli florets
TO MAKE
Boil or steam a few florets of broccoli for 10-15 mins, or until they are soft and can be easily squished between two fingers, then drain
FINGER FOOD OPTION
Offer the florets whole and allow your baby to hold the stalks and have a go at munching. Sit back and enjoy your baby explore this new completely bonkers texture!
SPOON FEEDING
Use a fork to mash the broccoli up, adding a splash of coconut milk or a little of your baby’s usual milk to loosen the consistency
BABY LED WEANING TIP
Load some of the mashed broccoli onto a spoon, place it in front of your baby and allow them to grab it themselves!
NUTRITION TIP
To preserve nutrients try steaming or microwaving instead of boiling. When your little one is more experienced with texture you can try roasted broccoli which has a delicious flavour
References:
Wu, X., Zhao, Y., Haytowitz, D. B., Chen, P., & Pehrsson, P. R. (2019). Effects of domestic cooking on flavonoids in broccoli and calculation of retention factors. Heliyon, 5(3).
Syed RU, Moni SS, Break MKB, Khojali WMA, Jafar M, Alshammari MD, Abdelsalam K, Taymour S, Alreshidi KSM, Elhassan Taha MM, Mohan S. Broccoli: A Multi-Faceted Vegetable for Health: An In-Depth Review of Its Nutritional Attributes, Antimicrobial Abilities, and Anti-inflammatory Properties. Antibiotics (Basel). 2023 Jul 7;12(7):1157. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12071157. PMID: 37508253; PMCID: PMC10376324.
