Don't worry about what foods go well together and what foods do not. Babies do not have the discriminating palates. Mix a variety of fruits and vegetables for a good nutritional mix. Possible Combos for babies: yogurt & oatmeal; peas/carrots/applesauce; sweet potatoes & sqash. Combos for 7 month-old & older: applesauce and oatmeal; pumpkin and rice cereal; banana, avacado and yogurt; instant brown rice/pumpkin/ banana. Meat Combos for 8-month-old & older: turkey, chicken, beef or tofu with - applesauce or sweet potatoes or carrots or squash.

You can offer your babies a range of foods, as long as they can handle them. A lot of parents begin with purees, but this isn't essential. From around six months onwards, babies can use their fingers and hands to bring food to their mouths, and this 'baby-led' weaning approach is a good way of helping them learn the connection between taste, appearance, and texture.

• Most pediatritians advise that breast milk or formula should be baby’s main source of nutrition until at least 6 months of age. However, many parents still begin solid foods at 4 months of age.
• When your baby's doctor says it's OK to begin varying the menu, mix 1 teaspoon of a single-grain, iron-fortified baby cereal — preferably rice, which is least likely to provoke food allergies — with 4 or 5 teaspoons of breast milk or formula.

[ In 2006, the American Dental Association published guidelines suggesting that fluoridated tap water not be used to prepare infant formula. mixing powdered or liquid infant formula concentrate with fluoridated water may increase the risk of a child developing faint white markings on the teeth — a sign of enamel fluorosis. This affects both baby teeth and permanent teeth. In children younger than 8 years old, combined fluoride exposure from all sources — water, food, toothpaste or other products — contributes to fluorosis. Use only nonfluoridated bottled or well water for your children. ]

• Most pediatricians recommend cooking fruits that will be fed to an infant until that infant is about 8 months old. Bananas and avocado are an exception. Cooking fruits breaks them down enabling easier digestion. The skins of the fruits should always be peeled, especially for babies younger than 8 months old.
• Use fresh or frozen foods. Nutrients of canned fruits and veggies are leached into the water in which they are packed. Plus, canned foods often contain many preservatives along with a high amount of sodium and sugar. These ingredients are not good for babies.
• Steaming is the most preferred method to soften/cook vegetables for puree, with boiling in scant amounts of water (crock-potting) being the second method. Foods such as sweet and white potatoes, and squashes may be baked too.
• You don't have to wait until your baby has teeth before starting "finger" foods. Choose whole-gain oats (e.g., Cheerios) and crackers.
• Some babies devour cereal or crackers right from the start. Others are less enthusiastic. If your baby isn't interested, wait a week or two and try again. Remember, food with texture is a new experience for your baby.
• By age 10 months to 12 months, most babies can handle small portions of finely chopped foods, including soft cheese, well-cooked pasta, graham crackers, and ground meat. After 1 year, mashed or diced versions of whatever the rest of the family is eating will become the main fare.
• Once your infant has reached 8 months old, try an Egg Yolk Omelet – it's a good opportunity to add some soft-cooked veggies and tofu (tou is a soy product, so be on the look out for allergies to this ingredient.

Food allergies are on the rise and affect 6 to 8% of all children under the age of 4, as well as 4% of adults, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. They cause roughly 30,000 episodes of anaphylaxis and 100 to 200 deaths/year in the United States. Approximately 90% of all food allergies in children are caused by peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat and soy. Nine percent of children allergic to almonds, pecans, cashews and other tree nuts outgrow their allergy over time.

• ACIDIC FRUITS: may cause rashes & upset stomache due to acidity.
• CHOCOLATE: Introduce after 1 year.
• CORN: potential allergen, not particularly nutrient-rich anyway. Introduce after 1 year.
• EGG WHITES: Your infant can eat the yolks, but the whites are a potential allergen. Also avoid foods that are prepared with eggs, which may include French toast, cake, cookies, pancakes, eggnog, bread, ice cream, pasta, puddings, creamy salad dressings and foods with custard or cream fillings. Introduce after 1 year.
• HONEY: may cause botulism in infants under 1yr old.
• JUICE: You can offer mild juices when your baby is 6 months old. Use 100% juice with added calcium and NO added sugar. Limit intake to 4 to 6 ounces a day. Too much juice may contribute to weight gain and diarrhea, as well as thwart your baby's appetite for more nutritious solid foods. Sipping juice throughout the day or while falling asleep may lead to tooth decay.
• NUTS: potential allergen and choking hazard. Some experts recommend waiting 7 years.
• PEANUTS & PEANUT BUTTER: peanuts are not true nuts, but rather legumes from the pea and bean family. Peanuts can be highly allergenic. Another reason to hold off on peanut butter is its sticky consistency, which can make it tough for a young child to swallow. Introduce after 1 or 2 years (some experts recommend waiting 7 years).
• SHELLFISH: can be a really bad allergen. Introduce after 2 years old.
• STRAWBERRIES: the current recommendation for introducing strawberries is after a baby has reached 12 months of age, although some experts recommend 24 months.
• TOFU: has complex proteins a baby will have trouble digesting. Introduce after 8 months.
• WHEAT: is one of the most common allergens. For the infant who has had no issues with gluten in oats and/or barley, eating wheat products (such as wheat toast) around 8+ months is fine. GLUTEN INTOLERANCE: also known as celiac disease, is a lifelong condition that can appear at any age and tends to run in families. Some studies indicate that there may be a window where infants can incresae their chance of acquiring the disease by consuming foods containing gluten.
• WHOLE MILK: lactose and milk proteins may cause allergic reactions and may also cause stomache aches as they are hard to digest (yogurt and cheese are exceptions). Milk also hinders the absorption of iron, and iron is crucial during the 1st yr. Introduce after 1 year. Signs of milk sensitivity or allergy include: excessive fussiness, irritability, excessive spitting-up, gassiness or constipation. Symptoms may also include skin rash, eczema, or diarrhea. Some research suggests that a higher incidence of ear infections is also attributable, in part, to cow/goat dairy consumption.
• ALSO AVOID: carrots, celery, spinach, green beans, beets, turnips and collard greens, which may contain high levels of potentially harmful nitrate compounds. Introduce after 8 months old.

[ Nitrate Poisoning aka Blue Baby Syndrome: The majority of Nitrate poisoning comes from contaminated water supplies. Babies under 6 mos have bacteria in their intestines which helps convert nitrates into nitrites - the chemical that causes the poisoning. Nitrites bind iron in the blood making it difficult to transport oxygen, hence the blue color of the skin. ]

>>> Getting kids to eat right starts in the grocery store - and be forewarned - you're up against marketers with their sugar-laden products placed at their eye level. Children are hands-on learners. Give them assignments to pick out "the best" fruit, veggies, etc. A garden is another area where they can learn about produce and the family can eat the rewards of their labor.

>>> The same principle applies in the kitchen. Get them involved. Let them assist with the food preparations - especially their own. You won't need but a dash of creativity to make meals fun. Omelettes, pancakes and pizza lend themselves well to fun creations. All sorts of veggies and spices can be used to make faces. Corn, black beans, and thin slices of peeled zucchini for noses and mouths, green beans for arms and fingers, alfalfa sprouts for hair, cinnamon for freckles. Color is a major part of food-appeal for children.

>>> Ask children to try new food many times. Babies are born with a preference for sweet, salty and fatty flavors - representing the composition of breast milk. As children age, their taste buds mature and they slowly acquire a taste for more complex flavors (pungent, bitter, sour and spicy). So they must be constantly exposed to new flavors. And just like the aage in advertising, it takes about 13 exposures before the "message" is received.

>>> Model healthy behavior and make dietary changes as a family. Do not single out an overweight child by serving them different foods. In the same vein, do not tell a child that "they are too chubby or fat." This is a confrontation that can do damage. Tell the whole family that "we're all going to eat healthier."

>>> Provide young children healthy food options that they can choose to eat or not. Do not give them an alternative if they refuse to eat what you've provided. Keep junk food out of the house - they can't eat what you don't have.

>>> It's OK to have small portions of deserts. But don't reward children's behavior with junk food and deserts. This implies that this is special food that must be good - because they did good. Find other "rewards" for their achievements.

>>> Until their taste buds are developed and they can start making educated choices, the Renaissance Chef may have to resort to a little "hide & sneak" to get kids to eat and acquire their taste for vegetables. There are some neat undercover ways to incorporate nutritious foods into "fun" meals. Veggies, especially greens such as broccoli, should be pureed, grated or diced. Kids will become accustomed to the taste, while not having to deal with the unappealing mushy texture.

• Add grated carrots and zucchini into muffin mixes, burgers, and casseroles.
• Add grated veggies into pasta, pizza sauces, and quiche.
• Add some pureed cauliflower into mashed potatoes and mac & cheese.
• Quesadillas are a great canvas for children's culinary works of art.
• Add yogurt, wheat germ, and all sorts of fruit to smoothies.

Toddlers are often finicky eaters. They are hesitant to try new foods and don't seem to eat very much. The rapid rate of growth in the first year of life slows during the second year. After the age of two or three years, you can begin to use 2%, low fat, or skim milk (continue to avoid whole milk). Your child's diet should resemble that of the rest of the families, with 3 meals and 2 nutritious snacks each day. Limit milk and dairy products to 24 oz each day and juice to 6 oz each day. Also avoid large amounts of sweet desserts and sugar-coated cereals, chips or candy, as they have little nutritional value.

Calcium is one of the most important minerals. Children need two to four times as much calcium per pound of body weight as adults do, particularly for strengthening their bones, so it's important not to miss this window of opportunity. Iron, zinc, vitamin B6, folic acid, and vitamin A are the nutrients most likely to be low in children as a result of poor dietary habits. A children's diet rich in fish and "fruity vegetables" can reduce asthma and allergies.

Fuit Juice: According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 to 6-year-olds only need 4 to 6 ounces of juice per day, while those ages 7 to 18 years need only 8 to 12 ounces. We're talking 100% fruit juice. Even though obesity in children has often been linked to juice consumption, research has not found a link between consuming the recommended amounts of 100-percent juice and overweight in children.

GENETICS - FAT GENES:

There's been much debate on the root cause of obesity. Is it a disease just like any other? Is it a lifestyle choice? Or is it, as many argue, out of one's hands and predetermined at birth? New research suggests it may be. The FTO gene has been linked to obesity and some say it can help explain why two people can seem to eat the same things and do the same amount of exercise yet one may struggle to lose weight more than the other. In 2007, British scientists discovered when people inherited one version of the FTO gene rather than another, they are 70 percent more likely to be obese.

"If you do have the FTO gene, it does put you at risk for becoming obese and having Type 2 diabetes and extra body fat," Emily Rubin, R.D., weight loss dietitian at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. These people are said to be resistant to the effects of leptin, similar to the way people with diabetes are resistant to insulin. Obesity then develops when people take in more energy than they use over a prolonged period of time. For these obese people, this excess food intake is not driven by hunger signals. Rather, the excess intake is occurring in spite of the anti-appetite signals from leptin.

ENVIRONMENT:

Researchers from the University of Glasgow, said their findings supported the theory that the environment in early life can determine the later risk of obesity. They concluded that the following eight factors were associated with an increased risk of childhood obesity at the age of seven: Birth weight, obesity in one or both parents, more than eight hours spent watching TV a week at the age of three, a short amount of sleep - less than 10.5 hours a night at the age of three, size in early life - measured at eight and 18 months, rapid weight gain in the first year of life, rapid catch-up growth between birth and two years of age, and early development of body fatness in pre-school years - before the age at which body fat should be increasing (at the age of 5-6).

They said that the obesity of the parents may influence a child's weight through genetics, but it could also be linked to living in the same environment and eating the same types of food. "Duration of night-time sleep may alter later risk of obesity through growth hormone secretion, or because sleep reduces the child's exposure to factors in the environment that promote obesity, such as food intake in the evening," the researchers said. They also suggested that children who were more physically active may sleep longer at night and this might explain the link between duration of sleep and being overweight. Television viewing could be linked to obesity because it is an activity which does not use up much energy and can also mean youngsters eat more while they are watching their programmes.

On average, many children have a calorie gap of 110 to 165 calories a day, meaning they are eating too much or not being active enough. Obese children, who are an average 58 pounds overweight, are eating 700 to 1,000 calories more a day than they would need if they maintained a healthful weight. A Gortmaker study shows that obese children are getting about 350 calories a day from sugary beverages. Eating one less large cookie a day or drinking one less sugary beverage may be the difference between weight gain and weight maintenance. Teens who are overweight will need to keep reducing calories as they lose weight because their bodies will hit different plateaus and need fewer calories.

In between Saturday morning cartoons, childen are bombarded by advertisements for fast food and sugary breakfast cereal and snacks. Child-centric marketing has reached epidemic proportions worldwide and it's making the world population become unhealthy consumers of caffeine and other junk at an increasingly young age.

Today, child-centered marketing is a lucrative business - children influence billions of dollars worth of sales each year. Some experts believe that brand loyalty begins as early as age 2! Additionally, we know now that successful child-directed marketing cultivates not only children's brand loyalty, but down the road their entire outlook on life. Their young brains are valuable fields to cultivate. By seeding their products and images early, marketers not only develop brand recognition; they can literally cultivate a demographic's influence future decision-making.

As Eric Schlosser explains in "Fast Food Nation" the now-discontinued Joe Camel ads made unhealthy products appealing or at least memorable to kids. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 1991, almost all 6-year-olds living in the United States could identify Joe Camel, making him as recognizable to them as Mickey Mouse. Another study discovered that Camels make up one-third of all cigarettes illegally sold to minors. Coincidence?

Child-directed marketing predisposes kids to food substance abuse. According to the 1999 Center for Science in the Public Interest study entitled "Liquid Candy," the average teenage boy drinks 20 ounces of soft drinks per day, and the average teenage girl drinks about 12 ounces. This means that a 14-year-old boy may be consuming more caffeine each day than his father, who drinks only a cup of coffee each morning. Even more disturbing, about 1/5 of American one- and two-year-olds drink soda. This means that toddlers are consuming a potentially dangerous stimulant before they're even old enough to eat many adult foods. In "Food Politics," Marion Nestle links toddlers' consumption of soft drinks to marketing - but this time to parent-directed marketing. To establish brand loyalty as early as possible, marketing efforts begin with the parents of young infants. Some soft drink companies go so far as to license their logos to makers of infant-feeding bottles.

Bad eating habits start early. A study of more than 3,000 kids under age 2 found that large numbers of babies and toddlers have already developed an appetite for hot dogs, french fries, candy, and soda. The study, in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found kids ages 1 to 2 get nearly 30% more calories than they need, and more than 60% of 12-month-olds have sweets at least once a day. BEWARE of what your children are watching on tv!!