Simple Food Diversity Hack

The baby is into apples these days. She saw her aunt eating one whole and now she’s obsessed. She likes to eat them whole, diced, sliced, cooked, uncooked and mixed in with other things. 

I don’t mind her mild obsession with apples because it makes it easy for me to introduce her to new foods while also giving her things she likes. 

Food diversity is important for our bodies and a variety of other reasons that we’ll talk through later. 

Our babies can’t get all of the nutrients and micro nutrients they need from a handful of foods. Research shows that of the 4,000 or so edible plant species that have fed human societies at one time or another in the past, only 150 are widely cultivated today and just three of them provide 60 percent of the world’s food supply (Corn, Wheat, Soy). 

Here’s a trick for helping to diversify your family’s diet. 

• Don’t try to do it all at once. Pick 1-3 new foods and week and try to work them into your tried and true recipes. 

• If your munchkin likes apples, try adding plantains or jicama to a blended or chopped mix.

• Use a new spice or oil when preparing your food. We can introduce diversity in a number of ways and it can be easy!

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