This is the most important nutrient for your baby

Hey Reader,

One of the craziest things I learned early on in my career in nutrition, is that iron is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies in children!

Not protein deficiency. Not under-eating (calorie deficiency).

But iron.

Especially for babies, getting high iron foods in is critical, because the iron requirements for them are super high (11.4 mg) - more than the iron needs of an adult male!

See....before 6 months of age, your baby has built-up iron storage in their body from you – their mama – while they’re growing in the womb!

For the majority of term babies born at a normal birth weight and who are getting adequate nutrition through breastmilk and/or formula, the iron stores they’ve built up will last them until around 6 months of age.

After 6 months, your baby encounters rapid growth and their iron stores get depleted quickly. At this point, the iron in your breast milk or formula is not sufficient to replenish your baby’s iron stores. It then becomes important that you give your baby iron through their solid foods.

Because this is so important and something we want every parent to focus on when balancing meals for their baby, we've come up with a blog that covers all the important details on iron that you need to know for your 6-12 month old baby.

The topics covered include:

Why is iron so important for babies?
How much iron does a baby need?
How often should you serve high-iron foods?
Iron rich foods for babies
Does breastmilk or formula provide iron for baby?
Tips for boosting iron or increasing absorption
Symptoms of iron deficiency
When an iron supplement is necessary
Baby friendly high iron recipes

Biggest thing to think about is to offer a high iron food every day (if your baby is on 1-2 meals per day), and at least twice a day (if your baby is on 3 meals per day).

To get you started, here's one of the simplest high-iron recipes for babies that is both easy to make ...and easy to eat!

Lemon Dill Bean Mash with Corn on the Cob

Serves 2

Ingredients:

½ cup kidney beans, canned
½ of a lemon
1/4 tbsp fresh dill weed (or 1/4 tsp dried dill)
1 corn on the cob

Directions:

Peel the corn husk and silk. Boil the corn on the cob for 6 -8 minutes in a large pot of water. Once done, cool the corn down under running cold water.
While the corn cools, juice half of a lemon and add to the kidney beans. Sprinkle dried dill on top.
Mash the kidney bean mixture with the back of a fork. Add more lemon or water as needed to make it more of a chunky paste that’s easier to stick to a spoon.
Cut off both ends of the corn on the cob with a knife, then cut the cob into 3 rounds about the width of three adult fingers pressed together.
Quarter the rest of the lemon into wedges.

How to serve:

Offer the mashed bean mixture on a preloaded spoon to baby and encourage them to feed themselves. Serve the corn on the cob rounds as a finger food for baby to hold with one or both hands. Serve the lemon wedge to baby as a finger food.

Notes:

Nutrition - The high iron source in this recipe is the beans. Because it's a non-heme (plant-based) source of iron, we paired it with a high vitamin C source (the lemon) to boost the absorption of iron and maximize how much baby gets in this meal!
Storing leftovers - Refrigerate the beans in an airtight container for 3 days. If they dry out in the fridge, add some chicken broth or water to the beans and mash well to make them moist.
Substitutions - Swap canned beans for dry beans and cook according to package instructions. Swap kidney beans for black, white, pinto, or any other type of beans.

Ready for more recipes like the one above? Get our first 60 Day Baby Led Feeding Meal Plan with day-by-day instructions on what to feed your baby, including the strategic introduction of textures (easier and more advanced as the days go on), the strategic introduction of allergens (with allergen intro protocols embedded in the instructions), balanced meals and intentional variety of flavors and food types (you get through a 115 first foods checklist in only 9 weeks!).

Have a wonderful weekend!

Edwena Kennedy, RD
Owner, My Little Eater
Creator of the Texture Timeline™

New to My Little Eater? We have a Baby Led Feeding Course for parents of babies 6-11 months of age to teach you all you need to know about feeding your baby like an expert! This expert-led, video-based course teaches you all about starting solids with the feeding method that’s best for you and your baby. You’ll learn how to progress through a variety of textures in a timely way, prevent picky eating, serve all food safely, introduce allergens, balance meals, and raise a food-loving baby!

We also have a Feeding Toddlers course to help you prevent picky eating and overcome it (if it's already started). We recommend starting that at 11-12 months of age! Bundle the two and get 20% off each (including the baby meal plan + toddler snack guide) - click here for the bundled total.