Can Babies Eat Lobster?

Lobsters are a group of large marine crustaceans, having long bodies with muscular tails, five pairs of legs, from which three have claws, the first pair being usually larger than the other pairs.

Lobster was seen as a poverty food, fit only for servants, lower members of society and prisoners. Lobster became popular in North America in the mid 19^th century, when fisheries developed the lobster smack, a boat designed with open holding wells on the deck to maintain the lobsters alive while transporting them. Caught lobsters are classified in three categories:

• new-shell, with paper- thin shells and less meat, but with a very sweet taste,
• hard-shell, which have firm shells, but have a less sweet meat, and
• old-shell lobsters, which have not shed since the previous season and have a rougher taste.

New-shell lobsters are hard to transport, so they are consumed locally, hard- shell are more resistant to transport, and old-shell are usually shipped worldwide, making these the most expensive ones.

Lobster is rich in calories, protein, copper, selenium, but it also contains phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, vitamins B12, E and some omega-3 fatty acids.

Is Lobster Good For Your Health?

Lobster is a good source of phosphorus, which aids kidney function, and of protein, which is important in building block of bones, cartilage and muscles. But it also has cholesterol and mercury, which are not healthy.

When Can Babies Eat Lobster?

Pediatricians usually recommend introducing fish in a baby’s diet at the age of 9 months or even later. Lobsters among shrimps and clams can be given safely to babies starting at the age of 12 months old. Fish should be well prepared, raw or lightly cooked shellfish increase the risk of food poisoning and can cause allergies, especially if a baby’s immune system is not sufficiently developed. Canned lobsters are a collection of lobster meat taken from different parts of their bodies, especially from the claws, knuckles and tails. Canned fish are salty, so try to avoid giving them to babies.

Creamy Lobster Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients: 6 medium sized russet potatoes, 70g cream cheese, ½ cup milk, 4 tbsp butter, 120ml heavy cream, 1 ½ tbsp blend of seasoning(celery salt, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, ginger and spices), 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp minced fresh chives, 1 cooked lobster tail meat, removed from shell and roughly chopped.

Cook the peeled and diced potatoes in salty water until tender. Drain and return to the pan over medium heat. Roughly mash the potatoes with a masher for about 1 minute and remove excess water. Remove from the heat and add in the cream cheese, mix together, slowly adding the milk, and whip until the potatoes have a creamy texture and there are no lumps left. Melt together the butter and cream in a small pan over medium heat. Put in the seasonings, chili powder and lobster pieces and stir to combine. Add the chives. Move the mashed potatoes to a bowl and pour the lobster cream over it.