Can Babies Eat Spicy Food?

Spicy food is the type of food containing seasoning with a sharp, strong and pungent flavor. In every culture there are many spicy foods like: arrabiata sauce, chicken curry, habanero, nam phrik.

Spicy food has its benefits: cumin, cinnamon, turmeric speeds up metabolism, spices fight against inflammation, their anti-inflammatory properties help treat a great range of conditions like headaches or arthritis. Spices like cumin and turmeric are powerful antioxidants and they have antimicrobial properties, meaning that they can fight against harmful bacteria in the body. They can also fight against cancerous cells.

When Can My Baby Start Eating Spicy Food?

A baby’s taste buds develop during pregnancy, by the 15^th week of pregnancy, so babies already taste everything from a mother’s diet, even spicy food. There are some aromatic spices, which can be introduced into a baby’s diet, once they start eating solid food, at the age of 6 months old. Seasoning a child’s food helps train his palate to accept various flavors as he grows up.

An important rule is to introduce spices and herbs, so in general spicy food step by step, waiting a few days before introducing the next flavor. There are many easy ways to add spice to your baby’s food by adding cinnamon to his oatmeal or by adding a dash of garlic to his pasta. Fiery chemicals in hot chilis can be neutralized with milk, sour cream or yogurt. Using these ingredients can transform spicy food into a pleasant journey for your baby.

Cumin Rice

Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter, 2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 ½ cup of long grain jasmine rice, 1 clove of garlic, ½ tsp salt, 3 cups of water.

Put the butter and the cumin seeds into a medium sauce pot. Saute the cumin seeds over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, until the butter starts to turn golden brown. Add the uncooked rice to the pot and stir and cook for 3 minutes to toast the rice. Mince the clove of garlic, then add it to the pot with the salt and the water. Stir to mix everything well. Put a lid on the pot, turn up the heat and let it come to a boil. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat back down and simmer for about 15 minutes with the lid on. Turn off the heat and let it sit with the lid on for 10 minutes and then serve.