Can Babies Eat Seaweed?

Seaweed or macroalgae is marine algae. Some seaweed species provide nursery habitat for fisheries, others are in important factor in capturing carbon and producing up to 90% of the oxygen on Earth. Seaweed is used as a fertilizer, but also as animal feed.

Seaweed is consumed worldwide, but especially in East Asia. In Wales seaweed is used to make laverbread. In Belize people combine seaweed with cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and milk to make desert. Seaweed is also used in salad dressings and sauces.

Why Seaweed Means A Healthier Meal For Your Baby

Seaweed has high levels of iodine and it is a natural source of it. It is rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and vitamins, all of these contributing to a healthy development, healthy teeth and strong bones, and of course to a good immune system, to fight against diseases. Seaweed is high in dietary fiber, which helps in maintaining bowel health.

Is It Safe To Give Seaweed To Babies?

Unsalted and crushed seaweed can be given to babies as soon as they start eating solid food, usually at the age of 6 months old. Seaweed is an excellent source of iodine, which helps the functioning of the thyroid gland, but it can also affect it, if consumed in larger amounts. Dried seaweed is an excellent way to boost the intake of vitamins and minerals, but parents should pay attention to the sizes of these foods, when sprinkling dried seaweed on food, because babies can choke on them.

Sea Bream And Hijiki Seaweed Seasoned Rice

Ingredients: ½ cup of uncooked white rice, 1 sea bream fillet, 1 tsp dried hijiki, 1cm carrot, a Shitake mushroom, 1/8 onion, ½ cm Daikon radish, 5cm Kombu, 1 tsp soy sauce.

Wash ½ cup of rice and put it into a pot. Finely chop the dried hijiki. Cut the carrot, onion, Shitake mushroom and Daikon radish into suitable sizes for your baby to eat. Add the hijiki and these vegetables together with the kombu and soy sauce to the rice, place the sea bream into the center of the rice, sink it down in the rice and cook until all is soft. After the cooking is done, remove the kombu. Remove the sea bream, flake it and remove its bones, then put it back into the pot and serve.