Hass Avocados First Foods

Those of you know that I have twin seven-year-old girls, Shayna and Kiera. As long as I can remember I always wanted to be a mom, therefore it was so heartbreaking that we struggled many years to get pregnant. After one miscarriage and with the help with fertility drugs we were blessed with a twin pregnancy. After all of our struggles, I was very meticulous about my health and nutrition during my pregnancy. I knew part of it was just the fear of another loss, but I was very focused on feeding my body nutrient-rich foods to give the twins the best chance of survival. Looking back, I know I was a bit extreme, but it gave me peace of mind during those 9 months.

Multiple pregnancies were deemed high risk in gestational diabetes and I was told from my doctors to watch my carb and sugar intake. One of the foods recommended for me was avocados because they are high in folate which helps with fetal development and they are also very low in sugar. In fact, my afternoon snack would be sliced avocado with lime, salt and tabasco sauce.

Naturally, after the twins were born one of the first foods I fed the twins were avocados. Hass Avocados were one of the first baby foods I introduced to the twins. To this day we still snack on them right out of the shell. Avocados are an ideal first food because they contain many nutrients specific to infant health and development like folate, potassium and vitamin E. It was also very convenient to just cut one open and spoon feed the babies – saved me a lot of time especially on the go. I would just toss a large avocado in their diaper bag and peel like an orange. Now we eat it in our tacos, make guacamole, put it in our salads, smoothies and ceviche. Of course our favorite way is just eating it right out of the shell with a spoon.

Here are more reasons why Hass Avocados are the perfect first food:

o   Nutrient Density: Babies need to eat moderately energy-dense foods that are low in sugar and rich in multiple nutrients that are key for infant health and development

o   Texture/Consistency: A variety of soft and smooth textures are best, such as creamy, lumpy, pureed or mashed. The variety will help develop the ability to chew and swallow

o   Neutral Flavor Profile: Ideal first foods should have a low to moderate sweet and salty flavor profile to avoid early preferences for sweet foods

For more info on the benefits of Hass Avocados as a first food visit LoveOneToday.com

This is a sponsored post in partnership with the Hass Avocado Board – all words and opinions are my own.