Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Many parents believe that baby cereals are the best first food for babies, but doctors are increasingly suggesting otherwise with more traditional foods that are easier to digest and less likely to trigger allergies gaining favor such as soft boiled egg yolk.
What is the best baby first food? This is a question all parents inevitably ask and the answer given by most pediatricians is rice cereal.
Unfortunately, any grain-based food is not a good idea for children only a few months old as a baby’s immature digestive system does not produce sufficient amylase, the enzyme required for digestion of carbohydrates. The fact that rice cereal is gluten-free makes no difference whatsoever – rice is still a carbohydrate and therefore very difficult for babies to handle digestively.
Incomplete digestion of rice cereal guarantees putrefaction in the gut leading to an imbalance of digestive flora and the potential for allergies and other autoimmune illnesses to develop down the road. In addition, much of today’s rice is contaminated with arsenic! This includes brown rice syrups used in powdered organic baby formula (best to always make homemade formula instead).
If rice cereal is not ideal for a baby as a first food, then what?
In this video lesson, I show you how to prepare the perfect first food for your baby around 4-6 months of age: egg yolk.
While egg white should not be given to babies under a year old, the egg yolk supplies critical brain-building cholesterol and fatty acids that will reward you with a child who speaks at an early age.
All 3 of my children were speaking short, yet complete sentences by a year old. I attribute this not only to extended breastfeeding but also to the brain-building nutrients supplied by their early first foods as practiced by Traditional Societies.
The video along with the recipe below shows you how to properly make a soft boiled egg to use the warm, liquid yolk as baby’s first food. Do not use the white as it is allergenic until a baby is over a year old.
Just give baby a taste or two at first. Even if they love it, eating the whole thing too fast (it’s very rich!) risks vomiting. Go slow!
Hint: Try making this recipe using quail eggs, as they are tiny and the perfect size for baby’s appetite.
Egg Yolk For Baby
The simple recipe below takes 3 minutes to prepare and is the ideal first food for your baby!
Note that egg yolk is recommended over cereal grains by Health Canada. It is unfortunate that the USA is still behind on this important baby weaning step.
Baby First Food Recipe
Recipe to make the best first food for baby as practiced by healthy, traditional cultures to boost intelligence and encourage early speaking.
Ingredients
- 1 egg preferably pastured or free range
- 1/2 tsp organic liver optional, grated
Instructions
-
Boil the egg for 3 1/2 minutes. Crack the egg open (no need to peel) and carefully place the soft egg yolk into a bowl. Discard the shell and the egg white.
Stir in the optional liver (grated while still frozen is the easiest method).
Serve baby a taste or two building slowly over days and weeks as tolerated.
-
Stir in the optional liver (grated while still frozen is the easiest method). Or use organic desiccated liver powder.
-
Serve baby a taste or two building slowly over days and weeks as tolerated. Feeding to much too quickly risks vomiting as this is a very rich food!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
The organic raw liver should be frozen for at least 14 days to ensure safety.
Alternatively, if a clean source for organ meats is not available, use desiccated liver pills and sprinkle 1/8 of a tsp into the warm yolk.
I think liver is a good idea “in theory” and back when Weston Price wrote his book. Now days I would never give it to my child. The liver stores vitamins but it also is where all the toxins are stored, ie heavy metals, pesticides. Even if it grass fed organic, you can’t control what is there for aluminum with all the chem trails and crud in the water. I would only do liver oil that is tested for toxins.
Heidi, Like any food, quality is important when you purchase liver. Liver from grassfed cows grazing on unsprayed pastures and not subjected to the insult of GMO feed, antibiotics and steroids is fine and very safe and clean food to eat 🙂
Omega 3 can be found in fish… I would never use liver. Ever. I’ll stick to a vegetarian diet for my little one.
This is not just about omega 3 fats! It’s about vitamin A and D which you need liver for.
Hi! I love this website! I’m just curious–what kind of liver? Cow? Something else? What are the specific benefits of liver and how often do you feed a 6 month old this? Where can I find liver–at a local butcher shop? I live in Chicago! Thank you!
Do the eggs need to be at room temperature before boiling?
Also, can you point me to any scientific reference supporting the claim that freezing liver “sterilizes” it? I’ve only found anecdotal mention that it does but nothing to back that up. I’ve got a grass-fed liver in the freezer for just this intent, but call me a cautious skeptic 🙂
Raw eggs are not a good idea because they can lead to a deficiency in biotin. You need to make sure you warn people about that.
This is only raw egg whites – egg whites contain high levels of avidin, a protein that binds biotin strongly (and is deactivated by cooking).
This post ONLY advocates soft boiled egg YOLKS.
Hello!!!
I saw this a few days ago and got very excited! My baby is now 7mo old and is a pretty good eater. I was told to start him off on grains and I rejected that idea by instinct…not because of anything that I had heard. I started him off with avocado (which he loved), then carrots, then green beans (he hates these), bananas, and just this week…apples. He hasn’t pooped in 3 days! 🙁 I decided to give him the egg yolk today and he LOVED it! He ate the whole thing. I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to give him the whole thing so I will have to keep an eye on him.
Anyway…will he still reap the benefits even if it wasn’t his first food? What kind of liver should I get and where can I get it? (I live in Hillsborough County)
Thanks for all that you do!
-Janice
I would love to hear Sarah’s response to these comments as well. I made a comment 5 months ago and my question is still unanswered. Sarah, please let us know you are listening. I appreciate and respect your expert advice!
My son’s first food was egg yolk. He seemed to tolerate it just fine for about a month but the last two times I fed it to him he vomited several times within a couple hours of consumption. Now I’m confused if this is an allergy or not?
From reading the comments section it seems that a lot of children are vomiting from soft boiled egg yolk. Why do you think that is from Sarah?
When can they start eating cooked yolks?
Typo: Why do you think that is, Sarah? **
Yes, I would love to hear Sarah’s thoughts on this topic as well!! My daughter is now 7 months old, and we slowly started egg yolks (soy free, pastured) when she was about 5 months old and she loved them, but after about 2 weeks, her skin started getting blotchy after eating egg, and a week later she threw up. I waited 2 weeks and tried again, and she vomited again. We haven’t attempted eggs at all since then but I am worried that I may have given her an egg allergy by feeding her the yolks? Is that possible??? I did try adding the raw grated liver, and that is actually one of the times she threw up.
Would love to hear thoughts on this. I’m so sad she can’t eat egg yolks now, and especially sad to think that I may have created an allergy. 🙁 Any thoughts from Sarah or others? Thank you!
Same here with the soy free pastured eggs and adding clean, pastured raw grated liver. We also started out small, like Sarah suggested, because of the “richness” of the egg yolk and gradually increased to a whole yolk. It’s just weird that so many people are following this advice to a T yet are seeing such upsetting results.
I’m wondering if we all would have experienced this with our children if we would have cooked the egg yolks…
Your opinions please:
Is the vomiting a sign of an allergy? How long should a parent wait before reintroducing? Why not cooked yolks? At what age do you personally recommend cooked yolks? Where’s your evidence (other than anecdotal)?
Sarah can you comment on this please? You advise and influence so many readers. We would appreciate some feedback on these issues.
I wanted to comment again on the vomitting after egg yolk discussion. Long back story to this, but we decided to see an allergist because we were unsure about allergies, especially with my daughter’s eczema and the vomitting episodes. I know that many folks on here aren’t “pro” medical advice but it was covered by our insurance so we decided to see what she had to say. (We also made an appt with a naturopath that specializes in GAPS diet, but that appt is next month)…so, please don’t start criticizing our approach; I was just getting desparate to figure out what is going on and since no one seemed to know, we wanted to figure it out!
So, the allergist listened to all her symptoms, and did do an egg allergy test, and it was negative; the allergist strongly suspects “Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome” which she said would match the description I gave that our daugther vomits a few hours after she eats anything with egg yolk. She said most babies grow out of this by 18 months. If you want more info: http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=99
I know this may be against what many folks on this site believe about allergies, and the root cause, but I found it comforting to at least know I didn’t give her an egg allergy!! Hopefully it will be helpful to some of you as well. I’d still love to hear Sarah’s thoughts as well!
Michelle P,
There wasn’t a way to reply to your other comment, so I am putting it here.
Thank you so much for sharing your information you learned from your allergist about “Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome”. I am certain that is the case of my baby girl as well. It was 4 months ago the last time I fed her egg yolk and she vomitted and I am going to wait a few more months before I try again. But your comment really resonated with me. I wanted you to know that I really appreciate you sharing it. And don’t feel bad about seeing a doctor. I think medical doctors certainly have value!
Anne B- thanks so much for your encouraging words! I am so glad that my experience can help others who are also confused and worried about this! Hoping our little ones can enjoy their eggs soon!! 🙂
I am happy to report back that at 13 months I gave my baby a little bit of scrambled egg and there was no reaction! i was nervous because she never did well on the soft boiled egg yolk and I was afraid it might be an allergy, but I am certain it was what Michelle mentioned and she has now outgrown it. I have given her eggs a bunch now and although she isn’t crazy about them she does just fine! Hooray! I hope this is encouraging for the parents of the other babies that experience trouble with egg yolks at a younger age.
Great post Sarah!
I fed my 6 month old soft boiled yolk and she loved it but seemed a little gassy that night and then the last 2 times she age yolk she threw up 4-6 times within 2 hours of feeding it to her… could this be an allergy or is it that yolk is too rich for her tummy right now? Should I wait a few months before trying again? What are your thoughts?
Hi Healthy Home Economist, thank you for your video! i realize this is an old post, but i’m hoping you might be around to help me =) I just gave my almost 7 month old her first food…but it was squash…a carb =( i thinned the puree with breastmilk, but you said mashed with butter “of course”…. i’ve never heard of this! why butter?
thank you in advance!
My little girl first started eating egg yolk at a little older than 4 months old and did fine with it, and one day she vomited an hour or so after eating. We took a break from it and I thought maybe she’d somehow gotten to full and that was what made her sick. Now, at 6 months old I let her try an egg yolk again today, she took a nap and woke up vomiting. She threw up maybe 7 or 8 times over the course of 3 hours. First, all of the egg and whatever breast milk she’d drank earlier, then some clear mucousy stuff, and later bright yellow bile.
She’s doing fine now, after taking a nap and nursing a couple times. But, it’s clear that there is an issue for her with egg yolks. I’m not sure when I will reintroduce her to them again, but I’m leaning towards waiting until she is older than a year. I definitely want to avoid my baby throwing up like that again because of something I fed her. 🙁
Anastasia, my daughter us doing the same thing! I know the egg is fine because I ate some of it too and was fine. She has had about 8-9 eggs and has had this issue only twice. The first time I took her to the ER because she was almost lethargic. Someone suggested it might be FPIES? I’m going to look in to it.