Toddlers and Spicy Foods? - Page 2

[Auraji]

We love spicy food at home. I think my DD's first spicy food was curry when she was about 8 months. She loves it, she will eat chunks of habanero cheese that I think is too spicy. I make beans with green chilies and she loves that too. I basically give her whatever she wants to eat that is not a choke hazard, if I'm in the kitchen cutting an onion and she's pestering me to give her some. I give her a chunk, I thought she wouldn't eat it, but to my surprise she did lol

[blizzard_babe]

DS likes spicy food... unless we tell him it's "spicy." Somehow he has a definition for the word spicy in his head, and that definition is "food I don't like." If he doesn't like something, he says, "It's too spicy." But yeah, give the kid tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa, and he's in heaven .

[mambera]

Originally Posted by tankgirl73

babies in spicy food cultures eat spicy foods from the beginning and they don't think twice about it.

Might depend on the culture. I tend to let DD have food of whatever spice level she wants but my MIL (from India) is still making separate food for DD (14 mo) because the regular stuff we eat is "too spicy for babies."

I'm not even sure what aspect of spicy food would even cause an upset tummy... A burnt tongue, yes, but our tummies are made of tougher stuff.

I consider myself to have a pretty iron stomach but I did get a tummy upset once from eating too much hot lime pickle. DH warned me but I didn't listen.

[blizzard_babe]

Originally Posted by mambera

I consider myself to have a pretty iron stomach but I did get a tummy upset once from eating too much hot lime pickle. DH warned me but I didn't listen.

I have no idea what hot lime pickle is, but I want some. The name alone combines three of my favorite things... spicy, lime, and pickled things .

[Sugarshoc]

My ped said all table food is fine at 6 months old. She had her first taste of ground up jerk chicken with rice at 6 months and hasn't stopped. DD LOVES spicy food and she is now 2. During my pregnancy, I had serious cravings for extremely hot and spicy food and I ate a lot of it. Her tolerance for spice is much higher than mine. As soon as I had her, my palette went back to my normal spice tolerance. We've never had any tummy troubles due to her yen for pepper.

[Charrey]

My 3 yr old son is just the opposite. He says foods with black pepper are too spicey! Some foods we have to make a special version for him since he's so sensitive to even the mildest spices.

[mambera]

Originally Posted by blizzard_babe

I have no idea what hot lime pickle is, but I want some. The name alone combines three of my favorite things... spicy, lime, and pickled things .

http://www.amazon.com/Priya-Lime-Pic.../dp/B002UL53ZO

I love this stuff. Just remember, a little bit goes a long way.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by mambera

Might depend on the culture. I tend to let DD have food of whatever spice level she wants but my MIL (from India) is still making separate food for DD (14 mo) because the regular stuff we eat is "too spicy for babies."

Does she make it rice cereal bland or does she just turn down the heat to something more like "Indian restaurant in America mild"? Cause some of the hotter levels of spices in Indian cuisine could cause actual burns.

[babybirkel]

my 18 month old DS LOVES salsa. he will eat all kinds of spicy things...curried lentils, etc. he will eat salsa with a spoon.

we eat a lot of ethnic/spicy foods at our house, so if we didn't give him spicy things, we'd have to make either separate meals for our son or make all our food bland. if something we make is too spicy, he usually lets us know by making a face, saying "hot" and taking a drink (and he means hot like spicy hot, not hot as in temperature). and then he just won't eat anymore of it.

i say it's no big deal.

[happysmileylady]

That's basically exactly the same thing that went on with my oldest. She's now 14 and is generally always willing to try anything, and always has been.

My younger one, now 20 months, has tried salsa, but I think it burns her tounge. I suspect that she got a jalapeno directly to the tounge the first time she tried it and is a little "gun shy."

[SparklingGemini]

My DD loves, LOVES, spicy foods and has since she was first introduced to solids.

Her favorites are Indian and Thai, and she'll eat jalapeño slices my the handful.

She just turned three this month but I don't think she's going to grow out of her varied tastes any time soon. She's quite the foodie.

[meemee]

i could not believe it when my then 10 month old grabbed raw onions from the cutting board and ate some and then went for seconds and thirds.

everyone used to surround her at 18 months to watch her down wasabi with sushi.

then she went off of it.

and is now once again back with spicy food.

[Megan73]

DS (2 next week) loves all kinds of food and eats Indian and Thai food enthusiastically. We had a bit of a crisis last night, though, when as he was rubbing a red Thai curry into his hair and a little got into his eye. Ouchee!