Weaning your baby can be quite a daunting process. So I caught up with expert, Dr. Sophie Niedermaier-Patramani.
Dr Sophie is a mother, paediatrician and co-founder of Little Tummy Co.
She’s researched hundreds of great-tasting ingredients to find the ones that really pack a nutritional punch. Every ingredient has a role to play in helping your little one to develop and grow healthily. It’s guilt-free goodness!
I asked Dr Sophie some questions…
- How do you know your baby is ready to eat solid foods?
Around the age of 6 months, babies will be ready to start solids from a developmental point of view and their gut is ready to break down foods other than formula or breast milk. Your little one will show you four signs of readiness:
- They hold their head and neck steady
- They can sit with almost no support
- They grasp for food and put it in their mouth
- Their tongue thrust reflex is vanished – this reflex makes their tongue push anything out of their mouth
- What makes Little Tummy different?
Little Tummy is the first honest children’s food brand in Europe as we are the first ones to comply with national guidelines and to give evidence-based advice.
Our main distinguishing feature is the cold-pressure method we use to retain vitamins, micronutrients and the authentic flavour of our ingredients but at the same time naturally expanding the shelf-life.
In addition, Dr Sophie Niedermaier-Patramani, co-founder and in-house Paediatrician at Little Tummy, has thoughtfully designed each recipe, putting children’s nutrition first. Each ingredient has a purpose – for example, the iron from the red lentils is more easily absorbed when combined with the vitamin C from mango. Unfortunately, the heat-processed products from the shelves lose their authentic flavour and can’t support children with this important development.
Our meals are also low in sugar to support parents to set up healthy habits for their little ones.
- What are the benefits of cold pressed food?
Our cold-pressure method, called HPP (short for High-Pressure-Pasteurisation) is an innovative food technology allowing us to retain the nutrients and flavours of each ingredient, and at the same naturally extend the shelf-life of our products to up to 3 months. Parents can now easily buy fresh, nutritious meals that support their children to build up healthy habits without having to compromise on the heat-processed meals from the supermarket.
- What gave you the idea?
In 2017 my co-founder Nadine realised that the heavily heat-processed baby food from the shelves was older than her godson Hector. This led her to found Little Tummy, so her best friend and godson’s mother didn’t have to compromise on convenient baby food any more but could order fresh and nutritious goodness directly to her door.
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I (Dr Sophie) have been working with parents on their weaning journey and saw the dire need of time-constrained parents for a healthy alternative to heat-sterilised baby meals from the supermarket. When Nadine and I got talking about her idea, I took the opportunity to join her on the quest to make baby food healthier – one meal at a time.
- How do you prepare your food?
The meals are designed at my desk and in my kitchen. I do a lot of research about ingredients and how they interact with each other before taking recipe combinations to the kitchen. We work with a small manufacturer with whom we select our organic ingredients. We use little heat in order to preserve all vitamins, minerals and keep the fibre intact. Once our meals are packed and sealed, they undergo the cold-pressure process.
- How has lockdown affected the way you do business? Have you managed to keep up with demand?
We have seen an increased demand for baby food deliveries. It is a real pleasure for us to support parents during these times. Having to look after your children and at the same time juggle household responsibilities and work is tough enough – we take hours of shopping and chopping of their to-do list. Through our social media accounts, we offer online support such as regular Q&A’s about weaning and child health. It has never been so difficult to find a support network so it is even more important to offer simple ways to find help.
- What’s your favourite flavour and why?
That’s a tough one! I love the Kale, Apple & Quinoa one for its fresh and earthy flavour – almost like a pesto. It is also such a hassle-free way to introduce dark green vegetables to babies and has been so helpful with weaning my own little girl.
- Any advice for fussy babies?
Be patient but persistent. It can take between 10 to 15 times until a baby accepts a new flavour. If they haven’t touched a meal or refused more than a few spoon-fuls, know that they get everything they need from breast milk or formula. The first few months of weaning are all about experiencing new and exciting flavours and textures.
- Do you do a dairy free alternative?
We do offer a dairy-free delivery box for babies with a cow’s milk protein allergy or dairy intolerance. Unfortunately, it has become such a common problem in past years but parents are still struggling to find suitable meals. Some of the ingredients we use are a great source of calcium, dark green vegetables for example.
- How can we get our hands on your products?
We sell our delicious meals in our webshop at littletummy.co
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