How to Flavor, Season & Spice Your Baby's Food with Kanchan Koya, PhD

Kanchan Koya (1s):

You know, for a long time, we have been led to believe for no good scientific reason that babies should be given bland food. At this point, all those assumptions have been debunked. It's really about flavor from day one.

Katie Ferraro (15s):

Hey, there I'm Katie Ferraro, registered dietitian, college nutrition professor and mom of seven specializing in baby-led weaning. You're on the Baby-Led Weaning Made Easy Podcast. I help you strip out all the noise and nonsense about feeding, leaving you with the competence and knowledge you need to give your baby a safe start to solid foods using baby-led weaning. Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Baby-Led Weaning Made Easy Podcast. I am so excited about this episode. It's all about how to flavor, season and spice your baby's food. Now I'm a huge fan and a proponent of spices, but I brought the expert on today.

Katie Ferraro (58s):

I've got Kanchan Koya PhD joining me. She is amazing. If you guys know her on Instagram, she's @chiefspicemama. She also has written the book Spice Spice Baby. She's got so much great information for you guys, all about how you can safely flavor and season your food the right way. So here it goes. Let's dive in with Kanchan Koya. Well, hello, Kanchan. Thank you so much for joining me today on the Baby-Led Weaning Made Easy Podcast.

Kanchan Koya (1m 25s):

Thank you for having me, Katie.

Katie Ferraro (1m 26s):

All right. So I don't want to sound like a stalker, but I discovered you on Instagram before you published Spice Spice Baby. I actually remember seeing your indie Gogo page for the book and I was so excited when your book Spice Spice Baby came out. So, I was wondering if you could just back us up and tell us how did you even get interested in the idea of seasoning and flavoring foods for babies? Because I know you're a Harvard trained molecular biologist, so I'm just curious. What's the link with baby food?

Kanchan Koya (1m 53s):

I guess like a lot of mom, food bloggers or health and wellness bloggers do get started. It all started for me when I became a mother. I was doing my PhD at Harvard medical school and my lab actually started to study the health benefits of turmeric, a spice that I grew up in India. I knew well, but kind of took for granted. And so here I was at one of the world's top renowned research institutions and my lab is studying this ancient Indian spice. And I was like, wow, this is kind of crazy. And so I think that just planted a seed for me about the power of spices for health. I was always really interested in the intersection of food and health, food and nutrition. And so fast forward a few years later to becoming a mother, I had dabbled in kind of biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry for a couple of years and was just trying to decide what I wanted to do next.

Kanchan Koya (2m 43s):

Now that I was a new mom, my son was six months old. I started to feed him his baby food, just like every other mother does for, you know, the weaning phase. And I just naturally started to think about ways to flavor his food. I was Indian. I had grown up with a spice box and at the back of my mind was this idea that not only does all this ancient wisdom tell us that spices are beneficial, but Hey, modern science is validating those claims. And so I started to infuse his baby purees with spices, and I had a lot of friends who were shocked, frankly, and confused and curious and wanting to know more. I thought, you know, why don't I start a blog? I'm not really sure what to do with myself right now.

Kanchan Koya (3m 24s):

And everybody seems to be blogging. This was 2014. So I just started a blog. I called it Spice Spice Baby. It was all about just educating caregivers about spicing up kids food, baby food, and really that's how it started.

Katie Ferraro (3m 38s):

Wonderful. So I love your book Spice Spice Baby. I recommend it to my audience because even though we're a baby-led weaning group of proponents and parents and caregivers, I still stress as a feeding expert that purees are an important texture for babies to learn how to master. Now, they're certainly not the only purees that babies can and need to eat. And I teach this Cultural Foods class at San Diego State University. And recently I had a student. She was from Russia and she was really surprised by my infant feeding content. She said, gosh, there's so much seasoning and spice in Russia, we always feed babies bland food. And so I was wondering if you could comment a little on how different cultures feed babies differently and then how can parents who are listening, be encouraged to incorporate their own food culture when they're starting solid foods.

Kanchan Koya (4m 23s):

Yeah, absolutely love that question. So, on the baby-led weaning side really quick, you know, my son, I feel like I did baby-led weaning with him, but he really just wanted purees. So, we followed his cues and my daughter wanted to have nothing to do with purees. So, she ended up being a more traditional kind of baby-led weaning baby. And I still put spices in her steam broccoli or sweet potato fries, you know, her guacamole or avocado mash or whatever. So yeah, you know, I think the cultural thing is so interesting. So, to be honest, when I started giving my son cardamom in his pears or cinnamon in his sweet potato or turmeric in his lentils, I wasn't thinking I was doing anything out of the ordinary because I am Indian.

Kanchan Koya (5m 6s):

And in Indian culture, we use spices from day one. So, a very common dish that babies are fed in India is something called kitchari, which is a rice and lentil kind of porridge. And it's always infused with things like cumin, which is thought to be really digestion friendly for babies, turmeric, sometimes a little coriander powder. So, I didn't think I was doing anything outrageous or interesting until my non-Indian friends. Like I said, you know, started to express some curiosity and even concern. And so I had this very frank conversation with my pediatrician in New York at the time. And she was like, oh my gosh, absolutely go for it. And I think she summed it up really eloquently, which is, you know, for a long time, we have been led to believe really for no good scientific reason that babies should be given bland food.

Kanchan Koya (5m 53s):

And we should kind of introduce flavors slowly. And really, she said, you know, this 2012, when he was born that at this point, all those assumptions have been debunked. It's really about flavor from day one. It's about exposure and building an adventurous palate, expanding their flavor horizons and recognizing, like you said, that cultures around the world have been doing this for centuries. Now, of course you don't want to give them like hot spices or anything that's going to be irritating to the tongue or the tummy. You know, we want to stay away from things like honey and of course processed food, excess salt, all that stuff, but a little like dry time with some potato or paprika, you know, it's totally fair game.

Kanchan Koya (6m 34s):

So yeah, I think it's just important to step back and look historically at how cultures have been doing things. And I have, you know, a quick story, which is when we were traveling around Asia, because we were living in Hong Kong at the time we went to a area in China called Chengdu, which people may know as the capital of the Sichuan province and Sichuan food is very, very hot. And my son, I think was three years old. So he was beginning to be somewhat adventurous. And we went to a restaurant and ask for a kid's menu and they literally looked at us like, what is that even? They were like, no, we, I mean, and the food is spicy. So, while I say you don't need to push the spicy spices, there are cultures that introduce even the hot spices pretty early on.

Katie Ferraro (7m 14s):

I love that you also incorporated that your pediatrician was for you, including a variety of foods and flavors and tastes and textures because so often parents hear from their pediatricians, no babies can only have iron-fortified white rice cereal and maybe a few purees. And I think you're fortunate that you had a pediatrician who recognizes there's no science or evidence behind the recommendation that babies only should eat bland food. And so that one student that I was telling you about that that's what they do in their food culture in Russia. And she laughed and said, you know, Russians aren't actually known for their culinary prowess and certainly not their over-seasoning or over-flavoring of food. So she said, we start our babies that way, but it's nice to know I can expand my baby's palate if I want to.

Katie Ferraro (7m 54s):

And I lived in Nepal for two and a half years after college as a peace Corps volunteer. They feed babies kitchari there as well as one of the first solid foods. And I remember thinking like, wow! This is so different from how we start babies on solid foods in the United States. But I love to remind parents, you know, babies in Nepal, eat Nepalese food. Babies in the Sichuan province eat spicy sichuan food or babies in Mexico eat Mexican food. And so it is a good idea to start incorporating your food culture early and often, if you really hoping to raise an independent eater and prevent picky eating down the road.

Kanchan Koya (8m 26s):

Yeah. And I love a point that you brought up Katie, because I think one can also go a little bit too far on the other extreme and you know, parents can start to feel guilty that they're not being adventurous enough or not being exciting enough with their offerings. And like you said, you know, if you eat a relatively, I'm not going to say bland, but like not an overpoweringly flavor diet, it's fine to start your baby with the foods that you grew up with that are a part of your culture, like celebrate that there's so much room and opportunity for growth in terms of flavor expansion. So I think it's, you know, like I think it's really nice to think about it in terms of sharing your culture of food.

Katie Ferraro (9m 2s):

So Kanchan, one of the reasons why I love your content is I think it's so unique because you're not just focusing on the flavor benefits of spices, but you also talk a lot about the health benefits of spices. And I know you've studied that as well. So we all agree adding spice to food makes it taste better, but do you think you could talk to us a little bit more about the health benefits of some of these spices that we can start feeding to our babies when we start solid foods.

Kanchan Koya (9m 26s):

They're so packed with something we call, you know, phytochemicals or phytonutrients, which is just fancy speak for plant-based nutrition. So spices come from the plant kingdom, they are often the dried seeds or root or bark or even leaves of plants. And as we know, these plants have compounds, phytochemicals, polyphenols, all these incredible compounds that confer a range of benefits in our bodies. And, you know, people often wonder, well, does it really matter? Cause you're only using a sprinkling here and a sprinkling there. And the research shows it does add up and these phytochemicals are powerful even at small doses.

Kanchan Koya (10m 6s):

And especially when you thinking about health maintenance or building health or preventing disease, even small amounts become really, really powerful and beneficial. So, definitely obsessed with the health benefits. And when I think of health benefits of spaces, the first thing that comes to mind is really inflammation management. So, you know, studies after studies have shown that many of the compounds found in spices ranging from turmeric to sweet paprika, black pepper sumacs, cinnamon on and on have compounds that block inflammation in our bodies. Now, we want inflammation at the right time in the right place, in the right context.

Kanchan Koya (10m 49s):

Something like a bacterial or viral infection is a great example, right? You want a localized, inflammatory response. You want to clear the invading pathogen and then you want to get back to a normal state of balance. But it turns out that especially in the modern day, given, you know, strange chemicals in our food supply, elevated stress, potentially poor eating choices, a host of factors have resulted in this kind of elevated low level inflammation that we're all walking around with. And therefore using foods, using spices that can bring us back to balance and a baseline that's acceptable is of great interest and spices really do come out on top when it comes to anti-inflammatory foods.

Kanchan Koya (11m 33s):

So what does that have to do with babies? Well, babies are also exposed to environmental onslaughts, toxins, all sorts of things. You know, there's only so much you can control at some point about environmental exposure, right? So setting them off on a kind of strong anti inflammatory footing, I think is a great idea. And so all the spices that, you know, I mentioned, I gave my son whether it was turmeric or paprika, cumin, coriander, black pepper, bay leaves, cinnamon, I mean pick your spice. And there's probably an anti-inflammatory compound in that spice. So, I really like to think about that as an overarching kind of health benefit. And then if we want to get into some more specifics, digestion is a great area.

Kanchan Koya (12m 16s):

So, a lot of these spaces are digestion boosters. They either rebalance the microbiome or they activate digestion, enzyme production, which can help break down food more efficiently. We know baby's digestive tracks are developing. So, you know, say you're giving your baby lentils for the first time, which can be a harder food to digest. Adding a little bit of cumin can really support digestion and enzyme production. So, I think digestion is another great area and, you know, on and on, I mean, any spice you pick, there's going to be some sort of health benefits. So, I really do think that was a very important kind of impetus for me to add spices to my son's life.

Kanchan Koya (12m 57s):

And now obviously my whole family is spiced up constantly whether they like it or not for that reason.

Katie Ferraro (13m 3s):

Well, and a lot of other families babies are because of your book, Spice Spice Baby, which to me, I just think it's such an eye-opener to remind ourselves, you don't have to be a gourmet cook. You guys, these are spices that many of you have in your cabinet, or you have many spices in your cabinet, you could be using with your baby. So, could you tell us a little bit more about the recipes in the book? Like you've mentioned a lot of the Indian spices, cardamom and turmeric, but what about some of the more global spices? How did you choose them or decide to incorporate them, or tell us a little bit about the recipe development process? Cause there's over a hundred fabulous recipes in your books Spice Spice Baby.

Kanchan Koya (13m 34s):

Yeah. Thank you so much. You know, I wrote the book, honestly, Katie, because I felt like there needed to be a book like it. Very often people write books because they feel like their book is missing from the landscape. And really that's how I felt. I mean, I grew up in India. Spices were second nature to me, but that's not the case for everyone. And I felt like, why should the use of spices and their benefits only be restricted to the few people who grew up with them. What about the rest of the world? And so I wanted to write a book that was really inclusive and encouraging global families, no matter where you're from to start using spices kind of every day, not just for that occasional recipe that might call for a particular, you know, ethnic or exotic spice.

Kanchan Koya (14m 15s):

So, the recipes are inspired by that desire to demystify spices for a global audience and make them super accessible on a daily basis in kitchens everywhere. So, there's a lot of things that are just familiar, family foods, no matter where you're from, like pancakes and muffins, oatmeal, smoothies, there's a whole chapter on smoothies. There is a chapter on baby foods. And then, you know, family table favorites like bolognese and pasta or fish cakes, or gosh, like chicken strips, you know, really things that I feel like everyone eats no matter where you're from. And I wanted to ways to add these beneficial spaces to all those things.

Kanchan Koya (14m 55s):

So, I was really trying to move beyond just the Indian kind of a recipe repertoire because I love Indian food, but not everybody wants to eat a Curry every day. And the truth is you don't have to eat Curry every day to enjoy the benefits of spices.

Katie Ferraro (15m 12s):

But I love that you say oh moved past the idea of food like for so many families were like, that is so fascinating that babies could even eat Indian food. Well, it's part of your food culture. So, it's commonplace to you, but I think parents are really, wow, I can make this Curry or sometimes even having your baby trying new foods and flavors, and many of the families I work with follow my 100 First Foods approach to starting solid foods with baby-led weaning. And they're like, I never thought about feeding my baby farro or spelt or sorghum. And so it actually expands their food horizon as well, which I think is just another benefit of baby-led weaning because our babies can eat so many of the same foods that we can. Of course, they need to be modified for safety. Well, if you can, would you share with us where our audience can go to learn more about your work, your book, your Instagram, just tell us all of the places please.

Kanchan Koya (15m 56s):

Oh yeah. So www.spicespicebaby.com is really my digital home. It's where you can find the book and I'm updating with recipes and articles about benefits of spices and how to incorporate them into your life. And then on Instagram, I'm chiefspicemama, also sharing a ton of recipes and inspiration. That's hopefully helpful to just help you, you know, really leverage the power of spices and food for health.

Katie Ferraro (16m 23s):

Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for joining us today Kanchan. I can't thank you enough.

Kanchan Koya (16m 27s):

Thank you for having me Katie.

Katie Ferraro (16m 29s):

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that episode with Kanchan Koya, she is @chiefspicemama on Instagram. Again, she's the author of the cookbook Spice Spice Baby. I love all of her recommendations for increasing the flavors that we expose our babies to. And before we hopped off the interview, I asked her a question that I forgot to include in the episode, we didn't catch the recording, but I just want to share real quick. I was asking Kanchan if babies can be allergic to spices, like I know in our family, we have a family friend and the daughter's allergic to cinnamon and I never knew that a child could be, or a person could be allergic to spices. And her answer was that for the most part, the answer is no that spice allergies are generally very rare, but that sumac is one where we do see higher rates of allergy.

Katie Ferraro (17m 15s):

So that's something to be on the lookout for. So again, I'm going to go ahead and link to everything that Kanchan referenced and that we talked about in the episode on the show notes for this particular episode, and you guys can find them at blwpodcast.com/48. Now, before I leave you, I know you've got seasonings and spices on the brain and sometimes parents are like, wait a minute. If babies don't have to eat bland food, they can have all these places. How can I make the food taste good without adding salt? Well, I have a quick start guide to baby-led weaning that has a ton of advice and info and tips and recipes in there for flavoring your baby's food without salt.

Katie Ferraro (17m 55s):

So it's a 16 page ebook it's jam packed with all of the info you need to give your baby a safe start to solid foods. Plus a number of my favorite combination food recipes. And there's a seasoning guide in there. I'm also sharing my savory no salt seasoning mix. This is fabulous. I literally put it on everything for babies, older people alike. You can grab that download again. It's called the start guide to baby-led weaning, and it's going to be available along with all the other resources on the show notes page for this episode, blwpodcast.com/48. Bye now!