traditional bush baby fodder?

[munkiboi182]

so as i sit here with mini munkiboi (my son, josh), feeding him spoonfuls of artificial and foul smelling rubbish i got to thinking about our neanderthal ancestors and what they fed their little ones. they obviously didnt have milk formula or powder meals and jars of what can only be described as faecal slop. surely they couldnt have been breast fed until they had a full set of gnashers (think of poor mother). i cant imagine them milking sabre tooth cows. so my question to you guys and girls, is this.

what did our ancestors fed the sprogs?

from any era and continent, cave men to vikings to ancient Egyptians.

cheers

munkiboi an josh (aka Acorn)

 

[Niels]

I read somewhere that you can feed half digested stuff from deer intestines to ill people because it's half digested. From that standpoint, perhaps it could be fed to a child. If not that, the food would probably be chewed up by an adult first and then fed to the child.

 

[John Fenna]

Breast feeding until the age of 6 is not unheard of even today ... but is not the "norm"...

 

[Ogri the trog]

In all likelihood, the parents would chew the food first and then pass it to the toddler.

Some people reckon it was the advent of the human thing of kissing!

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Toddy]

It was common practice up until recent times.
It does several things; it not only breaks up the food for the child, but it imparts some of the flora of the mouth too. The food is always at the right temperature, no waste and no fuss or bother with mechanical mashing or processing or washing up.

Basically humans are animals too, but we get terribly prissy about things nowadays and somehow deny our biology.

M

 

[munkiboi182]

so has this always been the case then? i would assume with the evolution of cows/goats etc milk would become the new norm or were there other options like rice or some form of bread

 

[ged]

While we're thinking about how it was in the old days, let's not forget what the life expectancy was.

In the 18th century you were lucky to survive childhood. When I was born, infant mortality rates were more than three times what they are now.

There's a lot to be said for some of the old ways, but nutrition and medicine aren't included.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Eh? Has society forgotten how to feed their kids already?
My family has always fed normal food, but mashed up - lots of veg with gravy.

 

[munkiboi182]

josh usually has what we're eating for his supper. i think its the convienience of quick dehydrated meals that make them a popular choice in the fast pace of modern society. i'd really like to get him onto a more traditional diet that doesnt involve powdered grub by the bucket load and brown slop that costs a fortune. i think chewing his food for him is a bit extreme for this instance but i do mash up jut about anything we eat for him. maybe oat and rice based meals are the way forward

 

[Ogri the trog]

josh usually has what we're eating for his supper.

Our little ones ate whatever we had, mashed up in a bowl with a textured inner surface - at the time they were only available outside the UK, but I think they are making their way over here.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[brozier]

Think the main issue with kids having adult foods is the amount of salt put into it, as babies can't take too much salt.

If you are cooking without salt and adding to taste at the table you should be okay with mashed up stuff.

Gravy is pretty bad for salt tho so I'd avoid that...

Cheers
Bryan

 

[munkiboi182]

we're quite good with salt content in our food. neither of us like it added to taste and most of what we eat is either low salt, low sugar or low fat. have been toying with the idea of making him some porridge with dried fruits

 

[Niels]

When I was little, my mum used to mash up 'liga' cookies, bananas and oranges. I think she put milk with it, I'm not sure. I do remember it was tasty.

 

[Toddy]

We did as Ogri and his family; just mashed up unseasoned stuff when possible. If you sieve oatmeal you'll get baby flour, that's a brilliant food for them.
Don't be too strict on the low fat that adults are advised now....children do a power of growing and they need calories. Not the overkill of obesity, but not the starvation rations that leave them with Harris lines in their bones either. "Failure to thrive" has made an unfortunate comeback with the uber healthconscious that's fine for adults but doesn't do so well for children.

Everybody has an opinion but at the end of the day, very few children in our society don't 'thrive'

atb,
M

 

[munkiboi182]

i like the sound of the baby flour. we only eat the low fat/salt/sugar stuff as swmbo is on a mission to lose the baby weight. im more of a full fat bacon kinda chap myself but if we were to buy food to suit both of us we'd be worse off than we already are

 

[Toddy]

The wee one will do fine

The oatflour's useful though, and it's good for them. It can be used to thicken soups, added to mashed potato to make potato scones, etc.....you get a fair bit of flour from the rolled oats too, so it doesn't need to be from meal. Some mueslis too....though nowadays folks would say to check for nut intolerance about that; mine were fine with them.

Microwaves are brilliant inventions. Veggies cook in minutes inside a pyrex dish with a tiny spoonful of water. No loss of anything good, and they mash up easily for little ones, and it can be done in very small quantities. Carrots are brilliant done in it, but so are apples and pears when the babies are too little to chew fruits safely. Apple puree in moments, and it doesn't cost the price of a jar from the supermarket.

I miss having little ones around

Mary

 

[munkiboi182]

thanks toddy, they're some great idea's i'll definatley try. he's safe to eat nuts. he got hold of a bag of trail mix out of the cupboard and ate most of the nuts and left the fruit.
talking of nuts, i once nearly killed a young lady who had a severe nut allergy. i ate a snickers bar whilst on a night out a few years ago, ended up kissing a young lady who had caught my eye and put her into anaphilactic shock. she got whisked away in an ambulance and i didnt even get her number.

 

[Toddy]

funny now, but I'll bet not at the time.
Memorable date though see what happens when you kiss strange women.

atb,
M

 

[munkiboi182]

quite terrifying at the time yes, but hilarious when think back on it. i met my wife shortly after so yes, im fully aware of what happens when i kiss strange women

 

[British Red]

Straining and sieving used to be the way to create a puree - for adult dishes as well as baby food - just mash stuff up and pass through a sieve pushing with the back of a spoon.

Oh and as for

Gravy is pretty bad for salt tho so I'd avoid that...

...proper gravy is just fine. Weird granules in a jar are of course a different matter