6 Good Nigerian Foods That Can Make Your Baby Gain Weight /Grow Healthier

 

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Many plant-based fats in particular are necessary components of a healthy diet, especially now that you’re trying to get your baby to put on some weight [Photo Credit: Unsplash}

A healthy, chubby baby, delights everyone’s eyes. Looking for the right high-calorie, high-nutrient Nigerian foods that can help your baby gain weight?  Here are 6 for you.  

1.      Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potato has a seat at the high table of baby foods.

In addition to it being a house of antioxidants, vitamins, and other essential nutrients, a top-selling point for this rich Nigerian baby food is that it is easily mashable when cooked.

The deliciousness of sweet potatoes makes it incredibly easy to feed it to your child (everyone loves SWEET potatoes)

This class of food belongs to the carbohydrate family, and is actually a complex carb, meaning they release sugars more slowly into the bloodstream and keep your baby fuller for much longer.

Really, it will help your baby gain weight.

2.      Tom Brown Pap Helps Baby Gain Weight

Tom brown pap is the thick brown powder made from a combination of yellow corn, millet, guinea corn, groundnut, and soybeans.

It is an easy meal to prepare that is essential for your baby.

Unlike the regular corn pap, the Tom brown variant is packed with nutrients that promote healthy baby development and weight gain.

Try to add some taste, to make the process easy. If the pap tastes good, your baby will eat with less fuss.

Even better, it is a baby meal that is easy and quick to prepare. The very same way you make your normal pap.

3.      Pureed Meats End Eggs

According to several mums, babies can get started on meat shortly after they make their first induction into solid foods.

No doubt, it will take a while to get your baby used to the texture but it’s a sacrifice so worth the effort, especially if you’re trying to introduce calorie-rich foods to your baby’s diet to achieve weight gain.

Pureed meats and eggs are an excellent way to get your baby to consume more calories than fruits and vegetables alone can provide.

Puree your meats in a food processor until they reach a consistency your baby can handle, which will be dependent on the age of your baby.

4.      Yam And Beans Porridge

Only a few suspicious people will claim to not know the food that is the staple source of protein in Nigeria—beans.

To make matters more interesting, beans are readily available in Nigeria in white, green, and brown beans variants, of which brown beans seem to be topping the chart.

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You may also find our article on Postpartum Weight Loss: How To Lose Baby Weight helpful

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Beans are a great source of iron, calcium, fibre, vitamin B, and protein which is essential for your baby’s muscle development and weight gain.

For your baby, cook until really soft (almost paste form) to make it easier to swallow. Add some onions, crayfish, a little red oil, and mix well.

You can skip pepper.

You can cook the beans alone as porridge and boil the white yam separately or introduce the yam midway and have everything cook together.

The addition of yam will provide vitamin C that supports healthy bone and fibre that keeps your baby full for a longer period of time.

5.      Boiled Ripe Plantains

Plantains are very similar to potatoes nutrition and calorie-wise but contain certain vitamins and minerals lacking in potatoes.

This food for your baby is a rich source of fiber, vitamins A, C, and B-6, and the minerals magnesium and potassium.

Peel the plantain and cut into slices, and boil until it is very soft.

Blend in chopped onions, fish powder, or fresh (completely deboned) fish, crayfish, and palm oil.

Consider adding finely chopped pumpkin leaves.

6.      Avocado Can Help Your Baby Gain Weight

A route sure to make your baby gain weight is utilizing healthy fats, a healthy portion of it can be found in Avocados.

People tend to think of fat as bad, but that is not always the case.

Many plant-based fats in particular are necessary components of a healthy diet, especially now that you’re trying to make your baby gain weight.

Healthy fats are ideal for weight gain, as they provide about nine calories per gram, as opposed to about four per gram from carbohydrates or proteins.

An avocado of 100 grams, for example, contains 15 grams of monosaturated (healthy fats).

The plus for avocado is that it can provide a creamy texture to a range of foods and offer beneficial fats at the same time.

Meaning, you can feed it to your child as a stand-alone food, or as one added to other foods.

Either way, the result will be positive .

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