Soy: 3 Ways to Introduce Soy to Babies (…and why soy milk is not one of them)

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE

How can babies safely learn to eat soy? These are 3 of my favorite ways to offer your baby the potentially allergenic food soy…with 3 reasons why I don’t love soy milk for babies.

SUMMARY OF EPISODE

In this episode we’re talking about:

• Katie’s 3 favorite ways to introduce soy foods to baby: tofu, edamame hummus and soy flour

• Why soy milk is not the best way to introduce the potentially allergenic food soy to babies

• How babies can safely eat soy…no it is not a problem because of hormones.

LINKS from this episode

• Episode 37 - Soy: How to Introduce Your Baby to this Potentially Allergenic Food

• Episode 79 - How to Pick a Milk When Your Baby Turns 1
  
  

SOY powder and flour picks

• Bob’s Red Mill soy protein powder: use this in pancakes or mini muffins for babies, available on Amazon here (affiliate link)

• Injeolmi powder, kinako toasted soy flour…has a nutty flavor, usually use about ¼ amount of this in place of regular flour. Note regular flour has wheat - a separate allergenic food category from soy. You can use kinako to sprinkle on foods, rice cakes, blend into other purees or liquids or baking (can dry out foods though, so keep it to ¼ amount flour if substituting), available on Amazon here (affiliate link)

• Our dietitian Katelynn says her family uses kinako to dust on foods and also in sauces.

Edamame Hummus Recipe

Edamame are cooked soy beans. They are too small for early eaters to pick up. Edamame are safe for older infants who have their pincer grasp and practice eating multi-textured foods. You can make cooked soybeans into a homemade, low-sodium hummus that is a safe way to introduce your baby to the potentially allergenic food soy. 

This recipe was adapted from a Food Network recipe and altered by a Registered Dietitian to make it more appropriate for baby-led weaning. Note that this recipe contains tahini which is sesame seed paste. Sesame is a separate allergenic food category from soy. Be sure your baby has had sesame a number of times on its own without reaction before trying this recipe for soy as the first time.

Ingredients

1. 1 ½ cups frozen edamame (out of shell)

2. ¼ cup tahini (sesame seed paste, unsalted)

3. ¼ cup water

4. 3 tablespoons lemon juice

5. 1 garlic clove, smashed

6. ½ teaspoon ground cumin

7. 6 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1. Boil the frozen edamame per instructions until cooked. Drain.

2. In a food processor combine the cooked edamame, tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and process until smooth.

3. With the motor running slowly drizzle in the olive oil until absorbed. If the hummus drips off the end of a stainless steel spoon it is thin enough to serve to the baby. If still sticky, add more olive oil until achieving desired consistency.

TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE

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