Healthy Baby Food in Nigeria with Latifat Okara

Latifat Okara (1s):

I came back when my daughter was 12 months old and I noticed that she hadn't done it as much. And then I started to probe into what was she doing? She maintained her weight from the time I left to the time I came back and that experience,

Katie Ferraro (16s):

Hey there, I'm Katie Ferraro, Registered Dietitian, college nutrition professor, and mama of seven specializing in baby-led weaning. Here on the Baby-Led Weaning Made Easy Podcast I help you strip out all of 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. You guys. And welcome back to the another episode of the Baby-Led Weaning Made Easy Podcast. Today. I have a very special guest with me, Latifat Okara she joined me from Nigeria, her home country, where she runs a company called Nom nom babies.

Katie Ferraro (1m 0s):

And she works to provide nutrition, education, and wholesome foods for babies in her home country of Nigeria and some of the more underserved populations there. So Latifat, she's also a mom of two small girls. She's a student at Harvard working on her. Master's in public health with an emphasis in nutrition. And she also works at the world bank on projects related to helping to reduce malnutrition in the African region. So through her business, nom nom babies, she helps to educate primary care providers and parents about preventing malnutrition. And she shared some incredible stories with me about how her own daughter was failing to meet growth milestones because of limited variety of intake when she was a baby. And there was a heavy reliance on this food called pap in Nigeria.

Katie Ferraro (1m 43s):

It's a maize cereal that parents will traditionally use to wean babies. And she'll explain about how it's very high in carbohydrates fills babies up, but doesn't have the nutrition that they need to promote growth and development. And she gave some incredible insight into the work she's doing to help promote traditional and available foods that have more nutrition than just using corn. And so she's talking to you guys about how to feed babies foods like crayfish and brown beans and mixing egg yolk with plantations. I think you guys are really going to love Latifat message, which essentially is that babies can eat so many more foods than we often give them credit for in Nigeria. One in five children is malnourished and as Latifat will share through the work that she's doing in the process of unlearning and relearning, she's really working to help redirect how drivers like racial discrimination, cultural beliefs, poverty, and maternal education, determine food choices and preferences for families in those underserved parts of Nigeria where she works.

Katie Ferraro (2m 45s):

So I hope you guys enjoy this interview with Latifat of nom nom babies. Oh, and I asked her about her use of the word nom nom in her business name and cause you know, in the U S it has this kind of like super trendy foodie connotation. And she laughed when I said that and she said, oh no, nom nom is the sound of pleasure that a baby makes when she's discovering the joy of eating food. So with no further ado here is Latifat Okara. Well, hello, Latifat. And thank you so much for joining me here on the podcast today.

Latifat Okara (3m 19s):

Hi, Katie. I'm so happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

Katie Ferraro (3m 22s):

You have a very interesting history in nutrition, how you personally became involved in what you've been doing from a research and a business standpoint. I'm so excited to share your story with our audience. And I was wondering if you could just tell us, how did you become interested in feeding babies?

Latifat Okara (3m 40s):

Are different approaches to look at it. So the first is when I started winning my first daughter, when she was turning in six months and I needed to get ready to start feeding her complementary foods. So I went to the stores and I wasn't impressed by the amount of processed foods I found on the shelf. So at that point I started doing some research around recipes, what nutrients she needed for her growing body. I was fortunate to know that nutrition from a very early age has a lot of influence on a child's cognitive, behavioral, emotional health, and all of that. So I started researching recipes and invested some time and effort in making her foods myself. I started her own fruits, vegetables, and fruit and animal protein periods.

Latifat Okara (4m 19s):

And that inspired me to just in doing that work and seeing how my child was growing, getting the right nutrients. I got inspired to study nutrition and education company and an online community called Nom nom babies. So, however, while I was doing all that, I say, I get questions from some mothers who had similar concerns and needed to feed their kids, healthy food as well. So I knew at that point that, okay, you know what, why don't I just go and learn, get some more education around the concept of public health nutrition specifically. And that was when I moved to Harvard. However, my move to Harvard meant that I had to leave my second daughter now who was eight months old in Nigeria with my family who unfortunately they have so much knowledge about the importance of infant nutrition.

Latifat Okara (5m 1s):

And that experience kind of confirmed the reason why I was doing what I was doing. So four months down the line, I came back and my daughter was now about 12 months old, 11, 12 months old. And I noticed that she hadn't grown as much as older sister. And then I started to probe into, okay, what, what was she eating? What were the gaps? Right? And then I realized that she, while I had the resources to provide her good food, my caregivers, and have the knowledge and the importance of nutrition on how to combine these foods on what food she needed, so she maintained her weight for the, from the time I left onto the time I came back and that experience just broke me.

Katie Ferraro (5m 43s):

Said you were gone for four months at Harvard. You left when your daughter was eight months. And when you came back, you're saying she had gained almost no weight over four months? What did you end up doing that? I mean, that would be such a frightening situation.

Latifat Okara (5m 57s):

Yeah, it was, it was heartbreaking, Katie, I must say. And why I did was to educate, because I knew I had to go back to school. I had started this course. I just knew I needed to finish. So what I did was to now I educated my caregivers, my mother-in-law, my husband, everybody knew how to make baby food. I mean, they knew the importance of making baby food. I just knew I had to start delegating him at that time. So I started off on iron rich purees, started off on how we can set her off on iron rich purees for that kind of baby foods. Like then using our staple foods also to do finger foods, making sure that she eats with us.

Latifat Okara (6m 39s):

So one egg a day just with meat fish in half food and just building her immunity, building her weight and she improved and she looked better. She looked happier as well. And so when I got back, I would always ask, okay, what is she eating today? I drew up a timetable as well, made sure that she always had the right food to eat at every point in time in the right amount and the number of the frequency of eating. So, yeah, so that was why I did. And, and yeah, so that's basically my story and how I became interested. And now I'm even more interested because I've seen the good side in where I was when I was available to provide the right food for my first child.

Latifat Okara (7m 19s):

And then for the second one, how I had to also use the opportunity into something like a learning curve for me on how to improve nutrition for kids. So for me, this was like, I have the resources, this is how I feel about, and yet I couldn't even my second child had that deficiency. I want to help other models avoid is compromised. And so I started investing more in Nom nom babies, providing the education out there and the nutrition education on mothers actually.

Katie Ferraro (7m 48s):

You mentioned traditional staple foods in Nigeria. And before we started recording, we were chatting, you were telling me about pap and it was wondering if you could explain to our listeners, what, what do parents traditionally feed babies in Nigeria? And at what age do they start the weaning process?

Latifat Okara (8m 7s):

Okay. I, I would say majority of the models that I have spoken to, and even the models that I have met in primary health care centers, because one of the initiatives of nominal babies is to work with models in underserved populations, true primary health care center to provide them with the education, nutrition education that they need. And also, I kind of use that as an opportunity to provide models with free purees that I make provided some mothers in, under served population for free. So what I have noticed from my interaction with them is that they usually start off weaning their babies at about five months old or six months for most of them. But majority of them start at five months old and they gave these there's this staple food called pap.

Latifat Okara (8m 53s):

Pap is made of maize, right. Which is very high carbohydrate food. So why does, is that it feels your child or your child isn't really getting all the nutrients that he or she needs to grow. Right? So, and that's kind of, that was really, really common from my conversation with most of the, the mothers that I met. And that's one common staple food, common staple cereal that is affordable, and it's very accessible as well. So most mothers when they are starting to feed their kids, the interesting thing about pap is that I have never seen any child that has refused pap. So it's very easy for motors to turn to consuming pap as the staple food for a child.

Latifat Okara (9m 34s):

Again, nutrition, deficiencies, when you are only relying on path.

Katie Ferraro (9m 38s):

Pap has corn meal or like corn, I guess we would call it corn meal, what is it mixed with? Is it made into like a or a soup or is served it's wetter? Is that correct?

Latifat Okara (9m 50s):

It's, it's actually made in a way that you buy it solidified and then you kind of melt it with some water and then add hot water to it. So it becomes like a porridge.

Katie Ferraro (10m 2s):

And it's pure carbohydrate basically. There's there's not really any protein. There's no fat there's oh, no, there's definitely no iron

Latifat Okara (10m 10s):

Carbohydrates. Yeah, so some models add, can add maybe crayfish for protein and then add the baby's milk. But most of the times you can just add your baby's miilk to it, both the phases, carbohydrates.

Katie Ferraro (10m 23s):

What you said, which was no child has refused it because the carbohydrates are slightly on the sweeter side. It's easy to feed. And then of course it fills you up as high carbohydrate foods will. So the baby feels full and stops eating yet. Unfortunately it doesn't contain the entirety of the nutrients that the babies need for adequate growth. And you saw that with your, your daughter. So can I ask you with your education component of Nomnom babies, knowing that the base of the traditional foods there would be very high in carbohydrate? What sort of local foods are available that would have a more appropriate nutrient mix? Like what kind of foods can you recommend to the moms to feed that they can easily get?

Latifat Okara (11m 5s):

Hmm. Yeah. So there, there are a number, there are a lot of meals that moms can use, but again, education awareness really matters on how you can modify that recipe to become a baby friendly meal. Right? So some of them that I can easily lay my hands on right now is plantain, it's very accessible in the market, on the streets, right? So plantations a high in vitamin, a high vitamin C high in potassium. And that can be called that can replace the amount of time you give your child pap, for example. So how I make for a baby who is who you're starting off as a complimentary food, and if you want to do the puree, you can actually need blend plantations, egg yolk, right?

Latifat Okara (11m 50s):

That is a very good recipe. That's my daughter has never refused. So other ways that it can be plantains with green beans, they can also be fried as good finger foods for babies. They can be made as plantain chips, right? For all that kids or toddlers as finger foods, and just leave it there. The baby feeds herself or himself with that food. It's a good baby-led weaning recipe. And that's a local staple. Another one is that is not carbohydrates is akara akara is made out of beans, right? So blended on fried beans is called acara this snack. And it helps me, and it can be used as a snack.

Latifat Okara (12m 32s):

Use that as the main meal for a child who is maybe starting off, trying to learn how to chew, how to feed himself. Things are great. I mean, these are some staples that can also replace the traditional corn based meals.

Katie Ferraro (12m 47s):

The akara what, when we say beans in the U S like, I think, okay, green beans, which are a vegetable or legumes, which are like a dried bean, is that what you're talking of? The higher in iron?

Latifat Okara (12m 59s):

Yes. Yes.

Katie Ferraro (12m 60s):

Akara, if you dry the beans, like, do you soak them and then cook them? ,

Latifat Okara (13m 4s):

Yes, exactly. You soak them and they become soft enough that you can blend them. You can blend them at your crayfish, which is great in protein, right? Add your crayfish, add some salt and fry the, the paste. So you blend it and it becomes a paste. Thicken have to be fried, not what three, four pancake or something like about picking off to be fried in oil. And that can be a good snack for an older kid.

Katie Ferraro (13m 33s):

Amazing. And so you've, you're getting some iron from the beans. You're getting protein and other minerals from the crayfish. That's fabulous. So can I ask you a little bit about nuts because in the United States, we follow guidelines and guidance that shows us that the earlier introduction of particularly peanuts, as well as some of the allergenic foods that helps prevent food allergy down the road are nuts. Part of the traditional weaning diet or something that babies would be exposed to early on in Nigeria, or not?

Latifat Okara (14m 6s):

Some products. Some brands include nuts in there, baby foods, but some brands don't. So, but if you're doing it homemade, that's absolutely. I think it's great to introduce notes. So peanut specific, because that's a common one in Nigeria, so the cost of nuts is high, but sometimes most of them are important. So the cost is high, but I'm just really going to narrow the options to what is available and affordable for every average home in Nigeria. So peanuts, right. It's very affordable and it's available. It's something that should be introduced early enough, like you said, too, because not one of the allergenic foods. So the earlier you introduce them, there are studies that have shown that early introduced notes.

Latifat Okara (14m 50s):

It helps the baby to become less allergenic to such foods.

Katie Ferraro (14m 54s):

Latifat, can you tell me a little bit about your own personal experiences, starting solids as a child and how that kind of set the stage for your later interest in public health nutrition?

Latifat Okara (15m 6s):

So I can only speak to what I was told as a child, that started solids, because I couldn't exactly remember. I was very selective with food. I wouldn't eat and I would, I was always following you. And so that was a big challenge for my grandparents then. And so I grew up in Nigeria and one of the things that was very common is the use of traditional medicine as a way to heal or cure sicknesses, that cure children, that you feel that okay, they are always following you. Right? And by doing that though, normally maybe have like facial scarification for that child. So I had that facial scarification as a child. And that was how I started asking the question.

Latifat Okara (15m 46s):

Now what happened? Why was my face clarifies with, with max? And so the answer was that, oh, you used to always fall sick as a child. You never liked to eat. You would always select your food. And so that was why we resolved to this method to make you better and to make you feel better. So, anyway, growing up, I just didn't like that part of my story, why I decided to use that as a way to be the timing, the, you know, what I'm going to make a difference with my own children. I will turn them as being fussy eaters. I will find ways to make sure that they are eating better rather than resolving to methods that may affect their self esteem or self image later on in life.

Katie Ferraro (16m 29s):

Is facial scarification, still a common practice in parts of Nigeria for picky eaters?

Latifat Okara (16m 34s):

I don't think, I don't think so. Now official scarification is I don't for several reasons, in some parts of Nigeria rights is done as a way to identify that child as being part of setting culture, right? So it is common within some cultures. If you are in your form of particular place, you will always have facial clarification, regardless of the fact that you will, you are not. So in some other places, it was a way was vicious, very efficient, was born as a means of treatment. So in my case, it was done as a means of treatment.

Katie Ferraro (17m 2s):

In researching the work that you're doing. I came across a quotation where you said that it's important to understand how drivers like racial discrimination, cultural beliefs, poverty, and maternal education, determine food choices and preference for families around the world. And it was curious if you had any insight on how we can dismantle these drivers, racial discrimination, cultural, beliefs, et cetera, as it applies to feeding our kids or allowing the kids to learn how to feed themselves any thoughts there.

Latifat Okara (17m 35s):

Yeah. I would say one of the key things that we need to do is on learning and we're learning, right. And making sure that we have, we put the information out there as much as we can. And the reason is because we have this belief or this notion where we associate being chubby and a child being full would be healthy, right? And that's just a cultural thing. So for people who grew up that way, they do not subscribe to baby-led weaning because the baby-led weaning approach really buys into the idea of giving children control over their approach to food, which is great, right? Or however, this could be challenging in cultures that subscribes to the idea that children are children.

Latifat Okara (18m 15s):

They do not know what they want. They do not know when they are full and that's, and from my experience, that's not exactly the case like adults, children approach food. When they're hungry, they would give you science when they are full as well, having that at the back of your mind. And this is where you're coming from, this is your knowledge. And you believe that children do not know what they are doing. They do not know when they are full. So you would insist on how much should be in their spoons, because that's what we are used to. And that's the culture. One of the key things that we can do to this month to those kinds of barriers is providing the information out there on learning what we were used to and relearning new approaches on how to give children control.

Latifat Okara (18m 56s):

If we're able to do that, then we can advocate more on how kids can take control of their food. People, children can have good relationship with food and become adventurous. They can explore with their food. And that would eliminate the barriers of cultural beliefs. On the other hand, maternal education, there have also been studies that show that as much as we can have a good food product, which is one of the experiences that I had when I wanted to start. When I started nomnom babies, providing the food, wasn't just enough. So mothers, fathers, or the caregivers, whoever is in charge of taking care of that child and making sure that child gets the right food needs to be aware of what the child needs.

Latifat Okara (19m 37s):

So that's where maternal education. So again, we're learning, we're learning, putting information out there, just keep doing what we're doing, making sure we're reaching as much people that we can would gradually this month to these drivers that are barriers that seem like barriers to optimal nutrition for children.

Katie Ferraro (19m 56s):

I love the way that you say unlearning and relearning, because one thing that I'm always so impressed with his parents who will say, gosh, my baby can eat so many more foods than I give them credit for. And your story has the same underpinnings. You say, usually they're just having amaze the pap, which is just carbohydrate. And here you are showing people, gosh, this is how you can incorporate crayfish and beans and egg yolk and all these different foods that we sometimes we just assume a baby can't eat it because we've never seen otherwise. Or we've been told that, or it's been passed down from generation to generation. So I love that. The message that we're both sharing globally is no, your baby can do so much more than we give them credit for.

Katie Ferraro (20m 40s):

Can you talk a little bit about food access in Nigeria? Because of course, it's wonderful to feed your baby high-protein foods and iron foods and fruits and vegetables, but what are the real about access in the communities that you're working in?

Latifat Okara (20m 54s):

So as much as we talk about proteins, your iron, your child needs this and your child needs that Nigeria is too characterized by high reliance on food imports. And that's just the way it is right now. So, and, and that's malnutrition is a widespread issue in the country, especially in the rural areas. And we're vulnerable people where that puts people in vulnerable, vulnerable positions of chronic food shortages. And so there's just really an imbalance because of the total lack of food supply.

Latifat Okara (21m 34s):

And that's also because it is highly reliant on food imports. Food access in Nigeria is still very reliant on food imports. It's not as accessible as it should be. Even when it is accessible, the healthy food options are expensive. And that's how the food system is currently and is it's a challenge in itself on how we can go past that and make healthy foods available. Unlike in the us where we have where a number of places there has been policy advocacy that led places to have a local farmer's market that make healthy food options cheaper and more available. We do not have that in most parts of the developing world, right.

Latifat Okara (22m 19s):

And in rural areas specifically. So that's, that's a challenge in itself.

Katie Ferraro (22m 23s):

Talk a little bit about night traditional staple, Nigerian meals that could possibly be modified for baby-led weaning? Because as you mentioned, there is a reliance on food import. There are issues of chronic food shortages. So what can parents in Nigeria do to make the foods that they do have access to more nutritious and more appropriate to promote the baby?

Latifat Okara (22m 45s):

Like I mentioned before, some of the foods like plantains can be made as plantain is a staple food yam is carbohydrates, but it's also a staple food that can be tweaked in so many ways. Both fried can be used as a way to introduce baby-led weaning for, for kids. And then also beans can be made as a snack. That's a good baby-led weaning food that would increase the pincer grip that would kind of teach children, pincer grip for dependence, chewing and so on. There's also another snack that's made out of flour and that's powerful. So perform is one snack I always make for my kids and just put it there.

Latifat Okara (23m 25s):

Kids love it. They can get busy on that snack for a long time. These are all common. What is that made out of? It's made out of flour. Yeah.

Katie Ferraro (23m 36s):

Wholegrain flours, or most of the flours, highly refined?

Latifat Okara (23m 40s):

Oh, there's whole grain flour, which is pricey. What is highly refined flour as well, which is very common.

Katie Ferraro (23m 48s):

What about protein foods? You had mentioned crayfish as a animal food. What other animal foods are available? If there are any.

Latifat Okara (23m 57s):

There's beef, that's animal foods and their beef is very common as well. Fish is also really common, but it's just access and affordability, right? But the cheapest option is fish there's crayfish, which is very cheap. There's fish. There's meats is also something that kids should. We need to advocate more, that kids should have come in. Most of the underserved populations, the concept want to afford meat for adults. And that family let alone thinking about, okay, a child is learning how to eat with meat, right? So, which is why I mentioned the crayfish, including adding crayfish, incorporating that crayfish into most of your food into most of the baby food is a good way to introduce it, balanced food for that child also eggs as well.

Latifat Okara (24m 45s):

The different ways X can be incorporated into the baby's foods, either bold or the egg yolk blended with plantain. That's a very good recipe. And, or even blending that with fruits, like carrots as also been tested as a very good recipe that has been accepted by kids.

Katie Ferraro (25m 3s):

You mentioned blending the eggs with the plantations. Is it something that you then cook or is that served raw?

Latifat Okara (25m 8s):

No, no, no hard boiled egg.

Katie Ferraro (25m 11s):

Okay. And then you match that with the cooked plantain. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. How about any steps you could recommend or ideas for improving access to healthy food options in the underserved communities that you're working with?

Latifat Okara (25m 25s):

Okay. I would say local investments. I mean, there's a call for the government to introduce agricultural subsidies for farmers, so that fertilizers coming more affordable. We need to invest in what are making work available for farmers as well, because these are ways that we can improve production volume and making sure that food is accessible to larger number of people in various population from the high-income middle-income low-income who needs to invest more in agricultural subsidies for farmers. That's what, from the government aspects side, and also investing into yeah. Local investments, making sure that people who are really companies, local companies who want to invest in baby foods, producing foods with traditional recipes and ingredients have the right funding to do that.

Latifat Okara (26m 16s):

And farmers have the right subsidies to afford fertilizers. They have access to good water. And so, yeah, that's, that's, those are some of the ways we can improve access to affordable food options.

Katie Ferraro (26m 25s):

Fascinating to hear you speak about the communities you work with and things that in the United States, we just take for granted access to clean water. I mean, that is so crucial that some people in the United States never even have to think twice about. So I thank you for highlighting these important things that parents are dealing with that are in many ways similar, but it often in many ways different than what you may encounter in the United States. And I'm interested to know for you Latifat, what's next, when you finish your studies at Harvard and you complete your work with the world bank, where do you hope to take your company, nomnom foods? In what direction? What can we expect to learn more from you in the future?

Latifat Okara (27m 5s):

I really want to take nominal mean to the point where we are providing nutritious baby foods for more of the people in your underserved population. I mean, the work that I do with the primary health care center, it's very fulfilling, just seeing and being able to provide good food, the same quality of food that a, that the high class family or someone in, from a privileged economic class, right. Can afford someone who lives in an underserved population can also afford the same food, because at the end of the day, we're thinking about the kids and not just necessarily the families, right. We're thinking about the children, they deserve to have good food. Children deserve to have good food.

Latifat Okara (27m 46s):

They deserve to have similar access to good education the same way. Right? So I am more of channeling the business model for nomnom babies into a business that can provide affordable nutritious foods for people in the underserved population, as much as it can also provide for those in that can afford it. Right. So, yeah, so that's where I see myself taking these into going, working more with primary health care centers, working more with the government, working more in populations that cannot afford good food, the nutrition education out there through my website and through my Instagram page. And also just providing that food that is very affordable.

Katie Ferraro (28m 29s):

And Latifa, where can we go to learn more about the work that you're doing?

Latifat Okara (28m 34s):

Okay. Thanks, Katie, please. I would say follow me on my Instagram page. And my Instagram handle is nomnom underscore babies. So most of the work that I do be on my Instagram page.

Katie Ferraro (28m 47s):

Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to share with us the work that you're doing, your personal story. You're raising two little girls at the same time, going to school, working for the world bank, running a business. I mean, this is very, very impressive. And for taking the time to share with our audience, I can't. Thank you.

Latifat Okara (29m 3s):

Thank you so much. Thanks. It was really nice talking to you too, and I really admire what they are doing.

Katie Ferraro (29m 12s):

Wonderful. Thank you so much. I have another question though, in Nigeria is the term Nomnom used, like, is that a term that they're familiar with? The people you work with?

Latifat Okara (29m 21s):

Yeah. Okay. Nom, nom. That's kind of the sound that babies make when you're enjoying their meal. So that's where the name comes from.

Katie Ferraro (29m 28s):

It has, it has a very different connotation in the U S kind of ascribed to like the foodie population. And I've never heard it described as basically it's what babies say when they're enjoying and eating food. I love that. Yeah. All right. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate this.

Latifat Okara (29m 46s):

Thank thanks. I really, I really enjoyed doing this too.

Katie Ferraro (29m 50s):

I really hope you guys enjoyed that episode with Latifat Okara I learned so much. I mean, her story about facial scarification as a way to treat picky eating like, oh my gosh. And then I don't know if you guys caught the timeline, but basically when her second baby was born and the baby was eight months old, then Latifat moved to Boston from Nigeria and had to leave her baby at home with her family. And then four months later when she returned, so she's going to Harvard and then she comes home and her baby hasn't grown at all. She literally told me she was like, she hadn't even gained hardly any weight. And so we were chatting before the interview and she was, I wish I had recorded it cause she's sharing great info about the therapeutic approaches that you use in the foods that she tried to reintroduce to her baby to help her gain weight and how she started.

Katie Ferraro (30m 38s):

She recovered and she was looking healthier and happier and regain the joy in eating. I mean, her story is incredible. And that inspired her then to kind of start focusing on this area of the, the importance of introduction of solid foods. And I also really enjoyed hearing about the locally available foods that she is trying to normalize for babies to eat. So things like crayfish and brown beans and peanuts and egg yolk plantations, things that even though you may be listening to this podcast halfway around the world from Nigeria, you're certainly also aware of the reality that babies can eat so many more foods than we give them credit for and nutritionally they need to, they cannot just subsist on a high carbohydrate diet that fills the baby up, but that does not provide the other important nutrients they need for growth during that crucial weaning period.

Katie Ferraro (31m 28s):

And one other thing I wanted to add is the company that she's getting off the ground in Nigeria, it's called nomnom babies. So if you're on Instagram, it's at nomnom underscore babies, and I'll link to her work as well as some articles about Latifat and her Instagram. I'll do that all on the show notes page for this episode, which you can find at blwpodcast.com/38. So thank you for listening and I hope you enjoyed this interview with Latifat Okara about healthy baby food in Nigeria. Bye now!