Constipation in babies can be really stressful for parents as your baby's only way of communicating is by crying. Luckily there are foods you can use that act quickly as a natural remedy.
Constipation in babies can be really overwhelming. Especially because the only way your baby can express their discomfort is by crying. So when his/her tummy hurts it can very quickly become frustrating for us as parents.
Fortunately, there are foods that naturally help to relieve constipation which we can use to make simple recipes for regular mealtimes. Below we've suggested 5 of those recipes that can work for any meal and have the added benefit of helping to relieve any symptoms of constipation your baby might have.
Sweet Potato Fruit Pudding
Click here for the full recipe
Apples and sweet potatoes are both sweet in taste and combine really well for a super delicious meal that any baby will enjoy. Whether served according to baby-led weaning (BLW), mashed, or pureed, the nutrient benefits (and there are plenty) are the same.
Apples are packed with a special kind of compounds called "phytonutrients" which promote the growth of "good" bacteria in the digestive system and help deal with constipation. Apples also contain a specific soluble fiber called "pectin" which helps the food pass through the intestines and speeds up the digestion process.
Sweet potatoes are a great source of beta-carotene – a precursor of vitamin A. They also contain a significant amount of vitamin C and manganese as well as a good amount of fiber.
Peaches are another ingredient of our Sweet Potato Fruit Pudding and also contain a significant amount of fiber. Additional benefits include skin protection since peaches contain certain compounds that can protect skin deterioration (maybe less relevant for a baby but helpful anyway!).
One serving a day of the Sweet Potato Fruit Pudding goes a long way in helping your baby pass poop a little more easily.
Buckwheat Pear (with Apple Juice)
In the quest to relieve constipation, our Buckwheat Pear recipe has been supercharged with apple juice. Apple juice is a common recommendation to ease digestion so it makes sense to add it to other foods that help get things moving.
Pears are one of the "P-fruits" often recommended as a constipation reliever. Their subtle sweet taste and mushy full texture lifts the recipe a bit and provides a nice flavor to the neutral buckwheat. Apart from being great for digestion, the dietary fiber found in pears may also play a role in reducing diabetes and heart diseases.
Buckwheat is also high in fiber, in addition to a significant amount of copper, magnesium, and manganese – all minerals that are essential for your little one's growth and development.
Overall, the combination of buckwheat, pears, and apple juice goes a long way to helping your little one with any possible digestive problems they might have – especially when starting solids.
Buckwheat pear with apple juice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon buckwheat
- 3 tablespoon water
- 1 medium-sized pear
- 1 oz apple juice perfect if homemade in a juicer
Instructions
- Soak the buckwheat overnight prior to cooking
- Put the soaked buckwheat into a pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat
- Continue to cook over low-to-medium heat until the buckwheat absorbs the water
- In the meantime, wash and peel the pear. Grate if serving as a puree, or cut into long strips for BLW
- When buckwheat is about half cooked, add the pear
- Once the buckwheat has fully absorbed the water and pear has softened, reduce heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes
- If serving as a puree, add to blender with apple juice and blend
- If you are following the BLW method, serve one alongside the other and give apple juice as a drink
Nutrition
Orange Porridge with Pear Juice
As for the last recipe, pears are a great food for relieving constipation issues. Although the juice contains slightly less fiber than the whole fruit, they are still a great inclusion in constipation-relieving recipes instead of water to give the digestive system an extra push.
The flavor of peaches and carrots combine surprisingly well together and can do wonders for your baby's poop. One medium-sized peach contains about 2 grams of fiber, so they both help move food through the colon as well as "feed" the good bacteria in the gut.
Carrots contain lots of starch and are mainly made up of carbohydrates but provide a lot of great micronutrients such as vitamin A, K, and molybdenum.
The combination of the nutrients in carrots, with the fiber from peaches and pear juice, provides a tasty and nutritious meal to help combat constipation.
Orange porridge with pear juice
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized carrots
- 1.5 medium-sized peaches
- 1 oz 100% pear juice perfect if homemade in a juicer
Instructions
- Wash, peel and slice the carrots into small pieces for puree and longer sticks for BLW
- Wash the peaches, remove the seed and slice into small pieces for puree and longer slices for BLW
- Cook the carrots and peaches in water until soft
- Once finished, allow to cool for at least 5 minutes
- If serving as a puree, put both in a blender with pear juice and blend
- If you are following the BLW method, serve the peaches and carrots alongside one another and serve pear juice as a drink
Nutrition
Quinoa Tomato Risotto
Click here for the full recipe
While we call this a "risotto", the rice has actually been substituted with quinoa to provide more nutrients and health benefits than rice (and less arsenic!).
It's a great source of minerals such as manganese, copper, and phosphorus as well as being very rich in protein. But the real constipation-relieving effect lies in its (you guessed it) fiber content.
Tomatoes are a great source of vitamins C and K and make the dish nice and colorful.
Peas, also adding a nice color to the meal, also provide a significant amount of vitamins K and B1. But the great health benefits of peas lie in their antioxidants which produce an anti-inflammatory effect as well as regulating blood sugar and protecting the body from heart diseases.
Topped off with some goat's cheese for the fat and calcium (and taste) makes this dish highly nutritious and one that can help your baby's tummy issues.
Blueberry Kefir
Click here for the full recipe
We love oatmeal at Creative Nourish. It's a really nutritious grain and makes the perfect base for any breakfast or snack as it can be added to pretty much anything.
And when you add kefir and blueberries it becomes a great meal for digestive support.
Kefir is a fermented dairy product which means it has a huge amount of the "good" bacteria we call probiotics. They are very helpful in maintaining the overall health of the gut and digestive system and therefore helping with constipation issues.
Blueberries are rich in antioxidants and also have fairly high fiber content. This makes them a great food to support digestive health.
The overall combination of the 3 ingredients – oats, blueberries, and kefir – does wonders for the gut.
Comments
No Comments