Baby's First Steakhouse Visit: All You Need to Know
If you've recently become a parent and you love to eat steak, you may be wondering if and when you can get your little one out to eat at a steakhouse, and what they should choose from the menu if you do. Here's all a new parent needs to know about baby's first steakhouse visit.
Steak Can Be Introduced Early
If you love eating at steakhouses, you may be disappointed to think that you might have to wait until your baby is a toddler to take a family trip to one. Thankfully, this common misconception couldn't be further from the truth. Nowadays, paediatricians are recommending that meat should be one of your baby's first foods. This is because meat is a great source of iron, especially for breastfed babies, who absorb less iron from their milk when they begin eating solids. This means you can start taking your baby for steakhouse meals as soon as you begin weaning.
Steak Is Good for Your Baby
If you're worried that taking your baby to eat at a steakhouse will encourage unhealthy eating habits, don't be. Aside from being a great source of iron, steak offers many other nutritional benefits to babies. It's high in vitamins like B12 and zinc, which support healthy infant development. Steak restaurants are a far better choice for babies than restaurants that serve fatty and unhealthy foods, including pizzerias and fast food joints.
Steak Doesn't Need to Be Pureed
Many new parents think that all baby food needs to be pureed, but infants can actually pick up and eat their own food from as early as six months old. In fact, getting used to textures beyond puree early can reduce the risk of feeding problems in the future. This is great because it means you don't need to find a restaurant that's willing to blend up a steak for you. Just cut it into manageable strips when it reaches the table. And don't worry that babies will choke if they feed themselves--it's no more of a risk than it is with spoon-feeding.
Order Well Done
Rare steak is safe to eat because, unlike in minced meat patties, the bacteria that can cause illnesses like salmonella is only on the surface of the meat. As long as the outside is cooked, the bacteria will be killed. However, Australian guidelines still maintain that rare meat shouldn't be served to babies and children as their bodies are more vulnerable and sensitive to bacteria. For your own peace of mind, order a well cooked steak for your baby on their first visit.
Opt for Locally Sourced, Grass Fed Beef
When selecting your baby's first steakhouse, make sure you opt for a restaurant that sells locally sourced, grass fed beef. Locally sourced steak is generally more nutritious because it hasn't been deteriorating in transit for thousands of miles. Supporting local Australian farmers also helps create a better economy and less polluted country for your baby to grow up in. Choosing grass fed beef over corn fed beef is preferred because it's lower in fat and cholesterol, higher in vitamins essential nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids and CLAs (acids which help prevent cancer and obesity), and free of the hormones and antibiotics most parents don't want to introduce to their children's bodies.
