ROME, N.Y. — The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Women Infants and Children’s Program (WIC) and now for the first time ever, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend introducing solid foods, like beef, to infants and toddlers, in order to pack every bite with protein, iron, zinc and choline.
At about six months of age, babies will begin to eat solid food in addition to breastmilk or formula. It is important to start solid foods around this time as it helps your baby meet nutritional requirements, and teaches he or she how to eat a range of textures and flavors. Some key nutrients for babies’ development are protein, iron, zinc, Vitamin D, DHA, and fat. Beef, whether in a solid or pureed form, can be a source of some of these nutrients.
To capitalize on these new recommendations New York Beef Council engaged five social media nutrition bloggers this spring to promote baby’s first foods. NYBC called on registered dietitian social influencers that had young infants or toddlers, and challenged them to create a family meal using recipes from Beef It’s What’s for Dinner.com or a beef recipe from their own recipe books. They had to create a regular family meal as well as a ground and pureed version of the meal. To enhance the experience the dietitians were given Baby Ninja blenders to create the ground and pureed options. Their social channels then had a giveaway of the blenders to engage their followers. Social influencer meals ranged from beef fajitas created by @thesassydietitian to sloppy joes created by @chefabbiegellman to meatballs created by @dairyfarmerrd.
The promotion was fun and successful in showing moms that want to share a family meal and create their own baby food just how to do it, ensuring their favorite family meals are part of the newest member of the family’s diet. Total reach for the promotion was over 46,500 consumers with nearly 5,500 engagements for the campaign! There are five lucky families that now own their own baby food blenders to ensure beef protein is part of their infant’s healthy diet.
For more information about introducing solid foods to infants and infant preparation and feeding tips, visit https://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/nutrition/beef-in-the-early-years.
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The Beef Checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB), which administers the national Beef Checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. Consumer-focused and producer-directed, the CBB and its State Beef Council partners are the marketing organization for the largest segment of the food and fiber industry.
–New York Beef Council
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