Allergy Prevention and Baby-Led Weaning with Malina Malkani RD
Did you know that there are steps you can take as a parent to help reduce the risk of food allergies in your kids? And that all it takes is a surprisingly simple shift in how we feed our babies? Learn more from Malina Malkani RD!
I had my kids in 2010 and 2015, and in just those 5 years, there were massive shifts in everything from how we introduced food allergens into baby’s diet to feeding babies purees vs baby led weaning. It was a bit confusing…and I’m a dietitian!
So when I met Malina Malkani at a conference last month, and heard all about her new book, Safe and Simple Food Allergy Prevention, I immediately asked her to join me here on the pod so we could get a solid re-introduction to, well, the introduction of solids in our babies and learn all about how the science has shifted over the last decade.
Malina is a New York-based registered dietitian, and she shares so many wonderful, practical tips for navigating baby-led feeding on the podcast, including a ‘why didn’t I think of that’ moment at the end of the episode that actually dropped my jaw. Whether you’re a new parent, grandparent or a soon-to-be parent, this episode is going to hopefully help you breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to navigating feeding your wee one.
About Malina:
Malina Malkani, MS, RDN, CDN, is the pediatric registered dietitian, best-selling author, speaker, and single mom of 3 behind the Instagram and TikTok handle, @healthy.mom.healthy.kids. A top nutrition influencer dedicated to educating her combined audience of over 150,000 followers about infant and child nutrition, Malina is a trusted expert in local and national media outlets and owns a nutrition consulting company and private practice that helps caregivers feed their babies and kids with confidence.
A Forbes Health Advisory Board Member since 2022, member of the Advisory Council for the RWJF Reframing Child Health and Obesity project, Kabrita Medical Advisor, and former national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Malina completed her undergraduate degrees at Northwestern University and master’s degree in clinical nutrition at New York University.
On this episode we chat about:
- How has the science of food allergy changed over the last 10 years?
- What causes food allergy in kids?
- The connection between eczema and food allergy
- Can you actually prevent food allergy?
- The optimal age for introducing food allergens
- What is baby-led weaning
- Is it okay to combine feeding approaches?
- What are the signs of allergic reaction in baby?
- Malina’s take on the best first foods for baby
- How much will babies actually eat?
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Connect with Malina Malkani RD
- Website: malinamalkani.com
- Instagram: @healthy.mom.healthy.kids
- Tik Tok: @healthy.mom.healthy.kids
Episode Links + Recommendations:
- Get Malina’s new book: Safe and Simple Food Allergy Prevention: A Baby-Led Feeding Guide to Starting Solids and Introducing Top Allergens
- Simple and Safe Baby-Led Weaning: How to Integrate Foods, Manage Portion Sizes, and Identify Allergies
- Safe & Simple Baby-Led Feeding course
- Solve Picky Eating course
- Ep 77 on plant-based nutrition for kids
- Ep 53 on baby’s first foods