Is mint
HEALTHY
for babies?
Yes. With its refreshing smell and bright taste, mint has been used medicinally for thousands of years in tinctures and other therapeutic concoctions. It’s believed to aid digestion, so try adding a little minced mint to fruit and purees, if making from home. As a flavor-forward food, a very little amount of mint goes a long way and baby is not likely to consume enough of the herb to get a ton of nutritional value from it. Nonetheless, mint does contain folate, iron, and vitamins A, C, and K.
How to prepare peas for your baby!
Every baby develops on their own timeline. The preparation suggestions below are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional, one-on-one advice from your pediatric medical or health professional, nutritionist or dietitian, or expert in pediatric feeding and eating. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or seen here.
6 to 12 months old: Incorporate finely minced mint into purees, patties, lentil burgers, soups, pasta, and smoothies. Add mint to relishes or sauces to serve alongside fish, grains, or steamed vegetables.
12 to 18 months old: Incorporate finely minced mint into purees, patties, lentil burgers, soups, pasta, and smoothies. Add mint to relishes or sauces to serve alongside fish, grains, or steamed vegetables..
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18 to 24 months old: This is a great age to serve mint with grain salads like quinoa and other whole grains as your toddler becomes more adept at eating these foods. Incorporate mint into pesto and other sauces and dips, such as a garlicky, minty yogurt. Add to smoothies and refreshing drinks like watermelon-mint agua fresca.
It's a fact!
Peppermint is thought to have originated in Northern Africa and the Mediterranean. In the Ebers Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medical text dating to 1550 BC, mint is listed as calming to stomach pains. Mint was so valued in Egypt that it was used as a form of currency
From the fields of ancient Egypt to the present-day American Pacific Northwest, mint has a long history of use for a broad range of purposes that involve the entire plant, not just its oil.
For example, one of the oldest surviving medical texts in the world, the ancient Egyptian Ebers Papyrus from 1550 BC, cites mint as a digestive and a tool to soothe flatulence. Mint became an established market in North America from the nineteenth century onward. While today we might associate fresh minty flavor with oral hygiene, a look to the history of mint shows how a plant can hold a much more permanent place in our lives. We’ve used mint for thousands of years—the whole plant, not just the oil, and for much more than cleaning our teeth. We want mint to cleanse every part of the body: our mouths, stomachs, skin, even “refreshing the Brain, and comforting the Heart,” as one author wrote in 1683.