Choosing an Avocado to Feed to Your Baby – big avocado or the little avocado?
One of these things is not like the others
One of these things just doesn’t belong
Can you tell which thing is not like the others.
By the time I finish my song?
( come on, sing along! Bonus points if you can tell me what song this is!)
The image on the right shows 2 avocados. Yes, that really large brighter green fruit is indeed an avocado. It is called a Florida avocado and you may have seen it in the grocery store labeled a “Slimcado”.
The smaller, darker, bumpy-skinned avocado is the familiar Haas or California avocado. While both of these are avocados, they are not really one and the same, from a nutritional standpoint.
The “Slimcado” or Florida avocado is quite different in its nutritional makeup compared to the Haas. It has less fat (hence the term “slimcado”), less calcium, less folate and less of many other nutrients. See the chart below, compiled from the USDA Nutrient Database. The Florida avocado is not as creamy or tasty as the Haas avocado either (an opinion I share with a lot of other folks). So when choosing the type of avocado to offer to your little one, bigger is not better in this instance. If you are just starting solids with your baby, avocado makes a great first food. Check out more about avocados for your baby and find lots of avocado baby food recipes too!
|
California – Haas – Avocado 1 cup pureed
|
||
| Water |
g
|
166.36 |
| Energy |
kcal
|
384 |
| Protein |
g
|
4.51 |
| Total lipid (fat) |
g
|
35.44 |
| Carbohydrate, by difference |
g
|
19.87 |
| Fiber, total dietary |
g
|
15.6 |
| Sugars, total |
g
|
0.69 |
| Minerals | ||
| Calcium, Ca |
mg |
30 |
| Iron, Fe |
mg |
1.40 |
| Magnesium, Mg |
mg |
67 |
| Phosphorus, P |
mg |
124 |
| Potassium, K |
mg |
1166 |
| Sodium, Na |
mg |
18 |
| Zinc, Zn |
mg |
1.56 |
| Vitamins | ||
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid |
mg |
20.2 |
| Thiamin |
mg |
0.172 |
| Riboflavin |
mg |
0.329 |
| Niacin |
mg |
4.398 |
| Vitamin B-6 |
mg |
0.660 |
| Folate, DFE |
mcg_DFE |
205 |
| Vitamin B-12 |
µg |
0.00 |
| Vitamin A, RAE |
mcg_RAE |
16 |
| Vitamin A, IU |
IU |
338 |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) |
mg |
4.53 |
| Vitamin D (D2 + D3) |
µg |
0.0 |
| Vitamin D |
IU |
0 |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) |
µg |
48.3 |
| Lipids | ||
| Fatty acids, total saturated |
g |
4.890 |
| Fatty acids, total monounsaturated |
g |
22.538 |
| Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated |
g |
4.177 |
| Cholesterol |
mg |
0 |
|
Florida “Slimcado” Avocado 1 cup pureed
|
||||||||||||||||
| Water |
g |
181.26 |
||||||||||||||
| Energy |
kcal |
276 |
||||||||||||||
| Protein |
g |
5.13 |
||||||||||||||
| Total lipid (fat) |
g |
23.14 |
||||||||||||||
| Carbohydrate, by difference |
g |
17.99 |
||||||||||||||
| Fiber, total dietary |
g |
12.9 |
||||||||||||||
| Sugars, total |
g |
5.57 |
||||||||||||||
| Minerals | ||||||||||||||||
| Calcium, Ca |
mg |
23 |
||||||||||||||
| Iron, Fe |
mg |
0.39 |
||||||||||||||
| Magnesium, Mg |
mg |
55 |
||||||||||||||
| Phosphorus, P |
mg |
92 |
||||||||||||||
| Potassium, K |
mg |
807 |
||||||||||||||
| Sodium, Na |
mg |
5 |
||||||||||||||
| Zinc, Zn |
mg |
0.92 |
||||||||||||||
| Vitamins | ||||||||||||||||
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid |
mg |
40.0 |
||||||||||||||
| Thiamin |
mg |
0.048 |
||||||||||||||
| Riboflavin |
mg |
0.122 |
||||||||||||||
| Niacin |
mg |
1.546 |
||||||||||||||
| Vitamin B-6 |
mg |
0.179 |
||||||||||||||
| Folate, DFE |
mcg_DFE |
80 |
||||||||||||||
| Vitamin B-12 |
µg |
0.00 |
||||||||||||||
| Vitamin A, RAE |
mcg_RAE |
16 |
||||||||||||||
| Vitamin A, IU |
IU |
322 |
||||||||||||||
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) |
mg |
6.12 |
||||||||||||||
| Vitamin D (D2 + D3) |
µg |
0.0 |
||||||||||||||
| Vitamin D |
IU |
0 |
||||||||||||||
Lipids
|
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When you want to purchase an avocado, especially to feed your little one, choose the Haas!
Category: 4-6 months, 6 months, 8 months, featured, Finger Foods, Friendly Baby Food Advice, fruits, Nutrition
We just started with avocado with my little one and we gave her the Haas avocado. Even though we live in FL and can get the FL version for free I prefer the Haas from the grocery store and it was a hit with our baby girl!
Comment by N Lees — February 23, 2012 @ 11:38 am
Thanks, I’ve always wondered what the difference between the two types was but could never figure it out. I love avocado, unfortunately my baby does not.
Comment by ce — February 23, 2012 @ 1:45 pm
If at first you don’t succeed….
Don’t give up on the avocado just yet. Babies need between 10-15 exposures to a food before they truly develop a like or dislike for that food. I’d try to introduce it again and see what happens and if you get the same response, wait a week or 2 and try try again.
Comment by Maggie — February 23, 2012 @ 10:21 pm
Me too! I don’t like the texture or the taste of the Florida avocado and I’d pay for Haas as well!
Comment by Maggie — February 23, 2012 @ 10:23 pm