Cabbage is so nutritious for your whole family.

There are so many green vegetables that have a nutrient profile (and huge amounts of goodness!). They are what we call nutrient dense foods, as opposed to calorie dense foods. And while we don't need to focus on calories with our babies, it's important to find foods that have loads of nutrition per calorie vs empty calories. The easiest comparison I can think of is white rice cereal. Green vegetables are high in nutrients and low in calories, but are cruciferous so require some effort to digest. White rice cereal is high in calories, devoid of nutrients, and is so close to sugar your baby barely needs to digest it before absorbing it. See the difference? We want our babies full of nutrition, and the higher the nutrition per calorie, the better off they will be!

Let's focus on cabbage for a minute though. We know that being green it is going to have loads of antioxidants. But what else does it have to offer?

Cabbage Health Benefits

Cabbage is safe from 8-10 months old

Cabbage has high levels of Vitamin K, and Vitamin C (as with many green vegetables!)

The antioxidants in cabbage have lead to it being associated with reducing inflammation and protecting the bowels against cancer

Cabbage also contains B6, which is a nutrient that is required for healthy methylation processes (you want your baby's methylation to be healthy!)

It contains a compound called sinigrin which is thought to help the body protect itself against cancer

Cabbage has also been shown to have a strong association with preventing type 2 diabetes!

Enjoying cabbage

Two common ways that I eat cabbage is to use it in soups and stir fries. You can have it raw but this will be very difficult for your baby or toddler to digest (and may cause lots of wind too).

Cabbage is great to use when wanting to bulk out your meals a little bit. Second to potatoes, they are the cheapest vegetable available! Adding a bunch of steamed cabbage to your meals instead of cheap grains is a great way to stay healthy and have a full tummy!

One cup a day of cruciferous vegetables is a good serving size to aim for, even with babies and toddlers.

Warnings when eating cabbage

Cabbage is one of the foods like kale that is risky in large doses for people with thyroid issues (or sensitive systems).

It may also cause wind in sensitive babies. So if you’re breastfeeding, you might find cabbage flares your baby’s wind and causes some irritability. If this is the case, I would recommend holding off on introducing to your baby directly until they are at least 12 months of age.

Likewise, if you have a sensitive digestive system, cabbage may also cause wind or bloating in your own body. If this is the case, don’t worry, there are plenty of other green cruciferous vegetables that offer similar nutritional benefits, so you won’t be missing out.