In this Nigerian economy, I can’t understand how and why mothers are feeding their babies Cerelac. First, it’s expensive (if you can afford Cerelac, you’re part of the rich we should be eating). Secondly, with the type of energy babies expend, there’s no way a mix of wheat and milk is enough for them. They need to eat proper food like the ones I’ve listed below.
Akara and Bread
Only feed this to them on Saturday mornings. So they know it’s part of a routine. It’ll even be better if you give them a few chores to do before they eat. That way, they’ll learn about delayed gratification and reward for hard work.
Jollof rice
If there’s one significant meal babies must eat, it’s Jollof rice, the meal that brings Nigerians together across all tribes. It’s a part of our traditional and pop culture. Feeding them white man’s food (Cerelac) is almost disrespectful when they’ve not had Nigeria’s staple. Also, they need context to properly fight the Jollof wars when speaking to their baby friends from other African countries.
Amala, ewedu and gbegiri
We’ve been blessed with an elite meal, amala, and I don’t see why babies should be deprived of such a blessing. Also, how else will they understand the jaiye lifestyle if they’re not eating one of the significant Nigerian party foods?
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Rice and stew
This is to remind them that there’ll always be rice at home. Let them get used to the taste of what that feels like. So when they tell you they want to eat burger, and you say, “there’s rice at home”, they won’t give you an attitude.
Beans
Do you not want your babies to grow? So feed them what their body needs. But let it be ewa agoyin with fried plantain and two ponmo because that’s the complete package. You can blend the ponmo if you want.
Akpu
Akpu is to teach them that life can be hard sometimes. If you’ve eaten akpu before, you’ll know what I’m talking about. From the name alone, you can already tell how hard the food is.
Isi ewu
This teaches them that they’ll always be the head and not the tail in life. And it’s also sort of a prayer that they’ll be G.O.A.Ts in whatever they do.
Creamy pasta
Babies need to eat creamy pasta to be bad bitches when they grow up. The type who goes to Ilashe beach on weekends and knows how to enjoy life.
Semo
Only feed them this meal once. So they’ll know to avoid it for the rest of their lives. Nobody deserves to eat semo, not even crackheads babies.
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