A mother has sparked fury and calls for intervention after revealing she’s feeding crickets to her 18-month-old baby.
Tiffany Leigh is a proud mom and a food writer from Toronto, Canada, who loves eating crickets not only because they’re affordable but also because they’re a “great source of protein” as she puts it.
As the woman explained, she first gave the insects a try during her travels in Asia and was left impressed by how the crickets were incorporated into a variety of local dishes.
Extending her passion for the sustainable food source, Tiffany also decided to introduce her 18-month-old daughter to crickets and save hundreds of dollars on food bills in the process.
“[My daughter is] at the age where she’s fearless and curious, so this is an opportune time to try more ‘exotic’ foods that aren’t considered a dietary staple in North America,” the mom explained in an interview with Insider.
“[Crickets are] a nutritional powerhouse. A mere two tablespoons of cricket powder provides 100 per cent of the daily protein needs of a baby. She took to them immediately. She devoured them with delight and didn’t notice the slight textural difference.”
After the initial success with cricket powder, the mother decided to try to feed whole roasted crickets to her daughter. The light and airy snack, however, was not accepted by the toddler as well as the powdered alternative.
“We had more success when the ground crickets were ‘hidden’ in pancakes. You could see the black flecks in the batter, but my baby was unfazed by the appearance change,” Tiffany added.
“She took a big bite and clamored for more. I ate some and could understand why – you couldn’t tell that crickets were in these fluffy cakes.
“The only difference was that they had a slightly nutty finish. For dinner, I sprinkled some of the powder into our mac-and-cheese sauce, tossed it with some pasta shells, and again, she couldn’t taste anything different. She then made the sign for ‘more’ – it was a winner.”
Despite facing some backlash over the dietary choices she’s made for her child, the mother insists on incorporating “more edible insects” into her family’s diet.
As she explained, she’s looking forward to giving worms, grasshoppers, and ants a try when her daughter gets a bit older.
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