Parmesan cheese in baby food: yes or no? Among the questions that new parents ask themselves with a baby who is approaching foods other than breast milk or formula, this one undoubtedly has a place of honor.

In the article in the next few lines, you will find the answer. The content, which is preceded by an index to give you the opportunity, if you want, to delve into all the details of the topic simply by clicking on the titles of the paragraphs, is based on the advice of Doctor Federica dell'Oro, a nutrition biologist expert in infant nutrition and author of the video course "Practical, easy and stress-free self-weaning".

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The answer to the question of whether or not to include parmesan in baby food is a resounding “It depends.” On what? As specified in this video by Dr. Federica Dell'Oro, everything depends on how you use it.

If you consider it a protein source , there are no problems, as long as you stay within the limit of twice a week recommended for cheese consumption in self-weaning.

However, when it is used as an addition to another protein source , such as legumes, fish, meat or eggs, it is redundant.

Let's take some concrete examples to better understand (you can find many more in the video course). If you cook a pumpkin risotto with a sprinkling of parmesan, it's fine. It is, in fact, a balanced meal . Rice satisfies the need for carbohydrates, pumpkin for fiber, parmesan for protein.

Different, however, is the case of pasta with ragù, even vegetable. In this case, adding the classic sprinkling of parmesan means including two protein sources in the little one's meal.