Our family follows a plant-based diet. Can I replace breast or formula milk with the plant-based milk that we drink?
No, you can’t! Despite being called ‘milk’, plant-based beverages are just drinks and they don’t have the same nutritional values as breast or formula milk. By all means, use them as an ingredient in your infant’s dishes (béchamel sauce, smoothie, pasta sauce, etc.) if included in the recipe, but don’t give them to your baby in a bottle as a substitute for breast or formula milk.
Once your baby is one year old, they can be given plant-based milk to drink in a two-handled cup, but only to taste and always as part of a meal that also includes foods with a higher calorie density (e.g. for breakfast with toasted bread, nut or seed butter and jam).
Once your baby is one year old, they can be given plant-based milk to drink in a two-handled cup, but only to taste and always as part of a meal that also includes foods with a higher calorie density (e.g. for breakfast with toasted bread, nut or seed butter and jam).
Updated on: 25/03/2024