Tiffany Leigh is a food writer in Toronto who expanded her menu to include insects..The Daily Mail reports Leigh first ate insects during a visit to Asia, downing a variety of creepy crawlers, from tarantula legs to scorpion on a stick, saying she loved how the critters were incorporated into local dishes to enhance their textural appeal..Leigh added bugs to her 18-month-old daughter’s diet, specifically crickets, saying they are “a great source of protein” and the youngster “loves” eating them, plus Leigh says it cut hundreds of dollars per month from her grocery bill..On Insider recently, she said her food bill is down from $250 to $300 a week to $150 to $200 a week, with most of the savings coming from eliminating more expensive sources of protein, such as beef, chicken and pork..“[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,' she says..“[Crickets are] a nutritional powerhouse. A mere two tablespoons of cricket powder provides 100% of the daily protein needs of a baby,” reports The Mail..Leigh started her daughter on the cricket diet by giving her Cricket Puffs, which she orders from Entomo Farms, a food retailer which specifically sells treats that are made out of crickets..“The puffs look like Cheetos, but taste far less salty and have a fibrous finish to them,” she says. .According to Entomo Farms' website, the puffs are made from organic cricket flour, fava beans and lentils and are a great source of protein, fiber, and vitamin B12. There are three different flavours including cheddar, cheddar jalapeño, and BBQ, reports The Mail..“[My baby] took to them immediately. She devoured them with delight and didn't notice the slight textural difference,” says Leigh..She also tried whole roasted crickets, which didn’t sit well with her daughter..According to Entomo Farms, the whole roasted crickets are a “light, airy, and crunchy” snack with a “pleasant, nutty, Earthy” taste, much the same as roasted sunflower seeds. .Leigh says she was a bit put off when she saw one of the bugs, because “you can see their little heads, thoraxes, and abdomens all clustered together.”.After just one bite, her daughter tossed what was left onto the floor..Leigh tried a new tact, mixing the critters into pancake mix and macaroni and cheese dishes, which her daughter gladly ate, not knowing the bugs were there. .“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,” says Leigh. “She took a big bite and clamored for more. I ate some and could understand why. You couldn't tell crickets were in these fluffy cakes.” .“The only difference was 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, so it was a winner.”.Next up, says Leigh, is a deeper dive into the insect world, with the addition of ants, grasshoppers and worms to her daughter’s diet..Venus Kalami, a board-certified pediatric dietitian and nutritionist at Solid Starts, a website that has guides on starting babies on solid foods, told Insider preferences around food begin to form in early childhood, and for babies and young children, positive mealtime experiences are key to building a healthy relationship with food. ."During infancy, a child is particularly receptive to exploring a wide variety of foods — a strong argument for introducing insects early on and getting ahead of any negative stereotypes around eating bugs, such as being 'scary' or 'inedible,'" she told Insider.
