Capri Stampone is in a meat-cute romance.
At just 6 months old, before cutting her first tooth, the infant fell in love with beef, chicken and fish — turning her tiny back on the usual jars full of mush that most babies consume, according to mom Angelena Minniti-Stampone.
“She literally snatches the meat out of my mouth,” the Jersey-dwelling married mother of one told The Post. “I can’t cook it fast enough. She loves it.”
Little Capri, now just past her first birthday, is among a growing number of newborns known as “carnivore babies” — tots who say no to baby food, instead preferring to gnaw on grown-up fare like ribeye and New York strip as their primary sources of protein and nourishment.
And the animal-based regimen is especially en vogue among parenting influencers who’ve recently adopted the viral carnivore diet — a meal plan consisting mainly of meat, eggs and some dairy — as a way of life.
The trendy meal plan’s been touted by the A-listers for its alleged weight-dropping, health- and energy-boosting benefits — even as researchers have found that the limiting diet can trigger kidney stones, digestive issues, an increased risk of colon cancer, and even more bizarre side effects like oozing yellow nodes.
Owing to the controversy, parents like Minniti-Stampone, 31, regularly find themselves subject to ridicule, or even threats to call protective services, coming from online critics who object to the notion of weaning wee ones on beefy, fatty grub.
But the self-professed “anti-almond mom” told The Post that for her, raising a carnivore baby isn’t about micromanaging her tot’s weight — nor pumping her full of problematic fare.
Instead, it’s a partnering tactic meant to help Capri develop healthy relationships with food and her body, as she ages.
“I want her to continue to have a healthy appetite, to use food as fuel, and to know that there are no such things as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods,” said Minniti-Stampone, a fitness trainer, who herself grappled with body dysmorphic woes as a kid.
“Growing up in the ’90s and 2000s, there were tons of mixed messages about body image and size,“ added the millennial. “I want my daughter’s love of meat, and food in general, to make her feel good inside and out.”
Some experts approve of the trendy, hearty effort to raise confident, thriving Gen Alpha and Beta babies.
Bridget Kiernan, a pediatric gastroenterologist with NYU Langone Health, says introducing the carnivore lifestyle to tykes is perfectly fine — so long as their intake isn’t overly restrictive.
“A [meat-heavy] diet can be safe for babies, but in moderation,” Kiernan told The Post. “We want to give children a balanced diet with all of the macro- and micro-nutrients.”
That means rather than forking over the full carnivore diet to a baby, Kiernan suggests youngsters eat evenly divided meals consisting of 30% protein, 30% fat, 30% carbohydrates, plus fiber and dairy.
Too much meat, she warned, can predispose kids to health issues, such as obesity, in the future.
“Meat can be a complementary food for infants,” said Kiernan, noting that it’s typically safe to switch tikes from breastmilk to solid foods at the six-month mark — or when they sprout teeth to reduce their risk of choking. “But babies still need carbs, whole grains, sugars from fruits and vegetables.”
Evelyn Flores, 33, a stay-at-home mother of two, from Sunnyside, Queens, agrees. Her 10-month-old son, Kai, however, would “much rather eat a steak over a carrot,” she told The Post.
The diapered gourmand’s love of meat started in the womb, his mother recounted — when all Flores craved was grilled chops.
And once Kai hit 5 months last spring, he began sucking down whipped bone marrow, skirt steaks, picanha beef, tomahawk steaks — and hunks of grass-fed butter as a snack.
“We’re an animal-based family, and it’s helped my husband and me lose weight over the last year,” said Flores, who recently dropped a few dress sizes, thanks to meat-eating.
Kai’s pediatrician is also pleased with his number on the scale, said the mom.
“His doctor said he looks healthy and he’s at the perfect weight,” she bragged of her 25-pounder. “People have said things like, ‘Oh, he shouldn’t be eating [like a carnivore], he should be eating purées,’ but meat is what he wants.”
Taryn and Billy Frenzel, who live in Las Vegas, embraced a carnivore lifestyle in January 2022 after dealing with a health scare and infertility issues, and insist that their three children are “thriving” without processed foods and tons of veggies.
“We feed our kids what we eat,” Taryn, 34, told The Post. “They don’t want pizza, cereal or french fries — they’ve had those things and spit them out. They want meat.”
The meat-obsessed couple, parents to 3-year-old twins and a 7-month-old daughter, served their brood premium steaks from the start. While nursing, Taryn has even swapped out her breast for a slab of juicy beef, giving them the meat to suck on when her body needed a break, she said.
The pair have been subjected to vicious critiques from detractors, with the couple deemed “crazy” and “f–king weird.”
People have been told that eating dead animals would send their family to an “early grave.”
“I couldn’t care less what people online have to say about it,” Taryn asserted. Billy echoed similar sentiments.
“Some of these strangers, who are judging the way I raise my kids, don’t even look healthy,” he said.
“The carnivore diet has made me feel significantly better,” continued Billy.
“As parents, it’s our responsibility to teach the kids how to eat clean — and make good choices for their bodies.”
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