Can i feed my baby avocado

Avocado for babies: When can babies eat avocado?

Updated Aug 11, 2022

Avocado is an increasingly popular choice for baby’s first food — and with good reason. Its relatively mild taste and soft texture make it a comforting and easy choice for adults and babies alike.

If you’re thinking about introducing avocado to your baby, keep reading to find out why it’s a nutrient powerhouse and the best ways to serve it.

IN THIS ARTICLE:

Can babies have avocado?
Is avocado healthy for babies?
When can babies eat avocado?
How to introduce avocado for your baby
Is avocado a common allergen?
Is avocado a choking hazard?
Avocado for babies FAQ

Can babies have avocado?

Yes! Babies can have avocado starting around 6 months of age, when they start eating solid food. Make sure the avocado you’re feeding is soft and ripe before serving. At the store, choose a fruit that gives a little to gentle pressure and has dark, bumpy skin.

Is avocado healthy for babies?

Avocados are packed with nutrition for babies. They’re a good source of healthy fats and fiber as well as full of important vitamins and minerals. Plus, they’re tasty and easy to eat!

Avocado nutrients for babies

When it comes to nutrition, avocados are probably best known for their fat content. The healthy, unsaturated fats they contain provide your baby with much-needed energy and help support brain development. Avocados also contain:

Fiber
Potassium
Folate
B vitamins
Vitamin E

Introducing fruits (such as avocados) and vegetables early on can set your baby up to enjoy them over the course of their lifetime, potentially leading to better health outcomes. Additionally, research links avocado consumption to improved lifelong cardiovascular health, weight management, and type 2 diabetes outcomes.

When can babies eat avocado?

Babies and toddlers of all ages can eat avocado. It's also a versatile food that doesn't need to be cooked, which makes it very convenient.

Can babies between 6 and 9 months old eat avocado?

Yes — babies 6 - 9 months old can eat avocados. Avocados are rich in healthy fat, which provides energy as well as helps your baby absorb other nutrients. Serve avocados in a puree or cut in strips for baby-led weaning.

Can babies between 9 and 12 months old eat avocado?

Definitely! Babies can continue eating avocados between 9 and 12 months old. As your baby develops their pincer grasp, you may serve them in cubes or include them with other foods.

Can babies over 12 months old eat avocado?

Babies over 12 months old can eat avocados, too! Toddlers may continue to enjoy avocados cut up or you can add them to other foods. Try mashed up on toast, blended into a smoothie, or scooped up as guacamole.

How to introduce avocado for your baby

Avocados are typically eaten fresh and can be enjoyed on their own or added to a variety of foods. Try:

A simple avocado toast
As a topping for tacos or quesadillas
In a salsa or a smoothie

Check for ripeness and rinse the outer skin before cutting.

Serving avocado for baby-led weaning

Many babies enjoy avocados when they start baby-led weaning around 6 months of age. Slice pinky-sized strips so they can be easily scooped up with your baby’s palm. If they are too slippery, roll slices in panko bread crumbs or leave a small amount of the skin on the bottom to create a handle. Once your baby uses their pointer finger and thumb to pick up food, you can serve in small cubes.

Avocado puree for babies

Avocados are one of the easiest foods to serve as a puree. You can blend some up to make a smooth puree or you can simply mash up with a fork to create a more textured puree. Once your baby advances from purees (around 8 to 9 months), serve avocados cut into small cubes.

Is avocado a common allergen?

Avocado is not one of the common allergens, but it’s possible to have an allergic reaction to avocados. Oral allergies — characterized by itching around the mouth — and latex allergies sometimes occur when consuming or touching avocados. If you have any allergy concerns, call your pediatrician right away.

Is avocado a choking hazard?

Avocados aren’t considered to be a high-risk choking food, especially when they’re soft and ripe. Make sure to serve in a safe size and shape for your baby’s age and feeding ability to further reduce the risk of choking. Lastly, do a quick check for any pieces of the seed before serving it to your baby.

Avocado for babies FAQ

Q: Can I give avocado as a first food?

Avocados are a great option for a first food! They are soft and easy to chew; plus, they have a likable, mild flavor. Serve in a puree or cut in strips for baby-led weaning.

Q: Can babies eat avocado every day?

Babies can eat avocado every day, especially since it’s a highly nutrient-dense food. If your baby loves avocados, go ahead and serve them often. However, aim to include a variety of foods in your baby’s diet as well.

Q: Which part of an avocado should be given to the baby?

Babies, just like adults, should eat the green flesh of the avocado. Peel the skin and remove all parts of the pit before serving.

Q: Is avocado good for teething babies?

Yes — avocados can be a good choice for teething babies because they are so soft. Many babies eat less during the teething process, but this is only temporary. Serving easy-to-chew or cold foods sometimes helps!

Avocado for babies: When can babies eat avocado?

Updated Aug 11, 2022

If you’re thinking about introducing avocado to your baby, keep reading to find out why it’s a nutrient powerhouse and the best ways to serve it.

IN THIS ARTICLE:

Can babies have avocado?
Is avocado healthy for babies?
When can babies eat avocado?
How to introduce avocado for your baby
Is avocado a common allergen?
Is avocado a choking hazard?
Avocado for babies FAQ

Can babies have avocado?

Is avocado healthy for babies?

Avocados are packed with nutrition for babies. They’re a good source of healthy fats and fiber as well as full of important vitamins and minerals. Plus, they’re tasty and easy to eat!

Avocado nutrients for babies

Fiber
Potassium
Folate
B vitamins
Vitamin E

When can babies eat avocado?

Babies and toddlers of all ages can eat avocado. It's also a versatile food that doesn't need to be cooked, which makes it very convenient.

Can babies between 6 and 9 months old eat avocado?

Can babies between 9 and 12 months old eat avocado?

Definitely! Babies can continue eating avocados between 9 and 12 months old. As your baby develops their pincer grasp, you may serve them in cubes or include them with other foods.

Can babies over 12 months old eat avocado?

How to introduce avocado for your baby

Avocados are typically eaten fresh and can be enjoyed on their own or added to a variety of foods. Try:

A simple avocado toast
As a topping for tacos or quesadillas
In a salsa or a smoothie

Check for ripeness and rinse the outer skin before cutting.

Serving avocado for baby-led weaning

Avocado puree for babies

Is avocado a common allergen?

Is avocado a choking hazard?

Avocado for babies FAQ

Q: Can I give avocado as a first food?

Avocados are a great option for a first food! They are soft and easy to chew; plus, they have a likable, mild flavor. Serve in a puree or cut in strips for baby-led weaning.

Q: Can babies eat avocado every day?

Q: Which part of an avocado should be given to the baby?

Babies, just like adults, should eat the green flesh of the avocado. Peel the skin and remove all parts of the pit before serving.

Q: Is avocado good for teething babies?

at what age can you give?

Child's birthday » Baby food » At what age can avocado be given to a child?

06/21/2016

Contents

1 What causes controversy in the scientific community
2 Avocados for the first complementary foods
3 How should an avocado look like?
4 How to choose a healthy avocado?
5 Storage conditions
6 Contraindications
7 Video: Feeding a baby from 4 months

The positive properties of avocados lie in the large number of useful substances contained in it. This is a whole complex of vitamins and minerals. Useful for digestion is the fruit fiber of a ripe avocado grated into gruel. It should be noted that its calorie content is very high - 20Kk per 100 grams of product.

What causes controversy in the scientific community

Avocado is one of the healthiest foods

This fruit is often prescribed for adults to lower cholesterol. For a week of systematic intake, indicators in adults decrease by 30%. The crumbs cannot have such problems with cholesterol, as well as cataracts. In addition to preventing all age-related changes, avocados prevent the development of cancer cells.

Nutritional value and chemical composition of avocado

For children, this fruit is useful because the microelements contained in it contribute to the development of physical and mental. Scientists argue about the age at which avocados can be given to children. And this is in America, where this fruit has long been an integral part of the diet.

For Russia, avocado is an exotic product, which once again speaks against it. It has always been believed that vegetables and fruits that grow in the region where a person lives bring the greatest benefit.

Given that the avocado is also a strong aphrodisiac, the need for its introduction into the children's diet remains in question.

Avocado for the first food

The delicate texture of the first fruit food is easier for the baby's body to digest than the puree of vegetables and herbs. A more subtle unobtrusive taste also speaks in favor of fruit rather than vegetable complementary foods. But is it so important to give all the vitamins and minerals at once when you can please your child with a variety of flavors of fruits and vegetables that are less high in calories and do not contain "adult" vitamins. For example, "Omega-3" may be an extra addition to the mandatory vitamin "D" complex for babies.

Despite the variety of avocado recipes for children, it is better to consult a doctor.

When introducing avocados into baby food, consult your doctor. Advice on the age at which to give avocados is mixed.

It is better to introduce avocado after applesauce

Some scientists are of the opinion that this fruit should not be given to children under 1 year old. Others recommend it as the first complementary food. Here again, the exact age cannot be named, because the first complementary foods for breastfed children are recommended to be introduced no earlier than the baby is 6 months old.

The stomach of a bottle-fed baby is ready to accept tender fruit pulp from 3-4 months. As a rule, for 3-month-old children, applesauce becomes the first complementary food. Avocado has a delicate texture similar to an apple. Its taste is not bright, which can be a good addition to milk. But still, you can enter it a month after the first apple food and banana samples.

What should an avocado look like?

With the appearance of avocados, not everything is clear due to the large number of its varieties. On Russian shelves, you can most often find 4 varieties out of 400 - these are:

Avocado varieties

"Gwen" - the fruits of this variety are oblong and rather large. Their skin is deep green. The flesh is yellow-green. The closer to the bone, the more yellow.
"Reed" also refers to large-fruited varieties. The shape of the fruit is round, the flesh is light yellow, covered with a thick pimply skin of dark green color.
Sweetish pulp under a smooth green skin is hidden in large fruits of the Fuerte variety.
The most common pear-shaped fruits of medium size are the fruits of the Zutano variety. The flesh of the fruit is often white, sometimes yellowish. The smooth skin is easy to peel off.

There are a lot of varieties, so it is difficult to distinguish which of the fruits is ripe and which is not by the appearance of the peel. The main thing is that the peel is green, not purple. For some varieties, the brown color of the fruit peel is acceptable.

How to choose a healthy avocado?

"Maturity" avocado

When choosing an exotic fruit, you can trust your hands and ears. The first step is to touch the fruit: if it is too hard and when pressed with your fingers, its shape remains unchanged, it is not ripe. The soft fruit of the avocado belongs to the category of overripe. There is a high possibility that under a dense peel the process of decay or fermentation has already begun. It is necessary to choose the golden mean. An obligatory criterion when checking the fruit is the restoration of its original shape after pressing. There should be no dents on the peel.

It's even easier to tell when an avocado is ripe by ear. When shaking it, the stone should make a sound of hitting the shell. If this does not happen, the fruit is not ripe, the grain in the stone fits snugly.

When choosing between unripe and overripe avocados, it is better to give preference to the first. After a couple of days of lying, he will reach the required condition, like a pear.

Storage conditions

Avocados are best stored at room temperature

Store at room temperature. You can’t put it in a freezer or refrigerator - this fruit does not tolerate sub-zero temperatures, it deteriorates very quickly if stored improperly. Like all fruits, it must be eaten fresh, only then it will give the maximum benefit to the body and will not cause harm.

Contraindications

Possible cross-reactions are detected in the diagnosis of allergies

The worst thing to give avocados to children suffering from latex allergies. At first glance, latex and fruit are unrelated. Upon a detailed study of the problem, it turned out that intolerance to bananas, apples, cherries, papaya, melons, tomatoes can subsequently affect cross-allergy. This will lead to severe forms of dermatitis on skin contact with latex products.

The threat of avocados is that latex proteins from the sap of euphorbia and mulberry trees are similar to those found in avocados. Latex products, which include nipples and pacifiers, with such a disease, will provoke the production of IgE. This type of immunoglobulin leads to the clinical manifestations of an allergic reaction.

In order not to condemn the child to suffering, it is necessary to consult a doctor before introducing exotic complementary foods. If the baby has problems after trying bananas, then avocados should not be given to him.

Video: Complementary foods from 4 months

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2016-06-21

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from what age can I give and how?

Reading time: 5 minutes

Avocado is one of the most unusual fruits, it is high in calories, fat and contains many nutrients. Recently, this fruit has become available in our country, so many are wondering if avocados can be given to children. Is it really that bad for kids? When can you start using it? Is it acceptable to give babies up to a year? Let's figure it out.

1 When you can give the child avocado and how many

1.1 from how many years you can give avocado

1.2 how and how much to give the baby avocado

1.2.1 Useful properties

1.2.2 possible damage

1.3 recipes of delicious dishes

1.4 How to choose the right one

1.5 Drawing conclusions

1.5.1

Avocados can be given to children under one year old only if the mother consumed these fruits during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and neither she nor the child had an allergic reaction.

But avocado is a dietary product, it is easy to digest, very nutritious and has a mild taste. And the tender pulp allows you to give this fruit even to babies, since it is easy to make puree from it. Therefore, many give it already from 7-8 months and even add it to the first complementary foods at 5-6 months.

It is allowed to add avocados to complementary foods from 6 months if the baby is breastfed, but is already familiar with many foods if he has never had allergies, good digestion.

Doctors disagree on the age at which children can eat avocados. Some believe that not earlier than 3 years old, British scientists recommend introducing the baby to this fruit only at 5-6 years old.

Dr. Komarovsky in many of his articles notes that it is better for a child to add fruits that grow in the area where the family lives in complementary foods. He does not consider avocado a very healthy fruit, so he recommends not rushing to introduce it into the diet of babies under one year old. Check out the video in which Komarovsky tells his opinion (beginning 1:24):

Avocado is bad for the environment / Sniffing / Opinion about an Irishman

Watch this video on YouTube

How and how much to give your baby an avocado

It doesn't matter when an avocado appears in your baby's complementary foods. Always start with half a teaspoon. After that, 2-3 days you need to observe the child. No new foods should be introduced during this time. Otherwise, if an allergic reaction starts, it will not be clear what it is for. Children who have not developed rashes, diarrhea, or other side effects can include avocados in their diet.

The question of whether it is possible to give an avocado to a baby and at what age should be decided individually. It depends on the characteristics of digestion, the presence of allergic reactions, the nutrition of the mother during pregnancy. But do not abuse it, it is better for a child to use such fruits no more than 2-3 times a week.

Avocados are very fatty and nutritious and can cause stool disorders and flatulence.

You also need to know how much pulp you can give. If a child does not have pathologies of the digestive system, a healthy liver and intestines, from 3-4 years old he can eat a quarter of fruit a day. After 7 years, half of the fruit is allowed, and for teenagers - a whole avocado. But we must remember that it is not recommended to consume more than 250 g of pulp per day - due to the high fat content, this is a big burden on the liver.

Benefits

This fruit, also known as the alligator pear, is a fruit. But in terms of taste and nutritional value, it is closer to vegetables. It contains a large amount of fatty acids. This fruit is a source of many nutrients. In 100 g of pulp, there are almost 15 g of fat, and the calorie content is 150 Kcal. There are also vitamins B, K, A, PP, E, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iodine, iron, silicon.

The presence of many useful substances makes avocados a valuable product that can be

to give to children. When used correctly, it has the following effect on the child's body:

strengthens blood vessels, normalizes heart rhythm;
improves digestion, relieves constipation, prevents weight gain;
improves appetite;
ensures the correct formation of the skeleton, strengthens the teeth;
soothes, normalizes sleep;
helps to cope with stress, prevents irritability;
improves the functioning of the kidneys, liver;
normalizes the composition of the blood, increases the level of hemoglobin;
strengthens the immune system, helps to cope with infection, protects against viruses and fungi;
improves memory, attention, increases the ability to learn.

Potential harm

But introducing avocados into the diet of children should be done with caution. After all, it can cause an allergic reaction.

It is especially dangerous to give it to babies with citrus intolerance, latex allergy. In this case, for the first time, you can give the child a taste of this fruit at 5-7 years old.

The use of avocados may cause the following side effects:

urticaria, itching, skin rash;
abdominal pain;
nausea, diarrhea;
flatulence.

When eating an avocado, be aware that its pit and peel are poisonous. It is necessary to carefully clean the fetus, remove the smallest particles of the bone.

Recipes for delicious meals

This fruit is popular for complementary foods because it is soft, has a delicate taste, is easy to digest, and does not need to be chewed. When giving avocados to babies, they first mash only from it. Then you can combine it with other products. It goes well with apples, bananas, peaches, as well as cottage cheese, kefir.

You can use it to make desserts, smoothies, soups, give it as a puree. Just keep in mind that after heat treatment, less nutrients will remain in the pulp, and it can be bitter. Before cooking, the fruit must be washed in hot water. Then peel the skin from it, cut it lengthwise and pull out the bone. If there are scales from it, clean them well. The flesh should be yellow or light green in color, dense. Loose overripe fruits should not be given to children.

When cooking, try to do everything quickly, as the avocado darkens after a few minutes. Therefore, prepare everything in advance, find out how many products you need.

The simplest meal for a baby is mashed potatoes. You need to mash a piece of pulp with a fork or beat in a blender. It is not recommended to add sugar, it will turn out sweet anyway. For babies, you can mix the fruit with breast milk.

You can purée courgettes and avocados later. To do this, boil the zucchini, grind it into a puree, add the alligator pear puree.

Lettuce is made to children after 5 years. For him, you need to cut the cabbage, rub the apple and avocado, mix everything, pour over the lemon juice. Add green onions, dill and a little olive oil.

Instead of butter, a child can spread this fruit puree on bread. To do this, the crushed pulp is mixed with lemon juice.

As a dessert, avocado and kiwi puree is made for the baby. Fruits are ground, then mixed. It is better to rub the kiwi through a sieve to remove the seeds.

The soup is based on chicken broth. It is necessary to grind the pulp into a puree, mix with the broth and bring to a boil. Serve with herbs and croutons.

Avocado soup: video recipe - Doctor Komarovsky

Watch this video on YouTube

How to choose the right one

It is important to choose the right avocado in the store. The peel should be uniform in color, shiny, without spots or damage. You need to press on it with your finger - there should not be dents. If the peel is pressed through, the fruit is overripe, rotting processes could already begin in it. Such fruits should not be given to children, they can cause poisoning.

It is better to choose a slightly unripe fruit, it will ripen in 3-5 days at room temperature. But in order not to take a completely green one, which will be tasteless, you need to shake it near your ear. You should hear the tapping of the bone.

Drawing conclusions

Whether it is possible to give a child or not, and also when it depends on many factors and on the parents themselves. Opinions differ, it is recommended to follow a simple rule that you can give avocados to your child: from 1 to 3 years we try, but carefully from 3 years we give (no more than 2-3 times a week)