Canned food for baby


Canned Vegetables, Canned Fruits and Food for Homemade Baby Food, It's Just not Fresh! Learn why you should not use canned foods such as canned vegetables or fruits, for Making Homemade Baby Food?

Can I use Canned Fruits and Canned Vegetables to Make Baby Food?

It is not a good idea to use canned foods to make and freeze homemade baby food. There are a variety of reasons for this and two of the biggest reasons to not use canned foods for homemade baby food is shelf-life and taste.

Do you eat more frozen veggies or more canned veggies? The odds are that you eat more frozen veggies because they are fresher and have a much better taste than canned foods have.

While canned foods may be safe to make homemade baby food with, they are not the best choice. In the process of producing canned foods, the foods are packed into the can, the can is then filled with liquid (syrup or brine) and then the can is heated. After the heating of the can, the can is then cooked at a temperature high enough to ensure that the food has a long shelf-life.

One problem with this process is that the cans are lined with a coating that may leach BPA when heated. It is said that people are at high risk of BPA exposure due to leaching from canned foods and canned drinks.

Should You Use Canned Fruits & Vegetables When Making Homemade Baby Food?

Why canned vegetables and fruits are not recommended for making homemade baby food:

Pumpkin is the only exception to the canned foods “rule”. Pumpkin comes packed with nothing more than pumpkin. Other fruits/veggies sit around soaked in water or syrups, leaching their nutrients into the water – you toss out the water and also end up tossing out the nutrients. And let’s face it, canned green beans, for example, are not really appetizing and their texture is just icky too!

  • You want your homemade baby food to contain as many nutrients as possible. Canned foods sit around on a shelf and leach many of their nutrients into the water in which they are packed. When we open canned foods, we most often toss out the packing liquid thereby, tossing out some nutrients as well.
  • Canned foods often contain many different preservatives along with a high amount of sodium and sugar(s) depending on the type of canned food. The majority of canned fruits are packed in heavy syrups and sugars that are not good for baby.
  • Canned foods are often older than your baby and have a shelf-life of quite a few years.
  • Canned fruits and vegetables for homemade baby food should not be used because you should not cook, puree and then freeze them. Because canned foods are processed at high temperatures and also cooked, further cooking, freezing and reheating may lead to a loss of precious nutrients. Homemade baby food made with canned fruits or vegetables would contain less nutrients due to the repetitive cooking.
  • Canned fruits and vegetables have a texture that is very soft and oftentimes really mushy. This texture, while good for finger foods, makes purees very runny and a bit grainy as well.
  • Canned fruits and vegetables for homemade baby food should not be used because you should not cook and then freeze the canned foods; significant nutrient loss here!
  • There may be a lot of waste with canned foods unless the family eats them and you serve them for 1 or 2 servings only.

When canned vegetables and fruits may be used for making homemade baby food:

  • Use canned foods as a last resort but do not puree and freeze them. If you cannot find fresh or frozen fruits or vegetables that you wish to serve your baby, or you cannot find these foods without salt or sugar/syrup, using canned is an option.
  • Canned foods can make great baby finger foods. As canned foods are already a bit mushy and are ready to eat, you can open a can of veggies, heat them up and then serve them for finger food. Using canned fruits is also a great way to serve up fast finger foods.
  • If you cannot find fresh or frozen fruits that you would like to serve to your baby, canned foods will suffice. Use canned foods as a last resort but do not puree and freeze them.
  • Be sure to thoroughly read the label of any canned food that you purchase. Many canned foods are loaded with salt, preservatives and sugars. Do not feed these foods to your baby.

 Remember, always consult with your pediatrician regarding introducing solid foods to your baby and specifically discuss any foods that may pose allergy risks for your baby.

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Can Babies Eat Canned Vegetables? It Might Be Time To Give Peas A Chance

Life

Katrina Wittkamp/Photodisc/Getty Images

by Lindsay E. Mack

Easing your baby into solid foods is a major transition, and there's so much to learn about which foods babies can eat and when they can eat them. For instance, you know veggies are an important first food, but which ones? Can babies eat canned vegetables? Fresh isn't always an option, but not every can of beans in the store belongs on your kid's high chair tray.

That said, for the most part, experts agree that canned veggies make fantastic baby food. "Canned vegetables are fine. In fact they are nice and soft which is safe for baby to prevent choking," family nutritionist Jennifer House MSc, RD, tells Romper. Encouraging your baby to sample veggies now also helps set up healthy eating habits for the future. "Vegetables are a great choice to feed to babies. Not only are they nutritious, but it’s also important to help children learn to like vegetables from an early age," Erin Quann, Ph.D., RD, Director of Nutrition Research at Gerber, tells Romper. In fact, eating a variety of vegetables as a baby might even help prevent kids from becoming picky eaters later on. Consider it an investment in your kid's culinary future.

Benjamin Egerland / EyeEm/EyeEm/Getty Images

However, not all commercially available canned veggies are great for babies. "The main concern with canned vegetables is that they tend to have a high sodium content," Samantha Radford Ph.D., founder of Evidence-based Mommy, tells Romper. "Babies should not have much salt at all, so they need to avoid regular canned foods." So what should you keep in mind when searching for baby-friendly veggies? "Try to find canned vegetables that are canned in water and have no salt or flavoring," Amanda A. Kostro Miller, RD, LDN, tells Romper.

Packaging is also worth consideration. "Make sure that all canned foods you give babies have a BPA free liner," says Dr. Radford. "Be particularly careful about BPA with acidic foods such as canned tomatoes." Even the FDA has expressed concern about BPA's effect on babies and children, so it's generally a good idea to avoid the stuff.

Flavia Morlachetti/Moment/Getty Images

In addition, keep the texture of canned veggies in mind. "Pureed, soft, cooked and mashed foods are the easiest for babies to consume," says Miller. They can work up to eating soft, cooked veggies cut into half-inch pieces as a toddler, as Miller further explains. Just keep your kid's chewing ability in mind, especially if they aren't working with a full set of teeth yet.

While it's great to kick-start your child's love of veggies with canned vegetables, there are just a few tips to keep in mind. But as long as you're working with low-sodium, BPA-free, and soft options, canned vegetables are a worthy addition to your kid's diet. Hopefully, your child will grow to love carrots, peas, beans, and all the other wonderful veggies later on.

Experts:

Jennifer House MSc, RD, Registered Dietitian with First Step Nutrition

Amanda A. Kostro Miller, RD, LDN, on the advisory board for Fitter Living

Erin Quann, Ph. D., R.D., Director of Nutrition Research at Gerber

Samantha Radford, Ph.D., founder of Evidence-based Mommy

Non-child food. 10 Foods Not to Eat Preschoolers | Child health | Health

Julia Borta

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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/ d13 / Shutterstock.com

Many parents believe that as soon as the child is one year old, he can be transferred to the common table. That is, to allow eating everything that the rest of the family eats. However, pediatricians assure that this is a big delusion. nine0005

Telling Elena Pavlovskaya, Senior Researcher, Clinical Nutrition Clinic, Federal Research Center for Nutrition and Biotechnology, Candidate of Medical Sciences the family should eat right, follow the principles of healthy eating. If it is a common table with fried potatoes, pickles and mayonnaise, then the child cannot be transferred to such food. Neither a one-year-old, nor a 5-year-old. nine0005

So what should be avoided in baby food?

Fried foods, especially those with a crust. It is permissible to include them in the children's menu no more than once a week. It is better to cook for a couple, in the oven or stew. You can lightly fry, and then bring to readiness in the oven.

Preserves not intended for baby food. This applies to both meat and canned fish such as common saury. The exception is red fish. Canned salmon, pink salmon can be used to make soups for children over 3 years old. nine0005

Semi-finished products: frozen cutlets, dumplings, breaded fish fingers, chicken nuggets, etc. To keep them longer and have the usual taste, they add much more fat and salt than the hostess puts when she cooks for her family herself.

Prepared sauces: ketchup, mayonnaise and other sauces based on them. They have a lot of unnecessary components - flavorings, preservatives. First of all, they can cause allergies. Plus, due to the high fat content, a problem with the gastrointestinal tract. Light mayonnaise is not an option. Reducing the percentage of fat is achieved by adding other components that are harmful to children. nine0005

Smoked sausages, smoked meat. It is better not to accustom a child to them at all, again because of the large amount of fat, salt and unhealthy additives.

Mushrooms. Fried, boiled, self-assembled or bought children under 7 years old should not be given. The exception is mushroom soup with the addition of champignons, mushroom puree soup, it is allowed to give it to older preschoolers.

If the child is not yet 3 years old, then one more “forbidden” list is added to the above:

Caviar and delicious salted fish, both red and white. Moms and grandmothers try to give caviar sandwiches to children, thinking that it contains a lot of substances valuable for the body. However, the benefits of caviar for a small child are much less than the harm from excess salt and fat in this product. In addition, caviar often causes allergies. nine0005

Carbonated soft drinks. They irritate the child's immature gastrointestinal tract, especially the stomach. And besides, they contribute to the formation of wrong eating habits - children drink them like water. However, they can be consumed only in minimal quantities as a dessert. And do not use to quench your thirst. If your child is thirsty, offer plain water.

Buns, pies, cakes with butter cream. It is better to choose pastries with fruit fillings, jelly, soufflé.

Multi-colored sweets, chewing marmalade, which are sold in supermarkets at checkouts. These are sweets with a lot of dyes and flavors. But chocolate from 2-3 years old is allowed in small quantities.

See also:

  • Education of taste. How to wean a child from sweet and harmful? →
  • Fruit from the cradle. What do Spanish mothers feed their children? →
  • Start the day with benefit. What is the correct breakfast? →

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types, composition, properties of canned food for children

Canned food for children is a special food for children, consisting of juices, meat dishes, fruit and vegetable puree, corresponding to the needs and characteristics of the metabolism of babies.

Interesting! The first canned food for children was produced in Switzerland in the second half of 19c., it was a milk concentrate consisting of cow's milk, sugar and flour.

It wasn't until nearly 70 years later that the first fruit and vegetable purees for children with a long shelf life were produced in the USA. They became so popular in America that a year later they were sold in every city in the United States.

Canned foods for children appeared in the USSR only in the mid-1930s.

Composition

Especially high demands are placed on canned food for children, so their nutritional value and taste often surpass home-made dishes. For their creation, high-quality and proven products are selected, grown and harvested in compliance with all necessary safety measures, while the use of flavors, dyes, spices is prohibited. nine0005

The use of vacuum packaging and modern heat treatment technologies allow keeping food fresh without the use of chemical preservatives.

The chemical composition of canned children largely depends on the type of product and may include:

  • proteins;
  • polyunsaturated fatty acids;
  • carbohydrates;
  • vitamins: carotene (A), ascorbic acid ©, beta-carotene;
  • mineral salts: phosphorus, calcium, iron, iodine, potassium. nine0051

Interesting! Children's vegetable and fruit purees practically do not contain fiber (up to 1%), their calorie content varies between 29 - 133 kcal, the vitamin-mineral complex is optimally balanced depending on the age-related needs of the child's body, it can be stored for 12 months.

For the preparation of canned food for children use:

  • meat products: beef, poultry, pork, lamb, horse meat; nine0051
  • marine fish;
  • vegetables: marrows, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, peas, spinach and others;
  • fruits and berries: banana, peach, apple, plum, raspberry, blueberry and others;
  • cereals: rice, buckwheat, oatmeal, corn, barley;
  • pasta;
  • oils: sunflower, olive, corn, butter.

Canned baby food may contain rice flour, wheat or corn starch, canned meat products for children may also contain butter or vegetable oil, meat broth. nine0005

Species

The assortment of canned food for children is represented by several main groups:

  • fruits and berries;
  • fruit;
  • fruits and vegetables;
  • vegetable;
  • meat and vegetables;
  • meat.

Canned food for children are also divided according to age parameters:

  • for children 3-6 months. it is recommended to use homogenized purees;
  • for children 6-9 months puree-like canned food is produced; nine0051
  • for children from 9-12 months. and older coarsely ground products are recommended.

Advantages

  1. Canned baby food products are made from only the highest quality raw materials, with careful control over each stage of production.
  2. These products are distinguished by their high nutritional value and balanced composition.
  3. Has a sealed package that allows you to keep it for a long time.
  4. Easy to use - just warm up the product. nine0051
  5. Safe because it is produced under control to ensure that no pathogens or foreign contaminants are present in the formulation.

Restriction for use

Improper introduction of complementary foods can provoke allergic reactions.

Allergy to the ingredients of baby food is a limitation to the use of this product.

For children suffering from intolerance to gluten, cow's milk proteins and food allergies, modern manufacturers produce special meals.


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