Variety of baby food

What Are the Different Types of Baby Food Products?

Food

Fact Checked

Christina Edwards

Last Modified Date: October 18, 2022

Baby cereal is generally the first solid food that a parent will feed her child. After that, the baby can be introduced to a variety of baby food products, which are usually separated into different stages. Babies will generally start eating pureed fruits and vegetables after infant cereal, and then move on to chunkier mixtures of fruits, vegetables, and meats. Commercial baby foods can be purchased in convenient single servings, but some parents may prefer to make all or some of their baby's food themselves.

Once a baby is able to hold his head up and sit on his own, he is usually ready to begin eating solid foods. Baby cereal, or infant cereal, is usually recommended for a baby's first solid food. While rice cereal is the most common type of infant cereal, parents can also choose oatmeal or wheat infant cereal. These baby food products should be mixed with breast milk, organic formula, or juice before they are consumed.

After a baby is able to eat infant cereals without any problems, he can then move on to first stage baby food products. These products generally consist of finely pureed fruits or vegetables. Infants should generally be fed just one fruit or vegetable at a time to start out with. Once a baby is able to digest one food and has no allergic reactions, he can then be fed another food.

As an infant's digestive tract develops and he has eaten several stage-one foods, he can then move on to stage-two baby food products. These types of baby food are usually introduced at around seven or eight months of age. Although they are still pureed, they generally have a somewhat lumpier texture, which can help a baby get used to chewing larger pieces in his mouth. Stage-two foods may also have more than one ingredient, such as a meats and vegetables.

Stage-three foods are usually even chunkier than stage-two foods. These baby food products will also usually contain more than two ingredients. When a baby is able to eat these foods without a problem, he can then begin to eat small amounts of soft, regular food. Special baby meals can often be found in most grocery stores, and babies can also usually eat regular food, as long as it is cut into small pieces.

Commercial pureed baby foods are very convenient baby food products, since they are already the perfect consistency for an infant and they come in infant sized servings. Buying these products, however, can get somewhat expensive, and some parents prefer to make their own baby food. This can be done by pureeing food with a blender, food processor, or baby food maker.

If your baby has a health condition or you are concerned about their transition to food, you can see an expert for advice and schedule a consultation with a pediatric nutritionist. Pediatric nutritionists specialize in infant and childhood nutrition and can set up a meal plan that works for your baby and your family. A pediatric nutritionist can also offer advice on how to introduce new foods to your baby or infant in positive and healthy ways.

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Variety of choice - what to give a child?

Reviewer Kovtun Tatiana Anatolievna

10266 views

September 15, 2021

When a baby is just starting to try complementary foods, their assortment is quite poor. After all, at first the baby must get used to a new food that is different from breast milk or formula. Therefore, this food should be low-allergenic and simple. Gradually, the baby's diet is expanding, and now mothers are already faced with a difficult choice - what to offer the baby from such a wide variety of baby food. Which of these products can a baby, and at what age?

Let's talk about drinks

In the line of baby food "FrutoNyanya" you can see a wide variety of drinks: juices and nectars (single and multi-component), fruit drinks, compotes, jelly, etc.

First question: what is this diversity for and does the baby need it?

The second question - is it possible to give everything from this wide assortment to a child?

The third question - at what age and in what cases can a child be given this or that product?

Variety is useful for forming taste preferences

The fact is that a variety of complementary foods allows you to make a baby's diet more complete - after all, one product may contain a useful substance that is not in another, and vice versa.
In addition, the diversity of the diet contributes to the formation of the taste preferences of the child.
And one more thing - a wide range of complementary foods allows you to maximally individualize the approach to compiling a baby's menu. For example, a child may not tolerate a certain product, or he will not like its taste and the baby will refuse this product. And it's great if there is an opportunity to offer the child something else interchangeable.

Baby's first drink

The first drink that a baby usually tries in his life is usually fruit juice. Fruit juice is introduced into the baby's diet no earlier than 4 months and according to all the rules for the introduction of complementary foods: gradually, starting with a few drops, in 5-7 days increasing the volume to the prescribed age. Of course, in each case, the question of the period of introduction of the product is discussed with the pediatrician.

The first juice should be hypoallergenic monocomponent juice - for this purpose, hypoallergenic juices of the "FIRST CHOICE" from FrutoNyanya are produced from pears and apples. It is these juices that are suitable for the first acquaintance with juice. Clarified apple or pear juice is low allergenic and has low acidity. These properties provide the best tolerance for juices by the baby.

Time for new flavors

After the baby is used to single-component juices, juices or nectars from a mixture of fruits (but not earlier than 5 months), fruits and berries or a mixture of fruits and vegetables to which the child is already accustomed or containing one type of juice new to the baby. After pear and apple juices, juices and nectars from peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, as well as vegetable juices and nectars from carrots and pumpkins can be introduced into the baby's diet. which will expand the menu of the child and diversify his taste sensations.

The pulp contained in juices and nectars enhances intestinal motility, so it is advisable to introduce such juices into the diet of children with a tendency to constipation, but be careful when prescribing babies with unstable stools. For example, in the line "FrutoNyanya" there are "Nectar from apples and plums with pulp", "Juice from apples and pears with pulp".

Separately, we note that the composition of vegetable nectars "FrutoNyanya": "Nectar from carrots with pulp" and "Nectar from pumpkins with pulp" includes natural juices and purees. Carrots and pumpkin contain provitamin A (beta-carotene), so the nectars from these vegetables are not only tasty, but also healthy. Orange, banana, strawberry juices and nectars should not be introduced earlier than 6-7 months due to their high potential for allergenicity.

Acidic and tart juices and nectars are made, for example, from blackcurrant, rosehip, which contain organic acids and vitamin C. They are recommended to be given to a baby mixed with other juices or in the form of fruit drinks and compotes. Fruit drinks and compotes contain natural juices and (or) purees obtained from berries and fruits with water and sugar.

These juices, nectars, fruit drinks and compotes are widely represented in the FrutoNyanya product line.

Compotes and fruit drinks, depending on the components they contain, also have certain useful properties. So, prunes and dried apricots in their composition contribute to increased intestinal motility, therefore they are recommended for children prone to constipation. An example of such products can be FrutoNyanya compotes: Compote from apples, prunes and raisins, Compote from apples with extract of raisins and dried apricots.

The timing of the introduction of fruit drinks and compotes, as well as juices and nectars, depends on the components included in their composition - for example, “Cherry and Raspberry Compote” can be introduced from 5 months, and the more allergenic “Apple and Strawberry Compote” - from 6 months.

Combined drinks

For example, the herbal extracts included in the “Drink from apples with chamomile and linden extracts” (for children from 6 months) have a calming, slight antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory effect.

Thus, the choice of drinks for the baby is great, you just need to choose what your child needs, of course, taking into account the recommendations of the pediatrician.

For information about age restrictions on the use of FrutoNyanya products, see the individual packaging. Specialist consultation is required. The first choice of products for the first acquaintance with the corresponding category of FrutoNyanya products.

Reviewer Kovtun Tatiana Anatolievna

Scientific adviser of PROGRESS JSC, Ph.D.

From childhood, we must teach our children to choose from the variety of foods that are really good for health. The nutrition of children is somewhat different from the nutrition of adults. If the child's nutrition system is built correctly, then the child develops normally, both physically and mentally.

Make your family's way of life by introducing your child to proper nutrition every day. There is no need to arrange constant lectures from this on the topic of what is useful and what is harmful. By actively communicating with your child, setting an example, you instill good eating habits.

Only good things should be spoken at the table. The situation should help the child to relax, then the appetite will be good, and the mood will be friendly. Children can help you with serving and decorating dishes. When you serve vegetables and fruits on the table, ask the children what vitamins and minerals they contain and why they are so useful. In order to organize the proper nutrition of the child, you need to follow several important rules:

Rule 1

Food should be varied.

This is an important condition for the child's body to receive all the substances necessary for growth and development. Every day, the child's menu should include: fruits and vegetables; meat and fish; milk and dairy products; grain products (bread, cereals, cereals). Insufficiency or excess of food consumed by a child can adversely affect the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, contribute to metabolic disorders, increase overweight (even to various degrees of obesity) or lead to malnutrition.

If the child refuses to eat a healthy dish, invite him to experiment and make the dish unusual.

So, with the help of dried fruits and nuts, you can put a funny face on porridge, use ketchup and greens to draw a pattern on scrambled eggs, put mashed potatoes on a plate in the form of a snowman figure, etc.

What should not be used in children's nutrition:

Offal other than liver, tongue, heart; blood, liver, raw smoked sausages.
Deep fried food and culinary products, chips.
Curds, condensed milk with vegetable fats.
Kumis and fermented milk products containing ethanol (more than 0.5%).
Cream confectionery containing vegetable protein.
First and second courses based on fast food concentrates.
Vinegar, mustard, horseradish, hot peppers and other hot spices and food products containing them, including hot sauces, ketchups, mayonnaises and mayonnaise sauces.
Pickled vegetables and fruits.
Natural coffee and carbonated drinks, apricot kernels, peanuts.
Products, including confectionery, containing alcohol.
Food products containing a large amount of food additives in their composition (information is indicated by the manufacturer on consumer packaging).
Dry concentrates for cooking first and second courses (soups, Dosherak vermicelli, cereals).

Rule 2

Your child should eat regularly.

Compliance with the diet of children is of great importance for the absorption of nutrients by the body. Preschool children are recommended to eat 4-5 times a day, every 3 hours, at the same time, distributing the diet as follows: breakfast - 25%, lunch - 35%, afternoon snack - 15%, dinner - 25% . At school age, it is advisable to have four meals a day, every 4 hours with an even distribution of the daily ration: breakfast - 25%, second breakfast - 20%, lunch - 35%, dinner - 20%.

Try to stop snacking and teach your child to eat only at the table. If this still doesn't work, offer fruit, biscuits, juice for a snack - food that will help drown out hunger, but will not ruin your appetite.

Proper organization of meals at school in the form of hot school breakfasts and lunches

is an important health-improving measure for children-students. are paying attention. Eating sandwiches, pizza, chips, chocolate bars is harmful because - this food is inferior in composition and also irritates the stomach, contributing to the development of gastritis.

Rule 3

A child's diet should replenish his daily energy expenditure.

If your child is overweight, limit the amount of sweets and high-calorie desserts, empty the refrigerator. Put a bowl of fruit on the table, a plate of whole grain bread. Children can eat fruits without any restrictions, it is almost impossible to overeat them, and they are very useful.