Wellness mama baby food


Homemade Baby Food Recipes (Plus, How to Prep and Store)

Is baby ready to start eating solids? Where does a mama even begin? Get Genevieve’s best homemade baby food recipes, plus some helpful tips and tricks.

Pull out the bibs. Your little one is hitting a major milestone—eating solids. It’s an exciting time of researching and trying different homemade baby food recipes, storage techniques, and maybe even baby food makers.

With so much to learn and look into on this next leg of the journey, you likely have tons of questions about baby food for your infant. Here, we’ll cover:

When Do Babies Start Eating Baby Food?

Babies begin showing signs they’re ready to start exploring solids around six months. At this age, they have some trunk control and are able to hold their torsos upright. They’ll also show other signs of being ready to start baby food like being interested in your food, being able to support the weight of their heads, and being able to grasp objects or food between their thumb and forefinger.

Learn more about introducing solids.

Homemade Baby Food Recipes: 6-8 Months

There are three important factors to consider when choosing baby’s first foods:

  • Nutrient density: Babies have special nutritional needs and benefit from a mixture of animal and plant-based foods.
  • Digestibility: Because baby’s digestive system is still very small and immature, baby needs the most nutritional bang for his/her buck.
  • Taste variety: Exposing baby to a wide range of tastes and textures from an early age helps expand his/her appetite for different foods. (This is critical if you want to avoid having a picky eater on your hands!)

When baby is just beginning to eat solids, try single-food purees based on these great first foods or very simple combinations. These recipes and combos are a good place to start:

Banana and avocado

This delicious combo is easy to mash together for a satiating meal or snack. High in healthy fats, enzymes, prebiotics, and potassium, this combo has that sweet/fatty flavor that babies love… after all, breast milk has a similar profile!

How to:

  1. Scoop half a ripe avocado into a bowl.
  2. Add a ripe banana (the peel should be bright yellow with a few brown dots).
  3.  Use a fork to mash the two foods together until a smooth consistency. (You can add a dash of breast milk or formula if your baby prefers a smoother texture.)

Squash and pear

Squash is easy to digest, plus high in vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and manganese. Pear is high in fiber, vitamin C (so excellent for constipated babies!) and serves as a natural sweetener to help make this recipe more palatable to new eaters.

How to: 

  1. Peel and cube one medium squash and one ripe pear.
  2. Fill a pot with 2 inches of water. Place a steamer basket inside. Add squash and pear and steam until soft, approximately 15-20 minutes.
  3. Use an immersion blender to puree. (FYI: You can use a bit of the steamed water to thin out puree if desired.)

Carrots and peas

This classic combo provides a great way to give your baby tons of nutrients like vitamin A, slow-releasing, energy-providing carbs, folate, and fiber.

How to: 

  1. Peel and roughly chop two large carrots.
  2. Fill a pot with 2 inches of water. Place a steamer basket inside. Add carrots and steam approximately 10 minutes. Add peas and steam until everything is soft, approximately 5-10 minutes more.
  3. Use an immersion blender to puree.

Beef and stewed apples

Beef is high in both zinc and iron, two key nutrients for baby’s optimal health and growth. Lean, tender cuts are the best options. Choose tenderloin roast, strip steak, eye of round roast, or freshly ground beef.

How to: 

  1. Core and peel one apple.
  2. Simmer the apple and 1/4 cup of water over medium-low heat until soft, approximately 20 minutes.
  3. Place 8 ounces of cold, cooked beef in a blender. Add stewed apple and 1/4 cup of water. Blend until smooth.

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Homemade Baby Food Recipes: 8-10 months

By the time baby is around 8 months old, you should begin to incorporate finger foods, if you haven’t already. Read about baby led weaning for more info on how to do so.

Around this time, you can also begin to introduce a wider range of foods, including:

  • Stone fruits: plums, peaches, nectarines, prunes
  • Green veggies: broccoli, asparagus, fennel, zucchini
  • Seed-like grains: quinoa, amaranth, millet, buckwheat (just be sure to soak the grains—they’re easier to digest this way)
  • Spices and flavors: minced garlic, diced onion, cinnamon, clove, oregano, thyme (start off with a scant amount, increasing as baby adjusts to stronger flavors)
  • Good fats: coconut oil, grass-fed butter, chicken or beef liver, coconut milk, avocado (a very small amount—like 1 teaspoon—is enough)

Note: Don’t add salt to baby’s food—real food contains enough natural salt for baby’s needs.

These recipes and combos are a good place to start:

Chicken and plum puree

  1. Peel, pit, and dice three plums.
  2. Cut raw chicken breast into 1-inch pieces.
  3. Place plums and cut chicken into a pot with 1 cup of water.
  4. Simmer until chicken in fully cooked, approximately 20 minutes.
  5. Use a blender to puree fully or macerate.

Blueberry, quinoa, and cinnamon

  1. Soak quinoa, then cook according to package directions. (Or you this sprouted quinoa from TruRoots.)
  2. Use an immersion blender to puree cooked quinoa with fresh blueberries.
  3. Add a pinch of cinnamon.

Best oatmeal ever

This simple, easy, and delicious oatmeal is both mom and toddler approved.

Salmon and sweet potato

  • Peel and roughly chop one large sweet potato
  • Fill a pot with 2 inches of water. Place a steamer basket inside. Place sweet potato in the basket and steam for 10 minutes.
  • Add a 4-ounce defrosted salmon filet and steam for 10 minutes more, until sweet potato is tender and fish is cooked through and flaky.
  • Add a 1/4 cup of chicken or vegetable broth.
  • Use an immersion blender to puree or chop into fine pieces.

Tropical Spirulina Smoothie

This is one of my all-time favorite smoothie recipes (and babies love it, too!). It’s healthy, but it’s also sweet, smooth, and green.

How to Store Homemade Baby Food

Unlike many store-bought baby foods, homemade baby food must refrigerated or frozen. After preparing, don’t leave it out at room temperature for more than two hours. And always store in airtight containers, like these from Sage Spoonfuls. Small sanitized mason jars also work.

It’s a good idea to store homemade baby food in 1-2 tablespoon servings for easy defrosting, mixing, and serving without tons of food waste. (This storage set is perfect for freezing small portions of food!) Remember, any remaining food from a feeding must be tossed.

Baby food made with meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs can be safely stored in the fridge for 24 hours, while baby food made from fruits and veggies can be stored for 48 hours. Both can stay in the freezer for up to one month.

Tips for Making Baby Food

Skip the fancy equipment

There are tons of fancy baby food maker appliances that make preparing, storing, and serving homemade baby food a breeze. Two consistently top-rated options are made by Béaba and QOOC.

But the truth is, you really don’t need anything fancy to make quality baby food at home. All you need is a pot for steaming and a blender or an immersion blender. Heck, even a potato masher, ricer, spoon, or fork will do.

Keep it simple

While it’s tempting to go all-in on this exciting milestone, it’s important to start with single-ingredient foods prepared simply without a lot of extra salt, fat and spices. This approach not only allows your baby to get used to new textures and flavors, but also helps you pinpoint any allergies or sensitivities, should you child have a reaction to something.

Batch Cook

Introducing solids doesn’t have to be hard. Instead of making new baby foods every day, batch cook and freeze individual servings so you can whip out nutritious meals for baby quickly.

Also, combine baby’s food with family meal planning. For example, making roasted sweet potatoes and steamed squash for the family this week? Make extra, then chop, mash, or puree for baby. (These are great storage contraptions to put single servings in freezer or fridge for later.) Just be sure to omit fancy spices or salt on baby’s portion since their digestive tract is more sensitive.

Safety First

  • Always wash your hands before preparing or handling food. This simple practice will go a long way in keeping you and your family healthy.
  • Avoid contamination. Uncooked meat, eggs, poultry, and seafood should be kept away from cooked food. Meat, eggs, poultry, and seafood should be stored away from produce in the refrigerator. And use different cutting boards and utensils for unprepared animal-based food and produce, as well as cooked and raw food.
  • If you’re using well water, make sure to check the nitrate levels. Consuming high amounts of nitrates can be dangerous for babies.
  • Clean produce and don’t use bruised or otherwise damaged produce to make baby food. For tougher produce, like beets and carrots, use a clean scrub brush and running water. For more delicate vegetables, a simple rinse with water will do.

I Don’t Have Time to Make Homemade Baby Food!

Though there are definitely benefits to going the DIY route, there are also plenty of quality baby food brands out there. Even if you decide to go 100 percent homemade, it’s still a good idea to keep a few shelf-stable options on hand in case of emergencies.

Some brands to check out include:

  • Raised Real,
  • Serenity Kids,
  • Once Upon a Farm,
  • and Earth’s Best.

You can also do a hybrid approach again. I made “smoothies” by mixing Earth’s Best fruit purees with organic whole yogurt and fed Griffin in a cup with straw.

Remember…

This is a time to have fun exploring new foods with your baby. You’re setting the stage for a healthy future for your little one. With each spoonful or handful, baby is getting nutrients and learning to love new and nourishing flavors.

The (Surprising) Best Foods to Start With

Is baby ready for solids? Here are the top eight real and healthy first foods to start your baby on the right foot. Plus, three common first foods to avoid.

Once you know your baby is ready to try some solid food, the question becomes, what is the best first food? (No, it’s probably not a smash cake.)

Baby’s First Food

For most of us moms, we can’t wait till baby is 6 months old to introduce solids, at which point we may give baby pureed apples or avocado, or go the baby-led weaning route and give baby a few pear slices to gnaw on.

Good nutritional choices, right? Yes, but keep in mind that babies have special nutritional needs that benefit from a blend of animal and plant foods. (Our digestive tracts are designed for an omnivore diet, after all.) While kale and quinoa are great, they’re not necessarily the best first foods for baby.

Best First Foods for Baby

The foods below are extremely nutrient-dense. This is crucial, since baby’s digestive tract is still very small and immature—baby needs the biggest nutritional bang for his or her buck.

1. Egg yolk

While many parents might pause at introducing a highly allergic food like egg to a 6-month-old baby, new research shows that early introduction is critical to actually reduce the likelihood of food allergies. (source)

Start with the egg yolk, since it’s the easiest to digest and contains the most nutrients like choline (great for baby’s brain and eyes) and necessary cholesterol—the building block for all hormones. (source) Egg yolks also contain important minerals that baby needs right now, like calcium, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, and vitamins E and B6.

To prepare: Gently poach or cook egg yolks with a little butter, ghee, or coconut oil on the stovetop. Keep the egg yolk soft and a little runny for easier digestion.

2. Avocado

When it comes to baby’s first food, avocado is a great choice. It contains lots of healthy fats, as well as the almighty mineral magnesium, which is so crucial to our health yet is harder to get through food. Avocado also contains B vitamins, including niacin, vitamin E, vitamin K, potassium, folate, and fiber.

To prepare: Peel and cut into long slices if you want your child to self-feed. You can also mash and spoon-feed. It’s delicious with banana for a 1:1 ratio.

3. Blended red meat

Why red meat? It’s one of the only foods high in three key nutrients that babies can be deficient in: iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. (source)

Keep in mind that breastmilk is low in iron (unlike formula), so baby must get it through his/her diet, but plant sources of iron are difficult to convert to a usable form, especially in a baby’s immature digestive tract.

To prepare: Get organic, pasture-raised beef or lamb. Ground beef, a tender roast, or lamb chops are all great options. Cook gently and chop into tiny pieces if baby is self-feeding. Or, put it in a blender with some broth or water and blend into a creamy puree to spoon feed.

4. Banana

Some people believe that baby’s first foods shouldn’t include any fruit, because baby show a preference for the sweetness. Truth is, baby already has a preference for sweetness, thanks to breastmilk. Don’t worry about baby becoming a sugar bug because of fruit. Bananas are a great first carbohydrate source for babies, because they contain amylase, an enzyme necessary for the digestion of carbohydrates (like bananas).  Bananas are also a great source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, and potassium.

To prepare: Serve very ripe bananas with brown spots—the starch has converted to a simple sugar, making it easier to digest. Peel and cut in half for self-feeders, or mash up with a little avocado or breast milk.

5. Winter squash

Another easy-to-digest carbohydrate is well-cooked winter squash (i.e. acorn, butternut). And due to its low nitrate content, it’s a safe first food for baby. Squash is also high in vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and manganese.

To prepare: Cut open the squash and remove the seeds. Roast it in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees, or until the squash is soft and the skin easily separates from the vegetable. Alternatively, put it in your Instant Pot with 1 cup of water and cook for 7 minutes. Let cool and scoop out the flesh. Cut it into slices for self-feeders or mash with a little butter or fat, which helps convert the beta-carotene into usable vitamin A. (source)

6. Yogurt

Organic whole yogurt is an excellent first dairy food, because it’s pre-digested and easier for baby to consume. It’sa well-balanced food with healthy fat, protein, and milk sugar to nourish baby. Plus, it’s high in calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorus. Yogurt is also naturally rich in health-promoting probiotics to help colonize baby’s gut with beneficial bacteria.

Note: Conventional wisdom said to wait until baby hit 8 or 9 months before serving yogurt, but new research shows that earlier introduction of common allergen foods, like dairy, may help prevent food allergies. (source) Of course, if you have a family history of dairy allergies or your child is immune compromised, it’s vital that you speak with your child’s pediatrician regarding best first foods for baby. Your doctor may recommend something like Ready Set Food as a safer and more scientific approach to introducing allergens.

To prepare: The key to introducing dairy is to go slow and watch for reactions. Start with 1 teaspoon of yogurt and serve to baby. Wait a day or two and slowly increase the quantity until you can serve 1/4 cup a day.

7. Green peas

If you want to introduce baby to green foods, start with green peas, which are high in resistant starch. Just as it sounds, this means they’re resistant to digestion, and pass through the stomach and small intestine into the large intestine, where it feeds good gut bacteria.

You may be surprised to learn that this small legume contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals. Just 1/2 cup of peas has 4 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, 34 percent of your daily value of vitamin A, and 34 percent of your daily value of vitamin K—a nutrient that can be particularly low in babies. (source)

If baby resists the taste, sweeten the deal by pureeing the green peas with some squash.

8.

Organ meats

OK, I know this sounds out there, but organ meats are the most nutrient-dense of all animal foods. They used to be part of the American diet, but fell out of favor in the ’60s and ’70s. Most organ meat is high in true vitamin A, which is extremely important to baby’s development. Liver also contains vitamin A, D, all B vitamins, folate, zinc, and CoQ10. Chicken liver has a good amount of iron as well.

To prepare: A little goes a long way. Purchase high-quality, grass-fed chicken, beef, bison, or lamb liver. Cook over medium heat in a frying pan in a little ghee or coconut oil. Once one side is brown (not browned or burnt), flip the liver and brown the other side. (It cooks fast, so keep your eye on it.) Allow to cool and grate 1 tsp to 1 TB of liver over baby’s egg yolk or banana mash. Or, chop it into small pieces if baby is self-fed.

The (Surprising) Best First Foods for Baby – baby post by Mama Natural Pinterest

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Nutrients for Baby

Want to expand baby’s menu beyond these eight items? There’s a saying: “food before one is just for fun,” and while that may be true when compared with an adult’s consumption, there are some important nutrients that baby needs from solids as he/she moves beyond 6 months of age.

According to Weston A. Price’s research (a dentist who spent 10 years researching the diets of different cultures to see what nutrients children most need to develop optimally), nursing babies at around 6 months of age need:

  • Protein
  • Fat
  • Iron
  • Zinc
  • B6
  • Niacin
  • Vitamin E
  • Calcium
  • Phosphorus
  • Magnesium and other trace minerals
  • Omega 3 and omega 6 fats (in the proper balance)

At around 8 months, baby also needs:

  • Vitamins A, B, C, D, and K
  • Potassium

Foods to Avoid

While baby’s palate may be quickly expanding, baby shouldn’t have free reign. Here are a few foods parents should not feed to babies (some of them are rather surprising!):

1. High-nitrate foods

Root and leafy vegetables—think spinach, celery, lettuce, radishes, beets, turnips, and collard greens—are all very high in nitrates. Nitrates can turn into nitrites, which then turn into nitrosamines (a known carcinogen) in the stomach.

When to introduce? Wait until 6-8 months to give baby root vegetables; wait a year to give baby leafy greens. It’s also helpful to serve these foods with vitamin C-rich foods to avoid this nitrate to nitrite to nitrosamine conversion.

2. Acidic foods

Tomatoes and citrus can irritate the digestive tract in young babies.

When to introduce? Wait until at least 9 months.

3. Sweeteners

You obviously want to avoid giving your child too many sweets or processed foods. However, there is a time and place for a treat… for example their smash cake.

When to introduce? Natural sugars—think honey, maple syrup, or blackstrap molasses—may be introduced after baby’s first birthday in very small doses. (Raw honey can be very dangerous if offered to baby before the age of one. ) You can also sweeten things using fruit (date, banana, applesauce, etc.).

What About Grains?

Whole grains can round out a healthy diet for young children, but don’t rush to serve them as a primary source of solid fuel. Newborns have almost no pancreatic amylase, a important enzyme that digests complex carbohydrates. (They do make plenty of salivary amylase by 6 months, which is designed to digest simple forms of carbohydrates found in fruits, vegetables, and breastmilk.)

So babies can’t digest grains?

While baby’s pancreas may not digest complex carbs very well, studies show that very little undigested starch is left in their poop. This may imply that the good bacteria in the colon uses this undigested starch as “food,” helping to populate their large intestine with good bacteria. We all know the benefits of a diverse and robust microbiome, including lower risks for just about every inflammatory disease out there, so incorporating pre-soaked, well-cooked grains to infants can be a good practice.

When to introduce? You can introduce grains at 6 months with a tablespoon or two of cooked grain a day. By 7-8 months, you can increase as appropriate, balancing with healthy fats, proteins, and fruits and veggies.

To prepare: Soak millet, quinoa, oats or barley in filtered water overnight with a dash of raw apple cider vinegar to help pre-digest grain. Cook long and slow so that the grain mixture turns into a type of porridge. Once cooled, add breastmilk to increase amylase content (yes, breast milk is rich in this starch-eating enzyme) and serve with a spoon.

What About Allergens?

Unfortunately, food allergies are on the rise. In fact, according to a new report, emergency room visits for anaphylaxis (an acute allergic reaction) more than doubled in children from 2010 to 2016. Those are some scary statistics when you’re thinking about what to feed your little one. The good news? There’s growing evidence that when babies are introduced to common allergens before their first birthday, they are less likely to develop allergies.

The importance of early and frequent allergen introduction starting at 6 months

As noted above, new studies about food allergy prevention show you can lower your child’s risk of developing a food allergy by up to 80 percent through early and sustained allergen introduction. What qualifies as early? Research shows that pregnant moms who eat nuts are less likely to have babies with nut allergies. And further research shows that once baby is ready to eat solid food around 4-6 months (See why Mama Natural recommends waiting until at least six months.), children at high risk of developing a peanut allergy were far less likely to develop an allergy when introduced to peanuts before they turned 12 months.

The key to prevention is not only dependent on timing, but also what you’re feeding baby and how often. Start with peanut, egg, and dairy foods like cheese or yogurt (don’t give baby cow’s milk to drink until they’re 12 months old), since they represent over 80 percent of the most common childhood food allergies. If you’re not sure how to get started, check out companies like Ready, Set, Food  that have scientifically proven programs to help parents gently and slowly introduce known allergens. (Read more about allergen introduction.)

A Final Word on the Best First Foods for Baby

Babies thrive by eating solids from both the plant and animal kingdom. By nourishing your little one with nutrient-dense foods, they will have brighter minds and moods, physical strength, healthy immune systems, and protective microbiomes. Getting things off to a great start now, with these best first foods for baby, will help ensure lifelong health.

 

References

  • https://www.westonaprice.org/modern-diseases/how-to-restore-digestive-health/
  • https://www.westonaprice.org/childrens-health/nourishing-a-growing-baby/
  • https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/the-liver-files/
  • https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/nutrients/index
  • https://bmjopen. bmj.com/content/6/5/e010665.full

Bellakt: Healthy mother - healthy baby. Product for pregnant and lactating women

Proper nutrition during pregnancy and lactation is the most reasonable and simplest thing a mother can and should do for her baby's health. Proper nutrition is not a diet that allows you to maintain harmony of forms, but a special diet recommended by doctors that allows the child to develop and be born healthy and keep the mother healthy. And "Bellakt" knows what it takes.

Everything should be enough!

To ensure the normal growth and development of the child - the body of a pregnant woman requires additional amounts of nutrients . During pregnancy, the need for protein increases by 50%; almost 2 times - in the gland; 50% - 25% - in iodine, folic acid, calcium and vitamin D, 25% - 10% - in other nutrients. It is important and necessary to provide for these needs - the usual diet of a pregnant woman almost never provides them. However, easily digestible carbohydrates are often in excess. This negatively affects the formation of the health of the child and violates the health of the mother. nine0005

The relationship between mother and baby

- with a lack of calcium from food - the fetus extracts it from mother's teeth and bones - mother's teeth are destroyed, bones lose density, hair falls out, and the child has an increased risk of developing rickets;

- if there is a lack of iron with food - the fetus takes it from the depot from its mother - anemia develops in a pregnant woman - the fetus lacks iron, hemoglobin and oxygen, which may adversely affect, among other things, the cognitive development of the child in the future (his ability to learning, memorization, thinking, speech skills). nine0005

Given the high need of a pregnant woman for protein, vitamins and minerals, it is important to ensure their additional intake. It is preferable to use specialized products for pregnant and lactating women - this is physiological for mother and child.

"Bellakt Mama+" - complete nutrition for pregnant and lactating women

Baby food manufacturer in the Republic of Belarus OJSC "Bellakt", along with special baby formulas, produces a specialized product for pregnant and lactating women" Bellakt Mama+" . This is a dry milk enriched product, which is designed to meet the additional needs of a pregnant and lactating woman in nutrients.

- important essential fatty acids necessary for the proper formation of the child's brain and organ of vision;

- 12 macro- and microelements, 12 vitamins (in doses not exceeding the additional daily requirement during pregnancy), including:

  • iron - to prevent iron deficiency and anemia in pregnancy;
  • calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D - for the prevention of osteopenia;
  • important biologically active substances - taurine, inosine, choline, biotin;
  • prebiotic Inulin, dietary fiber - contribute to the prevention of constipation, the formation of a healthy microbiota in mother and child;
  • probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, beneficial bacteria for the mother and fetus - forms a healthy intestinal microbiota in the child at the time of birth (the term "gut microbiota" includes the community of microorganisms that inhabit the intestine). nine0040

And when you give birth, continue feeding your meals with the Bellakt Mama+ mixture, and there is a special series for the baby by age: up to 6 months, from 6 months. and from 12 months

Important:

- Healthy gut microbiota by birth - plays an important and unique role in shaping the health of the baby: in particular - it positively affects the immune system and reduces the risk of developing allergies.

The use of the specialized milk drink "Bellakt Mama+" allows, in a limited volume (in one glass), to obtain the main part of the necessary nutrients in optimal ratios for the development of the fetus and maintenance of lactation, for the formation of the intestinal microbiota, to maintain the health of a pregnant and lactating woman . nine0005

- Use specialized products in the daily diet throughout pregnancy and lactation - at least 1 serving per day.

You can buy Bellakt products in Baby-Boom stores.

Source: MamaPlus

Proper nutrition of a child is a guarantee of health - Children's City Polyclinic No.

1

Every parent wants his child to grow up healthy, smart, happy.

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. nine0005

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 serving vegetables and fruits, ask the children what vitamins and minerals they contain and why they are so useful. nine0003 In order to organize the correct 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. nine0005

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:

  1. Offal, except liver, tongue, heart; blood, liver, raw smoked sausages. nine0040
  2. Fat-fried (deep-fried) food and culinary products, chips.
  3. Curds, condensed milk with vegetable fats.
  4. Koumiss and fermented milk products containing ethanol (more than 0.5%).
  5. Cream confectionery containing vegetable protein.
  6. First and second courses based on quick preparation food concentrates.
  7. Vinegar, mustard, horseradish, hot peppers and other hot spices and food products containing them, including hot sauces, ketchups, mayonnaises and mayonnaise sauces. nine0040
  8. Pickled vegetables and fruits.
  9. Natural coffee and carbonated drinks, apricot kernels, peanuts.
  10. Products, including confectionery, containing alcohol.
  11. Food products containing a large amount of food additives in their composition (information is indicated by the manufacturer on consumer packaging).
  12. Dry concentrates for the preparation of first and second courses (soups, vermicelli "Dosherak", cereals).

Rule 2

The child must 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%. nine0005

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 in long-day groups, whose diet should be 50-70% of the daily norm, which parents, unfortunately, have little are paying attention.


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