Meat in children's nutrition. At what age can a child be given pork and what dishes are best prepared? Meat broth, offal

At what age should you start introducing your baby to meat dishes? In what form and how often should I give meat to my child? These and many other questions about the introduction of meat into complementary foods worry parents, but it is not always easy to get complete and clear answers to them.

Of course, it is best to consult with a pediatrician - the doctor who has been observing the baby since birth will tell you exactly what is right for your child. But now there are often situations when there is no permanent doctor at the site, and those who temporarily conduct appointments often simply do not have enough time to answer in detail all the parents’ questions. As a result, you have to look for information yourself, and due to the abundance of the most contradictory information, it is not easy to figure out the timing and rules for introducing complementary foods on your own.

Let's start with whether meat is really necessary in the diet of a baby up to one year old and whether it is possible to do without it.

Useful properties of meat for children

Meat is the most important source of animal protein and amino acids, some of which cannot be obtained from plant foods (essential amino acids).
Meat is rich in valuable micro- and macroelements, including phosphorus, zinc, copper,. At the same time, iron from meat products much easier to digest than from plant foods.
Meat contains many vitamins: vitamins PP, E, H and some others.
The dense structure of the meat allows you to develop chewing skills.

Of course, call the meat straight a unique product not allowed: easily digestible animal protein, and with it essential amino acids, can be obtained from milk and fish; iron and phosphorus - also from; and iron breast milk In general, it is absorbed best. But after six months, milk alone becomes insufficient for the child in both quantity and quality (its composition gradually becomes depleted), and due to a “vegetarian” diet it is problematic to provide the baby with all the necessary food components. At the same time, the introduction of small portions of meat successfully solves the problem of their shortage.

When to start introducing meat

Meat is a product necessary for the child For normal height and development.

According to the recommendations of domestic and foreign baby nutrition experts, meat can appear in a baby’s diet within 6 to 8 months. At the same time, meat products should not be the first complementary foods; they are introduced after, and it is advisable to maintain an interval of 2 months between the date of introduction of the first complementary foods and the date of introduction of meat. This makes it clear that there is a slight variation in the recommended time frames:

at 8 months, meat begins to be given to infants who received their first complementary foods at six months;
At 6 months, you can introduce meat to those children who, for some reason, began to receive fruit or cereal complementary foods from 4 months.

The 2-month interval from the moment of introducing the first complementary foods to the moment of introducing meat can be shortened if the baby has anemia (meat appears after vegetables, and cereals and fruits are “skipped”). But even with anemia, you should not give meat complementary foods to a child under six months old.

Early (before 6 months) introduction of meat is contraindicated for the following reasons:

The child’s digestive tract is not sufficiently developed; not all enzymes are produced or their activity is insufficient. . Yes and useful substances from meat dishes simply cannot be digested.
Excess protein puts stress on the baby's immature kidneys.
Up to 6 months is significantly higher for foreign protein.

How to give meat

The rules for introducing meat are no different from the rules for introducing other types of complementary foods:

meat is given starting from 1/2 tsp. in the morning before breastfeeding or formula feeding;
the amount of meat is increased gradually, adding 1/2 tsp;
the meat dish must be fresh, chopped until homogeneous (uniform) and served warm;
it is allowed to add meat to food already familiar to the baby (vegetable puree,) dilute meat puree breast milk or formula.

In order to develop it in a child, doctors advise first including meat in vegetable (and then cereal) dishes at lunchtime.

How much meat does a child need?

The baby needs very little meat:

at the age of 6–7 months – 5-20 g;
at 8–9 months – up to 50 g;
from 10 months to one year – from 50 to 70 g;
after a year (and up to 1.5–2 years) – about 80 g per day (this is the weight of one small cutlet).

Meat is given once a day every day (after 8 months, meat is replaced with fish 1-2 times a week). You should not give more than what is recommended, since it creates an excess load on the kidneys and digestive system child.

Meat selection

Rabbit meat is low-calorie, low-fat, tender, and very rarely causes allergies.

The choice of type of meat is determined by several factors: the presence or absence of allergies in the child, the availability of a particular type of meat, as well as the characteristics different varieties.

Advantages and disadvantages of different types of meat

Beef

As a rule, complementary feeding starts with beef - low-fat meat rich in iron and available (at cost and availability in markets) to most parents. But: you cannot introduce beef first if the child is allergic to cow's milk - very often an allergy to beef protein develops. In such a situation, rabbit or turkey is used as the first meat supplement, less often horse meat or lean pork.

Rabbit and turkey

Rabbit and turkey are considered optimal for introducing meat dishes. Their meat is low-calorie, low-fat, tender, and very rarely causes allergies. The main disadvantage is that more high cost, and buy rabbit or turkey in in kind(and not canned) is not possible everywhere.

Chicken

Chicken meat is dietary and tender. However, this is one of the most allergenic products, and in no case should children with allergies start meat feeding with chicken, especially if an allergy to protein is detected chicken egg. In addition, in modern conditions chicken for meat is raised using hormonal drugs and antibiotics that can persist in poultry meat.

Pork

Due to its high fat content, it is considered unsuitable for the first meat feeding. But in reality, not all types of pork meat are high in fat, and pork tenderloin will not be much fattier than beef. With the right choice of pork meat, it is quite possible to start introducing it first, and allergists are increasingly prescribing pork for complementary meat feeding to children with and.

Horse meat

Low allergen, rich in protein meat. Main disadvantage– it is rarely found on sale.

Mutton

Fatty and tough meat. It is not advisable to give lamb to children under 10 months.

Goose and duck

Waterfowl meat contains refractory fats that the child’s digestive system is not able to digest. These types of meat are not included in the diet of children under 3 years of age.

Meat broth

Meat broth is not recommended for children under 1.5 years of age for the following reasons:

all harmful substances present in the meat are boiled into the broth;
broths at the expense purine bases have high extractivity, cause blood flow (hyperemia) to the mucous membranes gastrointestinal tract and irritate them, stimulate the production of gastric juice;
due to hyperemia, the permeability of mucous membranes increases digestive tract for allergens.

By-products

Of the by-products, children are allowed to be given tongue and liver, but not earlier than 10 months, since they contain a lot of purine bases. In general, the opinion about the admissibility of including the liver in children's menu for recent years has undergone changes: previously the liver was recommended as good source iron, is now being abandoned for environmental reasons (it is in the liver that drugs and other drugs are neutralized and accumulate toxic substances contained in animal feed).

Canned meat - pros and cons

Among the products baby food There is an abundance of various canned meats. According to the manufacturer's advertising, canned food should have a number of advantages:

they are prepared from the meat of animals raised in environmentally friendly conditions on environmentally friendly feed;
canned food is checked for the presence of dangerous impurities and, in general, carefully study their composition;
canned food is very convenient: easy to use (warm up, open, feed), have varying degrees crushed in accordance with age, equipped with appropriate age markings.

The meat of which animals and of what quality was used is entirely on the conscience of the manufacturer.
The price is not small at all. It is much more profitable to buy a kilogram of good beef tenderloin and prepare minced meat from it. After all, even purely canned meat contains only 40–50% meat, the rest is rice starch, water and other additives “for consistency.”
(in case of violation of storage rules, consumption of canned food that has expired or is in damaged packaging).

If you have chosen canned food to feed your child (or plan to use it sometimes), then it is useful to know:

Depending on the recommended age (determined by the marking on the package), canned food differs in the degree of grinding and preparation technology: homogenized - the most homogeneous, containing meat, water and rice starch; puree - thicker; finely and coarsely ground - the meat in them is minced, often contain salt, spices, and meat broth; canned food in the form of ready-made dishes - meatballs, cutlets.
Canned food can be purely meat, or it can be combined (meat-vegetable or meat-cereal). When compiling daily menu for the baby, consider percentage meat in combined canned food (indicated on the jar).
Opened can canned meat Can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day.

We cook it ourselves

So, you have decided to prepare meat complementary foods for your baby yourself. You need:

Buy fresh quality meat.
Wash and prepare the meat: trim off fat, cartilage, and membranes.
Immerse in cold water and boil until tender without salt and spices. Readiness is determined by softness: the meat should be easily pierced with a fork (pork and beef are cooked for about 2 hours). There is no need to drain the water after boiling to obtain a secondary broth if you will not use the broth in your diet.
Boiled meat is ground in a blender or passed through a meat grinder twice, and then ground through a sieve.
From cooked minced meat take the required amount (the rest can be frozen for later use) and mix with vegetable puree, add and give to the child warm.

For children up to 8 months, meat is given in the form of the most homogeneous puree; from 8–9 months, meatballs are prepared from minced meat and mashed with a fork before serving. By 10 months, if the child has teeth, meatballs and meatballs can be given without preliminary chopping; it is allowed to lightly add salt and add spices (dill, parsley, bay leaf). Since this year, steam cutlets have been introduced.

And, of course, meat dishes homemade should be fresh, ideally they should be served after cooking, cooled until warm. You cannot store a prepared dish or simply boiled meat in the refrigerator for more than a day. For convenience, you can freeze raw or boiled minced meat.

Video version of the article:

The program “Doctor Komarovsky’s School” talks about the first complementary feeding, including meat purees:

A small child can live without meat. And there are many such parents. In some families, they refuse meat dishes for ethical reasons, in others they observe fasts for religious reasons, in others, mothers eat fruits and vegetables in order to improve their health and reduce weight, and therefore their little one, especially if he is prone to frequent colds and completeness, are also translated into plant-based diet.

In fact, experts are unanimous in their opinion: incompatible! And there can be no other option here. After all, giving up animal protein for a child under five years of age leads to catastrophic consequences for children's health.

The word "vegetarian" was coined by the founders of the British Vegetarian Society in the mid-19th century. It comes from the Latin “vegetus”, which has two meanings: on the one hand – “vegetable”, on the other – “healthy, vigorous, full of strength”. It would seem that an exclusively plant-based diet should be suitable for a growing child’s body by definition. But that's not true. Because such a menu will never make your baby healthy, cheerful and full of energy.

5 reasons why vegetarianism is contraindicated for children

1. When transferring a child to a plant-based diet, the protein metabolism. Therefore, nutritionists do not exclude animal protein for children even with severe kidney disease, in which adults are advised to categorically refuse to eat meat. In the early and preschool age This cannot be allowed, otherwise the full development of the body will stop and growth will stop. After all, proteins serve as plastic substances for cells - blocks and bricks, from which body tissues are built during the growth process, primarily muscles, including the heart.

2. Protein nature also has the blood pigment hemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, and transports it in the opposite direction carbon dioxide. When hemoglobin levels decrease, tissues and organs begin to suffocate - anemia develops. To prevent it, you need vitamin B12, the main source of which is meat, as well as protein of animal origin that is complete in amino acid composition: it consists of 20–21 % iron of organic origin, which is most fully absorbed by the baby’s digestive system.

3. The immune system also weakens - after all protective system also works on a protein basis. Its cells produce specific proteins - interferons, complement system proteins, immunoglobulins of classes A, E and G (they neutralize microbes and allergens that attack the child’s body).

4. Vision also “shrinks” due to clouding of the lens and pigmentary degeneration of the retina, because the pigments located inside its cells are also proteins! Such changes in the organ of vision usually occur in old age, but in children from traditionally vegetarian families they can develop in the first years of life, and the faster the younger the child.

5. All hormones, led by the most important one - somatotropic, which is responsible for growth, belong to substances of protein nature. And how can you tell the baby to grow if the body has nothing to produce this hormone from?

There is no substitute for meat for children

The main argument of vegetarian parents is that if the child is fed enough vegetables and fruits, he will also receive protein, only vegetable protein, the sources of which are beans, beans, peas, and lentils. But the fact is that people belong to the highest kingdom of nature, in which life is a way of existence of protein bodies. And these very bodies, especially small ones, need animal protein, because it differs significantly in composition from plant protein: the latter lacks a number of essential amino acids, without which the child’s body, not only cannot grow, but cannot even exist.

“But what about calves, foals and other kids? – you will reasonably note. “They chew their hay and grow beautifully.” But it turns out that in the intestines of herbivores there are microorganisms that produce essential amino acids that are not found in plant foods. But these bacteria do not take root in the human digestive system.

Also, many mothers ask whether it is possible to replace meat in a child’s diet with cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, milk, kefir? All of these are also sources of animal protein for children. But the problem is that these products lack iron. And, by the way, it is practically not absorbed from plant foods - cereals, vegetables and fruits.

Meat for children: eating like an adult

By 12 months, most toddlers have about 8 teeth erupting. It's time to give them a job! Therefore, gradually accustom your child to meat souffle or meatballs: let him learn to bite off small pieces and chew them. And don’t be upset if he doesn’t accept the new dish with hostility. Use a trick: start with small pieces of soufflé, alternating them with vegetable puree, and gradually increase the amount of meat, giving it to the baby separately from the side dish. Cook minced meat dishes by steaming, not in a frying pan: the enzyme systems of the baby’s stomach and intestines are not yet ready to digest fried food. You can only lightly fry the cutlets for children in sunflower or olive oil(but not with butter or margarine!) before stewing or placing in a double boiler.

And don’t forget about soup with meat for the child! Once a year is over, it’s time to mash vegetables with a fork and separate well-cooked meat into fibers. A one-and-a-half-year-old baby copes well with this dish, which means that from this age it’s time to make new adjustments to the soup recipe: cook it as for adults, only cut the meat and vegetables into small pieces. But just don’t use any rich meat broths, cook.

Fried meat, smoked sausages, canned “adult” stew small child contraindicated. But boiled sausage after one and a half years, you can already give it 1-2 times a week, but only high quality and low-fat, for example “Doctorskaya”. Offer your baby sausages, but for children under three years of age, special ones for children are better. If they are not available, regular milk or cream ones will do. And of course, children under five years old should not be fed smoked sausages, as well as sausages and bacon.

Despite all the benefits of meat dishes, it is not necessary and even harmful for a child to eat animal food from morning to evening. Excessive protein load No need for a child's body! Moreover, the baby will benefit from days without meat - fish, cottage cheese, vegetarian. The main thing is that there should be no more than two of them per week, provided that you arrange purely “plant-based” days for your baby no more than two or three times a month.

Why doesn't the child eat meat?

If a child does not eat meat, you should not force feed him or force him to swallow even a piece by any means. But it is necessary to understand why a child refuses animal protein.

Take a closer look at the baby: is he healthy, has he caught any viruses? Meat for a child requires considerable expenses for its digestion and assimilation. This is why patients often don’t even want to see him when their body is fighting a respiratory infection.
An aversion to meat in a child can be associated not only with a cold, but also with intestinal infection. Also exclude diseases of the digestive system ( chronic gastritis, reactive pancreatitis, biliary dyskinesia, hepatitis) and kidney problems.
Some other diseases also signal themselves by the disappearance of appetite, primarily for meat dishes. Consult your pediatrician to find the cause.
And although there are many reasons for children to refuse meat, this cannot last forever. When the illness passes, the appetite for cutlets returns, indicating that the child is on the mend!

Meat is a source of B vitamins, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium

Today I invite you, moms and dads, to talk about the role of meat products in baby food. First of all, this will be of interest to those parents whose children have approached the moment of introduction of this product into the diet. Whether it is worth giving your baby meat or not – debates on this topic do not cease, especially if the parents are vegetarians. I won’t tempt you towards meat-eating or vegetarianism, I just suggest we talk about why meat is so necessary for a growing body and how to properly introduce it into a baby’s diet, and what types to start with. But give it or replace it with plant analogues– it’s up to you, dear parents.

According to the recommendations of doctors and nutritionists, a baby requires both animal protein and amino acids for full growth and development. Meat is rich in heme iron, which is necessary for iron-containing protein (hemoglobin) - it is heme iron that is almost completely absorbed by the body, in contrast to non-heme iron contained in plant foods or iron-containing products. The difference is that the first type of iron is absorbed without any additional conditions, but for the second, you need a regenerator, that is, vitamin C. Supporters of plant foods should not forget about this.

Among other things, meat is a source of B vitamins, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. That is why it is recommended to introduce this product into the baby’s diet, according to recommendations, from 9 months (for infants), a little earlier for artificial ones. Turkey, rabbit or veal are best suited as first foods. But, there are contraindications for veal - it should not be given to a baby if he is allergic to cow protein.

Let's talk about each type of meat in a little more detail.

Turkey and chicken
The content of essential amino acids for humans in the protein of these varieties is the most optimal. Despite the fact that the fat content in them is high, it is thanks to polyunsaturated fatty acids that it is absorbed quite easily. The composition of minerals and vitamins is found in required quantity. Poultry meat is not burdened with connective tissue, like beef, for example, and therefore it is more tender and cooks faster.
Turkey meat is still preferable in baby food: it is less allergenic and its cholesterol content is insignificant. But chicken may be contraindicated if the baby has an allergic reaction to chicken egg white.

Duck
I’ll say right away that this meat is contraindicated for children under one year old. Why? Because it contains high lipid content, which means it is heavy and oily for child's body. After a year, introduce your baby to duck very carefully, starting with small pieces.

Veal
Earlier, I already said that it is better for children with allergies to postpone their introduction to veal until later. The amount of fat in it is minimal, it contains a lot of complete proteins, and is easier to digest than beef. Veal contains vitamins A, C, E, PP, B6 and B12, as well as minerals: phosphorus, potassium, zinc, magnesium. During the cooking process, the meat practically does not lose its important qualities, since the most valuable component - proteins, are almost not destroyed during heat treatment. Due to the content of extractive substances in it, which in their properties are strong pathogens and promote the production of digestive juices during the digestion process, meat is very well digested.
For the first acquaintance, you can offer your baby veal puree with spinach. To do this, a piece of meat is boiled in water until tender, and spinach is placed in boiling water for 3 minutes. Then the finished veal and spinach must be crushed using a blender to a homogeneous, puree-like mass, and mixed with a fork.

Rabbit meat
This is dietary meat, it contains a high amount of iron, protein, B vitamins, as well as potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and other minerals. Since this type of meat does not have high allergenic properties, that is why it tastes so tender, all children can eat it.

Beef
Beef contains a large amount of minerals: phosphorus, potassium, iron, as well as vitamins A and B. This type of meat is contraindicated for children allergic to cow protein, since beef protein is partially similar to cow protein, and there may be cross-reactions. Therefore, it is worth postponing acquaintance to a later period.

Pork
It is not recommended to introduce pork to babies under one year of age, since it is very fatty, although soft (contents connective fibers low in meat). After a year, choose leaner cuts for cooking because excess content fat in a child’s diet can negatively affect the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and also disrupt metabolism.

A few words about sausages and sausages

Smoked sausage, even the most delicious and expensive one, carefully offered to a baby, will not bring any benefit to the growing body, but it can be quite harmful. Try to organize your baby’s nutrition in such a way that until the baby is three years old, he does not come across any smoked sausages or ham. You should be very careful when it comes to sausages and sausages: you should only choose high-quality products that meet all sanitary and technical standards; they must be fresh, so look at the production date. Remember that, according to statistics, the biggest culprit in childhood poisoning is the abuse of these particular products.

How to make introductions correctly

If you decide to cook yourself, you should buy meat from trusted people, never in a spontaneous market where there is no sanitary quality control. Alas, today stores will not give you an absolute guarantee, since large factories often use antibiotics and growth hormones when raising livestock and poultry. Most ideal option– if you raise poultry yourself or your friends have their own farm. Select only lean pieces for your child; remove all fat and films before cooking.

The most optimal type of cooking for children is boiling, steaming, stewing or baking. By the time meat dishes are introduced into the diet, the baby is already familiar with vegetables, so the best thing to do is to serve them together: this way the dish will be easier to digest, healthier and tastier for the baby. But it is not recommended to serve meat with porridges (buckwheat, rice). You need to start with half a teaspoon of monocomponent puree (that is, one type) so that it is not dry and tasteless - dilute it with either breast milk or your favorite vegetable puree. Prepare a new portion of fresh puree for your baby every time; you cannot prepare it for future use.

Also, you should not cook with meat broths for children under one year old - there is nothing healthy for the baby in them. When cooked, the meat releases everything that the animal was fed, that accumulated in its bones, antibiotics, hormones. Does your baby need this? If you have already reached soups, it is better to cook the meat separately, and the soup itself in vegetable broth.

As for offal: liver, lungs, tongue. Remember that the liver of birds and animals performs the same function as ours. Therefore, despite all the advantages, it is better not to abuse it. Heart, boiled beef tongue will be much more useful and less harmful. Only the tongue takes a long time to cook and you will need to remove the film from it. It is better to introduce your baby to offal after meat has been introduced into the diet.

For mothers who do not have the opportunity to cook daily, and also buy proven meat by the most the best option For the first complementary foods there will be canned food. But here you will need to choose trusted manufacturers, and it’s also worth consulting with a doctor.

And a few more words

For the baby’s growing body to fully develop, it must receive proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. As you may have read above, meat is a product that contains sufficient quantity everyone necessary elements. With age, a baby needs to replenish iron reserves, even if he is still breastfeeding, alas, but mother’s milk covers only part of the amount of iron it needs, the rest must be taken from outside. And the most suitable for this is meat with its heme iron, which, unfortunately, is not found in plant foods.

Whether or not to introduce a baby to meat products is up to the parents. But, before making a decision to refuse or, conversely, introduce it into the diet, consult with your pediatrician, it is his advice that will help you do the most right choice for the baby!

Why is meat valuable?

Meat - important product on our table. In it, among other valuable nutrients, contains such a vital vitamin as B12. A lack of B12 is fraught with problems with nervous system, because it is he who is really needed for her correct formation. But meat also contains other B vitamins, as well as potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. And the iron that we get from meat is absorbed two to three times better than what is found in plant foods.

When and how to introduce meat into a child’s diet?

Meat should appear on the children's menu quite early - from seven to eight months. And if the child is on artificial feeding or he has low hemoglobin, then even a little earlier - at six or six and a half months.

The “first sample” should be very small - about five grams (no more than one teaspoon). If everything went well, then you can gradually increase the portion, but you should not give it too much.

The norms for children from six months to two years are as follows:

Child's age	Amount of meat (in grams)
6 - 7 months	From 5 to 20 g
8 - 9 months	From 20 to 50 g
From 10 months to a year	From 50 to 80 g
From a year to	About 80 g

Start introducing meat from dietary types: rabbit, turkey. Beef is also acceptable. From eight months, you can offer your baby by-products approved for baby food: liver, tongue and heart. Do not rush into introducing other giblets; they are not recommended for children.

Meat should be given daily at one of the feedings, without exceeding the recommended norms. Otherwise, the baby's digestive system will experience excessive load. For children aged eight months and older, it is advisable to give fish instead of meat 1-2 times a week.

Pay attention! If suddenly a child’s urine test shows increased level salts uric acid, then completely exclude offal from his menu. Are the tests good? Let him eat for his health, but only what is allowed and in recommended quantities.

While the child is still small, give him either factory-cooked meat or chopped meat using a blender. However, gradually, be sure to start offering meat in pieces, otherwise, later, having gotten used to eating only monogenic dishes, the baby will become. Moreover, aversion to pieces of meat can even lead to vomiting, not only while eating, but also simply at the sight of meat dishes.

Types of meat and their characteristics

Sometimes mothers ask pediatricians the question: is it possible to give their child only one type of meat or is there a need for variety? Experts are sure that if there is such an opportunity, it is better that the child’s diet includes different types meat.

How is each of them useful?

Rabbit meat

Alas, most of us rarely eat this wonderful dietary product. Fortunately, many baby food manufacturers produce rabbit meat puree. Try to buy it from time to time and treat your baby to it. After all, it is especially rich in iron, protein and B vitamins, as well as potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and other minerals. In addition, children like the tender, tasty meat and digest it well.

Poultry meat

Meat is also easily digestible and healthy, even though it contains quite a lot of fat. However, this drawback is mitigated by the fact that chicken and turkey contain, among other things, unsaturated fatty acids. But the set of amino acids in poultry meat is very suitable for children.

Beef and veal

Like poultry, they are valuable in amino acids, including essential ones. Beef also contains a lot of iron, so this meat must be included in the diet of anemic children. This meat also contains zinc, sodium, copper, and cobalt.

Beef and veal are good because they are quickly digested and normalize the level of acidity in the stomach and intestines. Moreover, compared to beef, veal is even more tender and easily digestible, and it cooks faster.

Pork

Although the pork is juicy and soft (because it contains a lot connective tissue), yet it is not the best meat for baby food. In addition, although rare, pork can cause allergic reaction. Therefore, do not rush to give your children this particular meat. If you still want to include pork in the children's menu, then choose only lean cuts.

By-products

The liver, heart and tongue recommended for baby food are good because they help with anemia and improve immunity. Therefore, it is advisable to give them to children along with other types of meat. In addition, offal is very nutritious. They contain what growing organisms need

protein
vitamin A and B vitamins
amino acids
minerals (calcium, zinc, phosphorus and iron)

At the same time, all the “wealth” contained in them is easily absorbed and brings many benefits: in the best possible way affects the nervous and circulatory system children. And if we add that these substances and vitamins are very necessary for muscles, ligaments, tendons, skin, hair and nails, then it becomes clear why nutritionists and pediatricians strongly recommend them for children's menus.

Pay attention! Liver should not be given to children more than once a week. This expert advice is due to the fact that it may contain cadmium and lead (especially if the pastures were near roads). But there is an opinion that in the liver of animals and birds there are many other harmful substances- myth. In fact, this organ neutralizes them, but does not accumulate them, but removes them from the body. Therefore, you should not exclude liver from the children's menu, arguing this with long-debunked myths.

As for by-products such as brains, kidneys, lungs, udders, they can only be given to children over five or six years old.

Choosing offal

You need to know how to choose offal for the children's table. Here are some tips:

Children can be given different types of liver: beef, chicken, turkey. When choosing, make sure that it is light and bright. If the piece is dark, then it is an organ from an old animal; you should not buy one. Do not take pieces that are grainy when cut; high-quality liver is smooth.
You can also take different hearts: beef, poultry, rabbit, and even pork. The main thing is that it is pink, without a fatty layer. If there are traces of blood in the heart chambers, then this is good, since such a sign indicates the freshness of the product.
Choose a tongue (as well as any animal or bird) that is not chapped. The product must be pink color, let's say there's a purple tint. The smell of a fresh tongue is pleasant, and it should feel elastic to the touch, not flabby or sluggish.

Meat and offal. Features of cooking for children

Boiled or stewed meat, as well as steamed or steamed dishes, are perfect for baby food. By-products must be thoroughly washed before cooking. In addition, the heart should be kept in water for a while, then all blood clots and veins should be removed. Remove the film from the liver. After this, boil or stew the giblets. If the child still does not chew well, grind the liver or heart through a meat grinder or, adding it to soup or vegetable puree, break it up using an immersion blender.

Before cooking, thoroughly scrape the tongue with a knife, cut off the trachea from it (if it was sold with it) and cook for two hours. If the product is intended for a child over one and a half to two years old, then fifteen minutes before the end of cooking, you can add a bay leaf, an onion and a little salt to the water. If you have never cooked tongue before, then here is one more piece of advice for you: to easily remove the skin, pour over the finished product. cold water. After this there will be no problems with cleaning.

One and a half to two year old children can already eat cutlets, soufflés, puddings and casseroles made from meat and offal, dumplings, pies with meat filling and even stews. The main thing is not to get carried away with salt, spices and not to cook fried foods. And don’t rush to introduce sausages into the children’s menu, even if they indicate that they are prepared especially for children. Let the children get acquainted with these, although tasty, but not too healthy products as late as possible.

Boil soups in the second water, draining the first after it boils. Don't forget about the side dishes. Boiled and stewed vegetables, rice, pasta. Teach children to eat meat with salads from fresh vegetables. Then they will eat not only tasty and satisfying, but also healthy, and receive with food the maximum of substances necessary for growth and development.

Photo - photobank Lori

Up to six months, children eat only mother's milk or a mixture, until this age they do not yet need other products. After 6 months the child needs much more more nutrients than those found in breast milk or formula. From this age, the baby is gradually taught to eat cereals, vegetables, and fruits. When is the time to introduce your baby to meat? What meat do you give first? How to prepare baby meat puree? How much meat should a child under one year of age and older eat at one time?

When should you introduce meat into your baby's complementary foods?

Pediatricians advise introducing meat to a child’s menu no earlier than 6-8 months. At the same time, meat products should not be the first complementary foods; they are introduced after vegetable, fruit purees and cereals; it is advisable to maintain an interval of 2 months between the date of introduction of the first complementary foods and the date of introduction of meat. This makes clear the slight variation in the recommended timing: at 8 months, meat begins to be given to infants who received their first complementary foods at six months; At 6 months, you can introduce meat to those children who, for some reason, began to receive fruit or cereal complementary foods from 4 months.

Why should children not be given meat before 6 months?

Before this age, the children's digestive system is not yet mature enough to digest such heavy food fully.
Meat protein negatively affects the functioning of a child’s kidneys.
Before six months the risk of developing an allergy to meat protein higher.

How is meat good for children?

Meat is a source of protein that a child’s body needs for growth;
Meat products contain the entire set of amino acids that are not produced by the body, but enter it only with food;
Meat is rich in other important microelements– iron, phosphorus, magnesium, fluorine, cobolt and zinc. Interestingly, the iron contained in meat is absorbed better and faster than the same element from other products of plant origin;
The meat has a fibrous, dense structure, so when babies eat it, they learn to chew food.

Can meat be harmful to children?

Some types of meat can cause an allergic reaction;
Consumption of meat products in large quantities creates a load on the child’s kidneys and digestive system;
Up to 3 years of age, children are not given fatty meat products, fried meat, smoked sausage and frankfurters.

Allergy to meat?

Pork, beef and chicken are considered allergenic foods (pork and beef are also fatty meats), so they are not suitable for the first meat feeding. It is better to start introducing your baby to meat with rabbit or turkey, as they are hypoallergenic and belong to low-fat varieties meat. When the baby is already accustomed to these products, you can try introducing chicken, tender pork and beef into the diet.

Important! If your baby has an intolerance cow's milk, refuse to introduce beef and veal into your diet. Consult with a specialist about when in your case you can try giving these types of meat to your child.

What kind of meat do we start complementary feeding with?

Rabbit meat. Rabbit meat is considered the easiest to digest. It is not greasy and does not cause allergies. This is where experts recommend starting complementary feeding. This product is considered dietary because it contains practically no fat, but it contains vitamins and beneficial microelements.

Turkey You can also offer it to your baby when he first gets acquainted with meat products. It has very little fat and is easily digestible. Turkey meat is hypoallergenic.

Rabbit and turkey are considered optimal for introducing meat dishes. Their meat is low-calorie, low-fat, tender, and very rarely causes allergies. The main disadvantage is the higher cost, and you can’t buy rabbit or turkey in its natural form (and not canned) everywhere.

Other types of meat are introduced later, using caution. Let's look at why.

Chicken meat– dietary and tender. However, this is one of the most allergenic products, and in no case should children with allergies start feeding meat with chicken, especially if an allergy to chicken egg white is detected. In addition, in modern conditions, chicken is raised for meat using hormonal drugs and antibiotics, which can persist in poultry meat.

Pork. Is fatty meat. Even if you buy a supposedly lean part (shoulder blade, butt), it still contains fat. You may be allergic to pork;

Beef, veal. May cause allergies in children. This meat should not be given to children with milk protein intolerance.

Horse meat. Low-allergenic, protein-rich meat. The main disadvantage is that it is rarely found on sale.

Duck, goose and lamb - meat with high content fat Waterfowl meat contains refractory fats that the child’s digestive system is not able to digest. These types of meat are not included in the diet of children under 3 years of age. Children under one year old are not offered meat broths.

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By-products They begin to offer it to children no earlier than 10 months. The exception is for babies suffering from anemia; pediatricians recommend giving them liver even from 8-9 months. Offal contains more iron, copper and manganese. In general, the opinion about the admissibility of including liver in children's menus has undergone changes in recent years: previously, liver was recommended as a good source of iron, but now it is abandoned for environmental reasons (it is in the liver that drugs and other toxic substances contained in animal feed are neutralized and accumulated).

How to make your own meat puree?

You can prepare meat puree yourself. To do this, you will need a small piece of dietary meat (about 20 grams). After washing it, grind the meat to make minced meat. Place it in a bowl and cook for 25 minutes. We pass the finished product through a metal sieve to achieve a homogeneous mass. Add a little mixture or breast milk to the meat and blend with a blender. Salt is not added to baby purees.

You can also boil meat cut into pieces for your child. In this case, it is recommended to bring the product to a boil, drain the water, and pour in the pieces of meat. clean water and cook for about 45 minutes.

For children up to 8 months, meat is given in the form of the most homogeneous puree; from 8–9 months, meatballs are prepared from minced meat and mashed with a fork before serving. By 10 months, if the child has teeth, meatballs and meatballs can be given without preliminary chopping; they can be lightly salted and spices can be added (dill, parsley, bay leaf). Since this year, steam cutlets have been introduced.

What kind of rabbit meat can be given to a child? How to properly prepare meat for storage in the freezer. How to properly prepare rabbit meat directly for food:

How to properly introduce your baby to meat?

Bring the meat to a homogeneous mass. To achieve this, the product is well boiled, thoroughly crushed and mixed with formula or breast milk;
Before feeding your baby, make sure the puree is warm;
Portion for first acquaintance – ½ teaspoon;
For the first time, the product is given to the child in the morning so that it is possible to observe the body’s reaction throughout the day;
In the future meat dishes children are given along with vegetables, usually this is the third feeding of the day;
The one-time portion of meat for children is gradually increased, adding ½ teaspoon daily;
It is not recommended to give your baby meat puree after storing it in the refrigerator. Children are fed only freshly prepared foods;
When the baby gets used to the new taste, add meat to soup, porridge and vegetables;
After 8 months, the child needs to receive a portion of meat 5 days a week. The other two days they offer fish instead;
At the age of 10 months, start preparing meatballs so that the child learns to chew on his own;
Do not mix several types of meat until the baby gets used to each of them separately;
Some kids refuse to eat meat. In this case, it is recommended to mix meat puree with food that the baby likes.

Meat is given once a day every day (after 8 months, meat is replaced with fish 1-2 times a week). You should not give more than what is recommended, as it creates an excess load on the child’s kidneys and digestive system.

What are the benefits of ready-made meat purees for children?

In order not to prepare meat for your child yourself, you can buy ready-made meat puree in jars in the store. Give preference to well-known brands that have no complaints. Meat products for baby food from the store have their advantages.

The puree is prepared from the meat of animals raised in environmentally friendly conditions on environmentally friendly feed.
All ingredients for preparing baby meat puree are carefully selected and checked for quality. All components inside the finished purees are useful for children and correspond to age-related needs.
Canned food is checked for the presence of dangerous impurities and, in general, their composition is carefully studied.
The finished meat puree does not need to be cooked, but simply warmed up and fed to the baby.
Meat puree in jars has varying degrees grinding, it depends on age group children for which the puree is intended (the degree of grinding is marked on the packaging). Depending on the recommended age (determined by the marking on the package), canned food differs in the degree of grinding and preparation technology: homogenized - the most homogeneous, containing meat, water and rice starch; puree - thicker; finely and coarsely ground - the meat in them is minced, often contain salt, spices, and meat broth; canned food in the form of ready-made dishes - meatballs, cutlets.
Baby food manufacturers often combine meat with other healthy foods - vegetables or grains.
An opened can of canned meat can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day.

What is the daily intake of meat products for children under one year of age and older?

Based on the child’s age, the amount of meat he should receive per day is determined.

6–7 months – 5-20 g.
8-9 months – up to 50 g.
10 months – 2 years – from 50 to 80 grams.
3 years – from 80 to 90 grams.
4-6 years – from 100 to 110 grams.
7-9 years – from 110 to 140 grams.
10-13 years – from 140 to 170 grams.
14-17 years old – from 200 to 220 grams.

What to look for when buying meat for children?

When choosing beef or pork, give preference to tenderloin, this part contains less fat;
When purchasing rabbit meat, check the age of the animal. It’s good if the rabbit is young (up to 3 months). To prepare purees for your baby, use back carcasses, here the meat is more tender and soft;
If you want to pamper your little one with turkey, take the breast. This is tender, tasty and lean meat that is best digested. The same goes for chicken;
The meat you buy should smell good, be uniform and elastic. If it does not smell at all or exudes bad smell, refrain from purchasing;
The freshness of meat can be easily determined by its color - it is unacceptable to have a gray-brown or brown tint. Beef should be red, pork should be pink;
When buying meat in a store, always pay attention to the expiration date; if it is not indicated or unknown, do not buy the product. Rate appearance product. The meat should not be slippery. If possible, smell the meat and make sure it does not have any unpleasant aroma. If the product is packaged in plastic film, make sure it is intact.

It is very important that the child likes the first meat complementary food. Protein is necessary for normal growth and development of the child's body. Although animal proteins are also found in other products - milk, kefir, cottage cheese, fish and eggs, they cannot become a complete replacement for meat. The baby gets iron from meat products, folic acid and B vitamins, essential for blood and proper development nervous system.

Introducing meat complementary foods | Lifehack for a young mother

Meat food for baby

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