Baby beef puree recipe. Cooking meat puree for babies at home. Useful properties of meat

02.07.2020

Meat puree for a child is introduced gradually, in the form of complementary foods, on average, from 6 months. Meat is an important source of calcium, phosphorus, protein and many useful microelements and amino acids for a baby who is growing rapidly. Starting from 4 months, the baby's stomach learns to process dairy products, and the baby also learns the taste of many vegetables and fruits. Meat is a heavier food, so such complementary foods are introduced much later. Pediatricians recommend accustoming children to meat no earlier than 6-8 months, however, some important factors must be taken into account.

In the article, we will consider in more detail how to make meat puree for a child, with what portion to start complementary foods, what kind of meat it is desirable to purchase. Detailed puree recipes will help young mothers prepare high-quality complementary foods for their babies.

The optimal age for meat complementary foods

Pediatricians are divided on this issue. Some believe that meat puree for a child can be prepared from 4 months old, adding vegetable broth to it. The rest are sure that this is still heavy food for babies of this age, the best time for accustoming to meat is 8-9 months. Specialists have developed a national program for Russians, aimed at the rational distribution of microelements necessary for children by months. They decided that a special need for protein, potassium, iron, phosphorus and magnesium arises precisely at 8-9 months. Only with the receipt of these substances the child's body will develop harmoniously.

Factors affecting when to start complementary foods

It is necessary to coordinate the beginning of complementary foods for a child with meat puree with the pediatrician of the clinic. He leads the baby from birth, knows all his weaknesses, features of development. Depending on the indicators of height and weight, the doctor can indicate the exact time of acquaintance with meat dishes.

Of great importance in determining the timing of the start of complementary foods is the type of feeding. If the baby receives breast milk in the required amount, gains weight well, then complementary foods begin at a later date. When the mother does not have milk or very little, the child lacks the beneficial trace elements that are present during breastfeeding, he needs additional nutrition ahead of schedule.

Fruit juices, vegetable purees, as well as meat, are recommended to be given to formula-fed children much earlier.

Meat puree for a child is prepared after the baby's stomach is used to processing vegetable and fruit purees, having absorbed cereals and juices.

Complementary foods in the form of meat purees are given after the doctor's recommendations only to a healthy baby. It is impossible to accustom to such heavy food in the summer heat if the child is unwell, after vaccination or a few days before vaccination. If the child is naughty, and the mother does not know the reason for this behavior, then it is necessary to wait a little while feeding the child with meat puree.

You also need to know the rules for introducing a new food product into the diet. It takes at least two weeks for the body to get used to the new product.

How to give meat puree to a child

The first time meat puree is given in a volume of 5-10 grams. This is no more than 1-2 teaspoons. Before use, it is advisable to dilute the thick mass with vegetable puree already familiar to the child or add a few drops of breast milk to the container.

Over time, the amount of meat product consumed increases, and by the end of the first year of life it should be 60 or 70 grams per day.

At first, you can boil and grind only one meat product, for example, a rabbit or a turkey. If you trusted the manufacturer of canned baby food, then be sure to check the purchase by reading the expiration date and composition of the product on the label. It is necessary to make sure that there are no GMOs, concentrates and mixtures that cause an allergic reaction in the baby.

Rules for preparing complementary foods at home

The best option for mashed meat for children from 6 months of age is home-cooked. Only in this case, the mother will be completely sure of the quality and freshness of the meat.

A child at this age should not buy fatty meats; chicken, turkey or rabbit meat is used to make mashed potatoes. Later, lean veal, beef and, last but not least, pork are added.

The meat must be fresh, free of bones, layers of fat, stains or uneven color. First, the meat must be thoroughly washed, remove thin films, cut off the veins, and remove the skin from the bird.

Prepared meat is cut into small pieces and poured with cold water in an enameled or glass pan. After boiling, the water is drained, and the pieces are washed again and poured with water. After the broth boils, it is necessary to cook the meat for 1.5 - 2 hours. Some use a double boiler or slow cooker.

When the meat is boiled, it is pulled out of the broth and chopped with a meat grinder, it is advisable to repeat the grinding twice. If the farm has a blender, then it is much more convenient to grind meat with it. If large pieces remain after processing, then you can additionally wipe the resulting meat dish through a fine sieve.

What is important to know!

How to cook mashed potatoes for a child, you already understood. However, you need to know the rules of meat feeding the baby.

It is impossible to add salt or some spices when cooking or grinding the product. Salt is added at a later stage. In this regard, it is better to consult a pediatrician observing the child.
For the preparation of each meat puree, only freshly prepared meat is taken.
It is impossible for a child to buy frozen foods that cannot be carefully examined and understood to be fresh.
Store puree in the refrigerator for no more than a day.
Dilute minced meat with breast milk, milk porridge or mixtures, vegetable purees. Most often, meat products are mixed with potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower or carrots, which are boiled and ground in a separate container.

Let's take a closer look at some of the most popular recipes for making meat purees for children from 6 months.

Rabbit with carrots

Rabbit meat is a dietary dish, considered very tender and suitable for the first feeding. It is low fat and low in calories.

Required products:

100 grams of meat peeled from films;
1 medium carrot;
4 tbsp. l. cow's or breast milk;
butter - at the tip of a teaspoon;
salt is even less.

The rabbit meat must be washed, the films and veins removed, cut into small pieces and placed in a glass pan. Add bottled purified water to cover the meat and bring to a boil. Such tender meat is cooked quickly, half an hour or 35 minutes will be enough.

Carrots need to be peeled, washed thoroughly and boiled in a separate bowl for at least 15 minutes. After that, the boiled products should cool naturally, only then they can be smashed with a blender into a fine puree. At the end add milk, a little butter and salt.

The consistency of meat puree for a child according to the recipe should correspond to thick sour cream and be homogeneous, without lumps, so that the baby does not choke while eating. When feeding, be sure to place the child on a high chair in a sitting position. You need to give puree from a teaspoon, gaining little by little. The next spoon is offered after the child has swallowed the contents of the first. If the baby cries and refuses to accept a new product, then do not rush, put the puree in the refrigerator and try to give it later, heated in a water bath.

Turkey puree

Next, consider how to make meat puree for a child from a turkey in a slow cooker. It is best to buy a breast for cooking a baby, since there are no veins or films there. The meat should be a uniform pink color, without spots and dried edges. It will take only 100 grams of fillet. After washing under running water, the meat is cut into small pieces or strips on a plastic board (it is easier to clean, and microorganisms accumulate less on it, unlike wood).

If you have a slow cooker in your kitchen, then put the pieces on the grill, turn on the “steamed” mode and set the cooking time to 40 minutes.

The cooled cooked meat is ground with a blender. It should be noted that the turkey is a completely lean and dry meat, so mashed potatoes are diluted with boiled water, vegetable broth or breast milk. It is even recommended to add a few drops of vegetable oil. Such a hearty meat dish is given to the child only at lunchtime. You can split the cooked portion into morning and lunch feedings. It is not recommended to give meat puree in the evening, so that the body has enough time before a night's sleep to process the product.

Beef puree with broccoli

For cooking, take 100 grams of meat and cabbage. First, the veal must be washed, cut off all the veins and films. If you bought not a lean fillet, but another part of the carcass, then be sure to cut off all the fatty places. Boil the meat either in a glass or enamel pan until cooked.

Broccoli under running water is first washed, then disassembled into separate inflorescences. It cooks quickly, cabbage will be ready within 10 minutes!

After cooling, the meat and broccoli are broken in a blender until smooth. Gradually pour one tablespoon of milk until you get a puree mixture. At the end, you can add vegetable (a few drops) or butter (on the tip of a knife). If the pediatrician allows the child to add salt to the prepared dishes, then a tiny pinch is put.

Cooking meat soup

In this recipe, meat puree is combined with buckwheat (you can also take oatmeal), carrots, onions and cauliflower. The meat is taken from chicken or turkey. First, lean fillet is prepared - washed under running water, films and veins unnecessary for the baby are removed, boiled in purified water for 1 - 1.5 hours. At this time, wash one small carrot, a few cauliflower inflorescences (choose it to be whole, without black spots) and ¼ of a small onion. All vegetables are sent to a saucepan and poured with water. After boiling, add a tablespoon of buckwheat and cook until tender. You can put salt on the tip of a knife in vegetable broth.

When the meat is cooked, it is separately ground in a meat grinder or blender. Then gradually add the thick from the soup and beat everything again. At the end, you can add a couple of drops of vegetable oil. This hearty meat puree is the best for children who are just getting used to meat products.

Conclusion

How to make meat puree for a child is described in detail in the recipes. The main thing is to follow the recommendations and feed the baby gradually. After changing the product, be sure to monitor the behavior of the baby, the reaction of his intestines. Do not give heavy food at night, it is better to do this at lunchtime. Thus, it is easier to follow the reaction of the body to the innovation.

Before you start including meat products in your child's diet, be sure to consult a pediatrician!

Why is it necessary to include meat products in the diet of babies up to a year? Mom's milk gives the baby all the nutrients necessary for the development of the child's body, which are enough to meet the needs of the first months of life. Time goes by, the baby grows and requires more and more vitamins and micro-macroelements, other various nutrients. Breast milk is no longer able to meet these needs. Meat comes to the rescue, which is being introduced as complementary foods.

Meat is a valuable source of protein and vitamins, so it is almost indispensable in the diet of a baby.

Useful properties of meat

A responsible parent, before introducing a new food, is obliged to examine the product itself. Thanks to the consumption of mashed meat, the baby saturates his body with amino acids, iron, which is perfectly absorbed, as well as calcium and a number of vitamins. What role do they play? We list:

Amino acids. They are an integral part of protein synthesis, that is, they are necessary for the successful growth and development of cells, a full-fledged metabolism. The number of synthesized amino acids in the body is 20. With a lack of at least one of them, a protein deficiency appears.
Iron, easy to digest. As many as 65% of the iron contained in the product is the main composition of hemoproteins. Due to this, it is easily absorbed in the body and saturates the cells with oxygen as quickly as possible.
Calcium. Necessary for the development of the skeletal and muscular system, it also helps to strengthen the nerves.
Vitamin A. Helps break down fats, promotes the formation of new cells and is a participant in the formation of bones.
Vitamin B12. Its main task is the formation of blood. Promotes the formation of red blood cells and nerve endings.
Vitamin D. Promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and is also responsible for the formation of bone tissue and is involved in the prevention of rickets.

Different types of meat also contain other nutrients. For example, chicken has a lot of magnesium, sodium, vitamins B, E1, C. Beef is rich in phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B6, which is responsible for the absorption of iron, and vitamin PP, which is required for the formation of enzymes.

Another positive point in meat is that its structure is elastic, and therefore it is great for developing a chewing skill in a child.

Time to introduce meat supplements

According to the recommendations of pediatricians, children receive the first meat complementary foods after six months. It is important to consider that this animal product should not be introduced before other products. Before meat complementary foods, the baby should already get acquainted with vegetables, fruits and cereals. According to experts, at least 2 months should pass from the start of the first complementary foods to the introduction of baby meat puree. So, we answer at what age you can introduce this type of complementary foods:

a breastfed child receives vegetable or cereal complementary foods at 6 months, and meat at 8 (more in the article:);
a baby on an artificial type of nutrition receives vegetable complementary foods as early as 4 months, then meat is allowed to be introduced closer to six months.

The exception is when the child has anemia, then the rule of 2-month interval may not be so strictly observed. Although in this situation it is not recommended to introduce meat and combined purees before 6 months of age (we recommend reading:).

Why can't baby meat puree be given to a baby before the age of six months? Let's list the reasons:

The digestive system is not yet fully formed and is not able to digest heavy foods. There are no necessary enzymes required for the digestion of this food. An excessive amount of animal protein contributes to the appearance of decay processes in the intestines of babies.
An allergic reaction to a foreign protein may occur if the baby is younger than 6 months of age.
Animal protein in large doses heavily burdens the kidneys of an infant.

The body of a baby up to six months simply cannot cope with meat, so it is better to introduce it in a timely manner

Meat food

How to introduce meat puree for the first complementary foods? You already know, because this is a continuation of the samples of “adult” food by your baby: everything new is introduced gradually, starting with half a teaspoon. You can avoid possible digestive problems if you offer meat before dinner. Below we will tell you where to start and how to make the process of feeding enjoyable and rewarding.

Feeding rules

How much to give first? The initial sample is small - ½ teaspoon and always precedes the main feeding.
The absence of allergic reactions to meat and the positive response of the little one allow you to gradually increase the amount of complementary foods. Each time add another half spoon.
Use freshly made puree. Follow its maximum fine consistency, uniformity and pleasant warmth. The meat should be cooked without adding salt and spices, and then chopped with a blender.
It is quite possible to combine meat puree with other previously known products - for example, use it as part of a vegetable puree or cereal porridge without milk. Ground minced meat can be diluted with milk or a mixture.
From the point of view of pediatricians, it is optimal to introduce an animal product as part of plant-based dishes at lunch, this will allow you to form the right diet.

Like other products, meat puree is introduced into the baby's diet gradually, starting with very small portions.

How much can be given per day?

How much meat can be given to a baby? The amount will depend on age. Below we offer a scheme for calculating the consumption of meat products per day for children:

Ahead of you are experiments that will allow you to treat the baby with a variety of dishes. For example, kids are happy to eat meatballs, meatballs and steamed cutlets. Your little one will try such dishes closer to a year and a half. How about fried and baked chops, spiced steaks? Their use is strictly prohibited. We list the most favorable varieties suitable for the introduction of the first complementary foods: beef, rabbit and turkey. They are low fat, light and hypoallergenic.

Older children are happy to eat steamed meatballs and other dishes.

Meat selection

As your baby grows, provided that the introduction of meat complementary foods is successful, the doctor will advise introducing the crumbs to other types of products. The table below will tell you about the calorie content of each type of meat and their important components: fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Thanks to this data, you will be able to choose which meat to start complementary foods with.

Nutritional value of various types of meat:

	calories	Squirrels	Fats	Carbohydrates
Beef	200 kcal	19 g	12.5 g	0 g
Pork	397 kcal	16.1 g	27.9 g	0 g
Veal	201 kcal	19.4 g	1.1 g	0 g
rabbit meat	179 kcal	20.8 g	12.7 g	0 g
Turkey	198 kcal	21.3 g	12.1 g	0.8 g
Chicken	199 kcal	20.7 g	8.5 g	0.4 g
Offal (for example, beef liver)	125 kcal	17.4 g	3.1 g	0 g

Types of meat

Turkey and rabbit are the best meats for babies. They are low-fat, hypoallergenic, gentle and very healthy.
Chicken is an excellent dietary product, but compared to turkey, it is slightly less digestible. We must not forget that chicken is the most allergic type of meat of all. If you have an allergy to egg white, you should give preference to quail meat, not chicken.
Lean beef. There is a lot of protein and a large number of trace elements. It is these qualities that make beef a priority type of meat as the 1st complementary food. With an existing allergy to cow's milk, a similar reaction to beef may occur. In this case, instead of beef, use rabbit or turkey as the first food.
Quail meat. Ideal for allergic babies, plus it is very gentle and dietary. Suitable for feeding babies after 7 months of age. There are more calories in it than in rabbit meat or chicken, so quail is not suitable for daily use.
Pork. More fatty than other types of meat, pork is quite suitable for the first feeding, if you choose leaner parts of it, such as tenderloin. Fat content in this case will only slightly exceed the same index for beef. Allergists often recommend pork for feeding children with atopic dermatitis and diathesis.
Sheep, duck or goose meat is not suitable for babies under 3 years old due to the fact that the gastrointestinal tract of the crumbs is not yet able to digest excessively fatty and tough meat.

Rabbit meat is considered the most dietary and suitable meat for babies.

Frequency and amount of meat consumed per week

Dr. Komarovsky is convinced that meat complementary foods should be given no more than 1-2 days a week (see also:). When the baby is already 10 months old, the weekly frequency can be increased up to 5-7 times:

at the age of up to 9 months, you can cook a meat or combined puree for a child 1-2 days a week;
at 9-10 months, the baby can already eat finely chopped meat in the amount of several spoons 2-3 times (this is also a weekly norm);
closer to 10-11 months, you can start feeding the crumbs with a coarsely chopped product;
by the age of one year, steam meatballs and cutlets will be a good option for dishes, which can be given 5-6 days a week and even every day.

Meat puree: cooking at home

Meat puree for children should be prepared only from a high-quality fresh product. You need to do it like this:

the purchased meat should be thoroughly washed, all films removed and excess fat cut off;
put the meat in a saucepan, pour cold water and, without adding spices and salt, cook until tender;
for tough varieties such as beef or pork, it will take about 2 hours of cooking time, but more tender rabbit, turkey or chicken will be ready in a shorter period, as well as quail meat;
as soon as the product reaches readiness, it should be ground (you can do this with a blender), or passed through a meat grinder twice, after which you need to grind it through a sieve;
mix minced meat with mashed vegetables and add a couple of drops of vegetable or olive oil;
give the peanut meat puree cooled to a warm temperature.

It is advisable to prepare a portion at a time, because a fresh product is always healthier for a child. The remaining portion of the portion can be stored in the refrigerator, but not more than one day.

Popular brands of meat nutrition

The best option for babies is mashed meat grown in their own yard (birds or animals). In the absence of a home-made option, many parents prefer jars of baby food to the detriment of the wallet.

Consider several popular baby food manufacturers that offer a wide range of delicious baby purees, including meat options. You can find both pure meat puree and combination with vegetables or cereals. According to moms, the following manufacturers are trustworthy:

Agusha, Russia

Parent feedback:

overall rating of parents - 4 with a minus;
excessively thick consistency and a large amount of starch;
the format of the can is inconvenient to open (there is a danger of cutting yourself).

"Theme", Russia

in the product line there are beef, turkey, rabbit meat and options from chicken and offal;
volume - 100 g.

Parent feedback:

user rating - 4 with a minus;
salt is present, which means that it is better not to give mashed potatoes to children before 10 months;
the composition contains chicken fat, milk powder, cereals - the total volume of meat becomes smaller;
according to the results of research in the “Test Purchase” program, this applicant did not receive leading ratings, but generally meets the standards of baby food;
the tin can format is inconvenient because you can cut yourself.

"Grandmother's Basket", Russia

the product line includes beef, turkey, rabbit meat, as well as horse meat, venison and chicken;
volume - 100 g.

We already need other nutrients that are present in other products, in particular, in meat. Next, we will try to answer the question of when you can start giving meat to babies, and also learn how to make delicious meat puree for babies at home.

At what age can you give meat to the baby

Pediatricians agree that meat puree should be given to children no earlier than from the age of 6. It is very important that meat products should not be introduced after mashed fruits and vegetables, as well as various cereals. Doctors recommend adhering to an approximate interval of 2 months between the start of the first complementary foods and the period of inclusion of meat products in the diet. It is on this that such a spread in terms is based. For example, if the first complementary foods were given to the child at the age of 6 months, mashed meat should be given to him at the age of eight months. If, for some reason, the baby began to receive complementary foods from cereals or fruits, starting from the age of four months, then meat can be included in his diet as early as the age of 6 months.

Until about six months of age, the baby's digestive system is not yet mature enough to be able to digest such heavy food.
The protein that is present in meat can adversely affect the functioning of the baby's kidneys.
With the early introduction of a meat product into the children's diet, there is a risk that the baby will develop animal protein.

Did you know? "Red meat" and "white meat" are terms that emerged during the Victorian era. At that time, the words "thigh" and "chest" were considered indecent, in connection with which such designations were invented.

How to introduce meat into complementary foods

The kid at the time of introducing a new product into the diet should be active and completely healthy.
You should first examine the baby for reactions or a skin rash.
Puree can be prepared as a one-component puree (one that consists exclusively of meat), or served with a mixture of meat and vegetables that the child is already familiar with. It is important that the child does not have an allergy to the added vegetables.
It is not recommended to start complementary foods during a period of intense heat, as well as after the baby.

A minimum of two weeks must elapse after the introduction of a previous new product.
It is necessary to give the baby only freshly cooked meat, the child is not worth the product that was prepared yesterday.
The ideal option would be mashed potatoes that were prepared at home, but in the absence of such an opportunity, you can give the baby purchased high-quality canned food.
Experts advise mashed meat at lunchtime, so that it is possible to follow the reaction of the baby's body until the evening.
Meat puree should be served warm.
Feed your baby with a spoon.

Meat puree should be introduced into the children's diet gradually and carefully. When asked how many times a week to give meat to babies, experts give approximately the same answers. At first, one or two times a week will be enough, and after that the frequency may increase. In this case, you should monitor the condition of the child and the reaction of his body to a new product.

What kind of meat to prefer

When choosing a type of meat that will be given to a child, first of all, you should pay attention to the presence of allergic reactions in the baby to certain types. Parents are also guided by the availability of meat products and their distinctive characteristics. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of various types in more detail.

Did you know?Hippo meat was the main meat product 6 thousand years ago. It was from it at that time that people prepared the first soups.

How to choose quality meat when buying

In order to prepare mashed meat for a child, you also need to know which meat to choose for the first feeding. And if we have already figured out the varieties, then we will further provide a list of tips that will help parents not to make a mistake in the store.

You need to pay attention to the color of the product before buying. It must be even and uniform. So, for example, beef should be uniformly red, and pork should be pink.
The meat veins should also be examined. For a quality product, they should be white, not yellow.
It is recommended to press the meat piece with your finger. If the product is of high quality, then the dent should disappear almost immediately.
Smell matters a lot too. A good product has a fresh and pleasant aroma.
Also, if possible, you should attach a napkin to a piece of meat. If a red color remains on it, then this may mean that there are dyes in the product.
For mashed potatoes, the child should buy lean meat pieces where there is no fat.

Important! It is not recommended to use meat that has gone through several repeated frosts. As a complementary food for a child, the piece that has been frozen a maximum of twice is suitable.

How to make your own meat puree

Of course, the easiest way is to buy ready-made baby food in the form of canned meat. This option will save time, but is not as reliable as preparing mashed meat for a child with his own hands. Note that it is not at all difficult to cook meat for complementary foods for a baby.

Ingredients

In order to prepare a baby meat puree for feeding, you will need, in fact, a piece of lean meat. As a supplement, vegetable puree, infant formula, cereal or breast milk can be used.

Kitchen tools:

meat grinder or blender;
small strainer;
slow cooker or double boiler (optional).

Step by step recipe

A piece of meat should first be cleaned, getting rid of fat, veins and bones.
Then the product must be boiled for an hour and a half until fully cooked. The task will be simplified by cooking in a double boiler or slow cooker.
Ready meat must be minced. To do this, use a meat grinder or a blender. If grinding is carried out using a meat grinder, then it will be necessary to scroll the product twice, or even three times.
The mass that will be obtained must be additionally rubbed through a fine sieve in order to achieve a uniform consistency and get rid of lumps.
At the end, milk mixture, mashed vegetables, porridge or breast milk should be added to the finished mass to get a puree-like delicate texture.

Important! It is impossible to add salt and spices to the product neither in the process of cooking meat, nor when grinding it.

Overview of popular brands of baby puree

Parents who do not have the time or desire to cook their own mashed meats can buy ready-made meals in stores. In this case, you should opt for popular baby food manufacturers who have already established themselves in the market. Let's consider some of them.

"Topic". This puree is relatively inexpensive, but its quality is also not very high. The composition contains not only meat and vegetables, but also cereals, milk powder, fat and salt. Such ingredients do not inspire confidence, since for the first feeding it is better to avoid a large number of constituent components in the puree.
". This is a well-known brand from Germany, which has established itself as a manufacturer of high quality. It is recommended by pediatricians in many countries. The composition contains many useful elements. But it also contains onions, which makes it impossible to give such a puree to children who have not reached the age of eight months.
Products are inexpensive and very high quality. packaged in metal cans, which may scare some mothers. But to be afraid of this, according to pediatricians, is not worth it.
Gerber. Many mothers love the products of the brand in question and often buy it for their babies. But it is worth noting that this manufacturer processes animal meat, from which mashed potatoes are subsequently prepared, with chlorine, and this, of course, cannot but affect the quality of the final product.
"Grandma's basket". Baby food of a domestic manufacturer. As a thickener, not starch is used, but rice flour, which is much more useful. Such a product, in general, can be considered reliable and of high quality.
"Frutonyanya". This puree is known to many, so it is often bought. The price is also quite affordable. The component composition contains water, oils of vegetable origin and starch. It is due to the presence of starch that the consistency of meat puree is very thick, which may not appeal to every child.

Each mother must decide for herself whether she will feed her child with purchased meat puree or home-made food. In any case, meat must be introduced, since such a product is a necessary component of the baby's diet.

Meat is one of the few products, the need to introduce which into the menu of babies is not discussed. It saturates the growing body with proteins for the formation of cells and tissues, gives the baby iron and zinc. In Western countries, it is with meat that the acquaintance of babies with solid food generally begins. To get the most out of the product, it is important to choose and prepare the right meat puree for the first feeding.

It is difficult to argue about the benefits of meat for the human body. The product is a supplier of protein, iron, vitamins. It accumulates in itself at once all the types of amino acids necessary for protein synthesis, ensuring healthy cell growth and metabolism. It is also the most generous natural source of "supervitamin" B12, which "charges" and cleans excess fat in the body, stimulates the brain and calms the nerves.

Introduction to meat: when it's time

Unlike foreign practices, in Russia the developers of the National Program for Optimizing the Nutrition of Children in the First Year of Life do not recommend it in the first place. First the child should try , and . But then - the meat is given a full "green light". For artificers, the turn of meat comes at about six months, for breastfed children - about eight months.

If the adaptation to the new dish was successful, the meat becomes an integral part of the daily children's menu and every month the portion increases. At the beginning of complementary foods, the child should eat about 20 g of meat per day, and by the year the volume reaches 50-70 g.

Puree consistency: binding to age

The meat is given to the baby in a chopped form. Depending on the age, meat puree for complementary foods is offered in different consistencies.

For children 6-7 months. Toothless peanuts eat homogenized pastes in which the size of the fractions does not exceed 0.3 mm.
For children 8-9 months. Toddlers who are already attempting to chew can eat purée-like meats minced to 1.5 mm.
For children after 10 months. And the grown-up "rodents" try meat, the particles of which in grinding already reach 3 mm.

Buy or make yourself?

When introducing meat complementary foods, parents are faced with a dilemma: cook at home or buy canned meat for children. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages.

Cooked at home

pros

Parents control the heat treatment process, storage conditions and terms.
The kid constantly receives a freshly prepared dish.
Parents independently choose a "garnish" and supplement vegetables or cereals in mashed potatoes, taking into account the tastes and reactions of the child's body.
Homemade puree is guaranteed to be free of preservatives and dyes.

Minuses

If the meat is not homemade, but purchased, there is a risk of purchasing a low-quality or stimulant-treated product.
It is dangerous to take with you on the road or on a visit.
Short shelf life - in the refrigerator no more than a day.
You need to spend time preparing.

Bought from the store

pros

The quality of raw materials and production technology are subject to strict state control.
Long shelf life and convenient packaging.
You can take it with you on the road or to visit.
No need to waste time cooking.
Puree is crushed and packaged in accordance with the age needs of the baby.
You can pick up a puree in which the meat is immediately mixed with vegetables or cereals.
Products are additionally enriched with vitamins and other useful substances.
Glass containers in which mashed potatoes are packaged can later be used to store homemade yoghurts and.

Minuses

It cannot be guaranteed that control over the quality of raw materials and production technology is carried out meticulously, and not “for show”.
The type of meat and the overall composition of the puree may not correspond to what is indicated on the label.
High price.

Canned meat: an overview of popular brands

Of course, the best meat for a baby is self-raised cattle or poultry. But if there is no home product, and finances allow, parents often prefer canned baby food.

There are a number of popular manufacturers of "delicious jars" for babies that offer, among other things, mashed meats. They present on the market both a purely meat product and combined purees with vegetables and cereals. If you believe the reviews of mothers, then you should pay attention to the trade line of the enterprises listed below.