When to introduce potatoes into complementary foods? How to prepare mashed potatoes for the first feeding

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Doctors urge breastfeeding mothers to eat potatoes. After all, it is a valuable source of vitamins, energy and nutrients. That is why many mothers are interested in when to introduce potatoes to complementary foods and how to cook them properly. And of course, parents of formula-fed babies are concerned about this issue.

We will look at how a nightshade vegetable is useful for a growing child's body and, of course, what harm it can cause. The optimal time to introduce complementary foods, how often and in what form to give potatoes to the baby - you will learn everything from this article.

Useful composition of potato tubers

Potatoes are the second bread. So they spoke in Russia from the end of the 19th century and could not imagine life without both. Modern research has confirmed the benefits and nutritional value of potatoes due to the substances found in the tubers:

• starch is an important source of carbohydrates, glucose and energy;
• sugar, fiber,protein, fats and lipids;
• vitamin C, PP, B1, B2, B6, K;
• potassium, phosphorus, sodium, calcium, magnesium and other trace elements;
• amino acids: lysine, threonine, leucine, glutamine.

Due to the high nutritional value of mashed potatoes, complementary foods are extremely he althy, but the baby should receive this dish only after he gets acquainted with less high-calorie vegetables. For example, puree from zucchini, pumpkin, broccoli or cauliflower, which are recommended for babies from the age of five months.

However, potatoes are not only a source of energy. Let's find out about the benefits of vitamins that the baby will receive from the boiled root.

Potato vitamins

Such a familiar and affordable vegetable turns out to be a real storehouse of vitamins. Only ascorbic acid it contains 11 mg / 100 g, but unfortunately, this substance is destroyed when heated.

Among other vitamins found in root vegetables, there are many that are not afraid of heat treatment, and even in mashed potatoes for a child retain about 70% of their beneficial properties:

• Vitamin B1 (thiamine): its deficiency can cause serious pathologies of the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is necessary for the development of all systems and organs, especially for the formation of antibodies and the maintenance of immunity.
• Vitamin B3 (PP, nicotinic acid) has a beneficial effect on the formation of the nervous system and the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is involved in most metabolic processes, it is also necessary for liver he alth.
• A group of vitamins K, among the beneficial properties of which is to ensure the normal formation of bone tissue.

Now let's find out what useful trace elements are stored in mashed potatoes for a child.

Amino acids and minerals

Minerals in potato tubers are contained in the form of alkaline s alts, so they are easily absorbed by the baby's body. Let's look at the benefits of those that are present in sufficient quantities in root vegetables:

1. Potassium (426 mg/100 g) is necessary for the development of skeletal muscles, normal heart function, maintaining water and acid-base balance. The daily allowance for children is 600–1700 mg.
2. Phosphorus (59mg/100g) plays an important role in bone formation. The daily allowance for children is 1.5–2.5 mg.
3. Magnesium (22mg/100g) supports nervous, cardiovascular, liver and intestinal he alth. A child under one year of age needs at least 40-60 mg of magnesium per day.

Among the important amino acids for a growing organism in the composition of potatoes, it is worth noting lysine and threonine, which support immunity, as well as valine and leucine, which provide energy metabolism in muscle cells.

However, useful tubers under certain conditions can be dangerous for the he alth of the baby. Before you know when to introduce potatoes to complementary foods, you need to find out about their possible harm.

Beware of poison

In spring and closer to summer, as a result of long-term storage, potatoes formthe alkaloid solanine is a nitrogen-containing toxic compound. Despite the fact that the selection of modern varieties is aimed at reducing the amount of toxin, its concentration is quite high in germinated and especially green tubers.

By the way, supporters of a he althy diet generally stop eating potatoes from April 1 due to the content of corned beef in them. An old root crop is unlikely to harm an adult he althy person, but it can be poisonous for a baby. Therefore, in the spring it is better to refuse complementary feeding with potatoes until the new harvest.

There are still cases when the child's body, due to an insufficiently strong immune system, refuses to accept this vegetable.

Potato Allergy

In general, potato allergy is an extremely rare phenomenon, however, according to experts, children under one year old are just at risk. It is for this reason that 6 months is the earliest age to introduce potatoes into complementary foods. Moreover, for breastfed babies, 8 months is considered the best time to get acquainted with a vegetable.

Potato indigestion manifests itself as most food allergen reactions. These could be:

• skin rashes;
• swelling of the oral mucosa;
• colic and diarrhea;
• allergic rhinitis.

According to experts, an allergy to potatoes goes away by 3 years. Therefore, when a child is first given a taste of mashed potatoes, complementary foods this time should not contain other products. In this way, you can determine the reaction of the baby to a new food. In most cases, it turns outpositive, but on the condition that the puree is prepared correctly and from fresh root vegetables.

How to choose potatoes

Of course, the ideal vegetables for a child are grown on their own plot, in an ecologically clean region, and even without any chemicals. However, not everyone has a garden and the opportunity to buy root crops from a trusted supplier. Therefore, when choosing potatoes in the store, you should consider a number of simple recommendations:

1. Reject imported washed tubers. To preserve the presentation, they are treated with chemical preparations, although permitted.
2. Give preference to locally produced potatoes. There is always a tag on the grid indicating the state farm (farm).
3. Choose even, firm tubers, free of sprouts, sores, and wrinkles.
4. You can buy a nitrate tester for vegetables and fruits to be sure of the quality of the purchased product.

If you still have your own potatoes, it's good when they are stored at a temperature of plus 1-2 °C. Under these conditions, part of the starch is hydrolyzed to sugars.

Well, now we come to another important question: how to properly prepare mashed potatoes for the baby.

Preparation and cooking

If you have your own tubers, they can be boiled in their uniforms, so vitamins and microelements are better preserved. But it is better to peel purchased potatoes, especially in winter, by removing about 2 mm of peel. Then it must be cut into 4 parts and soaked in water for at least 2 hours. So you get a dietary product that is useful forbabies, adults and even diabetics.

How long to boil potatoes depends on the variety, they are all cooked differently. Do you know that this root vegetable is native to South America? The ancient Incas began to cultivate potatoes about 9 thousand years ago, they not only consumed it, but also worshiped it. And they also used a vegetable to measure time. Those ancient semi-wild potatoes boiled for about an hour, and if people said that the time had passed as long as it takes to boil potatoes, they meant about 60 minutes.

Modern potato varieties cook much faster:

• whole medium-sized tubers cooked in a pot or steamer for 20-25 minutes;
• cut vegetable will be ready in 12-15 minutes;
• tubers of the new crop are cooked faster than the old ones by 5 minutes.

Don't be afraid to overcook the potatoes, they will go to mash the baby, not to the salad. Now we will learn how to cook potatoes for the first feeding.

Tasty and he althy

Many children love the taste of potatoes and eat mashed potatoes with pleasure, even without s alt. Cooked tubers are kneaded with an ordinary pusher, crushed in a blender or rubbed through a fine sieve. In each case, a liquid is added: a little breast milk or formula. At first, the consistency should be more liquid than that of a regular "adult" puree. In addition, cooling down, the dish will become thicker.

When to introduce potatoes into complementary foods, we found out: from 6 months for formula-fed babies and from 8 for breastfeeding. Now we will find out how often to cook mashed potatoes and how much to give the child so as not to harmhe alth:

• first meal: no more than 1-2 tsp;
• if the reaction is normal, the portion is gradually increased to 150-190 g (by one year of age);
• preparing mashed potatoes for a child with a break of 3-4 days;
• best time to feed is lunchtime;
• It is not recommended to include potatoes in complementary foods if the baby is sick.

Mashed potatoes with milk is a satisfying meal, so in its pure form it should be an independent dish. As practice shows, children eat this vegetable much more willingly than others, but sometimes it makes sense to diversify it.

Mashed potatoes, zucchini and other vegetables

Very simple and he althy recipe. For cooking, you need to peel, cut and soak the potatoes. A young zucchini without peel and seeds is cut into cubes. How much to boil potatoes for mashed potatoes, you know. And the zucchini will be ready in 7-10 minutes after boiling.

Vegetables are mixed until smooth, milk is added to the desired consistency. If the baby is already accustomed to mashed potatoes, you can drop vegetable oil or put a piece of butter for taste.

You can diversify the dish with carrots, in time it is cooked, like potatoes. Or pumpkin, which is cooked like zucchini.

Mashed potato and meat

Starting from 6–8 months, along with potatoes, meat is gradually introduced into complementary foods for the baby. And when the child masters both products separately, you can cook him a delicious and hearty lunch. For cookingrequired:

• meat (veal, turkey or rabbit) - 100g;
• medium potatoes - 2 pieces;
• milk - half a glass;
• butter – 5 g.

Prepare the potatoes as usual. Boil the meat, take it out. Strain the broth and dip the chopped tubers into it. Rub the boiled potatoes through a sieve. Grind the cooled meat in a blender or pass through a meat grinder until soft, homogeneous minced meat is obtained and mixed with mashed potatoes.

Dilute puree with boiling milk, beat with a whisk for splendor. Add oil to the plate.

There is nothing complicated about how to properly prepare mashed potatoes. The kid will surely appreciate and love a tasty nutritious dish and it is important not to overdo it here. Eating potatoes wisely will benefit a growing body, and overfeeding can lead to unwanted weight gain.