Meat in a child's diet - rules for introducing meat complementary foods

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

When to introduce meat into baby food?

Pediatricians advise introducing meat into a child's menu no earlier than from 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 observe an interval of 2 months between the period of introducing the first complementary foods and the period of introducing meat. Hence, a small spread in the recommended periods becomes understandable: at 8 months, the meat begins to be given to babies who received the first complementary foods at six months; at 6 months, you can introduce meat to those children who, for whatever reason, began to receive fruit or cereal complementary foods from 4 months.

Why shouldn't children be given meat before 6 months?

Until this age, the children's digestive system is not yet mature enough to digest such heavy food completely.
Meat protein negatively affects the kidney function of the child.
Before six months, the risk of developing a meat protein allergy is higher.

Why is meat good for children?

Meat is a source of protein that a child's body needs to grow;
Meat products contain the entire set of amino acids that are not produced by the body, but enter it only with food;
Meat is also rich in other important trace elements - iron, phosphorus, magnesium, fluorine, cobolt and zinc. Interestingly, the iron contained in meat is absorbed better and faster than the same element from other plant foods;
Meat has a fibrous dense structure, thanks to this, when babies eat it, they learn to chew food.

Could meat be harmful to children?

Certain types of meat can cause an allergic reaction;
Eating large quantities of meat products puts a strain on the child's kidneys and the digestive system;
Up to 3 years old, babies are not given fatty meat products, fried meat, smoked sausages and sausages.

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 meal of the day. It is better to start acquaintance of the baby with meat with rabbit or turkey, since they are hypoallergenic and belong to low-fat meats. When the baby is already used to these products, you can try to introduce chicken, tender pork and beef into the diet.

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

What meat do they start with?

Rabbit meat. Rabbit meat is considered the easiest to digest. It is not greasy and does not cause allergies. It is with him that experts recommend starting complementary foods. This product belongs to the dietary one, since it contains practically no fat, but it contains vitamins and useful trace elements.

Turkey can also be offered to the baby at the first acquaintance with meat products. It has very little fat and is easily absorbed. Turkey meat is hypoallergenic.

Rabbit and turkey are considered optimal for acquaintance with meat dishes. Their meat is low-calorie, lean, tender, very rarely causes allergies. The main disadvantage is the higher cost, and it is not always possible to buy rabbit meat or turkey in natural form (and not in canned food).

Other meats are introduced later, with caution. Let's see why.

Chicken meat- dietary and gentle. However, this is one of the most allergenic foods, and in no case should you start meat complementary foods with chicken in allergic children, especially if you are allergic to chicken egg protein. In addition, in modern conditions, chicken for meat is grown using hormonal drugs and antibiotics, which can be stored in poultry meat.

Pork. It is fatty meat. Even if you buy a supposedly lean part (shoulder blade, back), it still contains fat. Pork may be allergic;

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

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

Duck, goose and lamb are high-fat meats.Waterfowl meat contains refractory fats, which the child's digestive system cannot digest. These types of meat are not included in the diet of children under 3 years old. Babies under one year old are not offered meat broths.

Offal begin to offer children no earlier than 10 months. The exception is babies suffering from anemia; pediatricians recommend giving them a liver even from 8-9 months. The by-products contain more iron, copper and manganese. In general, the opinion about the admissibility of including the liver in the children's menu has undergone changes in recent years: previously, the liver was recommended as a good source of iron, now it is being 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 meat puree yourself?

You can make mashed meat yourself. This requires a small piece of dietary meat (about 20 grams). After washing it, chop the meat to make minced meat. We put it in a bowl and cook for 25 minutes. We pass the finished product through a metal sieve to achieve a homogeneous mass. Add some mixture or breast milk to the meat and beat with a blender. Salt is not added to baby puree.

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

Children under 8 months are given meat in the form of the most homogeneous puree, from 8–9 months, minced meatballs are prepared and kneaded with a fork before serving. By 10 months, if the child has teeth, meatballs and meatballs can be given without prior grinding, it is allowed to slightly add salt and add spices (dill, parsley, bay leaf). Steam cutlets have been introduced since year.

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

How to properly introduce the baby to meat?

Bring the meat until smooth. To achieve this, the product is boiled well, ground thoroughly and mixed with the mixture or breast milk;
Make sure the puree is warm before feeding your baby;
A serving for a first acquaintance is ½ teaspoon;
For the first time, the child is given the product in the morning, so that he can observe the reaction of the body during the day;
In the future, children are given meat dishes along with vegetables, usually this is the third feeding of the day;
A single portion of meat for babies is gradually increased, adding ½ teaspoon daily;
It is not recommended to give the crumbs meat puree after storage in the refrigerator. Children are fed only freshly prepared foods;
When the baby gets used to the new taste, add meat to soup, cereals and vegetables;
After 8 months, the child needs to receive a portion of meat 5 days a week. For the other two days, fish is offered instead;
At 10 months of age, start cooking meatballs so your baby learns to chew on its own;
Do not mix several types of meat until the baby is used to each of them separately;
Some babies refuse to eat meat. In this case, it is recommended to mix the 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). More than recommended should not be given, as it creates an excessive load on the kidneys and the digestive system of the child.

Why are ready-made meat purees good for children?

In order not to cook 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. Store-bought meat products for baby food have their own benefits.

Puree is made from meat of animals raised in ecologically clean conditions on ecologically clean feed.
All ingredients for making baby meat puree are carefully selected and checked for quality. All components inside ready-made purees are useful for children and correspond to age-related needs.
Canned food is checked for hazardous impurities and, in general, their composition is studied in the most thorough way.
The finished meat puree does not need to be cooked, but simply reheated and fed to the crumbs.
Meat puree in jars has a different degree of grinding, it depends on the age group of children for which the puree is intended (the degree of grinding is marked on the package). Depending on the recommended age (determined by the labeling on the package), canned foods differ in the degree of grinding and cooking technology: homogenized - the most homogeneous, contain meat, water and rice starch; puree - thicker; finely and coarsely chopped - minced meat in them, often contain salt, spices, meat broth; canned food in the form of ready-made dishes - meatballs, cutlets.
Baby food manufacturers often combine meat with other healthy foods such as vegetables or cereals.
An opened can of canned meat can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day.

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

Based on the age of the child, they determine the amount of meat that he should receive per day.

6-7 months - 5-20 years
8-9 months - up to 50 g.
10 months - 2 years - 50 to 80 grams.
3 years - 80 to 90 grams.
4-6 years old - from 100 to 110 grams.
7-9 years old - from 110 to 140 grams.
10-13 years old - 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 the tenderloin, this part contains less fat;
When buying rabbit meat, check the age of the animal. It is good if the rabbit is young (up to 3 months). To make mashed potatoes for the baby, use the back of the carcass, here the meat is more tender and soft;
If you want to pamper your baby with turkey, take the breast. It is tender, tasty and lean meat that is best digested. The same goes for chicken;
The purchased meat should smell good, be homogeneous and elastic. If it does not smell at all or exudes an unpleasant odor, refrain from buying;
The freshness of the meat is easy to determine by its color - it must not have a gray-brown or brown tint on it. 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 specified or unknown, do not buy the product. Assess the appearance of the product. The meat should not be slippery. If possible, sniff the meat and make sure it doesn't have any unpleasant odor. If the product is packed in plastic wrap, make sure it is intact.

How to choose the right fresh meat: expert advice

It is very important that the first meat complementary food is to the taste of the child. Protein is essential for the normal growth and development of a child's body. Although proteins of animal origin are also found in other products - milk, kefir, cottage cheese, fish and eggs, they cannot be a complete substitute for meat. From meat products, the baby receives iron, folic acid and B vitamins, which are indispensable for blood and the proper development of the nervous system.