Cottage cheese is a delicious and extremely healthy fermented milk product, so giving it to your child is a must. It is only important to find out at what age it is recommended to introduce cottage cheese and dishes from it into the children's menu, as well as how to introduce the little one to such a product correctly.
Pros
- The baby will receive calcium, vitamin A, folic acid, sodium, vitamin B12, phosphorus and other valuable ingredients from cottage cheese.
- Cottage cheese proteins are represented by all amino acids necessary for the body.
- Eating curd helps to strengthen the baby's bone tissue.
Minuses
- Due to the early introduction of curd into the baby's menu, digestive problems are possible.
- In industrial curds, fillers are added that can cause allergies.
- Cottage cheese is contraindicated in kidney disease, as well as milk protein intolerance.
- If cottage cheese is stored under improper conditions, it can cause foodborne infections.
With intolerance to this product, the child develops a rash, diarrhea, restless behavior. The baby may complain of nausea, spasmodic abdominal pain.
At what age is it better to give?
For babies who were fed only breast milk before the introduction of complementary foods, most doctors recommend trying cottage cheese at 8-9 months. The crumbs who received the adapted mixture can be introduced to the curd a little earlier - from 6-7 months of age.
Earlier introduction of this product into the infant's diet is permissible for rickets or severe underweight.
E. Komarovsky's opinion
A popular doctor recommends starting to introduce cottage cheese at the age of 6 months, adding it to kefir. Komarovsky explains the beginning of feeding with a fermented milk product by the fact that this group of products is most related to both breast milk and milk mixtures, therefore, the baby will digest kefir and cottage cheese better than other groups of complementary foods.
A famous pediatrician advises cottage cheese to add in the amount of one teaspoon from the fourth or fifth day from the beginning of the introduction of kefir into the children's menu. The best time for this dish, according to Komarovsky, is 9-11 am. If there is no reaction to the product, the next day the portion is doubled until the volume of cottage cheese is brought to 30-40 grams for a child from 6 to 8 months.
Introduction to the diet
Most often, cottage cheese is introduced into the baby's menu after the child is used to vegetables, cereals and fruit complementary foods. The first time this product is given to a healthy toddler in the morning. The first portion of cottage cheese should be a small amount of the product - from half to a whole teaspoon. After making sure of a good reaction to a new dish, the next day you can increase its portion.
In what form can you give?
The toddler's acquaintance with cottage cheese should begin with the use of the product fresh without any additives. Let the baby just taste the cottage cheese, and perhaps the child's taste will be completely satisfied. It is best to give the child a freshly prepared curd, which has stood in the open air for up to two hours.
If the baby refuses unsweetened cottage cheese or you want to diversify the cottage cheese complementary foods, add different types of fruits to this fermented milk product. Cottage cheese-based dishes (casseroles, dumplings, cheesecakes and others) are introduced to the toddler's menu after 1.5 years.
How to choose the right curd?
Now on store shelves there is a fairly large selection of cottage cheese for baby food. This product is adapted to the needs of babies up to one year old and has a delicate taste and creamy texture.
When choosing such a curd, first of all, it is worth taking a package on which short shelf life is marked. In this case, the product must be the freshest by the date of production. It is desirable that there are no additives in the purchased cottage cheese. Cottage cheese, which is sold for adults, as well as cheese curds with various flavors, cannot be given to the crumbs.
Homemade recipe
- After boiling a liter of fresh milk, cool it to a temperature of about +35 degrees, then add 50 grams of sourdough, which can be sour cream, yogurt or kefir. When the milk turns sour, place the bowl with it in a water bath and keep on low heat for about 30-40 minutes. Having squeezed out the homemade cottage cheese, beat it additionally with a blender.
- Another way to make baby curd is to curd milk with calcium chloride. Mix boiled and cooled milk (200-300 ml) with 2-3 ml of calcium chloride, then bring to a boil and discard on a sieve. Grind the resulting curd with a blender.
- The third option to make cottage cheese is to warm kefir. After pouring it into a small saucepan, keep the container over medium heat. The kefir should warm up, but not boil. You will soon notice that the kefir has split into a denser mass at the top and a more liquid mass at the bottom. Throwing the resulting product onto cheesecloth, you remove excess liquid and get the most delicate curd.
Find out if your child's weight is normal using the following calculator.
