Kissel is one of the popular drinks in our country that has a positive effect on the human body. Is it possible to include it in the children's diet, at what age is it better to do it and from what products to prepare jelly for the baby?
Benefits and medicinal properties
Due to its thick consistency and ability to envelop the walls of the digestive tract, jelly is able to protect the gastric mucosa from damage, thus preventing diseases of the digestive tract. The use of jelly can eliminate both diarrhea and constipation. In addition, it is advised to drink jelly for babies who are poorly gaining weight, since such a drink contributes to weight gain.
Also, the beneficial effect of jelly will be determined by the products from which it was prepared:
Harm and contraindications
- Kissel should not be given to children who have frequent constipation or have colon pathologies.
- This type of drink is not recommended for overweight babies.
- You should not give jelly to children with diabetes.
- Babies should not be given too thick a drink, as it can be difficult for their digestive system.
Is allergy possible?
Since the most common recipes for jelly based on fruits and berries, then indeed any of these ingredients can provoke the development of an allergic reaction. Having determined which product the crumbs are allergic to, you can cook jelly for the child without such a component, therefore, you should not completely abandon the jelly in the diet of the allergic crumbs.
At what age can you give?
For the first time, jelly is offered to babies who are already 6 months old. Babies under one year old are given jelly in liquid form, but already from 10 months you can offer such a drink to the baby, making it thicker.
At the same time, mothers need to know that blueberry and cherry jelly is recommended for babies over 10 months old, and a rowan drink is recommended from the age of two.
What jelly are allowed for children under one year old?
Babies under one year old are given jelly, which should:
- Have a liquid consistency.
- Be prepared before eating.
- Be cooked from ingredients that have already been introduced into the baby's diet, if there is no negative reaction to them.
- Do not include exotic fruits.
- Be cooked without sugar.
How to cook?
- The main ingredients from which the jelly is prepared are starch and fruit or berry raw materials. There are also recipes based on oatmeal or milk.
- The first jelly is prepared as one-component, and as the baby grows, the taste of drinks can be made more multifaceted and varied.
- The starch must first be mixed with cool water and only then added to the boiling liquid.
- After pouring in the starch, the drink should be constantly stirred until it becomes thick.
- Part of the juice (if berries or fruits are used for jelly) should not be processed under high temperature. By adding it to the drink at the end of preparation, you can preserve the maximum of nutrients.
- When cooking, sugar is also added to the jelly, but for the smallest children you can try to do without it, especially if the main ingredient of the drink is sweet fruit. You can replace sugar for baby jelly with fructose or honey (if the child is not allergic), and you cannot use artificial sweeteners for such a drink.
- For cooking jelly intended for a child, you should use enamel dishes.
- The crumbs should be cooked at one time. Storing the drink in the refrigerator, reheating and digesting is not recommended. This will not only reduce the benefits of jelly, but also increase the risk of developing harmful bacterial flora in it.
How to cook jelly without adding sugar, see the video of the Marmalade Fox channel.
The best recipes
Oat
Pour a third of a glass of rolled oats with a glass of warm water and leave for 10 hours (the best option would be to leave the flakes overnight). Drain the resulting liquid into a separate container, add a glass of milk, a pinch of salt and sugar to your taste. Place the container on the fire and cook until the jelly becomes thick.
Lactic
Stir in a little cool water two tablespoons of cornstarch. While it is swelling, bring two cups of milk to a boil and add 60 g of sugar or fructose to it. Next, pour the diluted starch into boiling milk with sugar (while stirring the drink constantly). Boil the jelly until thick. You can add vanillin, lemon zest, jam, fruit and berry syrup to such a milk drink.
Apple
Wash two apples, peel them and grate on a fine grater, then use a sieve to squeeze the grated mass to obtain juice. Putting the juice aside, pour two glasses of water over the apple mass and simmer for about 10 minutes. After straining, pour the resulting broth into another saucepan and boil. Dissolve a teaspoon of starch separately in cold water. Pour the starchy solution into the boiling apple broth, wait until it thickens, remove from heat, pour in the apple juice and, after cooling, give to the baby.
Pumpkin
Combine a glass of fresh pumpkin juice with two glasses of water, mix well and bring to a boil. Stir a teaspoon of potato starch separately in a little water, then add it to the pumpkin juice. Add fructose to the drink to taste and simmer over low heat for about five minutes. If desired, cinnamon can be added to the finished jelly. Give the child a drink should be slightly cooled.
From frozen or fresh berries
For berry jelly, take 100 grams of strawberries, cranberries, blueberries, currants or other berries and 300 ml of water. Sort and rinse fresh berries well, then chop them using a meat grinder, juicer or blender. Pour the juice from grinding into a jar and refrigerate.
Pour the cake from the berries with boiled water and put on fire. Boil it for 7 to 10 minutes, then strain and divide the liquid into 2 parts. After cooling, add a teaspoon of starch to one of them and leave it to swell. Add sugar to the second part (a teaspoon is also enough) and bring to a boil.
When the berry broth boils, reduce the heat and add the swollen starch into it with constant stirring. Bring it to a boil again, turn off the stove and pour the juice that was in the refrigerator into the drink. After stirring, pour the jelly into glasses. According to the same recipe, you can make a drink from frozen berries.
From dried fruits
Prepare a decoction of dried fruits, taking 30 g of raw materials and 300 ml of purified water. Strain the drink by squeezing the cooked fruit out a little. Pour a small amount of liquid into a glass, add a tablespoon of starch. Let the remaining broth boil, add diluted starch into it and cook until thickened. If desired, a little fructose or sugar syrup can be added to the drink during cooking.
Usage rates for infants and older children
- Babies under 12 months old can be given jelly 2-3 times a week. For children over a year old, it is permissible to give a drink daily, but not more often than once a day.
- One serving of jelly for a child 1-3 years old should be from 100 to 150 ml. Children over three years old are given 150-200 ml of such a drink at a time.
- The most optimal time for using jelly is considered lunch and afternoon tea. It is better to give the drink to children in a warm state.
Tips
- Do not buy store jelly in bags and briquettes, since such a product can only be given to older children. It contains chemicals that can harm a small child. For preschoolers, and especially for babies, jelly should be cooked from natural ingredients with your own hands.
- Cook jelly for your child only from ingredients to which the crumbs do not have an allergic reaction. Give your baby just one teaspoon of freshly prepared drink the first time.
- Kissel starch should also be prepared on your own, and not bought in a store. To do this, peel the potatoes and grind them in a blender. Put the gruel obtained after such grinding in cheesecloth. Tie the cheesecloth and let the potato gruel sit for a while to release the starch.
Find out if your child's weight is normal using the following calculator.
