At what age can pork be given to a child and what dishes are better to cook?

After getting acquainted with vegetable dishes, cereals and fruits, it is time to include meat in the children's diet. It is recommended to start meat complementary foods with rabbit or turkey. But can babies be given pork?

This type of meat is considered by many mothers to be too fatty and difficult to digest. However, it can be introduced into a child's diet if you know when to start feeding pork, how much to cook such meat and what to cook from it for the children's menu.

Benefit

The child will receive healthy proteins from lean pork, which contain all the amino acids necessary for the full growth of children.
Pork is a source of all B vitamins. These compounds are important for the development of the nervous system, immune function, prevention of anemia and other processes in the child's body.
Among the minerals that pork is rich in, magnesium, potassium, copper and calcium are especially high. Thanks to this composition, the use of pork meat has a positive effect on intellectual activity, heart function, bone health and blood formation.
Since pork meat contains a lot of iron, iodine, zinc and arachidonic acid, this product is useful for stress and stimulates regeneration processes.
Among the fats that are present in pork, there are especially a lot of oleic and linoleic acids, which are important for the normal functioning of the child's body and are part of the cell membranes.
Eating pork stimulates muscle growth, therefore, this type of meat is recommended for children who attend sports sections and experience significant physical activity.
Pork dishes will help diversify the child's diet with milk intolerance (it also provokes intolerance to beef), as well as if you are allergic to chicken.

Differences from other types of meat

Pork is digestible as well as any other meat and has a pleasant taste.

It also has the following features:

Pork has more B vitamins than beef.
Pork tenderloin contains more protein than chicken, beef and turkey.
Due to the lower content of connective tissue, this type of meat is cooked faster, and cooked or stewed pork is easier to chew.
Thanks to the fatty layers, the pork remains juicy when baked.

Pork harm

Some children develop allergies due to the consumption of pork meat. This is one of the main reasons why you cannot start meat complementary foods with such a product, and you should be extremely careful when introducing pork into the children's menu.

Fatty pork especially often provokes an allergic reaction, therefore only lean parts are used for baby food.

It should also be remembered that fried pork dishes are contraindicated for children until at least 3 years of age... Shish kebabs and other unnecessarily fatty dishes from such meat cannot be included in the menu of young children. Failure to follow these recommendations can lead to problems in the digestive tract and other ailments.

At what age to give

Nowadays, doctors, including Dr. Komarovsky, do not recommend giving breastfed babies any foods earlier than six months of age. If the baby is already six months old, the child's menu becomes more varied. Meat appears in it from 8 months of age.

Some mothers and doctors do not advise the introduction of pork into the children's diet, even low-fat, until the age of 1 year or even up to 2-3 years. However, it is possible to acquaint babies with lean pork meat from the age of 8-10 months. However, it is advised to do this after the baby tastes and gets used to such less allergenic options for meat complementary foods such as rabbit, turkey and veal.

The most preferred option for pork for a small child is ready-made canned food for baby food. Their advantages are proven quality and good crumbling. If the mother is confident in the quality of fresh pork, you can boil it for the child for 20-25 minutes and cook the meat puree.

The first portion of such a dish should not exceed a teaspoon. Having treated the baby to pork in the morning, you need to carefully monitor the state of the toddler. If any ailments and signs of allergies appear, the introduction of pork into the diet should be stopped. If the baby tolerates pork puree well, his portion is gradually increased to the age-appropriate norm of a meat dish per day.

What to cook with pork for children

When the child tastes lean pork puree and does not have any symptoms of intolerance, the mother can look out for other recipes in which pork is one of the ingredients. For children under 1.5 years old, tasty dishes are prepared that are easy to chew, for example, puddings or meat soufflés. These lean pork dishes are especially tender in a slow cooker.

For a child over a year old, offer meatball soup, steamed meatballs, and boiled pork pieces to encourage chewing. Pork meatballs or oven-baked patties can be served with gravy or a sauce. Pork dishes such as goulash, casserole, pies, zrazy or rolls are included in the menu of children over 3 years old.

You can cook pork for your child using one of these recipes:

Baked lazy cabbage rolls (from 1 year old)

Finely chop the peeled onion and finely grate a medium carrot. Simmer the carrots and onions in a little water or broth for about 5 minutes. Finely chop 400 g of white cabbage, mix with 400 g of minced meat made from lean pork (you can twist the cabbage together with the meat, then the minced meat will be more tender). Add carrots with onions, 50 g rice, 2 chicken eggs and a pinch of salt. Mix everything thoroughly and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Form cutlets from the chilled mass and place in a deep heat-resistant container. Twist one tomato without the skin in a meat grinder, add 2 tablespoons of low-fat natural yogurt (for children 1 year old) or sour cream (for children over 2 years old) and 200 ml of warm water. Pour the cabbage rolls with the resulting liquid and bake for 40 minutes.

Pudding (from 1 year old)

Boil 100 g of pork meat and grind with a meat grinder until smooth. Add white bread (about 50 g) soaked in 100 ml of milk and chicken egg yolk. Season with salt to taste and stir. The mass should be semi-liquid. Add the beaten egg white into it and mix gently. Put the mixture in a mold and place in a preheated oven. Bake until tender.

Steamed zrazy with egg and carrots (from 1.5 years old)

Make minced meat from 400 g of lean pork, add one egg, a little salt and bread crumb soaked in milk, and finely grated onion. Make a filling with one boiled carrot and two hard-boiled eggs. After cleaning these ingredients, chop finely, mix and add a little salt. Shape the minced meat into tortillas, spread the egg and carrot mixture on them and join the edges to form the shape of the patties. Steam the zrazy for 40 minutes, serve with low-fat sour cream and any vegetables.

"Hedgehogs" in a multicooker (from 1.5 years old)

Pass 500 g of lean pork twice through the fine wire rack of a meat grinder. Peel and chop one onion finely. Mix the minced meat, onion, a glass of washed rice and 1 chicken egg, and season with salt. Blind small balls from the resulting mass, put them in a multicooker container, pour water into the device and select the "steam" function. A sound signal will notify you that the dish is ready. Serve hedgehogs with vegetables or gravy.

Baked pork with carrots (from 3 years old)

Rinse and remove the tendons with 200 g of pork, removing excess fat if necessary. Cut the large carrots into strips and, after making cuts in the meat, stuff the pork with the carrots. Rub the salt over the meat, place in foil and wrap tightly. You can also use a baking bag. Cook the dish in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. Serve with a vegetable side dish.