Mashed potatoes complementary foods. How to choose good potatoes. When can babies eat potatoes as complementary foods?

It's no secret that overweight- the scourge of the 21st century. But few mothers think about overweight at infants. And this, alas, happens quite often, especially when a child switches from breast milk to baby food. Why? Because we rarely think about what is included in all kinds of vegetables that are given to the baby as complementary foods.

It would seem that mashed potatoes are the most suitable - soft, easily digestible and digestible. But mothers need to remember that potatoes are an insidious product. It can contribute to constipation due to excess starch. And carbohydrates will quickly increase the weight of the little man. But you shouldn’t completely exclude this dish from your diet. You just need to cook it correctly.

Mashed potatoes for babies - Preparation:

Summer and autumn provide the opportunity to get a lot of “live” vitamins, which vegetables and fruits are rich in. One of the most popular vegetables consumed by adults and children is potatoes. Very often, nutritionists and pediatricians recommend that it be one of the first to be introduced into the diet - after cauliflower. Like all complementary foods, this vegetable also needs to be prepared for the baby in the form of mashed potatoes. The method of preparing mashed potatoes is not much different from preparing mashed potatoes from other vegetables, but it has its own characteristics that will help a mother feed her child deliciously.

To get tasty and nutritious mashed potatoes for babies, you first need to choose the right vegetables. The root crop must be free of greenery under the skin, signs of rotting, not affected by phytoflora and without sprouts. Parents should also avoid buying potatoes with nitrates; to do this, either use vegetables from their own garden, or buy them from trusted places.

How to properly prepare mashed potatoes for a baby?

1. Soak in water for a day, after removing the peel in a thick layer (to remove excess starch).
2. Cut and place in an enamel pan with boiling water. Cook covered and bring to a boil over low heat. Do not salt the water.
3. Remove the cooked potatoes and chop them in an accessible way while they are hot.
4. To form a semi-liquid puree, add a decoction of potatoes and milk.

Mashed potatoes for babies should be lump-free, fluffy, very tender and not thick. Served warm.

Mashed potato recipe for babies

Mashed potatoes with herbs:

Ingredients:

Preparation

Cut the prepared potatoes into cubes. Place them in a saucepan with boiling water and cover with a lid, cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Then add chopped greens or cabbage and cook until all the vegetables are soft, another 5-10 minutes. Then drain the water and grind the vegetables with a blender or rub through a sieve, while adding milk, until a puree of the desired consistency is formed.

It is imperative to remember that they begin to introduce the child to potatoes with a teaspoon, to check if the baby is allergic to it. If it does not manifest itself, you can increase the portion. And every time for the baby, the mother should prepare fresh mashed potatoes so as not to harm his health.

Potatoes are considered a popular vegetable, without which it is difficult to imagine a daily diet. It is included in soups, appetizers, main courses and baked goods are prepared from it. After the birth of a baby, parents have natural questions: when are potatoes introduced into complementary foods for children, from what month, are there any contraindications, and what do pediatricians recommend?

Mashed potatoes are one of the popular dishes in the children's diet, despite the fact that it is considered high in calories, as it consists mainly of carbohydrates. Pediatricians advise introducing it into complementary foods for a child no earlier than six months after zucchini, broccoli, carrots or cauliflower have appeared in the baby’s diet.

All about the benefits of potatoes

The digestive system of a baby in the first months of life is imperfect. She is able to absorb only breast milk or special milk formulas. Only by 9-9.5 months do enzymes appear in the child’s body that are capable of efficiently digesting starchy vegetables.

Why you shouldn't give up potatoes children's menu? Firstly, because young children are often prone to allergies, and the popular root vegetable causes it exclusively in rare cases. If a reaction occurs, the starch contained in it is to blame. In addition to nutritional value and excellent taste qualities the vegetable has the following benefits:

• It is on sale all year round, its price is affordable for everyone.
• The feeling of fullness it gives is undeniable.
• It can be consumed at any stage of maturity; both young and old root vegetables are suitable for food.
• The body needs minerals every day, a fifth of which it gets from potatoes.
• Contains rutin, which protects against infections, strengthens blood vessels and capillaries.
• The composition includes selenium, which stabilizes the functioning of the thyroid gland.
• It is considered a powerful source of energy and a supplier of natural protein, which is needed for the construction and regeneration of cells.
• Contains minerals and vegetable fiber, regulates the functioning of the digestive system, helps remove waste and toxins.

Potato starch lowers cholesterol levels, and folic acid in its composition stimulates the development of the brain and participates in the formation nervous system newborn

The nutritional value

Potatoes, in addition to proteins, fats and carbohydrates, contain a large number of nutritional components. The product contains:

• potassium;
• magnesium;
• sulfur;
• chlorine;
• fluorine;
• chromium;
• calcium;
• B vitamins;
• vitamins A and C.

When can infants be offered potato dishes as complementary foods? Without any risk to health - after porridge and fruits have become permanent components of their diet. Before introducing a starchy vegetable into the children's menu, they introduce cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli and onions. Moreover, it is worth remembering that children artificial feeding can try the innovation a month and a half earlier than breastfed toddlers.

When is the best time to feed potatoes? The optimal time is from one to three o'clock in the afternoon. At first, babies are offered literally half a teaspoon of mashed potatoes per day; by the age of one year, this portion gradually increases to 130-150 g.

The older the baby gets, the larger the range of potato dishes for complementary feeding that he is offered.

• Initially, children are offered purees or soups without spices and salt.
• After one year, babies can cook potato dumplings, steamed pancakes and potato pancakes.
• At the age of 3 years, children can already use fried product, including potatoes, although in limited quantities.

Are there any contraindications

Which Negative consequences may cause mashed potatoes:

• Constipation if the baby has problems with motor skills. Difficulty in defecation is caused by indigestible starch, which is contained in large quantities in the product. In this case potato feeding replaced with mashed potatoes and soups made from cauliflower, carrots and zucchini. The starchy vegetable is introduced only after the baby has grown up and his stomach can digest heavier food.
• When recommending potatoes for complementary feeding, pediatricians warn parents: if the baby is prone to allergies, a negative reaction to starch is possible. When offering potato dishes to your baby for the first time, you need to carefully monitor the condition of his skin. If a rash and redness occurs, you should stop feeding potatoes for a while.
• If the inside of the potato has a greenish tint, this is a signal that it contains the poisonous alkaloid solanine. Most of it accumulates in the sprouts and under the skin, so old, and especially sprouted root vegetables are prohibited for consumption by children.

Another case when you should not introduce purees for the first feeding is if the baby is overweight. The product is high in calories and constant use will stimulate active weight gain.

Choosing tubers

Before making puree, you first need to choose the right tubers. It is advisable that they be from your own garden or purchased from a trusted supplier. When choosing, pay attention to:

• Size, and it is better to choose tubers of medium or small diameter, since large potatoes can be hollow inside.
• The color of the potatoes, which should be uniform, without green, brown, yellowish or other spots or inclusions.
• Water content, which is determined after cutting the tuber. If the potato pulp contains a lot of moisture, this indicates an excess of nitrates.

Cooking rules

Before you introduce the root vegetable into your toddler’s diet, you need to know how to prepare it correctly:

• Before boiling potatoes for complementary feeding, they are soaked for a couple of hours in cold water. During this time, starch will partially come out of it, and along with it most of the nitrates and other harmful substances.
• Pediatricians recommend starting complementary feeding with potatoes, boiled “in their jackets.” This is not only safer for the baby, but retains the maximum in the product useful substances. The vegetable is boiled in water or steamed, and then the skin is removed and the “insides” are ground into a paste.
• The puree is diluted with breast or boiled cow's milk, for taste you can add a couple of drops of any vegetable oil.
• For kids, you can make mashed potatoes from baked vegetables. The fact is that when cooked, the B vitamins “leave” from it, and when baked, they are retained in full.
• It is best to mash boiled or baked tubers with a masher or using a strainer and spoon. You should not use a blender for these purposes. In it, the potato pulp will turn into a sticky mass, which is less digestible by the intestines.
• It is not recommended to salt the dish or add spices and seasonings to it until the baby is one year old.
• The consistency of the finished complementary food should be uniform, without lumps or foreign inclusions. Ideally, the puree should turn out semi-liquid, warm and fluffy; in this form it will be not only tasty, but also healthy.
• Puree should be offered together with other vegetables, so it is better absorbed in the stomach.

Each time before feeding, it is necessary to prepare a fresh portion of mashed potatoes. If after cooking a dish sits in the refrigerator, it will lose not only its taste, but also most of its useful properties.

Delicious potato dishes for toddlers

Instead of feeding mashed potatoes, you can offer your baby a tasty and healthy vegetable puree soup:

1. You will need 2 medium-sized potatoes, 200 g of milk, a tablespoon of butter, a little leek.
2. First, the tubers are soaked in water, after which they are peeled and crushed.
3. The onion is washed, cut into small rings, and then slightly simmered. butter.
4. After this, add half a glass of water to the onion, then add potatoes, cover the vessel with a lid and cook for 25-30 minutes.
5. The prepared vegetables are chopped, adding broth and hot milk, the ingredients are thoroughly mixed to obtain a homogeneous consistency.

If a child is allergic to dairy, the puree soup is diluted with vegetable broth.

You can also offer him a dish cooked as follows:

1. Take a couple of potatoes, a small carrot, about 35-50 g of cabbage and a little vegetable oil.
2. Before boiling the potatoes, place them in cold water for an hour to soak.
3. The prepared vegetables are chopped, poured with water and boiled for half an hour.
4. Crush the prepared carrots, cabbage and potatoes into puree and dilute with broth to a semi-liquid consistency.
5. At the very end they add to the dish vegetable oil, and after a year it is allowed to season it with salt and low-fat sour cream.

Potato and pumpkin puree for baby food: video recipe

Before introducing a starchy vegetable into infants' first complementary foods, you should consult your pediatrician. This is especially important if the baby is prone to allergies or has digestive problems. In order for a growing body to receive everything it needs, it is enough to consume mashed potatoes 2 times a week for up to a year. When the child turns one year old, potato dishes are offered 3 times every 7-8 days.

Potatoes occupy a strong position in daily diet. It’s hard to imagine liquid hot dishes without this vegetable. delicious side dish and salads. Therefore, it is absolutely natural for mothers to have questions. infant: when can you start giving your baby complementary foods made from this vegetable? How many grams? Will there be an allergy to it? What is the best way to prepare mashed potatoes for babies?

Controversial root vegetable

Well-known pediatricians and nutritionists recommend introducing potato complementary foods into different time. Some believe that this can be done at 4.5-5 months for artificial babies and at 6 months for infants. Others argue that it is impossible to include mashed potatoes in baby food so early. A serious argument to confirm this point of view is that this root vegetable contains an excessively large amount of starch, which makes potatoes a “heavy” product for a baby’s digestion. Moreover, enzymes that are capable of efficiently digesting this starchy root vegetable will begin to be produced in the baby only at 9-10 months. Therefore, mother should know that in reality early age A baby may develop an allergy to potatoes.

All pediatricians agree on one thing: you can’t start vegetable complementary foods precisely from this vegetable. First, prepare a puree of zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower or carrots, and then you can add potatoes as a second component to a two-component complementary food or give it as a separate dish.

The benefits of potatoes

This root vegetable has many beneficial properties:

1. has a strengthening effect on the heart, blood vessels and circulatory system
2. regulates metabolism and general metabolism
3. good for the digestive system

Potatoes are rich in:

1. iodine
2. phosphorus
3. potassium
4. iron
5. calcium
6. various vitamins

Choosing potatoes for an infant

1. young medium-sized tubers - in them increased amount vitamins, and much less starch
2. without sprouts
3. even color without dark spots and greenery
4. without putrefactive defects and late blight lesions

It is ideal if potatoes are grown on your own plot in an environmentally friendly way, when various chemicals and harmful nitrates are not used. If this is difficult, then buy vegetables for baby food Only needed in proven places.

Before cooking, peeled potatoes should be soaked for 2 hours, or even better for a whole day. cold water. This simple technique will help remove a significant amount of starch from the vegetable, which can cause allergies in the baby. During the soaking process, a small part of the vitamins and almost all harmful nitrates will be removed from the root vegetable.

How often can you feed your baby puree from this root vegetable?

For balanced nutrition provided that various vegetables are available daily in the infant’s diet, the frequency of feeding this type of puree is 2 times a week until the age of 12 months. After a year, such complementary foods can be given 3 times a week.

In the diet of babies under 18 months, the share of potatoes should not exceed 1/3 of total number vegetable purees and stews, since this vegetable is quite high in calories.

Preparing the root vegetable

To maximize the preservation of nutrients, it is best to cook potatoes in their “jacket” - steamed or in the usual way - in water. Then the finished tuber is peeled and crushed using a strainer or mashed with a masher. It is not recommended to use a blender, since in this case the puree will be excessively sticky, which makes it difficult for the little one to digest.

Secrets of making mashed potatoes

For the first feeding, the dish is prepared in the following sequence:

1. The root vegetable must be thoroughly washed and soaked in cold water.
2. Then boil or bake in the peel until completely cooked
3. Peel and puree thoroughly
4. Add a little milk or a specialized milk mixture to the resulting ground mass and dilute to an acceptable semi-liquid consistency
5. Some pediatricians recommend adding a few drops of healthy vegetable oil
6. It is not recommended to salt the puree or add any spices to the product for up to 12 months.
7. Mashed potatoes for babies should be homogeneous, without lumps, tender, fluffy, semi-liquid and always warm

The first acquaintance with potato complementary foods should begin with half a teaspoon. The mother should check to see if the infant is allergic to unfamiliar food. If the acquaintance passed without negative reactions, then in next appointment The portion of food can be increased to a teaspoon, and then gradually to 50-70 grams per feeding.

For each complementary food, you need to prepare a fresh portion of the product, since puree, which is stored for some time in the refrigerator, retains much less beneficial properties than freshly prepared puree.

If your baby happily eats carrots or zucchini, but he doesn’t like potatoes, then you can mix it with your baby’s favorite food and give it in a new version.

Vegetable puree soup recipe

This soup can be prepared for a 6-month-old toddler.

You will need the following ingredients:

• 1-2 potatoes
• 1 small carrot
• 30-50 g cabbage
• a few drops of vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Wash the root vegetables thoroughly, peel, cut and soak in cold water for about 1 hour. Shred cabbage
2. After an hour, drain the liquid, add a glass of fresh water and cook for about 30 minutes.
3. When the vegetables are ready, they need to be chopped in a blender and the broth cooled
4. Dilute the resulting puree to a semi-liquid consistency with vegetable broth and add oil

After 12 months, this soup can be slightly salted and seasoned with sour cream.

Creamy Potato Soup Recipe

This complementary feeding option can be safely introduced into the diet of 8-month-old babies.

Ingredients for its preparation:

• 2 small tubers
• 1 leek
• half glass of milk
• 1 spoon of butter

You can prepare the puree soup like this:

1. Peel the tubers, cut them and soak them in water
2. Wash the onion thoroughly, cut into small rings and simmer a little in butter. Then pour in a partial glass of water and cover with a lid.
3. Add potatoes to boiling onions and cook for about 30 minutes
4. Grind using a blender prepared vegetables along with the broth, add hot milk, mix well, cool until warm state and you can give it to your little one

If your baby has an allergy to cow protein, then milk cannot be added to the puree soup.

Unexpected troubles

In front of everyone useful qualities and the properties of potatoes, some infants may develop a rash on their body after feeding them complementary foods - this is an allergy to starch. Then it is necessary to exclude the root vegetable from the little man’s diet until he is approximately 12 months old. Mom should not worry about this, since the baby can be fed with other hypoallergenic vegetables, from which he will receive useful substances and important vitamins in full.

In addition, excessive “love” for mashed potatoes in pure form can lead to constipation in a baby, and an increased amount of carbohydrates can cause unhealthy weight gain in a toddler.

If mashed potatoes for babies are prepared correctly, and the baby is not allergic to the vegetable, then this root vegetable can become a source of valuable minerals, vitamins and other beneficial substances that are available all year round, which means that your treasure will grow and develop properly.

Pay attention to the video recipe for potatoes with green peas and veal for babies. Bon appetit!

Potatoes are one of the cheapest, most accessible and familiar dishes on our table. It is stored for a long time, does not spoil, is easy to prepare, and can be used all year round. In this regard, mothers are wondering when they can give potatoes to their child. Let's figure it out together.

First, let's compare it with other vegetables.

Composition of boiled potatoes without salt compared to boiled zucchini and broccoli

Having studied the table, we see that potatoes are many times higher in calories than broccoli and zucchini, are also many times higher in carbohydrate content, contain a lot of starch, have a lot of magnesium, and contain B vitamins.
Potatoes contain a large amount of potassium, which is good for the heart and blood vessels; in this indicator it is superior to other vegetables. It is also ahead of its competitors in selenium content, which is beneficial for immunity and thyroid function.

Why don’t pediatricians recommend starting complementary feeding with potatoes?

• Potatoes contain a lot of starch (about 17%), small children do not digest starch well and can cause increased gas formation, intestinal colic, constipation. With age digestive system the child matures and starch does not cause these digestive disorders in children.
• Potatoes belong to the group of high-calorie foods. 100 g of boiled potatoes contains approximately 86 kilocalories. For underweight children, this is good. Introducing potatoes into your diet will help you gain weight, but children with overweight body, it is better to give potatoes occasionally 1-2 times a week, replacing them with less high-calorie vegetables: zucchini, cabbage, carrots, beets, etc.
• Potatoes belong to the group of products with average degree allergenicity, i.e. it can, although infrequently, cause allergies in children. Potato varieties with dark, reddish or pink skin most often cause allergies, less often those with yellow skin.

Green potato peel is not a sign that the product is hypoallergenic, but on the contrary - danger sign! When exposed to light, the green pigment solanine is formed in the potato peel, which is toxic to humans, and in large quantities life-threatening. Adults can cut off the green areas from the tubers and cook such potatoes for themselves, but it is strictly not recommended to use green tubers for cooking for a child.

To reduce the allergenicity of potatoes, their starch content and therefore their calorie content, it is recommended to wash them, peel them and then soak them in cold water for 12 hours, changing the water every 2-3 hours. Soaking potatoes also helps to get rid of the harmful substances they contain: nitrates, traces of chemical fertilizers, etc.

When and how can you give potatoes to your child?

• As we have already found out, they don’t start with it. First, the child is introduced to other vegetables: zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, only when the child gets used to them, they begin to add potatoes to vegetable puree, not as an independent dish, but component, for example, zucchini with potatoes or zucchini with broccoli. Do this no earlier than 5-6 months, start with about ½ teaspoon, doubling the amount daily. To put it simply, add a piece of potato to the zucchini before cooking and cook the vegetables together under a lid, then puree them in a blender and give them to the child, the next day, add 2 pieces of potatoes to the zucchini, etc. It is recommended that the total volume of potatoes V vegetable puree did not exceed 50% of the volume of the entire vegetable puree.
• It is recommended to give real mashed potatoes, without the addition of other vegetables, to children no earlier than 10 months, and preferably 1 year, since this dish contains predominantly easily digestible carbohydrates and does not have significant nutritional value for the child, it contains little protein and fat, not very a lot of vitamins that are needed for the growth and development of a baby in the first year of life.
• In the diet of children over 10 months old, potatoes should not exceed 50% of the total daily volume of vegetables, i.e., except for potatoes or mashed potatoes in children's diet there must be other fresh, boiled and vegetable stew: cabbage, carrots, beets, onions, etc., salads made from them.
• From 10 months boiled potatoes can be given to the child in the form of small soft pieces so that the baby learns to chew. From 1.5 years, when he learns to chew well, he can be given potatoes boiled in their skins or baked in the oven (of course, after peeling them first).
• From 1.5 years old, a child can be given potato casserole. From 2 years old, potato pancakes and potato pancakes.

Fried potatoes, french fries and chips are not baby food products; they do not benefit the child. The less often they are in the child’s diet, the better, the most the best option, if the child eats them at all.

Potatoes as medicine

For diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

Potato dishes are allowed for acute and chronic diseases gastrointestinal tract.
At acute diseases In the gastrointestinal tract, it is recommended in the form of purees or as part of pureed soups.
Potatoes do not irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa and have an astringent, enveloping, and anti-inflammatory effect.

For diseases of the cardiovascular system

Potatoes contain a lot of potassium, which is necessary for the functioning of the heart and blood vessels. Most of the potassium is found under the skin. Therefore, in case of illness of cardio-vascular system Potatoes boiled or baked in their skins will be useful. The peel must be removed immediately before eating. Only potatoes from a new harvest will be useful (in the summer-autumn period); in winter and spring, it is recommended to cut off the thicker potato skins; most of the potassium is removed along with the skin; such potatoes will be useless for the heart and blood vessels.

For burns

For burns, it is recommended to cut the potato in half and apply the cut side to the burn site for 20-30 minutes or grate it and apply the paste to the burnt area. Potato juice has analgesic, cooling, anti-inflammatory and wound healing effects.

Potato cakes for cough

This is a kind of potato on the chest or back. Its purpose is to warm up chest improve blood circulation in the lungs, bronchi, trachea. The potatoes are boiled in their skins, mashed warm (it turns out to be a flatbread), wrapped in thick cloth, checked for yourself that the flatbread is not scalding, but pleasantly warm, then applied to the back between the shoulder blades or to the chest, in the area of ​​the sternum handle. A cellophane film is placed on top and the child is wrapped in a warm scarf or scarf. The compress is applied for 2 hours.
You can repeat the procedure from 1 to 10 times daily or every other day.

Now you know when and how to give potatoes to a child. Stay healthy!