Consultation on the topic: Consultation for parents “All about baby nutrition.” What does baby food taste like in jars? Industrially produced baby food products are very diverse: true

Jars with ready-made puree surprise not only with high demand, but also with assortment. Fruit, berry, vegetable, with meat, cereals, cream - there are dozens of names under each brand. In the last publication we talked in detail about, and today we will consider the possible harm that such food can cause to a child’s body.

Nutritionists, pediatricians and parents disagree on this issue. There are three compelling arguments against portioned canned food.

1. Taste different from home-cooked food.

2. The difficulty of weaning a child from a homogeneous consistency.

3. Unpredictable quality.

What does baby food taste like in jars?

Even if a characteristic pop was heard when opening the container, parents are still obliged to taste the food they offer their child. Many people are surprised at how strange the content is. It is clear that most purees do not contain salt, sugar, or flavoring additives. But they often turn out to be not just bland, but unnatural, too different from those that mothers prepare on their own.

The reason for this is merciless grinding and intense heat treatment, which precedes vacuum packaging. However, transferring a child from such refined foods to general family table turns out to be very difficult. Future preferences and opportunities at school age depend on the specific taste of food in the first months of complementary feeding.

If you have not yet decided whether to give your child puree in jars or immediately start with homemade puree, the site invites you to conduct an experiment, “culinary blind man’s buff”. Buy several jars of vegetables recommended for first feeding. These include, zucchini, cauliflower.

Blindfold an adult (for example, dad). Invite him to taste what foods are in the jars. Of course, don’t announce your choice in advance: the characteristic, natural taste cannot be confused with anything else. You can’t peek, because the color of the puree makes it easier to find the answer. Such an experience will be not only fun, but also instructive. You will understand what is best for your child and feel the difference between the jars. Products to taste different manufacturers varies greatly.

It’s worth repeating the game before it’s time to give your baby meat. Now, of course, there are many, voluntary or at the request of parents, but a balanced plant-animal diet is considered the norm. Bad taste homogenized meat can discourage the desire to eat this product for a long time, which will cause a lot of worry for the mother. Don't be upset if the taste doesn't meet your expectations. After adding salt, pepper, chopped herbs, serve the puree to adult family members as a pate. Both variety and money will not be lost.

The child is lazy to chew.

The consistency of baby purees is different brands are also different. For example, it is convenient to scoop up meat and fish with a spoon, but some even with room temperature remain monolithic, as if held together by starch. Mixing such a substance with potatoes or green vegetables is not easy. jokes online most current option have fun in your free time. You just have to cut it into pieces with a spoon. But in any case, the food in jars is crushed as much as possible and represents a homogeneous mass.

This is good when feeding a baby up to one year old. But later, when enough teeth have already erupted, the food should become coarser. Reasonable exercise is very important for the health of gums and teeth. Ready-made vegetable puree in jars is easier for everyone: parents save time on cooking, and children save effort on chewing. As a result, it turns out that upon reaching two years of age, some kids refuse salads, normal soups, and vegetable stews. They still require you to puree dishes, recognizing only the usual consistency.

Adults have many problems. There is not enough time and energy for endless persuasion, you can’t leave your beloved child hungry either, no tricks (decorating dishes, disguising them) help. Whims at the table are dangerous. Even if the baby gives in under parental pressure, he has a high chance of choking, swallowing tears along with food.

Another difficulty is that a “homogeneous” diet will be limited. If you put buckwheat with meat or baked potatoes with chicken through a blender, the end result is a very viscous, thick mass - completely unappetizing. Habit to normal food sometimes comes only when he enters kindergarten.

You can switch from jarred puree to homemade puree from 8-9 months. First, mix, say, “canned” zucchini with boiled, finely grated zucchini. Then increase your portion, decreasing the canned one. This will take about a week. Then, using the same principle, we chop part of the product on a medium-sized grater, closer to a year - on a large one, or simply mash it with a fork.

Do canned children's foods undergo high quality control?

They say that buckwheat is the only crop that has not yet been deformed by genetic modification. Vegetables are replete with various additives for rapid growth and disease resistance, and the livestock that will become meat is infused with antibiotics and hormones.

We can assume that huge fields or modern farms are set aside especially for our children, where ingredients for safe baby food are grown. Those who have their own gardens know how high the price of a natural product really is, because the time and effort required are taken into account. And if you add the costs of marketing, packaging, transportation, salaries... Faith in “eco”, “organic”, and “100% natural” is quickly weakening.

And international scandals related to canned food confirm that in a market economy, profit remains a priority. It is worth reading the labels carefully, checking for cotton when unscrewing the lid, and always stirring the contents to make sure there are no foreign objects. Czech Republic, 2013: in baby food Pieces of plastic were found from meat, pasta and vegetables. That same year, there was a report of the possible presence of glass shards in German-made vegetable purees. There have been precedents for consumers finding live worms. Tests triggered by illnesses in children showed levels of lead, salmonella, and arsenic.

Of course, no one guarantees perfect compliance sanitary standards in kindergartens and school canteens. But recognize the problem big baby easier, because he is able to describe the symptoms. Oh, them the immune system is very vulnerable, so parents should be attentive to every spoonful of canned vegetable puree. Refuse without regret if food has an unusual color, taste or smell.

In addition to raising children, parents must manage to work, manage the household, pay attention to each other, relatives, friends - life is multifaceted. But the lack of time to prepare 100-gram children's portions yourself only speaks of prioritization. Very soon the child will go to kindergarten, school, but for now there can be nothing more important than monitoring the health and safety of your own baby.

Modern infant formula does not differ in composition from breast milk. In fact, this is not true at all. No formula milk has the same set of ingredients as breast milk. And it's not just a matter of quantity useful substances contained in breast milk, but also in their compatibility with each other. The qualitative composition of breast milk adapts to the individual characteristics of each child. That is, the composition mother's milk changes as the baby grows and his needs change, and also depends on the portion of feeding, time of day and condition of the child.

Manufacturers of modern infant formulas try to bring the composition of the formula as close as possible to the composition of breast milk, but the advantage of the latter remains obvious.

Even in terms of the main components - proteins, fats, carbohydrates - milk formulas are greatly “losing” breast milk.

For example, proteins in breast milk quality composition similar to blood serum proteins (albumin and globulins), therefore they are easily absorbed by the child’s body. In milk formulas, the protein is represented by the casein fraction, which has larger molecules, and therefore the proteins of the milk formula are more difficult to digest.

Milk's own enzyme, lipase, helps break down fats, providing normal stool crumbs, no constipation and intestinal colic. Lipase is not included in milk formulas, so digestion of the mixture requires large quantity time.

Infant formulas often contain palm oil. The structure of fat molecules in palm oil is very different from the structure of fat in breast milk, and when palm oil is digested in the baby's intestines, a lot of free palmitic acid is released, which tends to form insoluble complexes with calcium ions, which are also in the mixture. These complexes harden the stool, increase the frequency of colic and contribute to constipation.

As a child grows, there is a natural need to introduce new products to his menu. And at this time, the mother is faced with the question of what food to prefer for the baby - homemade or industrially produced ready-made baby food.

Baby food. Myth 2

Homemade juices and purees are healthier because they contain more vitamins. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins only when they are in season, when they ripen. And this season in our climate zone is short - only a few months. Vegetables that mom can buy in the store are often grown using large quantity fertilizers Therefore, we can only talk about their environmental friendliness if they were grown in our own garden.

Many mothers like to make various preparations from fruits and vegetables, storing them for the winter. But when preparing preparations (pasteurization, boiling, adding sugar, heat treatment) almost everything beneficial features vegetables and fruits are lost. When cooking, for example, up to 20% of vitamin B and more than 50% of vitamin C are lost.

Of course, during the production of canned juices or purees, some vitamins are also destroyed, but they are then additionally added to the finished product. Most often, baby food is enriched with vitamins A, B1, B2, B12 and C, the content of which corresponds to daily requirement children of the appropriate age.

Baby food. Myth 3

Canned food contains many preservatives, which is why it lasts so long. The Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences prohibits the use of preservatives in the preparation of baby food. The shelf life of industrial baby food is ensured by special heat treatment and aseptic vacuum packaging, which prevents contamination of the product. various kinds bacteria. Sterilization processes are strictly observed at all stages of baby food production. Vitamin C is sometimes used as a preservative, but it is not dangerous to the baby's health.

Baby food. Myth 4

Homemade food is much healthier for your baby than canned puree or boxed cereal. When preparing porridge at home, many useful substances are lost during heat treatment. Industrially produced porridges are enriched with vitamins and microelements that are not destroyed in the process.

It is very difficult to conclude which is healthier – food prepared for your baby at home or commercially produced baby food. Canned food is not subjected to long-term heat treatment (you need to warm it up a little before use), and, therefore, the beneficial substances contained in the product are not destroyed. Self-heat treatment of fruits and vegetables often leads to the destruction of beneficial compounds and loss of vitamins. But at the same time, everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are very healthy and are a necessary component in the diet. The secret is that in order for foods to remain healthy, you need to know how to cook them correctly. For example, it is better to boil vegetables (potatoes, beets, carrots) with their skins on for small children. With this method of cooking, these vegetables retain maximum amount useful substances.

Water takes away some of the vitamins, so it is recommended to stew and cook vegetables, meat, and cereals in a small amount of water. The water should only slightly cover the food. The best preservation of nutrients is ensured by steaming or baking in the oven.

It is best to offer your baby freshly prepared food (within 1 hour after cooking), since repeated heating destroys vitamins, especially vitamin C.

Another cooking trick is that if you cook vegetables covered, they retain more vitamins, particularly vitamins C and K.

Baby food. Myth 5

A child may develop an allergy to canned food. Allergies in a child most often appear not to canned food, but to the incorrect introduction of complementary foods: amount of complementary foods, frequency of feeding, etc. Among industrially produced products for babies, you can easily find cereals and purees with potentially low allergenicity, without sugar, gluten, or protein. cow's milk etc.

It is important that when introducing complementary foods, the food is single-component and the mother can track the baby’s reaction to the new product.

Baby food. Myth 6

Canned food complicates the child's adaptation to adult food. This situation is only possible if the baby receives complementary foods that are not appropriate for his age. Canned food has a consistency appropriate for the child’s age, and the degree of grinding of food in canned food is different for a child of 3 and 10 months.

If the consistency of the dish is too thick and dense for a baby who has just begun to introduce complementary foods, it may cause the child to be reluctant to eat the food on offer, as it will be difficult for him to chew and swallow it. Going through all the stages of grinding food, the child gradually prepares his gastrointestinal tract to eating adult food.

Therefore, when choosing food for your baby, it is important to consider the degree of grinding of the product in the puree in accordance with the age of the child. When cooking at home, it is more difficult to gradually change the consistency of the dish. Moms who support home-cooked food will need a blender or food processor to chop food. To obtain food of homogeneous consistency at home, the product (vegetables, meat) is boiled in water or steamed and then crushed in a blender. The higher the speed of the blender, the higher the degree of grinding of the product. So, first, food for the baby is crushed with a blender at high speed and pureed is obtained. If necessary (for a more liquid consistency), you can add a small amount of vegetable broth to the resulting puree.

For an older child, you can offer a dish crushed in a blender at low speed with small soft pieces of food.

To prepare homemade porridge, the cereal is ground in a coffee grinder until it becomes flour and boiled in water (after adding a special baby milk) or pre-boiled whole grains are ground in a blender until smooth. First, the mother should get semi-liquid porridge (about 5 g of cereal per 100 ml of liquid), and then you can cook thicker porridge for the baby (about 10 g per 100 ml of liquid).

In fact self-cooking feeding the child does not exclude feeding the baby with canned food. Canned food is convenient at the beginning of introducing complementary foods, when there is no point in preparing a dish for a couple of spoons. After the volume of the introduced product increases, the mother can independently prepare complementary feeding dishes.

It is unlikely that anyone will dispute the fact that instant dry cereals are very convenient for children. To prepare such porridge, you just need to mix dry powder with warm boiled water or special baby milk. You definitely need to pay attention to the fact that the first porridges for your baby should be dairy-free, since very often infants an allergy to cow's milk protein occurs.

As for vegetable puree, it is important to remember that when preparing of this product At home, vegetables must be subjected to heat treatment. The first vegetables that can be offered to a child are zucchini, cauliflower, and broccoli. They are the least allergenic and most easily digested. They can be boiled, stewed, or steamed. The prepared vegetables are chopped with a blender. When preparing vegetable puree, there is no need to salt the vegetables.

Cooking fruit puree at home, it is important to remember that fruits should always be fresh and ripe. The fruit that you want to offer to your child must be washed, peeled, and if there are seeds, remove them. After this, the fruit can be grated on a fine grater or chopped with a blender. There is no need to add sugar to this puree. When choosing canned fruit puree for your baby, it is important to consider that it should also not contain sugar.

Meat complementary foods are given to the baby in the form of purees, starting with 1/2 teaspoon. And for many mothers, it is more convenient to use cupping during this period of time. meat puree. From about 10 months, when the baby’s diet expands and meat puree can be replaced with meatballs, and by 1 year - with steamed cutlets or meatballs, the mother can begin to prepare a variety of meat dishes on one's own.

It is better to choose fish for introducing it into your baby’s complementary foods from the assortment of special children’s canned fish. They have an optimal consistency for the baby and are safe for the child (guaranteed absence of fish bones). As a rule, canned fish is made with the addition of vegetables and cereals. When the baby grew up and met fish puree, mom can start preparing fish cakes for him on her own.

It's not a matter of quantity...

The vitamins and minerals listed on the formula bottle cannot be compared to the vitamins and minerals in breast milk, even if their content is the same. The fact is that it is not the amount of nutrients that is important, but their bioavailability - the amount that is available for absorption by the baby’s body. To increase the bioavailability of some nutrients, breast milk contains elements that increase the digestibility of other substances. For example, calcium from breast milk is well absorbed due to the optimal ratio of calcium to phosphorus (2:1), and iron is absorbed by 50% (while only 5–10% from cow milk). In milk formulas, to compensate for the low absorption of vitamins and minerals, their concentration increases.

Fast and convenient

Ease of use and speed of preparation are one of the main advantages canned food. In order to “cook” canned food for your baby, you just need to warm it up. Besides, ready meals convenient for transportation. You can take a jar of baby food with you on the road, on a visit, etc.

When choosing commercially produced baby food, a mother should carefully read the label to protect her baby. If the composition contains unknown or unnecessary for the child substances, it is better to refuse to purchase this product.

Baby food should not contain the following substances:

• artificial colors;
• preservatives;
• artificial flavors;
• salt;
• sugar;
• potato starch(its derivatives are pectin, guar gum);
• genetically modified products (GMO).

When buying commercially produced baby food, you need to check:

• date of manufacture and expiration date;
• packaging integrity;
• age indicated on the label.

Sooner or later, every mother faces the question of what to choose: ready-made baby food or “homemade” puree? And most importantly, how can you find out whether the “jars” are really as useful as the advertisement says?

“Who will tell you the whole truth,” you say? “The one who knows her,” we will answer.

We met with three brand managers of the largest baby food companies and asked them the questions that every mother would ask if possible.

Oksana Zhdanovich, marketing manager of baby food at Heinz, was the first to answer our questions.

Oksana, good afternoon!Tell us about the line of children's products that your company produces.

We produce food for children early age, our product line includes almost all products that are necessary for complementary feeding and subsequent nutrition of young children and meet the needs of a small growing organism.

Our products include both monocomponent products (purees, cereals) and products with more wide range porridge with fruit, for example.

We have children's fruit purees, vegetable, meat, ready meals, children's noodles, children's juices, children's cookies, cereals, soups, puddings, teas. For a complete healthy growth and baby development, Heinz children's products are additionally enriched with vitamins and minerals.

Your product range includes a wide range of meat and vegetable purees with various meat or fish additives.

How is this achieved? long term storage of fish and meat?Are there any preservatives in there?

There are no preservatives under any circumstances! Firstly, this is not allowed by law, but that’s not the point. Following the mantra of company founder Heinz J. Heinz, “Make ordinary things extraordinary well,” we at Heinz adhere to extremely high standards in the production of baby food. These are internal standards that we strictly follow. We have established strict production control systems in Heinz factories around the world, applying the latest scientific developments and technological advances.

Have you asked how long shelf life is achieved?

First of all, this is production in under sterile conditions, sterilization. The production of our purees is fully automated, which guarantees the hygienic purity of the finished products. Numerous quality tests are carried out at the plant every day. The use of these technologies is necessary for the production of healthy products .

Where are your products manufactured?

Our purees, puddings, noodles, teas and biscuits are produced in Italy in famous European factories located near the resorts of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Heinz porridges are produced in the city of Georgievsk, Stavropol Territory, where our own plant is located, which was built by Heinz in accordance with the highest standards.

Are the products also Italian? Vegetables fruits?

No, not necessarily. We search all over the world for the most best products, meeting our high requirements.

As far as I know, Heinz has a product called “Beef Borshchik”. Is it also made in Italy? I would like to know how popular “borscht” is among Italian children. ?

No, Heinz children's borscht is produced here in Russia in accordance with the taste preferences of Russians. Italian children prefer pasta (pasta). These are our “vermicelli” - this is an Italian dish.

Do you think that ready-made baby food can fully meet the needs of a growing body for vitamins and beneficial elements?

Or are “live” products better? Is it better to use jars as a supplement to your main diet?

As I already said, the most better nutrition for a child of the first year of life is mother's breast milk and, by the way, not only of the first year of life. Of course, this is the main food for a young child.

The entire range of industrially produced baby food is complementary food or, in other words, supplement to mother's breast milk in the first year of the baby’s life and beyond, a kind of good nutrition, serving as a bridge to the transition to adult food*.

However, I would like to note that Heinz baby food products contain everything necessary for a growing body, moreover, they are enriched with vitamins and minerals for healthy growth and development. For example, Heinz buckwheat porridge is enriched with omega-3, which is involved in the most important metabolic processes, forms a healthy nervous system and ensures the normal functioning of the brain, thereby influencing intellectual abilities. Also, all Heinz cereals contain prebiotics, which promote healthy digestion.

And also, in our opinion, they are the most delicious and “correct”, i.e. Heinz porridges contain only natural ingredients- cereals, fruits or vegetables, as well as milk or cream, differing significantly in the richness of the recipe in better side from many other children's cereals present on the Russian market. We ourselves eat them with pleasure (laughs) and our children eat them with pleasure.

Many parents are concerned about the question: could there be something in the contents of baby food other than what is indicated directly in the product?

This is excluded for Heinz products! We are a responsible company, we have our own internal standards, which we strictly adhere to.

I can say that our internal standards do not allow us to vary the law in any way. We take a very responsible approach to the production of baby food and value our name and reputation very much.

By the way, our porridges even contain a commandment that our founder once said: “Do ordinary things extraordinarily well.” We adhere to this principle in everything we do, so all the products we produce contain exactly what is written on the packaging.

But it happens that on the packaging of baby food it is written, for example, “beef with cauliflower”, you read the ingredients, and there are peas, carrots and something else?

You see, on front side The name of the package is given, i.e. main ingredients. Of course, everything that the puree consists of should be indicated on the back side.

Returning to the contents of the jars. It’s very interesting how they come up with a product? Well, for example, you have a product called “Navy-style pasta.” Who came up with this?

An idea appears and then it is created project group. It includes: a brand manager, necessarily an R&D manager (for development and research), a person from the certification department, a technologist and a marketing research manager.

After the idea of ​​a new product arises, its concept is worked out and it is tested to what extent such a product will be of interest to consumers.

Next, our technologists and the development and research department develop a recipe that must meet all legislative norms, besides this everything must be incredibly tasty, otherwise the child simply won’t eat it all:) Several recipe options are offered, after which tasting panels are held.

Who's tasting? Moms or employees?

First of all, we test on ourselves (laughs). But in general, we have a fairly wide tasting panel, which includes the same mothers. This is not necessarily a project group, we attract a larger number of people who can taste this product and say “This one is better than this one,” i.e. give some comments.

During the revisions, our team of technologists and developers takes all this into account, returns to work again, and there can be a lot of such rounds until we come to a unique taste that will satisfy all needs, as well as a nutritional composition that is as beneficial as possible for babies.

And how many such products are there, specially created for the Russian market?

All products are specially designed for Russian market. Firstly, the legal requirements for Russia differ from the legal requirements in Italy.

We have a 100% pure recipe, these are 100% natural fruits without the addition of starch and other things - these are all the requirements of the Russian consumer. European consumers also have a normal attitude towards starch; for them it is a completely normal ingredient. In fact, rice flour, well, in general, why is it bad? It is hypoallergenic... but our consumer wants a pure recipe, so this 100% pure natural baby food is produced especially for Russia in Italy.

Do you know why children eat some purees with pleasure, but turn their noses up at others, although the composition is the same in both?

You see, every housewife turns out the same dish in completely different ways. Why does this depend?

Firstly, from the recipe. We don’t know exactly what percentage is contained in the dish, secondly, it depends on the cooking methods and thirdly, the products themselves can be grown in different places.

The taste of the product depends on whether there was more or less sun, or how much rain there was. Varieties of fruits and vegetables may be different. For example, in one case there will be zucchini in the puree, and in another case zucchini.

The Heinz company has two types of zucchini puree, they are very different in consistency. Tell, Please, what does it depend on?

Our puree is 100% natural product, so one batch of zucchini from one harvest may be slightly different from another batch. At the same time, the recipe is always absolutely the same, as are the nutritional properties.

So there is no need to be afraid of this? This is fine?

Yes, this is absolutely normal. In terms of consistency, minor deviations within acceptable standards are possible, but these are all absolutely identical products.

Oksana, tell me if my mother has any questions about the same consistency of the product. Eat hotline where she could call?

Of course, a hotline number is indicated on each package of our products. If a person asks a simple question, he is answered immediately. If the questions are a little more complex, then they are transferred to the head of the hotline. And he already redirects this question to the appropriate specialist: pediatrician, nutritionist, research and development specialist, specialists from the quality and certification department, etc. This specialist must answer the question promptly. If this is some kind of claim, then a project group is created that considers this claim.

We also have pediatricians who can answer questions from mothers, but these are rather general issues and questions related to our products.

What do they ask most often?

These are very different questions, ranging from questions about our products, ending with the questions “Can my Pete be introduced to complementary foods?”

Easy to reach by phone?

That's why it's a hotline, so you can call her. We tried it ourselves - we called :)

How important is the Internet for Heinz products? Do you monitor reviews for your products?

Of course, we all understand how important the Internet is now, especially for mothers in the first half of a baby’s life. Often, after the birth of a child, a mother finds herself in a social vacuum. And the Internet is precisely the channel through which mothers continue to communicate, including about nutrition. We, of course, monitor sentiment towards our products; it is very important for us to know consumers’ opinions about Heinz baby food.

Tell me, can something happen to the products in the store? Could some insects get into the porridge, for example?

In fact, Heinz cereals are produced in such conditions that the entry of anything foreign is excluded, and this is also impossible until the packaging is opened - we have sealed packaging. Thus, insects can only appear in the package after it is opened. The possibility of this cannot be excluded unless the opened porridge is kept hermetically sealed. But, I repeat, in production it is completely impossible for anything foreign to get into the products.

I also wanted to ask about the hippopotamus. Do I understand correctly that this is an absolutely unique character created specifically for Russia? Tell us a little about him.

The origin story is quite simple. Behemoth appeared in the process of creating packaging quite a long time ago; we wanted the product to become more emotional. Heinz products in other countries also have characters - giraffes, for example. Behemoth is the great pride of the Russian Heinz marketing team. This is our symbol that brings us good luck :)

Tell me, are all the diminutive names of your products also a way to add emotionality to the product? Porridge , pasta, it’s more pleasant for mothers to buy cookies?

Yes, our consumers really like such warm and emotional names. People who are not parents of young children are sometimes skeptical about this. But again, our consumers love it. Still, I want my child to buy “horse meat” and not horse meat.

We just wanted to ask a question about horse meat. There is no such product in the range of other baby food manufacturers. What are its advantages and is there a demand for it? Still, this is not a very familiar type of meat for our country.

Each type of meat is healthy in its own way; of course, a nutritionist would best answer this question. Koninka contains everything essential vitamins and microelements. I can’t say that it is fundamentally different from other types of meat.

It's more of a question taste preferences. There is horse meat sausage; many adults love it, and children can also love horse meat, while not eating pork at all, for example. In general, this is a popular product. But “rabbit” and “turkey” are, of course, more popular.

Last question: Heinz food is designed primarily for children under two years of age. Tell me, are there any plans to release any adapted products for older children?

Our products are designed not only for children under two years old. Take, for example, our cookies used to be written on the packaging “From 5 months to school”, but in Italy they write about our cookies “5 months - 99 years” (laughs). These cookies have an absolutely unique recipe! It is very tasty, and due to the fact that it dissolves very quickly in the child’s saliva, it is safe.

Juices, ready-made meals, cereals, and tea can also be and are consumed by children over two years of age. I’ll be honest, I’m saving myself from the “Lubopyshki” porridges. I have an older school-aged child, we save time in the morning - we eat “curiosities” :)

And, of course, we have a lot of plans for release new products, but I won’t tell you about them, because it’s our secret.

Thank you very much for the interview, it was very interesting!

* IN The age for use of the products is indicated on the packaging; you should consult your pediatrician about introducing complementary foods.

Don't force children to eat when they don't want to. Even if you think they are hungry.

Some mothers (and fathers) think that the main thing is that the child eats everything that is put in front of him, and then he will be full. They use persuasion (“A spoon for mom,” etc.), requests (“Well, eat, please”), orders (“Eat to whom I tell you”), threats (“Until you eat, you won’t leave the table "). And the child has to eat, even if he doesn’t want to eat. Alas, there is no need to talk about the benefits here, since in this case the food is poorly digested, which means the child takes another step towards gastrointestinal pathology.

Vladimir Levi writes: “A firmly expressed conviction has to be repeated: “ONE CANNOT BE FORCED TO EAT. Forcing someone to eat is unnatural. None Living being in Nature he does not eat under compulsion and does not force his young to eat..."

You need to eat according to the schedule

In reality, the child needs to be fed when he wants to eat, and not according to the time of the “mythical” regime.

Dr. B. Spock describes such an experience. Children from nine months to one and a half years old were given the opportunity to eat what they wanted by placing different dishes in front of them. The combination of selected products turned out to be somewhat unusual (for example, herring with cake, etc.), but the selection of nutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, etc.) corresponded to modern scientific recommendations. So give me free rein! Eventually I develop a diet that suits my nature.”

“Eat this, it’s very healthy...”

Don't force children to eat things they don't want to eat. If the child’s taste is not perverted and the metabolism is not yet impaired, then it is worth asking what he would like to eat.

A child often feels intuitively what foods his body needs at the moment.

Listen to his wishes.

“Why are you eating so slowly...”

Don’t urge your children: “Eat quickly!”, “Well, what are you saying!” and so on. Even if you are late, the harm from being late will be incomparably less than the harm that haste will cause not only to the digestive system, but also to the child’s psyche.

“Well done, eat some candy for this...”

Try not to use food (sweets are usually used in such cases) as an incentive, reward for good behavior. Also, you should not use food (the same sweets) as a consolation - this can lead to the fact that, as an adult, when troubles arise, he will strive to find solace in food, which in most cases leads to obesity.

For a child to grow, meat is needed every day

Eating meat every day is harmful for adults, not to mention children. The fact is that meat is digested hard and slowly, it can overstrain digestive system. In addition, an excess of heavy food causes allergies to the body. According to experts, children need at least two fast days in Week. Doctors note that it is undesirable to introduce meat into a child’s diet before the 8th month of life. The later you do this, the better for the child.

For a child to gain weight, he needs to eat more

It is not recommended to eat more than you want, more than you need to satisfy your hunger. This is a fairly common mistake. Many people think that they need to eat more, even by forcing themselves, and then they can gain weight. But this is not entirely true - excess food usually in such cases is not absorbed properly and only leads to clogging of the body.

If a child moves a lot and enjoys it, successfully plays sports - and eats little, then he simply processes everything well. You need to be happy.

For a child to gain weight, you need to eat sweets

Oddly enough, if you want your child to get better, it is recommended to completely eliminate sweets from his diet. This is explained by the fact that thin people directly use sweets as fuel, and their body, having become accustomed to the flow of energy into finished form, “does not want” to store nutrients for future use. And, what is very important, do not force your child to eat.

Fatty foods should be limited

Many adults “transfer” these recommendations to children. However, it should be remembered that the diet of children and adults should be different. As for fats, American researchers have found that a low-fat diet reduces visual acuity in children and inhibits brain development and leads to increased cholesterol levels in adulthood.

The fact is that for the growth of the brain and the development of the retina, fatty acid, such as omega-3s found in fish and vegetable oils.

Professor Bernhard Henning notes: “There is no evidence that reducing fat has a beneficial effect on children's body. But we know many cases where a lack of fat becomes dangerous for the health of children.”

The best for the child

Parents often like to repeat that they try to give their children “the best,” but they often refuse to eat it. So sometimes you have to force it. This is explained by concern for the baby’s health. However, such a practice has nothing to do with caring for the physical and mental health child.

Research by experts from the American Dietetic Association has shown that even those children who ate the worst receive one hundred percent of the vitamins and nutrients recommended by pediatricians. How does this happen? Scientists believe that distinctive feature the body of young children is high ability to self-regulation, which is lost as one grows older.

In addition, our ideas about “the best” are often built on illusions.

Stuffing children with delicacies, we do not even suspect that they need slightly different food. American scientists who compared data from a detailed menu of 4,600 people examined in those years four year olds and their peers born four decades later concluded: “The diets of preschoolers in the early 50s gave them a significantly better start in life than the diet of today gave their children and grandchildren.”

This particular food was homemade, prepared in small quantities and not intended for long-term storage. It was boiled meat, porridge, bread, potatoes, vegetables, milk and tea. Professor Michael Wadsworth, a specialist nutritionist, notes: “Children then received vitamins, minerals, etc. directly from food, and not in the form of tablets or vitamins dissolved in soda.”

Every mother wants her child to grow up healthy and happy. Therefore, she tries to do everything to provide the child with everything necessary. Many mothers often cannot decide what to feed their child with homemade or store-bought food. Today, stores sell quite a large number of different baby foods. However, reviews about artificial nutrition quite contradictory. Therefore parents cannot accept the right decision. Often, at your own peril and risk, you buy baby food and worry that nothing will happen.

Myths about baby food

Parents' awareness of children's nutrition greatly affects the child. After all, parents decide what their child will eat. Their decision affects the future healthy life baby. Therefore, before making a decision to use or refuse baby food, you need to study this issue well. Be sure to read our article “nutrition rules for infants”.

The most common myths about baby food:

1. Baby food can cause allergies. Allergic reaction on many types of products can manifest itself both in childhood and in adulthood. It all depends on individual characteristics child, no one is immune from individual cases. Although manufacturers, when creating baby food, exclude the main products that can cause allergies in a child.
2. Baby food contains preservatives. Currently used modern technology preparation of baby food, which does not involve the use of preservatives.
3. Baby food is preserved quite well without the use of chemicals. Baby food contains fewer nutrients than homemade products. During storage and processing, fruits and vegetables lose nutrients. Therefore, using juices and homemade purees they do not fully provide for the child.. nutrients Industrial baby food is additionally enriched with nutrients.

In addition, only proven products that do not contain harmful substances are used to prepare baby food.

The whole truth about baby food

Special products for babies

1. The most common products for children:
2. Juices. Today you can find a wide variety of juices for children. They may include one fruit, vegetable, or several components. Juices are a valuable source of vitamins, so they should be included in your child’s diet. Dairy products. They are rich and protein, which are necessary for normal development child. Mostly dairy products, which are consumed by adults, may not be suitable for a child, so it is better to buy dairy products intended for a child.
3. Porridge. An indispensable baby food product is porridge. They are sold in dry form in the store. You just need to dissolve the contents of the bag in milk or water and the porridge is ready. Manufacturers today offer a large assortment porridge They can be with milk, fruits, enriched with nutrients and active microorganisms. Therefore, porridge is very useful for babies.
4. Fruit puree. It is prepared from a large number of products and added vitamin complexes. Therefore, fruit puree is not only tasty, but also healthy. To learn more about nutrition for children under one year old, follow this link.

How to choose the right baby food

Rules for choosing baby food:

1. Baby food should only be purchased from glass jar. Under no circumstances should you buy food from plastic bottles. Plastic may contain harmful substances that negatively affect health, mental capacity child.
2. At the time of buying baby puree you need to carefully examine the jar. The color of the product must be natural. Bright color puree indicates that product manufacturers used dyes. You also need to pay attention to the consistency of the product. If the puree has sediment and a transparent top layer, then it is prepared without the use of stabilizers.
3. You need to take a good look at the lid of the jar. If there are scratches on it, this product should not be purchased.
4. Be sure to check the expiration date of the product. If you don’t have time, it’s better not to buy baby food. After all, you can buy a product that can harm a child.
5. Next, you need to carefully read the information on the label. The label must contain information about the composition of the product. The label should also indicate the age of the child to whom this product can be given.
6. When you open a jar of baby food, you should hear a popping sound. This means that the seal of the product has not been compromised.
7. Next, you need to smell the contents of the jar. If you feel sharp, sour, rotten smell This product cannot be used to feed a child. The contents of the jar must have the aroma of the product indicated in the composition.