From the moment the baby adds complementary food, parents will encounter various feeding problems every day. For example, the addition of complementary meat. How old can a baby eat meat? What's the first bite of meat? Some parents are worried that meat is not easy to digest and refuse to feed their children for eight or nine months, causing them to grow very thin. Some parents feel that meat is highly nutritious and can promote their children's physical development, so they eat several meals a day, resulting in their children accumulating food. serious.

Eating late and eating too much is not enough. How can we make our baby happy to eat meat and grow healthily?

How old can a baby eat meat?

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016)" recommends that the first complementary foods for infants should be iron-rich high-energy foods, such as iron-fortified infant rice cereal, minced meat, etc.

Babies can eat meat as early as when they first add complementary foods. This is because the iron brought by the mother has been basically exhausted, and they urgently need to obtain sufficient iron from complementary foods, otherwise they are likely to lose nutrition. Insufficient, iron deficiency anemia occurs.

It’s just that when supplementary food is first added, the baby needs a certain amount of time to transition, otherwise he is likely to suffer from indigestion or allergies. Iron-fortified baby rice cereal not only contains the iron that the baby needs, but also has high nutritional value. , easy to digest, easy to absorb, hypoallergenic, very suitable for the transition of complementary foods. Therefore, we usually let the baby eat rice noodles first, and then eat minced meat after getting used to it.

As for the addition of meat, the "China's Balanced Diet Pagoda for Infants and Young Children Aged 7-24 Months" also has clear reminders. The third layer of the pagoda happens to be the addition of meat, eggs, poultry and fish. The specific recommendations are:?7- A 12-month-old baby should eat 15-50 grams of eggs (at least 1 yolk) and 25-75 grams of meat, poultry and fish every day. This means that babies can eat meat at 7 months old.

Therefore, the time for babies to eat meat is generally about 7 months. If complementary foods are introduced later, you can wait until the rice noodles adapt before eating meat.

What is the first bite of meat for a baby?

There are many types of meat on the market, including pork, beef, mutton, chicken, rabbit, etc. Which one is the most suitable for children to eat?

Before choosing the most suitable meat, we need to clarify two questions:

a. The purpose of eating meat: to obtain iron and increase nutrition

b .Requirements for eating meat: easy to digest, easy to absorb, no allergies

Generally speaking, as long as these two problems are met!

1. Pork

Although pork is cheaper than beef and mutton, it is rich in vitamin B1, which is very beneficial to the development of children’s nervous system function; and the fiber of pork is relatively soft. , contains a large amount of intermuscular fat, which is easier to digest and absorb than beef, making it very suitable for babies to eat.

PS: The best part of pork should be the pork loin. Pork tenderloin is a red meat with low fat and high nutrition, especially protein and iron content. It is the best choice for complementary food.

2. Beef

Beef is low in fat and highly nutritious. It is rich in high-quality protein, amino acids, and more iron. It can supplement the nutrients needed for development and prevent iron deficiency. Anemia can also improve the body's resistance and make children healthier. However, the muscle fiber of beef is relatively rough and not easy to digest, so it is not suitable for babies under 1 month old.

3. Chicken

Chicken is low in price, highly nutritious, rich in protein and amino acids, and its meat is delicate, easy to digest and absorb, and is very suitable for children to eat. The most important thing is that the fat content of chicken is very low, so you don’t have to worry about your child becoming obese no matter how you eat it.

Each part of chicken has different nutritional priorities, such as chicken legs. Chicken legs contain relatively high amounts of iron. If you want to supplement iron for your children, you can often eat complementary foods made from chicken legs...

In addition to these, there are also seafood such as fish, shrimp, and shellfish. Fish, shrimp, and shellfish are rich in trace elements, such as iron and zinc. The content is not low. It also contains unsaturated fatty acids that promote children’s brain development and is also very suitable for children. Edible.

However, in infants and young children, children are prone to allergies, so they must be cautious when eating, such as:

① Do not eat if your family has a history of allergies;

② Eat shells too early, shrimp You can try a small amount;

③ You can eat fish but don’t eat too much, just 1-2 times a week;

PS: The above meats are all suitable for children to eat, but the first bite Complementary meat is recommended to be delicate fish, pork that is easy to digest and absorb, or chicken legs that are low in price and high in nutrition.

Six ways to make complementary foods

The addition of complementary foods should follow the principle of "from less to more, from thin to thick, from thin to thick, from single to complex". Meat complementary foods The same is true. When just added, you should first add the delicate meat paste, and then gradually coarsen it...

1. Cod fish paste (appropriate amount of cod meat)

Thaw the cod fish meat and steam it on the steamer Cook it, then put it in a food processor and blend it into a fine fish paste.

2. Fish meat puree with egg yolk (30 grams of fish meat, 1/2 egg yolk)

Wash the fish meat, remove the skin and bones, put it on a plate, steam it in a pot, and then grind it into Puree; use a spoon to press the cooked egg yolk into a puree, then mix it with the fish puree evenly.

3. Minced pork and kelp soup (30 grams of minced pork, 30 grams of kelp, appropriate amount of vegetable oil)

Wash the kelp and cut into pieces; heat the oil pan and add the minced pork Stir-fry and set aside; add water to the pot and bring to a boil, add minced kelp and cook, then pour in the fried minced pork, stir while heating, and cook.

4. Potato, mushroom, and chicken porridge (50 grams of rice, 1/4 potato, 30 grams of chicken, 2 mushrooms, appropriate amount of vegetable oil)

Wash the rice and soak it for 30 minutes ; Wash and chop the chicken, peel and dice the potatoes, wash, remove the stems and dice the mushrooms; put the rice in a pot and add an appropriate amount of water to make porridge, then add the diced chicken, potatoes and mushrooms and cook over low heat.

5. Baby pork floss (appropriate amount of lean pork)

Wash the pork and cut into small pieces. Add appropriate amount of water to the pressure cooker and cook the meat until crispy (10-15 minutes) Yes); take out the cooked meat and drain the water, let it cool and mash it with a rolling pin; put the mashed meat into the pot and stir-fry over low heat until the water is dry and the meat is slightly brown; take it out and let it cool, and use a food processor broken.

6. Pumpkin and beef soup (50 grams of pumpkin, 50 grams of beef, appropriate amount of vegetable oil)

Peel and seed the pumpkin, wash and cut into small cubes; wash and cut the beef into small cubes; Add an appropriate amount of water to the pot, add diced beef, and bring to a boil over high heat. After the diced beef is cooked, add diced pumpkin and cook, then add a few drops of vegetable oil.

PS: Although the above-mentioned 6 meat supplements are made of different materials, some are fish, some are chicken, pork and beef, the production methods are basically the same. When feeding your baby, you must pay attention to the texture of the complementary meat. The first thing you add is delicate meat puree, followed by slightly rougher meat puree, then minced meat, diced meat...the materials will gradually increase, from one to many. This is actually the principle of adding complementary foods to babies. As long as you follow it, there will be no problem.