Well, the first year of your little one’s life has passed. This is no longer the baby you swooned over with only breast milk or a bottle of formula a few months ago. Now your baby wants and needs more adult food. What should be in the plate, so that it is both tasty and useful?
A child’s plate should contain those key products that will ensure the full development of a small organism. In general, the age from 1 to 3 years in children is considered a kind of transitional period. They are not yet adults, but they are not small either. Therefore, nutrition needs special attention.
How much to eat?
Each child is individual. Someone can barely finish a small portion, while another needs a supplement. However, aim for 5 meals a day. These are the 3 main ones – breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as two snacks – one before lunch, the other after dinner.
First, we give small portions – a fourth part from an adult. Next, we start from the individual needs of the child. There is also a scheme according to which one should give one tablespoon of food for one year of the child.
what to eat
What should be on a child’s plate is a key question. After all, it is important for us not just to feed the child, but to feed it well. Therefore, we insist on vegetable dishes, they should prevail in the children’s diet. Try to cook so that the child eats two vegetable dishes and one cereal dish every day.
And in general, children’s nutrition can be divided into several groups of products that a child should consume daily.
It:
– meat, eggs and fish;
– dairy products;
– Vegetables and fruits;
– cereals;
– vegetable fats.
Let’s talk about them in more detail.
So, the meat on the child’s plate should be hypoallergenic: let’s start with rabbit and turkey. You can gradually introduce chicken and veal, but note that these should be low-fat varieties. Ideally, a child should eat 80-100 grams of meat per day. First, all dishes are prepared from minced meat. After the baby’s chewing teeth have erupted, it can be given in small pieces.
Eggs are introduced gradually. First, it is a boiled egg yolk. It can be added, for example, to soups. Closer to two years, you will be able to try protein. In total, a child should eat no more than three eggs per week.
Fish. We start with sea white fish. It is enough to give the child twice a week approximately 50 grams.
As for dairy products , here we are talking not only about the milk used to cook porridge, but also about yogurts, kefir and cheese. The daily norm of milk for a child’s plate of this age is 300-500 grams. At the same time, almost half falls on fermented milk products.
Vegetables and fruits should be in the child’s diet every day. You can give 200-300 grams of vegetables, while combining them in any way. We have a choice between potatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and white cabbage, eggplant, zucchini, and beets. 150 grams of fruit will be enough.
As for cereals , they can be prepared for the child every day. You can alternate with pasta.
Introduce any products gradually so that the child has time to get used to them and to the taste, in particular. You should not try the entire menu in one week. You will still have plenty of time for this.
Important: filtered water should be the main drink of a one-year-old child. Any other drinks can only be given as a supplement, not as a base.
Remember that your baby is preparing for adult food. His digestive system is already well established, compared to when you introduced complementary foods, but still needs to be treated with care, so keep his feeding under control.
