Children's menu or what to feed the baby

Of course, all mothers try to organize healthy and nutritious food for their child. First, eating the right food is very important for development his physical and mental abilities. And at an early age, basic taste preferences begin to form. Therefore, today we will tell you about what you can and cannot eat for children, how to create an optimal menu for them and how to pamper your little ones for a holiday.

Menu for children: how to make

After the child starts taste food from your plate, or completely goes to the "common table", it is time to think about the benefits of the dishes that you cook for the whole family. Of course, you can continue to cook for him separately, but in order to provide adequate nutrition for the baby, this turns out to be too laborious. Therefore, it is much easier to rebuild everyone on correct diet.

When drawing up a children's menu, it is imperative to consider several rules:

• Observe the body's need for proteins, fats and carbohydrates and their daily balance.
• With food, the child should receive all the necessary vitamins and minerals.
• Try to provide a variety of dishes.
• The number of meals is 4-5 times a day - breakfast, lunch, dinner and one or two "snacks", with an interval of 3-4 hours.
• Take into account the seasonality of some vegetables and fruits before adding them to the menu.

Nutritionists recommend observing the following principles for organizing children's nutrition:

• On the breakfast you can serve your choice: "traditional" porridge, boiled egg or omelet, cottage cheese ready-made (cheese cakes, casserole).
• Lunch is the first, second and third. Offer your child salad, soup, meat (fish) with a vegetable or cereal side dish.
• Fermented milk products, yoghurts, pastries, fruits are ideal for an afternoon snack.
• Dinner can be like breakfast, or a second course, but without meat. Vegetable cutlets and casseroles are great alternatives to this product.

What children should not eat

There are a number of products that are not suitable for food and an adult, not to mention the child's body, which simply cannot digest them.

Let's take a closer look at this "harmful" list:

• Sausages, sausages, smoked meats, ready-made semi-finished products, frozen (dumplings, cabbage rolls, cutlets). Such food contains a large number of additives, preservatives and flavor enhancers that are detrimental to health when consumed regularly.
• Chips, crackers and other snacks - they are very high in salt and fat.
• Fast food and other fast food.
• Canned food: meat and fish can easily provoke poisoning, and in vegetables and fruits there is an excess of salt and sugar.
• It is worth refraining from mushrooms in any form until the child reaches 6-7 years old, because they are difficult food to digest. And mushrooms collected in the forest or bought from the road are all the more prohibited.
• Ketchup, mayonnaise, various "factory" sauces are made with the addition of flavors and dyes in large quantities, so they can cause allergies.
• It should be said about sugary carbonated drinks, which provoke stomach problems and tooth decay.

What children need to eat

Now let's look at the basic foods that are essential for a growing body.

First is milk cheese, cottage cheese and any fermented milk products: kefir, biolact, yogurt, etc. They are rich in protein and perfectly strengthen children's teeth and bones.

Another source of protein is meat. The child can be given dishes from low-fat varieties: rabbit, veal, beef, chicken, turkey.

Be sure to include fish in your little gourmet's diet. For the first acquaintance, choose white, for example, hake, haddock, pollock. Red fish should be offered no earlier than 1.5-2 years.

We must not forget about eggs, on the day the child is supposed to eat half a chicken or a whole quail egg. They can also be used as a casserole or for making omelets.

Cereals - almost all of their types are useful. Boil them into cereals for breakfast or dinner, or offer them to crumbs as a side dish. Up to a year old, it is better to feed the baby with gluten-free cereals: buckwheat, rice, corn. One more point - do not get carried away with semolina. It is scientifically proven to be of little value, but great for gaining weight. Once a week is enough.

Vegetables, fruits and berries are ideal food for both children and adults. They are perfectly digestible, and also contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals. It is very important to instill in a child a love for these "gifts of nature" from childhood.

Within reasonable limits, you can include in the child's menu bakery and pasta made from durum wheat. These foods are a source of complex carbohydrates that can energize him.

Dried fruits and nuts also contain a lot of nutrients. Compote made from dried apples, dried apricots and raisins begin to be given to children from 10 months of age, and nuts after 2 years, first in crushed form, and then whole.

Menu in kindergartens

Kindergarten the menu is strictly regulated by sanitary and epidemiological norms and requirements. Therefore, parents may not worry about the nutritional value of their child and the quality of the food prepared there. Moreover, it is always in the public domain - it is placed in a group, and each of you can get acquainted with it.

Such a menu is usually made up for 10-14 days. A medical worker is responsible for this matter, then it is checked by the inspector of Rospotrebnadzor, and then approved by the director of the kindergarten.

The main rules that are taken into account when developing it are as follows:

• It is forbidden to repeat the same dishes on the same day, or on adjacent days.
• Every day, children should receive meat, potatoes and other vegetables, milk, sour cream, fermented milk drinks, cereals, fruits, butter (butter and vegetable), salt and sugar. Other products are included in the menu 2-3 times a week.
• Products intended for the same meal must be compatible with each other.
• Depending on the age, the required amount of portions is set.
• The daily food intake is divided into 3-4 doses as a percentage. For lunch, the child receives the bulk of the nutrients (about 40%), for an afternoon snack, about 15%, the remaining 50% are divided between breakfast and dinner.

Children's menu for every day

Once again, we repeat that the daily diet of a child at home should also be varied. Therefore, it will be very convenient for any mother to compose a menu for her family for at least a week and prepare meals in accordance with it.

From this approach to organizing food not only for the baby, but also for all household members, you will receive solid advantages. First, there will be no need to “rack your brains” over what to cook. And secondly, by looking at your menu, you can stock up on all the necessary products in advance.

When developing it, we recommend that you be based on the principles of organizing children's nutrition, discussed in the first section. You can also take into account the rules for drawing up a menu for a kindergarten, described above. And then use your imagination and accumulated culinary experience.

Children's birthday menu

Birthday is undoubtedly one of the most beloved children's holidays. It is worth celebrating it at home by inviting your child's friends to this celebration no earlier than he turns 4-5 years old.

Such special guests must definitely be fed tasty and healthy, although small exceptions can be made to the second point. Just do not set the table bursting with treats. A couple of snacks, a main course, a cake, a fruit plate and drinks are enough for the kids. Remember to take breaks between meals. Interesting games and contests.

Next, let's take a closer look at the holiday menu. Before compiling it, do not be too lazy to check with the mothers of the invited children their taste preferences in order to make it the most optimal.

One of the snacks can be a light salad of boiled or fresh vegetables, and it is better to use sour cream as a dressing. Canapes and pancake rolls with various fillings are also a good option. For hot dishes, chicken or turkey kebabs, homemade nuggets, pizza cooked in the oven are suitable.

Cake - the birthday man and all the guests are waiting for him with anticipation. You can order it in a confectionery or bake it yourself, the main thing is that it is not "overloaded" with a large amount of mastic and various fillers.

Now let's talk about drinks. Children just love dairy cocktails with addition ice cream, different fruits and berries. You can also serve traditional juices, fruit drinks and compotes.

Pay special attention to the original decoration of the dishes. You can make mushrooms from tomatoes and eggs, and ladybirds from half cherry and olives. Put the grapes on the skewers and stick them into the half of the apple - you get a hedgehog. Children will surely appreciate your creativity and taste such dishes with pleasure.

Children's menu: recipes

We present you some simple recipes for children from one year and older.

Borscht with meatballs

The food set is indicated on a 3-liter pot.

• minced beef or chicken - 300 g;
• white loaf - 2-3 pieces;
• milk - 50 ml;
• potatoes - 3-4 things;
• white cabbage or cauliflower - 150 g;
• carrots - 1 piece;
• beets - 1 small or half large;
• one small onion;
• salt to taste;
• one bay leaf;
• sour cream for dressing.

1. Pour water into a saucepan and put on the fire to boil.
2. At this time, add the crumb of a loaf soaked in milk to the minced meat, and mix everything well until a homogeneous consistency. Shape the meatballs.
3. Throw them in boiling water and cook for 10 minutes, remembering to remove the foam in time.
4. Then take them out and drain the water, put a new one on the fire.
5. Finely chop the potatoes and cabbage, grate the beets and carrots, and cut the onion in half and divide into layers.
6. Add all 5-point ingredients and meatballs to boiling water, add bay leaf, salt and cook until tender.
7. Before serving, you can add a spoonful of sour cream to the soup.

Zucchini casserole with minced meat

• chicken or ground beef - 300 g;
• one medium-sized zucchini;
• chicken eggs - 3 things;
• lightly salted cheese - 70 g;
• salt to taste.

1. Turn on the oven and let it heat up to 180 degrees.
2. Place the minced meat in a thin layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Add some water for added juiciness. Beef can be preliminarily lightly stewed in a pan in its own juice, without oil.
3. Peel the zucchini from the skin and entrails and grate it on a coarse grater.
4. Place the zucchini on top of the minced meat.
5. Beat the eggs with a little salt and pour them evenly over the future casserole.
6. Cover the tin with foil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Then remove the foil, sprinkle the dish with grated cheese and bake for the same amount of time, until all the ingredients are cooked.

And the following recipe is suitable for a children's holiday table.

Home-style chicken nuggets

• chicken fillet - 2 things;
• 3 eggs;
• wheat flour "by eye";
• breadcrumbs in the same proportion as flour;
• salt to taste;
• favorite seasonings optional.
• butter or vegetable oil for greasing the baking sheet.

1. Put the oven to preheat to 200 degrees.
2. Beat the fillet lightly and cut into slices about 3 cm wide.
3. Take care of the breading: separate the beaten eggs, flour and crackers into three plates.
4. Take a piece of chicken, add a little salt and dip in the breading in the following sequence: flour-egg-croutons. Then you can re-dip it in the egg and in the crackers.
5. Grease a baking sheet generously, place the nuggets on top of it and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Adjust the baking temperature in the process, depending on the characteristics of your "oven".