Which baby food is the right one?

Basic question in baby porridge: self-cooked or out of the glass?

08/31/2012

As soon as children are switched from breast milk to porridge, the question arises as to whether baby food from the jar or even cooked food is preferable. Although the experts at the Research Institute for Child Nutrition say that the finished products offer advantages in terms of purity, the taste and combination possibilities of the ready-to-use baby food are the key factors.

Gradually, baby food will be started from the fifth to the seventh month. Bit by bit, more and more milk meals can be replaced by baby porridge, reports the Research Institute for Child Nutrition. Initially, the experts advise to a vegetable-potato-meat-porridge or vegetable-potato-cereal-porridge with desire for vegetarian nutrition. In the following months, a cereal-fruit porridge is recommended. Whether it should rather be used on finished products or even cooking is the better choice, can not be clearly answered, since both forms offer certain advantages.

Higher purity in finished baby porridge
Above all, the purity of the products speaks in favor of the ready-to-use porridge, due to the particularly strict legal requirements for baby food. "With glasses you have a very high level of safety in terms of pollutants," said Annett Hilbig from the Research Institute for Child Nutrition to the news agency "dpa". This security does not exist even with self-cooked food with organic products. According to the research institute for child nutrition, manufacturers of ready-made baby food have to meet even higher standards than organic fruit and vegetables. In the case of processed food, it is also ensured that the combination of the ingredients sufficiently contributes to the nutrition of the children with nutrients and minerals.

Research Institute for Child Nutrition provides baby pulp recipes
The experts at the Research Institute for Child Nutrition are particularly interested in the benefits of self-prepared baby food in terms of taste and combination options. "The homemade mashes taste better and you are freer to choose and combine the ingredients," explained Anett Hilbig. However, parents should follow some basic rules when preparing. This applies, for example, to the ingredients of Babybreis. Here, the recipes of the Research Institute for Child Nutrition can be used to ensure that the little ones are sufficiently supplied with nutrients and minerals. Even special baby cookbooks show possibilities of healthy and at the same time delicious combinations. The ingredients should usually be well cooked and then processed with the blender to a fine pulp. The fruit has practical reasons for or against individual ingredients, explained Hilbig. "Oranges can not be mashed so well, for example. Of course it is easier with bananas, or apples and pears, which you can rub well, "said the expert of the Research Institute for Child Nutrition. Berries and peaches are also well suited to the processing options.

Spinach Beetroot and spices in baby porridge are taboo
However, certain ingredients, such as spinach and beetroot, are taboo in baby porridge because of their high nitrate content, which causes nitrite to form on warming and prolonged standing and "can affect the child's oxygenation," warned the expert at the Research Institute for Child Nutrition , Spices are also rather critical to evaluate. Salt, pepper and hot spices have lost nothing in the homemade baby porridge. For parsley, basil or oregano this also used to be, as they were suspected of triggering allergies. But today these herbs are classified as harmless and can be added in small quantities to the baby food. Although most baby cookbooks generally only recommend using organic products for baby food, the self-cooked baby porridge is usually safe for the child's health even if it is not made from organic ingredients, explained the research institute's expert for child nutrition and added: "No food is completely free of harmful substances." So the organic products are indeed recommended, but not required in principle. "It's best to use regional foods," continued Hilbig. Because they tend to be the least burdened, because they do not have to be transported so far. (Fp)

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