What do I start with – vegetables, cereal porridge or fruit? | Supplementary food for babies

What do I start with – vegetables, cereal porridge or fruit?

Typically, the introduction of the accessory is started with a vegetable porridge. Here you can choose from vegetables such as carrot, pumpkin, parsnip, broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini. The ingredients should be pureed.

A vegetable-fruit mixture, for example in the form of a carrot-apple porridge, can also be offered. Typical fruit varieties for the Beikostein introduction are apple and banana. If the child tolerates the vegetable or fruit/vegetable porridge well, potatoes and some oil can be added slowly after about a week. The first porridge replaces the midday meal. Cereal porridge should not be given as a whole milk-cereal porridge until the child is 6 to 8 months old.

Should I cook for myself or give glasses?

Of course, it is best if the parents know exactly what is contained in the pap. That’s why cooking the porridge yourself is the non plus ultra. However, as many parents do not have the time for this, baby porridge can be given from the purchased jar with a clear conscience.

There is a large selection, so you can also choose according to personal preferences. Care should be taken to ensure that the porridge purchased does not contain any salt or sweetening aromas. On the one hand, the baby should not be given them so early in life, and on the other hand, he will be reluctant to accept porridge without these additives because they taste better.

You should also check whether any oils have been added to the porridge. If this is not the case, some oil should be added to the porridge. Overall, when buying baby porridge, you should make sure that the composition of the ingredients is as similar as possible to that of home-made baby porridge.

Should the glasses be warmed up or can they also be given cold?

Most parents offer their babies the porridge slightly warmed. Adults also usually eat their main meals in a warm form. However, the porridge does not necessarily have to be warmed up. For example, if a child prefers to eat the fruit porridge cold rather than warm, it can also be given cold. However, care should be taken that it is not fed fresh from the refrigerator, it should at least be at room temperature.

What do you have to consider with a baby food warmer?

A taster warmer is a device that warms the porridge jars. Bottles can also be warmed with it. It can be useful if, for example, there is no microwave in the household.

The disadvantage of the microwave, however, is that you have to make sure that the glass does not get too hot. So you have to find the right settings first. With most baby food warmers you can set or display the temperature.

This makes sense and has the advantage over the microwave that you can heat up to a specific temperature. There are baby food warmers with and without water. The classic version works like a kind of water bath but with a specific temperature setting.

Some appliances also have a warming function. This can be practical if you want to warm the bottle in advance. There are also food warmers that can draw electricity from the car cigarette lighter.

This is of course a great advantage if you are out and about with your child more often and would like to ensure that the food is at the right temperature. It is important to buy a device in which both bottles and jars of different sizes can be warmed. Depending on the desired additional function (usability in the car, warming function, etc. ), the prices differ between the different models. The prices are approximately between 9 and 40 euros.