Legumes in weaning: at what months should you start offering them?
Introduction
Legumes in weaning: yes or no ? At what months, if any, is it appropriate to start offering them? If you are asking yourself these questions, you are on the right page.
In this content, which as you can see is preceded by an index to give you the opportunity to delve deeper into the paragraphs that interest you most with a simple click, I will provide you with the answers.
For a complete in-depth look at complementary feeding on demand, there is the video course “Practical, easy and stress-free self-weaning”, curated by the nutrition biologist Dr. Federica Dell'Oro, whose advice will guide us in the following lines.
If you are interested in keeping up to date with other valuable content for your baby's well-being, you can also find me on Instagram on the profile @drsilva.com_official .
Legumes: in what month should you start offering them?
Legumes can be offered to babies without any problems during weaning . As Dr. Dell'Oro reminds us in this video , the Italian Society of Pediatrics (SIP) recommends offering them to your baby at least four times a week.
They can be brought to the table from the sixth month , a period which generally sees the maturation of the requirements for approaching foods other than breast milk or formula.
Up to 12 months and beyond, it is important to offer them hulled, that is, without the peel , a part that is too rich in fibre .
These nutrients should be given in moderate quantities during the early stages of baby-led weaning.
Fiber, being low in caloric density, can cause problems in weight gain in children who consume unhulled legumes during weaning.
The peel can be removed by hand or, alternatively, with the help of a food mill.
Caution: Do not use a blender . The reason? It shreds the peel, but keeps it inside.
With the food mill, on the other hand, the pulp and peel are separated.
After having been peeled , the legumes proposed for weaning must be managed in such a way as to reach safe consistencies.
Some examples? Hummus or mashed peeled legumes.
From a year onwards, smaller legumes , such as lentils, can be offered whole.
For older children , it is best to wait until their teething period is around two and a half years.
It is recommended to continue to peel them until they are one and a half/two years old, especially if you follow a predominantly plant-based diet.
Which legumes should we bring to the table during weaning?
When opening the chapter of legumes in weaning, there are several options that can be taken into consideration. Here are the peculiarities and benefits of some of the most important:
- Chickpeas: rich in B vitamins and omega-6 fats, they can be considered, in addition to a source of protein, also a point of reference for optimizing carbohydrate intake.
- Beans: Available in nature in many varieties, they are an excellent source of minerals such as potassium, calcium, and are also rich in folates. They are a valid option to meet the complex carbohydrate needs of the little one,
- Lentils : a legume cultivated since ancient times, they are easy to digest for the weaning baby and represent, for the child in self-weaning, a source of protein alternative to meat. They are also characterized by the presence of iron, but of the non-heme type. This means that, to promote absorption by the body, it is advisable to associate a source of vitamin C.
Not to be forgotten, in the list of legumes that can be presented on the table during weaning, are also broad beans, soybeans, and green beans.
Regarding the proposal of broad beans, it is important to mention the importance of alerting the pediatrician in case of presence of cases of hemolytic anemia in the family. This is a possible sign of favism.
It is also interesting that, up until now, we have talked about legumes in weaning without mentioning the flour that includes them as ingredients.
You can use it, for example, to prepare a fake omelette (in the video course you will find many other recipes suitable for all seasons).