Healthy and balanced dish during weaning: composition guide
Introduction
How to compose a healthy and balanced dish during weaning ? What is the difference between the one to offer to the child and the one to present at the table to adults?
If you are asking yourself these questions, the article in the next lines is for you. Preceded by an index to allow you to delve deeper into the topics that interest you most - just click on the title of the paragraph - it starts with the precious advice of Doctor Federica Dell'Oro, the nutrition biologist of the DrSilva team.
To find out everything about the world of on-demand complementary feeding, you can take a look at his video course “Practical, easy and stress-free self-weaning” , accessible at the end of the paragraph.
I'll be waiting for you on Instagram, on the profile @drsilva.com_official , for daily updates dedicated to the well-being and development of your little one!
Weaning Meal: What Are the Essential Nutrients?
When talking about a healthy and balanced dish during weaning , it is necessary to mention some essential nutrients. What are they? Let's see them together one by one!
Carbohydrates
Always taking into account safe consistencies and cuts , carbohydrate sources are essential in the balanced dish of the baby's diet during self-weaning and should be varied often.
Various types of pasta, cereals such as barley, quinoa, millet, sorghum, rice, bread: here are some foods that should be part of the nutritional plans of the little one during weaning.
If you look at the complete caloric intake of a single meal , it is good to know that, for a child, carbohydrates should represent 50% of the portion (the type of dish that you can see in this video , already divided, helps a lot).
As regards cereals , it is best, as is recalled in this article , to avoid whole grain ones for at least the first year of life.
Proteins
Proteins should represent ¼ of a healthy and balanced plate in weaning . With an average requirement of 9 grams per day from 6 to 12 months and 11 from 1 year to 36 months - source: SINU - proteins should be included in moderation in the balanced plate in self-weaning.
Why? Because it has been shown that overindulging in these nutrients in the early years of life exposes you to a greater risk of increasing fat cells and, consequently, becoming overweight.
It is also appropriate in this case to vary, offering both plant sources, legumes first and foremost , and foods of animal origin (cheese, meat, fish, eggs).
As Dr. Dell'Oro reminds us in her video course, the Italian Society of Pediatrics recommends consuming meat a maximum of 3 times a week, fish 3-4 times a week, and cheese a couple of times a week.
In the case of legumes, however, you can eat up to 4 - 5 times a week.
Among the cheeses, we must also count the parmesan used in preparations or sprinkled on pasta (the one with pesto, for example, is a one-dish meal).
When it comes to meat , it is important to remember the importance of preferring lean cuts . It is better to use plenty of seasoning oil rather than the saturated fats that characterize red meat.
Fish, on the other hand, should be small or medium sized. In the healthy and balanced weaning dish, large fish, such as tuna and swordfish, should be avoided due to their high mercury content.
The consumption of bottom-dwelling fish, such as plaice or sole, should be limited.
Legumes, on the other hand, as mentioned several times, should be offered, for the first year of life, peeled or pureed (the peel must already have been removed).