Seafood Menu For A Child

Everyone knows about the unconditional benefits of seafood delicacies. These healthy products must be on the children's menu.

Everyone knows about the unconditional benefits of seafood delicacies. These healthy products must be on the children's menu.

Minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iron), trace elements (iodine, fluorine), vitamins (A, D, E, B2, B12, PP), polyunsaturated fatty acids - all this is contained in sufficient quantities in seafood and is very useful for strengthening the immune system, nervous system and mental activity. In addition, seafood is low in calories and at the same time contains a lot of easily digestible protein.

Therefore, sea fish, shrimp, oysters, octopus, squid, mussels, red and black caviar, sea cabbage and other seafood must be included in the child's diet. But take your time - they can cause allergies in many children, and the taste of many of them is quite specific to love them, you need to understand them.

When and where to start

Fish . Many pediatricians agree that it is necessary to start offering fish to a child closer to the age of one. The other half claims that not earlier than 2-3 years. Therefore, let's leave this question to the discretion of the mother - no one knows the baby better than her, and all children are individual.

All types of fish contain a large amount of minerals, which is important for the prevention of anemia, and polyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega3 group are necessary for the production of biologically active compounds that participate in the regulation of metabolism.

Start with low-fat varieties: hake, sea crucian carp, navaga, zander, flounder, cod. But it is better to wait with sea fish of medium fat (salach, sea bass, trout) and fatty (herring, salmon, mackerel).

Remember that fish is an allergenic product, so for the first time, ½ teaspoon in the morning meal will be enough. Do not offer new products on this day and observe the baby's reaction (has there been a rash on the skin, what kind of stool). Fish for a child should be boiled or stewed, you can have cutlets or meatballs, but avoid fish broth - there are no particularly valuable substances in it.

If everything went well, try to include fish in the child's diet at least twice a week.

Black and red caviar . Closer to the age of two, try to offer the child a sandwich or pancake with red or black caviar. Of course, this is not a daily delicacy, but sometimes you need to pamper not only the child, but also all other family members with this useful product, because there is so much calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, vitamins of group B, A, D, E in expensive eggs.

Shrimps . Tender meat of shrimps (it is also easily digested) can be included in the menu even at 2 years of age. When choosing a product, be careful: there should be no black rings, white dots, yellow separations and humps on the legs.

Squids . At the same time - about two years. Only, of course, not in the form of snacks. Buy them freshly frozen and cook them yourself, adding, for example, to salads and other dishes. Properly prepared squids have a delicate taste, and the vitamins B6, PP and protein contained in them help improve digestion.

All other types of shellfish: crabs, octopuses, mussels, oysters, etc. - Start introducing them into the child's diet at about three years of age and carefully monitor how the child's skin and intestines react to these products.

Sea cabbage (kelp). Let's be honest: not all adults like this useful and probably the cheapest seafood product. After all, sea cabbage not only supplies the body with iodine, but also has the rare property of keeping the intestinal muscles in good shape.

How to offer it to a child? The best thing, of course, is to prepare a delicious salad (kelp, thinly sliced ​​carrots, cucumber, sour cream, greens) and keep it company. At the same time, you can tell a true story that the most beautiful girls and the strongest young men must eat seaweed at least 2-3 times a week. Such motivation, as a rule, works. Offer sea cabbage at 2.5-3 years. Buy fresh or once-frozen.

Sushi _ But it is better not to offer them (store, restaurant, homemade) until 12-14 years old.

Basic principles of fish cooking:

• Any fish is tastier in winter and spring;
• The taste of fish depends on the water where it lives;
• Buy fish with the head - it is of higher quality and fresher;
• The shelf life of chilled fish in the refrigerator is 2-4 days;
• If the fish is frozen correctly, it will make a ringing sound when tapped;
• In freshly frozen fish, the meat will be white, if the fish is re-frozen, the meat will be darker;
• Thaws fish in salt water to reduce the loss of nutrients;
• Thawed fish must be cooked immediately. Do not subject to secondary freezing;
• When processing the fish, remove the black film in the abdominal cavity and blood clots in the spine;
• If cooking fish with the head, remove the gills;
• Sea fish should be cooked over low heat and without a lid;
• Fully cooked fish will be tastier, more useful substances will remain in it;
• Effectively eliminates the smell of sea fish when cooking dill greens;
• The less water used for cooking, the more useful the fish will be, and in steamed fish, an order of magnitude more valuable substances and better taste qualities are preserved;
• When cooking fish, carefully remove the bones. By the way, they also occur in the fillet, so carefully "feel" it.