Food and nutrition.pdf

182 Young Children and Toddlersintroducing cereal, many mothers next begin offering pureed or mashedvegetables and fruits. Whether prepared industrially or at home, thesefoods are a pleasant introduction to new tastes and textures. Gradually,the smooth, pureed foods can be replaced with fodds of more solid texture,such as meat or fish based meals, until the infant begins to eat table food.Introducing your infant to complementary foods is a gradual and, attimes, trying process. The key to success is to gradually move from fairlybland and smooth foods to foods that are more robust in texture, taste,and smell. Be patient and have fun-this exciting and challenging stagewill surely produce many funny memories.Different Types of Industrially Prepared Complementary Foods. Many industrially prepared complementary foods are available tohelp your infant make the transition from breast milk or formula to solidfood. While some parents choose to prepare their own foods, others findthat industrially prepared foods are convenient, safe, and nutritiousalternatives.Complementary foods are formulated to satisfy the nutritional needsof iniants and young children. Some types are sold dried and needreconstituting (such as infant cereals) while others are sold ready to eat(such as jars of baby food.) Meat, vegetables and fruit are majoringredients. Some are based on cereal,>, some on pasta. They run the wholegamut from biscuits, rusks, and "main meals" to desserts and drinks.MAIN CATEGORIES OF INDUSTRIALLY PREPARED FOODS:• Ready to eat baby foodsThese consist of prepared recip~s that are cooked and sterilizedand are normally sold in cans and jars. This broad categoryincludes baby meals, fruit or vegetable based foods, and meatand fish based foods.• Dried baby foodsThe range of dried foods available is similar to ready-to-eat andthey are prepared according to recipes, but they are dried aftercooking. Dried foods must be mixed with water or milk beforefeeding.• Cereal-based foodsCereal foods are usually sold dried and ready for reconstitution.They are based on pre-cooked cereals with additions of meat,vegetables or fruit. Some are reconstituted with milk, but othersare already mixed with high protein foods and should bereconstituted with a non-protein containing liquid such as water.• Pasta