At what age can you give a child a pumpkin, how to cook pumpkin soup and mashed potatoes?

Pumpkin It has long been used in cooking due to its pleasant taste and many beneficial properties. When can you introduce this fruit to a small child and what can be cooked from a pumpkin for babies of the first year of life and older children?

• Pumpkin is rich in various nutrients, including vitamin C, iron, vitamin D, calcium, silicon, B vitamins and many other compounds. Due to this composition, the inclusion of its fruits in the children's menu has a positive effect on the growth and proper development of the child’s body.
• Among all the vitamins, the most valuable in the composition of the pumpkin is beta carotene, which is the most in bright fruits. Carotene is important for vision and bones, as well as immunity.
• In this melon culture contains a lot of pectin, known for the ability to remove harmful substances and toxins from the body.
• The presence of dietary fiber makes pumpkin a valuable product for the regulation of digestion and prevention of constipation. Baked and boiled pumpkin is recommended for high acidity, and juice - for swelling.
• In the broth and the juice of pumpkin with the addition of honey, noted the ability to calm the nervous system, improve memory and sleep, help with stress and depressive moods.
• Pumpkin have choleretic action, therefore, it is recommended for the prevention of diseases of the liver and biliary tract.
• Since pumpkin fruits are rich in magnesium and potassium, they show a diuretic effect in dishes made from them, important in the presence of kidney disease.
• Low-calorie pumpkin dishes makes them a good choice for overweight children.

About why in pumping a baby you should introduce a pumpkin, look in the video from Humana.

In pumpkin seeds, a slight laxative, anti-inflammatory and anthelmintic effect is noted. Regular use improves digestive function and eliminates constipation. This product is rich in natural healthy fats, vitamins D, K, A, E, as well as many trace elements, among which iron and zinc are particularly notable.

• Too frequent use of pumpkin dishes can be the cause of "carotene" jaundice.
• Pumpkin lure should not be given if you are hypersensitive to the product.
• Pumpkin is contraindicated in diabetes and hepatitis.
• It is also not recommended to cook pumpkin for babies with exacerbations of diseases of the stomach and small intestine.

Pumpkin refers to products that can cause an allergic reaction, because it contains a lot of carotene. For this reason, the introduction of pumpkin dishes into the children's diet is carried out gradually and very carefully.

Pumpkin puree like many kids, because it has a pleasant sweetish taste. You can cook it in different ways from both fresh and frozen pumpkin. We will dwell on each of them in more detail.

Pour the peeled pumpkin with water, put the saucepan on the fire, let it boil, close the lid and stew on the smallest fire for 20 to 25 minutes. You will realize that the pumpkin is ready when it pulls soft. Drain the water, wipe the cooked slices through a sieve to ensure that no fibers are present. If necessary, make the consistency more liquid, add milk (for babies younger than a year - mother's or a mixture).

Take 350 g of pumpkin, peel, fiber and seeds from the pulp, then cut into small cubes. Add 200 ml of water to the vegetable (you can also add some sugar), place it in the slow cooker and turn it on to the "quenching" mode. After 40 minutes, remove the pumpkin, transfer to a blender and whisk until a smooth mash is obtained.

Cut a small piece from the pumpkin, remove the peel and cut the vegetable into cubes. Spread them in a steamer basket, place in the appliance and cook until softened (usually 20 minutes of processing is enough). Beat the finished pieces in a blender, if the crumb has just started to try the pumpkin, or mash with a fork for kids who are learning to chew. Cooling the puree to a warm state, you can offer it to the child.

Peeled and diced pumpkin, put in a container with thick walls and add 1/2 cup of water. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the dish is soft. Then you can pump the pumpkin through a sieve or knead with a fork depending on the consistency that your child likes.

Introduction to the diet of the baby pumpkin can be carried out after the crumb tasted zucchini, broccoli or other vegetables. Usually, these foods are introduced from 6 months of age, although baby-fed crumbs it is permissible to include pumpkin puree in the menu a little earlier (from 4.5-5 months).

The first portion of pumpkin, which a child gets to know about a year, should leave no more than half a teaspoon (or even better - only a quarter of a spoon). Mashed potatoes for such a first sample should be homogeneous, so breast milk or formula is often used to dilute it.

Give the first time pumpkin crumbs in the morning feeding, and then until the evening, carefully watch the tot. After making sure that no problems have arisen after such a meal, you can increase the portion to the recommended age norm for vegetable dishes.

Take one apple of sweet and sour varieties and a slice of pumpkin so that each ingredient is in the same quantity. Sliced ​​a small pumpkin, pour boiling water and boil until done. Next, add the diced apple to the boiled pumpkin, boil for another 5-10 minutes and rub the mass through a sieve. In the finished mashed potatoes, you can add honey.

You will need to take in the same amount an apple, a pumpkin and a melon. Cut the melon and apple into cubes, and rub the pumpkin. Mix the ingredients, add honey and lemon juice.

Boil a piece of pumpkin, carrots and celery until ready (take carrots half as much as pumpkin, and celery three times less). Make vegetables puree. Simultaneously boil the turkey or chicken, disassemble into fibers or finely chop. Mix meat with vegetables or lay out separately depending on the preferences of the baby. Sprinkle with greens on top, if the child loves her.

Grate 150 g of pumpkin and cover with half a glass of cream.Simmer for about 10 minutes on low heat and still hot add a tablespoon of semolina, some sugar and one egg to the pumpkin mass. Next, cook like regular pancakes. Serve with sour cream.

Rinse and chop the vegetable through a juicer and dilute with water. Give the child such juice up to 2 times a week. It is important to squeeze the juice immediately before use.

Take the following ingredients for pumpkin soup:

• 150 g pumpkin
• 1/2 carrot
• 1 potato
• 500 ml of water

Washed vegetables need to be cleaned. Next, potatoes and pumpkin cut into cubes, and carrots finely rub. Cooking vegetables for 30 minutes in boiling water, give the dish uniformity using a blender. In conclusion, the soup should be salted and add a little vegetable oil.

Another simple way to cook pumpkin puree soup is to use the multicooker:

• Peel 300 g of ripe pumpkin, do not forget to remove the seeds. Pulp cut into medium cubes.
• Also peel two onions, four potatoes and one carrot. Onion cut into half rings, carrot - into strips, and potatoes - into small cubes.
• Turn on the slow cooker on the "baking" mode. Heat some vegetable oil in the bowl, then add the vegetables and fry for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Next, switch to the mode of "quenching" and leave the dish to prepare for one hour.
• Remove vegetables from the device, salt and chop with a blender.
• Add 400 g of cream with fat content of 20%, mix well and pour the puree back into the slow cooker.
• Choosing the "soup" mode, bring to a boil. In the soup plates can be decorated with herbs, crackers, butter.

To prepare millet porridge, rub 100 g of peeled and pumpkin seeds. Boil a glass of milk, pour a tablespoon of millet into it and cook with constant stirring for 10 minutes, then add the grated pumpkin. Continue to cook until thick, let the porridge cool for a while, and serve with honey and butter before serving.

Cut 300 g of peeled pumpkin and seeds into cubes. Putting it in a saucepan, pour 340 ml of milk there, bring to a boil and cook until soft. Dissolve two tablespoons of semolina in half a glass of water. With continuous stirring of pumpkin boiling in milk, slowly pour the semolina into the saucepan. Salt and add sugar to taste. Boil until the porridge is thick enough. At the end of cooking, you can add sliced ​​dried fruits, for example, raisins and prunes.

Peel and cut 150 g pumpkin into slices, cover with a glass of boiling water, add a teaspoon of sugar and cook under the lid closed for 15 minutes. Add to the pumpkin 50 grams of rice cereal and half a glass of milk. Continue cooking for about 20 minutes, periodically stirring the porridge. Turn off the fire, add salt and 15 g butter to the dish.

• Choose a medium-sized pumpkin, because very large fruits are either excessively dry or, on the contrary, watery.
• Inspect the pumpkin well when buying. Do not take fruit with scratches and damage, as well as areas of rot. The skin of the pumpkin should be very dense and not be pressed through with a fingernail.
• When purchasing a cut pumpkin, choose a fruit with a rich yellow or orange color. The brighter the pumpkin you buy, the more carotene it will be.
• If you purchased a whole pumpkin and cut it at home, do not store it after that for a long time. The best option would be to buy a small piece of pumpkin, which will immediately be used when cooking, or to freeze sliced ​​pumpkin pulp for cooking in the future.
• A whole pumpkin should not be kept in direct sunlight and in a very cold place, as this contributes to its rotting.Better place the whole fruit in a ventilated place with a temperature of + 10 + 15.