At two years old, the baby’s diet begins to change dramatically from breast milk to ordinary food. Everyday food is becoming more diverse; more and more new dishes and healthy products appear in it. The child’s gastrointestinal tract at this time can fully digest solid foods, normally reacts to food with casseroles and other additives. But the diet of a child at this age continues to be very different from an adult. It is for this reason that it is so important to know about the basic rules of a child’s nutrition at the age of 2: what he can eat and what is still early. What to cook for breakfast for a child at 2 years old?
The main rules of baby nutrition
The basis of everyday nutrition for a baby of two years of age should be liquid porridges, fresh fruits and vegetables. By two years of life, many products from these categories should be at least a little, but familiar to the child. Porridge should continue to be carefully boiled, and in the evening cook them with the addition of milk.
The daily menu for a child of 2 years should include:
- fresh vegetables - raw and boiled (no restrictions);
- fruits in the form of juice, compote or dessert;
- soups - cooked in broth, adding fresh herbs for taste (for example, celery);
- stew meat with vegetables or cook in the form of casseroles with potatoes;
- river and sea fish, it is best to give fillets;
- cottage cheese pancakes and raw cottage cheese should also be included in the child’s diet;
- low fat dairy products - kefir, milk and fermented baked milk;
- boiled eggs.
What foods should be in the diet?
There is also a category of products that can be included in the diet of a child aged 2 years, but in small quantities and not often. This may include:
- legumes (beans, lentils and soy) can be given to the child several times a week;
- confectionery products are only allowed to be given to the child after a meal; cookies and fruits can be used as snacks;
- canned foods - sauerkraut and pickles;
- soaked herring;
- butter products.
The basic rules of nutrition for a child aged 2 years is important to strictly observe, so that in the future there will be no problems with the functioning of his digestive system and will not have to visit a doctor. The baby’s diet can also depend on the characteristics of his body and individual characteristics, as some children have intolerance to certain foods, leading to allergies.
What is forbidden?
The digestive system of a child at this age still does not respond well to the introduction of too fatty, spicy, salty, fried and smoked foods into the diet. If we talk about meat, then the parent should consider only low-fat varieties - rabbit meat, turkey or beef. Lamb, fatty pork and duck can adversely affect the pancreas, lead to an allergic reaction and digestive upset.
Particular attention should be paid to meat products. Sausage is considered the most harmful product for a child aged 2 years, as it contains a large amount of fat, as well as various preservatives and additives.
The only possible option for a child to use sausages is children's sausages, which experts recommend giving for lunch as a main dish after soup. Various smoked foods are categorically prohibited.
How to make the right breakfast for the baby?
What to cook for breakfast for a child at 2 years old? Breakfast should provide a young developing organism with a charge of energy, which should be enough before lunch. Breakfast should be warm, hearty, and foods digestible. Dishes can be cooked, baked or stewed.
The optimal menu in the morning are: foods with protein (meat, eggs), carbohydrates (cereals), a small amount of fat (butter or vegetable oil), the right amount of vitamins and fiber (they can be found in vegetables and fruits).
Can I give my baby cereal for breakfast? Sometimes cereal for breakfast is acceptable along with milk and yogurt, but the child in this case must be older than 3 years of age.
Breakfast Recipes for a 2 year old child
In the morning, parents usually do not have much time left to feed their child. In order for fast food to become tasty and at the same time useful for a developing organism, special kitchen devices should be purchased that will help to significantly speed up and facilitate the cooking process.
A slow cooker with a double boiler function and an electric oven are always useful equipment in the kitchen. With this appliance, you can easily and quickly cook a casserole, porridge, omelet without spending too much time and not being afraid that the food will burn or run away.
Experts do not recommend using a microwave when cooking food or when it is warming up for children. Chefs say that such food loses all its beneficial properties and does not provide the necessary nutrients.
Cooking porridge
Porridge is considered the best food in the morning, but it can be difficult to feed a baby with such a dish. From the age of 3 years, small pieces of fresh or steamed fruits, fresh berries, nuts, grated chocolate or vegetables should be added to the porridge. Milk porridge can be used as a syrup.
If you soak the cereal at night, then the cooking time will be reduced by half. If the porridge is cooked on water, then all the necessary products should be put in the multicooker in the evening and the timer should be turned on. In the morning porridge will be ready for use.
Prefabricated porridge with carrots
The recipe for breakfast for a child at 2 years of age will be to boil porridge in milk with the addition of carrots. To do this, you need the following ingredients:
- ¼ tablespoon of rice;
- ¼ table buckwheat;
- ¼ Art. pearl barley;
- glass of water;
- a tablespoon of raisins;
- 1/2 cup of milk;
- two fresh carrots;
- salt, butter and sugar are added as desired.
To prepare a healthy and tasty porridge, you need to take cereal, rinse under running water, pour cold water and leave for one night. In the evening, in order not to lose time in the morning, you should peel the carrots, finely chop it into strips, wrap it in a special plastic wrap so that the carrot slices do not wind, and put them in the refrigerator. Next, you need to sort out, wash and dry a tablespoon of raisins.
How to cook oatmeal in milk? In the morning, salt the boiling water and pour the prepared cereal with water, drain its excess (water should completely cover the cereal) and add slices of carrots. After boiling, it is cooked over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. After a teaspoon of sugar, half a glass of milk and a spoonful of raisins are added to the mixture, bring to a boil. Without reducing the heat, porridge is cooked for another 20-25 minutes. Before use, add a small piece of butter to a bowl of porridge.
Dishes from eggs: omelet for a child
The body immediately after awakening really needs a protein that can be obtained from scrambled eggs or omelettes. It will be even more useful if you cook these dishes not from chicken, but quail eggs. By caloric value, a chicken egg is 10 quail eggs, but in nutritional value it is significantly inferior to it.
Breakfast recipe for a child of 2 years: fried eggs in bread. To prepare the dish you need to take a slice of bread and cut a crumb from it. In a heated frying pan with vegetable oil, only one side of the bread should be fried. 1 chicken egg (or 5 quail eggs) is poured into the middle, if the baby does not want to eat fried eggs, then the egg is thoroughly beaten. Then it is salted and fried. The frying pan is covered with a lid and remains on low heat for another 5 minutes or the egg with bread is turned over and fried on the other side.
Omelet for a child can be made at the age of 1 year. If the kitchen does not have a double boiler, then you can take a wide pot and silicone baking dishes for cooking. Then beat 2 eggs and add a teaspoon of cream, pour into a mold greased with butter and place in a pan set in a pot of boiling water. Ready omelet is placed on a plate, sprinkled with dill and cheese on top.
Cooking cottage cheese casseroles
For the preparation of cottage cheese casseroles in apples, the following ingredients will be required:
- cottage cheese - 500 grams;
- 4 eggs;
- sugar - five tablespoons;
- 3-4 fresh apples;
- 2 tablespoons of sour cream;
- salt - added to taste;
- butter - they lubricate the molds.
Casserole recipe
Breakfast recipe for a 2 year old child:
- Cottage cheese is gently kneading with a fork.
- Separate the yolks from the proteins, add the yolks to the curd, pour sugar, salt and sour cream in the right amount on top.
- The resulting mixture is whipped with a blender or mixer.
- In a separate container, the proteins are thoroughly beaten until the foam is formed and carefully added to the bulk.
- Apples are washed, peeled, rubbed on a coarse grater or cut into slices and added to the main consistency, everything is thoroughly mixed.
- Next, the oven is heated to 180 degrees, and the baking dish is greased with butter.
- The finished consistency is moved into the mold and carefully aligned around the perimeter.
- There may also be a cottage cheese casserole with sour cream.
- Bake the mass in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Casserole readiness can be checked with a simple skewer.
- When serving, you can grease the casserole again with sour cream, butter or jam. It is possible to eat such a dish both in a warm and chilled state.
This recipe involves cooking casseroles in the oven. But the parent can not limit himself and also use a slow cooker.
Cooking rice porridge, as in kindergarten
It should be noted the main benefits of milk rice porridge, as in kindergarten, for a child. In one plate of such a dish is a large number of vitamins (E, B 6 and B 2 ), useful minerals (calcium, zinc, iron, phosphorus), as well as useful acids. If we take into account the fact that during this period of time the child’s body continues to actively grow and develop, then it is easy to guess that he needs only nutritious and rich in trace elements and vitamins food.
Rice porridge is a charge of energy, a source of well-being and health for any child. If you cook rice in water, then its calorie content will reach only 100 kilocalories. But many children do not want to eat such porridge, so it is best to add milk.
If the child does not eat all the food, then you should prove yourself on the creative side. The main task of the parent is to attract the attention of the baby, as well as make him want to eat the finished dish. To do this, you should equip the classic recipe with various additions in the form of unusual ingredients. You can take fresh fruits, honey and other sweet additives. Unusual figures can be built from dried fruits. Sprinkle the finished dish with grated chocolate or raisins.
How to cook?
This breakfast idea for a 2 year old child will require:
- a glass of rice;
- 500 milliliters of milk;
- 100 ml of water;
- 20 grams of sugar;
- half a spoon of salt;
- fruits at will to decorate the finished dish;
- butter 15-20 grams.
The recipe for making milk rice porridge:
- For porridge, it is best to use large varieties of rice. To begin with, the rice is washed with warm water, then it is poured into a large pot and poured with 100 milliliters of cold water. Put on medium heat until the water is completely absorbed, occasionally stir the rice.
- After that, 150 milliliters of milk are added to the pan. The mixture is brought to a boil, making sure that milk does not run out of the pan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent rice from burning.
- After the rice has thickened, you need to add another 350 milliliters of milk in small portions, avoiding the temperature drop in the container. Also, the mixture can be salt, add 2 tablespoons of sugar as desired. Cook porridge should be until the cereal is soft. If desired, you can also add vanilla extract, which will make porridge more fragrant and mouth-watering for the child.
- Next, add soft butter to the pan.
- The cereal should become softer, its consistency is liquid. When cooling, the porridge becomes thicker.
- Before serving the dish, decorate it with different fruits and pour jam on top.
Cocoa for the baby
For this breakfast idea for a 2 year old child you will need:
- 200 milliliters of milk;
- 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder;
- 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Sugar should be added to cocoa powder, and milk should be warmed in a stewpan. 2-3 tablespoons of warmed milk should be added to cocoa with sugar, grind the mixture thoroughly so that no lumps remain in it. The resulting consistency is poured into 200 milliliters of hot milk and continue to cook on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. It is easy and quick to prepare cocoa in milk for a child, such a recipe will not take much free time from the parent.