At what age can a child be given tomatoes?

Many parents want to quickly introduce a healthy tomato into the diet of their children. What you need to know about tomatoes before offering them to small children? What danger can they be fraught with? At what age should a child first get acquainted with a juicy tomato?

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Vegetables in the children's diet are necessary - they replenish the child's body with vitamins, minerals and trace elements that are necessary for its growth and development. One of the favorite vegetables for most children who have already learned to chew is tomatoes due to their pleasant sweet and sour taste and an abundance of juice inside.

However, the bright color of this vegetable can raise doubts among parents - red fruits are considered allergenic. In this regard, the question arises - when can a tomato be introduced into a baby’s diet, what effect can this delicious and healthy vegetable have on a child’s body?

What are tomatoes good for?

Tomatoes can be called a real storehouse of vitamins. Let's take a closer look at exactly what substances are contained in the composition of these vegetables, and how they affect health.

The chemical composition of tomatoes has many vitamins:

Potassium - improves heart function. It also has a hypotensive and diuretic effect;
Iodine - stimulates the activity of the thyroid gland;
Iron - is involved in the saturation of blood with oxygen;
Calcium - strengthens bones;
Copper and zinc are important elements necessary for the development and growth of cells and tissues;
Magnesium - have a calming effect on the nervous system.

In addition to the listed chemical elements, tomatoes are rich in other substances that have a beneficial effect on the functioning of various body systems:

Lycopene is a substance that can inhibit the development of cancer;
Pectin, fintotsidy - real helpers of the digestive and excretory systems. They have choline, which lowers blood cholesterol;
The tomato contains a lot of vitamin A and carotene, therefore it is useful for growth and vision;
Antioxidants - remove heavy metal salts and free radicals from the body.

Tomatoes help relieve stress and improve mood, they have a calming effect on the nervous system. They stimulate appetite, accelerate metabolic processes.

In this episode of the TV show “Live Great!” with Elena Malysheva you will learn about the beneficial properties of tomatoes:

Do tomatoes have flaws?

If this vegetable is so tasty and healthy, then the question arises - is it possible to give it to young children? What factors can become an obstacle to the introduction of tomatoes into the baby’s diet?

Tomato is considered a highly allergenic product.
With existing problems with digestion and kidneys, this vegetable is contraindicated.
Artificially grown tomatoes can be dangerous to health - they contain many pesticides that cause severe poisoning.
The use of tomatoes in large quantities is not recommended - this will adversely affect the gastrointestinal tract.

At what age is it worth introducing a child to a tomato?

Since a tomato can cause an allergy in a baby, giving this vegetable fresh is not recommended for up to 12 months. If you know that the child is allergic, it is better not to rush, but to consult a pediatrician about the introduction of red fruits on the menu. Heat-treated tomatoes (boiled or stewed, consisting of vegetable soups and mashed potatoes) are safer, so they can be offered to a baby from 9 months.

During heat treatment, part of their useful properties is lost and they are used mainly to improve the taste of the dish. In ready-made vegetable purees, which are sold in stores, tomatoes also appear in products recommended for children from 8-9 months.

TIP. The first acquaintance of the crumbs with a delicious vegetable can be made by treating it with tomato juice or tomato puree.

From the forums:

Kima: I gave my son a tomato at 8 months old, he really liked it, I cut it into halves and gave it a bite from the edge, made sure that I bit off a little and chewed. I didn’t remove the peel on purpose, only if it was lagging behind myself, I removed it. We have a tomato for lunch with mashed potatoes: a spoon of mashed potatoes, bitten a tomato, a piece of bread. Sometimes he directly cowards for a tomato, it is juicy, now in the heat he really likes.

Tanya: As it turned 10, I gave it a try and tomatoes and cucumbers. She liked it. Unfortunately, we don’t give our purchases everything is fine. They gave us tomatoes from the village and for some reason we got an allergy on them. I clean the peel and give it a slice of bread and my daughter eats it. We already have 8 teeth, so I don’t mumble.

The safest choice of product for the first feeding is baby food in jars from a well-established manufacturer. Even if you are confident in the quality of the product, still the first portion is not more than half a teaspoon. The next tomato feeding should be done in a day, not earlier. If there are no signs of allergy, then the next day, the serving can be doubled.

One-year-old children can be offered a fresh vegetable, previously peeled. To remove it, just pour tomato over boiling water. It is better for kids to chop the tomato, bringing it to a puree state. If the child is already chewing well himself, then it makes sense to add the crushed tomato to the salad. Vegetable oil is ideally suited as a salad dressing for children, it will help lycopene better absorbed in the body.

IMPORTANT! If the child has difficulties with digestion, the use of tomato should be limited, and it is also not recommended to give a cucumber with tomato in one meal.

Starting from the age of three, when the children's menu becomes varied, you can cook meat baked with tomatoes and cheese in the oven, make vegetable casseroles with sour cream and herbs.

Fresh tomatoes as recommended by pediatricians

It is allowed to give to children over one year old but the child must be able to chew well before you give him a slice of tomato, otherwise he may choke on a slice of tomato.
Fresh tomatoes for young children can only be in the summer-autumn season.
Up to 2 years, it is better to give the child tomatoes without a skin, previously scalding the tomato with boiling water.
It is better to give children tomatoes without salt or only slightly salting. (Due to the high salt content, tomato juice is not recommended for children under 3 years old).
For better assimilation of carotenoids and fat-soluble vitamins, it is recommended to eat tomatoes with sour cream, with vegetable oil or with cheese.
Eating large quantities of tomatoes at once is not recommended for children under 3 years of age due to the high risk of allergic and pseudo-allergic reactions, it is better to limit yourself to one small tomato (50 g) per day.
It is good to combine tomatoes with other less allergenic vegetables (cucumber, boiled potatoes) and also with meat.
Sauces and ketchups with tomatoes, as well as salted and pickled tomatoes are allowed to be given to children no earlier than 3 years, and it is better not to give them at all.

Are canned tomatoes contraindicated in children?

Preparations for the winter, including salted and pickled tomatoes, will not bring any benefit to young children. What ingredients are added to cans during preservation? - This is a large amount of salt, vinegar, hot pepper. It is known that salt interferes with the elimination of fluid from the body, and this gives a large load on children's kidneys and leads to edema.

Acetic acid can cause stomach problems, as well as spicy seasonings. Given these factors, children under three years old should not offer canned tomatoes. Starting from the age of four, such products give in small quantities.

What tomatoes are suitable for baby food?

What tomatoes are suitable for baby food? Choose only vegetables grown in the ground. Greenhouse tomatoes are fraught with danger - many chemicals are used for their growth.

When choosing tomatoes in the market or in the store, carefully inspect them. Vegetables should not have a putrid odor, they should not have dark spots and violations of the integrity of the peel.

Some recipes

Mashed potatoes with tomato and cauliflower (can be for children from 3 years)

Ingredients: Cauliflower - 150 g; Butter - 20 g; Tomatoes -300 g; Hard cheese - 30.

Break cabbage into inflorescences, wash and boil until tender in salted water. After that, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the finely chopped and peeled tomatoes. Stew, stirring, until the dish resembles gruel.

Add the grated cheese to the hot tomato puree, mix. Mix cauliflower with cheese and tomato mass and beat in a blender in mashed potatoes. Such a dish can be frozen.

Borscht. It can be cooked for children from 2 years

Ingredients: Potato - 2 pcs.; ¼ quiver of cabbage; 1/3 of the bulb; tomatoes - 1-2 pcs.; Carrot - 1 pc.; Beets - 1 pc.; Salt, sugar to taste.

First you need to wash and peel the beets and carrots, cut them into strips and quit boiling them in boiling, salted water for about 15 minutes. Then add chopped cabbage and diced chopped potatoes and cook for another 20 minutes. At the same time, fry the onion in a preheated pan, then add the chopped tomatoes. Stew borsch for 7 minutes under the lid. Then add onion with tomatoes, salt, add sugar to taste and cook until tender over low heat. Your child will be delighted with such a dish!

Polina and Yulia are preparing a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers with soy sauce. Quick and easy recipe, you will lick your fingers:

Tomato allergy - what to do?

If after the first acquaintance of the baby with a delicious vegetable, you notice allergy symptoms - rash, itching and red spots on the body, sneezing or coughing, then the tomatoes should be removed from his diet.

When an allergy becomes severe - edema appears, urgently need to see a doctor for prescribing treatment. In this case, repeated attempts to introduce tomatoes into the diet are made no earlier than six months later.

We also read: Vegetable purees for the first feeding (3 recipes)