Meal preparation for a child - healthy and safe food

"The choice of food, the way food is prepared and stored affect its nutritional properties. When it comes to baby food, it is especially important to take care of safe preparation and storage. Ideally, infant and young child food should be prepared immediately before feeding and not stored at all after cooking. "

Basic tips for meal preparation:

  • Cook for your child.
  • Use ready-made purées only in exceptional situations (travel, emergency obligations).
  • Ready-made baby food may contain excess fat, sugar or preservatives; taste or consistency may differ from natural, local foods; it is important for your baby to get used to the natural tastes of food.
  • Do not add salt and sugar to infant food; if you prepare food for the whole family, separate the child's portion before adding salt, spices or powder.
  • Make sure the food you buy is properly packaged and check the expiration date. Do not use food after the expiration date.
  • Choose fresh foods, store and prepare them so as to preserve as many nutritional properties as possible.
  • Storing fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator for a long time, long cooking, cooking in large amounts of fluids are not conducive to the preservation of vitamins.
  • Fruits and vegetables should be washed thoroughly under running water, especially those that grow low on the ground. Peel the fruit (although the peel contains the most vitamins, pectin and other healthy ingredients, it also contains the most pesticides and other chemicals that industrially grown fruit is inevitably treated with).
  • If at all possible, always prepare purée from fresh vegetables. You will not go wrong if you use frozen vegetables.
  • A child should have his/her own cutlery.

Tips for safe food preparation and storage

Cleanliness

Wash your hands before touching food and frequently during food preparation. Before feeding, wash both your own and your child's hands. Prepare food on a clean surface, using clean utensils. Protect your kitchen and food from insects, pests and other animals.

Separate raw and cooked food

Do not mix raw foods, especially meat, with already prepared foods or foods that will not be cooked. Use dedicated equipment and utensils such as knives and cutting boards for raw food. Store food in closed containers to avoid contact between raw and prepared food.

Cook food long enough                                          

Cook food long enough, especially meat, poultry, eggs and seafood. Cook food such as soups and stews until they boil. For meat and poultry, make sure the juices from them are transparent, not red. Reheat cooked food long enough. Bring to a boil or heat until too hot to touch. Stir while heating.

Take care of the bacteriological safety of food

Do not give young children soft boiled eggs or food that contains raw eggs (creams, ice cream, mayonnaise), because of the risk of infection, especially salmonella. Do not give unpasteurized milk or dairy products from this milk; store dairy products in the refrigerator and take care of the expiration date.

Store food at safe temperatures

It is not recommended to store cooked food at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Prepared food can be stored in the refrigerator, in closed containers, for a maximum of 24 hours. You can freeze freshly prepared purée in smaller bowls, but not for longer than three weeks. Do not thaw frozen food at room temperature.

Always think about the child's safety

Some foods pose a risk to the child due to the possibility of choking or suffocation, so they should not be given to children under 4 years: peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, seeds, popcorn, hard candy, whole grapes, larger hard pieces of meat, raw fruits or vegetables .

Do not allow the child to eat while running, jumping or lying down. Teach your toddler not to talk with food in his/her mouth.