Dry fruits for toddlers - Page 1

Dear All,

Please suggest which is the best way to give dry fruits to a 19 month ( 1yr,7 months) baby.

Like whether  we can soak it overnight and give it as it ias or is it best to mix it with his food .And aalso please tell me which dry fruits are best at this stage ?

Ideally it should be walnuts for under 2 yr olds. This is because walnuts are richer in fats as compared to almonds and have a higher level of Omega 3's associated with brain development.

For children below 2 yrs of age fat is very essential and plays a critical role in brain development, which is why pediatricians recommend full-cream milk or grand-parents tout 'ghee'.

After 2yrs of age, almonds are recommended since they have a lower content of fat.

For both walnuts and almonds, you can make a powder from chopped nuts and stock them in a bottle in the fridge. It is important to store them in a cool dry place because they have a short shelf life and spoil very quickly. More so in case of walnuts.

I usually (learnt through moms on these boards) make powder for a week and keep it in a glass bottle in the fridge.

In case of walnuts I used to mix two teaspoons of the powder in yogurt and feed it over the day to my son. In case of almond you can soak the poder in milk and strain it.  I'll forward the link on this discussion (almonds) here. But since your child is 19 months old, please stay with walnuts.

Here's the link on Omega 3's and brain development that provides more information on this:

http://www.parentree.in/roses/journal-4666/Fatty-Acids--good-ones--in-your-1-2-yr-old-s-diet.html

Will forward more links to you.

http://www.parentree.in/groupdiscussion-3285/Badam-oil.html

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t040900.asp

From the above site (Dr. Sears) I am posting a portion that will help :

The most rapid brain growth occurs during the first year of life,
with the infant's brain tripling in size by the first birthday.
During this stage of rapid central nervous system growth,
the brain uses sixty percent of the total energy consumed by the infant.
Fats are a major component of the brain cell membrane and the myelin sheath
around each nerve. So, it makes sense that getting enough fat,
and the right kinds of fat, can greatly affect brain development and
performance. In fact, during the first year, around fifty percent of
an infant's daily calories come from fat. Mother Nature knows how
important fat is for babies; fifty percent of the calories in mother's milk is fat.

The body needs two kinds of fat to manufacture healthy brain cells
(the message senders) and prostaglandins (the messengers).
These are omega 6 fatty acids (found in many oils, such as
safflower, sunflower, corn, and sesame oils) and omega 3 fatty acids
(found in flax, pumpkin seeds and walnuts, and coldwater fish, such as salmon and tuna).

Just how important is DHA for brain development?
Consider these research findings:
• Infants who have low amounts of DHA in
their diet have reduced brain development and diminished visual acuity.
• The increased intelligence and academic performance
of breastfed compared with formula- fed infants has been
attributed in part to the increased DHA content of human milk.
• Cultures whose diet is high in omega 3 fatty acids
(such as the Eskimos who eat a lot of fish) have a lower incidence
of degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis.
• Experimental animals whose diets are low in DHA have
been found to have smaller brains and delayed central nervous system development.
• Some children with poor school performance because of ADD,
have been shown to have insufficient essential fatty acids in their diet.
(See A.D.D. - A Nutritional Deficiency?)
 

Hope this helps!

Hi Roses

Thank u for your detailed  inputs . Its very informative . Willd definitely start walnuts asap.

Hi ,

This has been very helpful to me too. I have also started feeding my 15 month old son with walnut powder after reading this.

thanks a lot :-)

Hi,

Can I give walnuts to my  9 month old son. If yes, then how many per day?

Thanks

Hi,

As mentioned walnuts are very good for babies brain development.

I give my son walnut since he is six months old,we mix powdered almonds and walnuts in his home made cerelac.

Around 5 to 6 nos of almond and walnut with wheat,rice,moong,moong dal,nachani,jowar and bajra.We actually wash ,roast & grind everything and store the powder.While preparation we roast 1spoon of powder in ghee add one fruit like apple or nashpati and one glass of water and crush before feeding.