When can babies have cottage cheese

Foods to avoid giving babies and young children

Salt

Babies should not eat much salt, as it's not good for their kidneys.

Do not add salt to your baby's food or cooking water, and do not use stock cubes or gravy, as they're often high in salt.

Remember this when you're cooking for the family if you plan to give the same food to your baby.

Avoid salty foods like:

bacon
sausages
chips with added salt
crackers
crisps
ready meals
takeaways

Sugar

Your baby does not need sugar.

By avoiding sugary snacks and drinks (including fruit juice and other fruit drinks), you'll help prevent tooth decay.

Saturated fat

Do not give your child too many foods that are high in saturated fat, such as crisps, biscuits and cakes.

Checking the nutrition labels can help you choose foods that are lower in saturated fat.

See more on food labels.

Honey

Occasionally, honey contains bacteria that can produce toxins in a baby's intestines, leading to infant botulism, which is a very serious illness.

Do not give your child honey until they're over 1 year old. Honey is a sugar, so avoiding it will also help prevent tooth decay.

Whole nuts and peanuts

Whole nuts and peanuts should not be given to children under 5 years old, as they can choke on them.

You can give your baby nuts and peanuts from around 6 months old, as long as they're crushed, ground or a smooth nut or peanut butter.

If there's a history of food allergies or other allergies in your family, talk to your GP or health visitor before introducing nuts and peanuts.

See more on food allergies in babies and young children.

Some cheeses

Cheese can form part of a healthy, balanced diet for babies and young children, and provides calcium, protein and vitamins.

Babies can eat pasteurised full-fat cheese from 6 months old. This includes hard cheeses, such as mild cheddar cheese, cottage cheese and cream cheese.

Babies and young children should not eat mould-ripened soft cheeses, such as brie or camembert, or ripened goats' milk cheese and soft blue-veined cheese, such as roquefort. There's a higher risk that these cheeses might carry a bacteria called listeria.

Many cheeses are made from unpasteurised milk. It's better to avoid these because of the risk of listeria.

You can check labels on cheeses to make sure they're made from pasteurised milk.

But these cheeses can be used as part of a cooked recipe as listeria is killed by cooking. Baked brie, for example, is a safer option.

Raw and lightly cooked eggs

Babies can have eggs from around 6 months.

If the eggs are hens' eggs and they have a red lion stamped on them, or you see a red lion with the words "British Lion Quality" on the box, it's fine for your baby to have them raw (for example, in homemade mayonnaise) or lightly cooked.

Hens' eggs that do not have the red lion mark should be cooked until both the white and yolk are solid. So should duck, goose or quail eggs.

Avoid raw eggs, including uncooked cake mixture, homemade ice creams, homemade mayonnaise, or desserts that contain uncooked egg that you cannot confirm are red lion stamped.

Rice drinks

Children under 5 years old should not have rice drinks as a substitute for breast milk or infant formula (or cows' milk after 1 year old) as they may contain too much arsenic.

Arsenic is found naturally in the environment and can find its way into our food and water.

Rice tends to take up more arsenic than other grains, but this does not mean that you or your baby cannot eat rice.

In the UK, there are maximum levels of inorganic arsenic allowed in rice and rice products, and even stricter levels are set for foods intended for young children.

Do not worry if your child has already had rice drinks. There's no immediate risk to them, but it's best to switch to a different kind of milk.

Raw jelly cubes

Raw jelly cubes can be a choking hazard for babies and young children.

If you're making jelly from raw jelly cubes, make sure you always follow the manufacturers' instructions.

Raw shellfish

Raw or lightly cooked shellfish, such as mussels, clams and oysters, can increase the risk of food poisoning, so it's best not to give it to babies.

Shark, swordfish and marlin

Do not give your baby shark, swordfish or marlin. The amount of mercury in these fish can affect the development of a baby's nervous system.

Further information

For more information and advice about babies and food, see:

food allergies in babies and young children
your baby's first solid foods
baby and toddler meal ideas

Cottage Cheese for Baby | Feeding Your Baby Cheese and Cottage Cheese Recipes | What Age to Feed Cheese to Baby

Image: Shutterstock

When can baby eat cheese and what kinds of cheese should you offer to baby?

As mentioned in the Dairy FAQ page, cheeses are typically offered to the non-allergic baby between 8 and 10 months of age. If your baby has a known or suspected dairy issue (either a milk protein or lactose intolerance) then you should wait to introduce cheese and other dairy when your infant is older. As always, you should consult baby’s pediatrician about introducing cheese to your baby as generalities may not apply.

Cheese is very good for baby and provides calcium, “good” fats and protein too. You can introduce cheese to your baby by offering the lighter tasting cheeses (Colby, Jack, Mild Cheddar) and also by offering her cottage cheese. Cottage cheese can be a really fun and tasty finger food for babies.

If baby cannot mash/grasp, melt cheeses over vegetables or add to veggie/meat purees. If baby can mash/grasp and has had Baby Finger Foods, cut cheeses into small bits and offer to baby as a snack.

Cheeses may also be offered to your little one via the old classic grilled cheese sandwich or mac-n-cheese – again, this will be dependent on how baby is with mashing/grasping other foods.

What about Soft Cheeses for Feeding My Baby, Are they Safe?

Cheeses such as Brie, Feta, Camembert, Roquefort, and Bleu Cheese are amongst those called “soft” cheeses. These cheeses are typically not cultured and in many countries, are not made from pasteurized milk; they are made from raw milk. Cream Cheese is not considered a “soft” cheese that you need to avoid because it is pasteurized.

Products made from raw milk may carry a bacteria called listeria. The incidence of listeria in the United States is very low as the vast majority of dairy products sold in the US are either pasteurized or cultured. The “safest” types of cheeses are Cottage cheese, ricotta, cream cheese, processed cheeses and hard cheeses like cheddar and parmesan. As mentioned, cultured dairy products like yogurt are generally considered to be safe for both a baby and a pregnant woman. Check the labels on the cheese products you buy and ensure they are either cultured or made from pasteurized milk products.

How can I feed my baby cottage cheese; do you have any “recipes” for giving baby cottage cheese?

Cottage cheese is a good choice for dairy if your baby has been OK with yogurt and/or other cheese. The one thing about cottage cheese that you might be mindful of is the texture. For babies just starting out on dairy, cottage cheese might not be a good choice as a first starter due to it not being as highly cultured as yogurt. For those infants who do not have a lot of experience with textures and lumpy foods, cottage cheese may not be a good starter for dairy is due to the texture.

You can puree cottage cheese and mix it with fruits and even veggies if you like. If your baby is doing well with texture and dairy such as yogurt, cottage cheese is one of those foods that makes a nice finger food (albeit a very messy one).

Ideas & Types of Cheese for Feeding to Your Baby

Types of Cheeses: Colby, Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Parmesan, Romano, Cottage Cheese.

Always buy Cheese from a Deli and ensure you buy full cheese and not a “Cheese food product” such as Velveeta or those packaged cheese slices. While there is nothing terribly wrong with these cheeses, we prefer our babies to have only natural real cheese without any artificial colors or fillers.

Colby, Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Parmesan, Romano

Shred it and offer is as finger food – it’s cheaper to buy a block and then shred it yourself but you can buy the pre-shredded cheese
Melt it over baby’s veggies
Melt it over some toast points, pita bread or any whole grain bread
Stir it into baby’s rice and noodle dishes
Add cheese to J&J’s Baby Meatballs
Scramble egg yolks with shredded cheese for extra nutrition and added Yum.
Grate some cheese over your baby’s meal to entice him to eat
Cheese mixed and baked into pancakes (most particularly Buckwheat pancakes) is very yummy. Add a veggie to the mix for an extra yummy nutritious Cheesy & Veggie Cake “meal” or snack.

Cottage Cheese “Recipe” Ideas

Mix cottage cheese with your baby’s favorite fruit purée or fruit dices – we still love peachy cottage cheese.
Spread cottage cheese and fruit purée over toast, a bagel or bread
Mash cottage cheese and avocado for a healthy “meal” or snack
Cottage Cheese is yummy when mixed with noodles and some grated cheese for a “quick” Faux lasagna.
Serve cottage cheese with a pinch of pepper and garlic or a pinch of onion powder and pepper
Chop some (cooked) veggies and mix with cottage cheese – offer mixed with rice or noodles if you desire
Blend cottage cheese with lentils and beans

Remember, always consult with your pediatrician regarding introducing solid foods to your baby and specifically discuss any foods that may pose allergy risks for your baby.

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At what age can a child be given cottage cheese and other fermented milk products

Pro nutrition

Photo: letterberry/Getty Images/iStockphoto

pediatrician-nutritionist

Curd. His baby can try first, at 5-6 months. Children's cottage cheese is rich in protein, minerals and has a different degree of fat content: from 4.5 to 10% (you can start with any). After 7-10 days, when the baby gets used to the new treat, let him try the fruit curd.

Introduce cottage cheese to your little one carefully: start with 1/2 teaspoon and after a month get to a portion of 30–40 g. Then increase it week by week, so that by 9 months it will be 50 g.

products improve the composition of beneficial intestinal microflora, relieve difficulties in its work, protect babies from infections, help digest protein and carbohydrates, and rarely cause allergies. And kefir is also considered a source of protein, mineral salts (calcium, phosphorus) and B vitamins. It is prepared from natural cow's milk using starter cultures that contain kefir fungi.

Despite the advantages of fermented milk products, they should not be given to very young children. This is fraught with a serious burden on the kidneys due to the large amount of protein, and it will not be easy for a child under 8 months to digest “sour foods”. You also need to be careful when trying kefir: start with 20–30 ml at 8 months and after 3 weeks increase the volume to 100–150 ml per feeding.

Children's yoghurts differ from kefir and from each other by the starter cultures on the basis of which they are prepared. That is why it is useful to combine different brands of yogurt. The baby will be able to try yogurt at 8-9months, starting with a serving of 150-200 ml per day. To calculate its volume for the future, keep in mind that by 10-12 months the child is entitled to 400-450 ml of fermented milk products per day - no more.

Babies should not drink pure cow's milk , and nutritionists have good reasons for this ban.

Cow's milk is a familiar but controversial product. Usually, children under one year old are not allowed to drink it just like that, but, diluted with water, they are used to make porridge. You may ask why the attitude of specialists towards milk has changed? The fact is that cow's milk protein often causes allergies in children; in addition, this product heavily burdens the kidneys and is difficult to digest in the intestines. That is why now nutritionists advise mothers to introduce babies to him later and very carefully.

More useful materials about proper nutrition for babies - in our channel on Yandex.Zen.

Lyubov Prishlaya

Cottage cheese for children up to a year: from what age, how much and what to give Fetisova Tatyana Gennadievna

pediatrician, neonatologist

Cottage cheese in infant nutrition is always a hot topic on parenting forums. You are not alone if you do not know at what age you can give cottage cheese to a child, which cottage cheese to choose for the first complementary foods, or how much cottage cheese a baby can eat at 6, 8, 9months. We figure out what's what, in order to avoid unnecessary worries when feeding children.

Useful properties of cottage cheese for a child up to a year

In order for the baby to grow up mobile, sit down and stand up confidently, keep his back straight, have strong bones and teeth, and be calm, it is worth including cottage cheese in his diet. It is rich in easily digestible protein, calcium, phosphorus, B vitamins that support the development of musculoskeletal tissue and the nervous system.

At what age is cottage cheese introduced to children?

When it is possible to give cottage cheese to a baby - a question that can confuse any parent. According to the recommendations of pediatricians and pediatric nutritionists, a healthy child, regardless of the type of feeding, is recommended to introduce cottage cheese no earlier than 8 months . By this time, the main types of complementary foods have already been introduced - cereals, vegetables, meat, fruits. Children's gastrointestinal tract at this age is sufficiently developed to digest and assimilate the first semi-solid food and is ready to accept sour-milk complementary foods.

Of course, each baby develops differently, and not all children try cottage cheese at the age of eight months. This period can be shifted to 6 months, but not earlier and on the advice of your pediatrician.

Tolerability and nutritional efficacy in infants life of fruit and milk purees with goat curd was studied in clinical studies, the results of which confirmed the ability to include them in the diet from 6 months. All children from appetite ate mashed potatoes with goat curd, their introduction is not caused an allergic reaction and had a positive effect on digestion.

Please note: there is no need to try to feed your baby with cottage cheese, displacing breast or artificial feeding. The main milk supply for up to a year remains breast milk or milk formula - it is necessary that the child continues to drink them in sufficient quantities.

How to understand that the baby tolerates cottage cheese well?

Changes in diet may be accompanied by a temporary change in the color and consistency of the stool. And that's okay. Don't panic if your baby is doing well. After a few days, his body will learn to digest a new product. However, it is important not to lose control of possible adverse reactions.

It could be like this: they ate cottage cheese - their cheeks turned red. Like any other milk product, cottage cheese contains a high concentration of milk proteins. Although they are already partially processed and easier to tolerate, it is possible to be allergic to them - and this manifests itself individually.

INTRODUCTION SHOULD BE STOP AND REFER TO TO THE DOCTOR IF THE CHILD HAS:

rash on the face, on the body;
regurgitation similar to vomiting;
abdominal pain;
loose stool or constipation;
hard belly "drum";
increased gas formation;
inclusions of mucus, blood in the stool.

If you are allergic to cow's milk proteins, doctors do not recommend milk supplements. If the child does not have manifestations of allergies, you can give baby food based on goat milk, including goat cheese for children.

Be careful also with intolerance to cottage cheese. Its basis is cow or goat milk, which contains lactose (it is also found in breast milk). If a child has congenital lactase deficiency, in which there is not enough lactase enzyme to digest lactose, he will not be able to consume dairy products.

If a nursing mother uses dairy products in her diet and the child is calm at the same time, he has clean skin and good digestion or baby eats and assimilates well infant formula and milk porridge, then you do not need to give up cottage cheese in food. But it is important to introduce it little by little and follow for children's reactions.

If the child does not react with restless behavior, skin or gastrointestinal problems to dairy products in the diet of a nursing mother, eats well the mixture, milk porridge, then there is no need to give up cottage cheese in complementary foods. But it is important to introduce it little by little and monitor the child's reaction.

How to introduce cottage cheese into complementary foods for a child?

Proper nutrition helps to set up the digestive tract without failures and without stress on the stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas. In order for a sensitive children's body to better adapt to new food, you should follow simple rules.

Cottage cheese is administered to a healthy child who is already fully accustomed to complementary foods and tolerates baby cereals and purees well. A new product is not given during the period of vaccination, teething.
The portion is increased gradually so as not to cause diathesis, indigestion, and not to frighten the baby. Starting with ¼-½ teaspoon, every day, slightly increase the volume, taking into account the interests of the child, noting his reaction to the introduction of cottage cheese. The volume in two weeks is brought to the age norm.
It is better to offer cottage cheese in the morning before applying to the breast or bottle. A hungry baby, even the most picky one, will agree to have a bite to eat with something new. There will also be time to observe children's sleep, skin and stool, which actually reflect food tolerance.
It is important to ensure that the product is at room temperature.

Toddlers actively show interest in unfamiliar dishes, studying their taste, texture, smell. But this does not mean at all that the child will eat everything that the mother offers with great pleasure. For him, his own food preferences are the main thing, including in sour-milk complementary foods. If the crumbs liked the cottage cheese, then it can be given every day in an amount not exceeding the daily allowance.

Daily norms of cottage cheese for children up to a year by months

If a child does not eat cottage cheese, it is not necessary to force him. It is better to postpone acquaintance with the product for a while and try again after a break. When introducing new complementary foods, of course, you need to be persistent, but this must be done gently, affectionately. It can take at least 7-10 days for the taste, color and texture of an unfamiliar dish to be adopted.

If the baby has eaten a spoon and refuses to eat at the next feeding, then you can try to give cottage cheese in a different form, combine it with your baby's favorite foods to create different tastes. For example, cottage cheese with apple or pear puree is a great combination that will appeal to many children. You can mix cottage cheese with vegetable puree, but you should not offer cottage cheese and meat at the same time - calcium and iron interfere with the absorption of each other. Nuts, candied fruits, raisins, pieces of fruit, root crops should not be added to the first children's cottage cheese: the baby does not know how to chew and swallow them, they can get into the respiratory tract.

What cottage cheese to give to a baby?

Proper complementary foods with cottage cheese meet the following criteria:

its introduction into the diet is agreed with the pediatrician;
is an additional source of calories, milk protein, minerals;
its fat content is 3-5%;
puree-like consistency;
it is not sour, not sweet, not salty;
does not contain sugar, salt, thickeners, flavors;
he likes the child, eaten with appetite.

Ripe fruits can give natural sweetness to cottage cheese. Honey is a strong allergen, up to a year it is worth offering it to a child.

During the first three years of a child's life, it is recommended use cottage cheese for industrial baby food production.

A mother can feed her child with cottage cheese, prepared by herself, and those sold in the store. Each product has its pros and cons.

When can a child be given regular cottage cheese? It is better to postpone its introduction until the transition from complementary foods to the general table. It is right to start fermented milk complementary foods with industrial-made cottage cheese, designed specifically for baby food. So the mother will spend less time in the kitchen, and the baby will receive a product balanced in nutrients and pleasant in texture.

Cottage cheese is a useful product with high nutritional value, which must be present in the diet of a baby in the second half of life. But it is important to use a product suitable for the baby. Ready-made children's cottage cheese is varied in taste. And this makes it easier to accustom the child to solid food, allows you to maintain interest in food, expand the diet. In addition to the traditional cow's milk curd, you can try fruit purees with goat's curd for babies from 6 months from the MAMAKO 9 assortment0169® . Soft creamy goat curd and healthy children and toddlers who have digestive problems. Try it and see for yourself - even little kids will love it!

* Breast milk is the best food for babies. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child's life and continued breastfeeding after complementary foods are introduced until the age of 2 years. Before introducing new products into the baby's diet, you should consult with a specialist. The material is for informational purposes and cannot replace the advice of a healthcare professional. For feeding children from birth.