Vegetables can be the best foods that you can introduce to your baby as your baby is transitioning from liquid diet to semi solid foods. Vegetables are part of a healthy diet that you can offer to your babies. Most of the vegetables that we elders eat are safe for your babies as well and apart from being safe, each vegetable offers a combination of essential nutrients including vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, essential fats and protein.
But, is there a list of sure shot vegetables that are vital for overall development of babies? This is a question that comes to mind of every parent. Well, here is a list of vegetables that are very essential for your baby.
Some of those vegetables include carrots, beets, zucchini, opo squash, potatoes, broccoli, pumpkin, tomato and asparagus.
Let’s look at these vegetables and some of their benefits.
Carrots: Carrots are considered to be the best vegetable and the first vegetable to introduce to your baby. Carrots are a good source of essential vitamins and minerals including vitamin A which is crucial for the development of eye sight. It is easy to digest, has high dietary fiber content. Apart from the benefits, carrot is least allergic of vegetables. The right time to introduce carrot to your baby is at 6 months of age or when your baby is ready to eat semi-solid or solid foods.
Beets: Beet, a root vegetable just like carrot, offers numerous health benefits for your baby. Some of them are increase in blood supply, improved digestion, liver protection and increased brain development. The right age to give beets to your baby is between 6-8 months of age. But, make sure that you cook beets thoroughly. Beets can contain nitrates which can be difficult for your baby to digest.
Zucchini: Zucchini is a summer squash vegetable. It’s an easy to digest vegetable which is mostly filled with water, essential nutrients and dietary fiber. Some of its benefits include strengthening the immune system, easy to digest, promotes digestion, removes weaknesses with phosphorous supply.
Opo Squash: Opo squash or bottle gourd is another vegetable that is ideal for babies. It provides several benefits such as cure for acidity, has high amount of dietary fiber, is good for liver, has anthelmintic properties and cures urinary disorders.
Potatoes: Potatoes is another vegetable that is suitable for your baby. As it is, potato is a very popular vegetable on the planet. It can be found in almost all the places on earth and almost everybody knows about potato. Potato is good source of energy, it is good for gastrointestinal health, it protects liver and it has antiviral properties. The best age to introduce potato is in the 6th month itself.
Broccoli: Another vegetable that is good for your baby is broccoli. Broccoli, a vegetable from cabbage family provides benefits to your baby such as cure for anemia, cure for diarrhea, remedy for gastric ulcers, high dietary fiber and supply of antioxidants. The right age to introduce broccoli is after 8 months of age. There are few risks associated with broccoli. Though they are not very big risks, yet it is better to know them. Broccoli can cause flatulence and it can be difficult for your baby to digest it.
Pumpkin: Pumpkin reminds us all of the Jack O’ lanterns of Halloween and these can be scary enough for toddlers. Fears apart, pumpkin is a great vegetable with many benefits such as improved immune system, supplies essential vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, C, E, K, calcium, magnesium, etc, it has antimicrobial and anthelmintic properties. Pumpkin can be introduced to your baby once he or she is over 6 months old.
Tomato: Tomato is a fruit which is often treated as a vegetable. This tangy and sweet flavored tomato provides benefits for your babies such as supply of vitamin A, is a good source of antioxidants, strengthens the immune system, remedy for acidosis and is good for bone strengthening as well. Tomato can be introduced to your baby during 8-10 months of age.
Asparagus: Asparagus is another nutritious vegetable for your baby. Asparagus provides benefits such as liver protection, strengthens the immune system and it supplies essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The right age to introduce asparagus to your baby is 10 months of age.
By introducing the above mentioned vegetables and other vegetables, you can guarantee a great start for your baby’s health and overall development in the coming years.
