Cauliflower puree for children - general principles and methods of preparation
Cauliflower is loved by many, due to its soft and delicate taste, ease of preparation and low calorie content, which is combined with high nutritional value. Cauliflower contains various vitamins and valuable trace elements, while it is absorbed by our body more easily (compared to white cabbage) and does not cause the formation of gases in the intestines. That is why cauliflower occupies such an important place in baby food.
Dishes from this vegetable are often given to children up to a year as the first complementary foods, as they are useful for the children's digestive tract, and especially if the baby is tormented by constipation. Cauliflower is rich in easily digestible proteins, which contain a large amount of amino acids, proteins, mineral salts and carbohydrates, as well as vitamin C, PP and A vitamins and B vitamins.
At the same time preparing dishes from cauliflower very easily and quickly. In baby food the most common mashed potatoes and soups, mashed potatoes, for the preparation of which use cauliflower.
Cauliflower puree for children - food preparation
The preparation of this dish begins with the selection of cauliflower. Vegetable must be of high quality and fresh, as can be seen by carefully examining its appearance. Fresh cabbage is distinguished by elastic inflorescences of pure white color, which do not have blackening and other defects, with bright green outer leaves, also dense. For making mashed potatoes for a child, it is best to take cabbage, which has tightly pressed inflorescences to each other. Cabbage with dark spots on the inflorescences and withered leaves should not be taken, as, most likely, it is not fresh, which means it will not bring any benefit.
It happens that there is no possibility to buy fresh cauliflower, but there are frozen ones on sale. To buy it or not for cooking a kid’s food is up to you, however, remember that when you freeze a lot of vitamins and microelements are lost. Therefore, for baby food it is better to choose only fresh products, including vegetables.
Cauliflower puree for children - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Cauliflower puree for the first meal
Such a puree can begin to give the child, starting at 7 months of age, first 1 teaspoon per day, with a gradual daily increase in servings by 0.5 teaspoon.
Ingredients:
50 gr. cauliflower inflorescences.
Method of preparation:
1. Boil the cauliflower inflorescences in a small saucepan for a few minutes (do not add salt). Then, taking the cabbage out of the water, whip it with a blender, in the process of whipping, adding vegetable broth, in which the vegetable is cooked.
2. When the mashed potatoes become homogeneous, it can be used for feeding. When cooking it, one should not regret vegetable broth, as a product with a sufficiently liquid consistency will be more familiar and suitable for a baby to explore adult food.
Recipe 2: Cauliflower and Carrot Puree
This mashed potatoes can be prepared for kids who have mastered vegetable dishes made from one vegetable. It has a richer taste and high nutritional value, due to the addition of vegetable oil.
Ingredients:
50 gr. cauliflower;
25 gr. carrots;
1 tsp. rast. oils.
Method of preparation:
1. Carefully wash the carrots, peel it and cut into pieces.
2. After washing the cauliflower, disassemble into inflorescences.
3. Put vegetables in boiling water and cook for about 15 minutes.
4. Grind cauliflower and carrots into mashed potatoes using a blender.
5. Puree seasoned with vegetable oil.
Recipe 3: Cauliflower puree with cream
The older the baby becomes, the more it becomes the products that are included in its diet, and the more it becomes interested in new tastes and new dishes. Offer him a light cauliflower puree, seasoned with cream as a side dish for fish, and maybe it will be one of his favorite dishes.
Ingredients:
200 gr. cauliflower;
100 ml of cream;
0.5 tsp. lemon juice.
to taste the salt.
Method of preparation:
1. Boil cabbage inflorescences in a small amount of salted water until half cooked. Drain the water, add cream to it and simmer together for about 10 minutes.
2. After that, adding to the resulting mass of lemon juice and salt, grind all the blender until smooth. Serve on the table, decorated with chopped greens.
Recipe 4: Cauliflower Soup
Unusually delicious cream soup, which can be used as a first course. It will appeal to both children and adults. To such soup is very good to serve croutons of white bread or crispy baguette.
Ingredients:
500 gr. cauliflower;
0.5 cup of cream;
3 tbsp. l butter;
yolks of 2 raw eggs;
50 gr. flour;
2 tbsp. l olive oil;
to taste the salt.
Method of preparation:
1. Finely chopped carrots and onions, fry them lightly in olive oil.
2. Having disassembled into the inflorescences of the average cauliflower head, we set aside 5-7 smallest ones. Then, boiling in a saucepan of 1 l of water, add the roasted vegetables with chopped parsley root, bay leaf and cabbage buds. Cook until cabbage is soft.
3. After transferring the finished cabbage into a separate pan, grind it to a state of uniform mashed potatoes.
4. Warming up the olive oil in the pan, add the flour, lightly fry, add a little hot broth to make a creamy consistency, and mix the contents of the pan with the cabbage puree. Strain the remaining decoction and add it to the resulting puree, send small inflorescences to the same, salt to taste and cook the puree soup for about 15 minutes.
5. Pound the egg yolks with cream and butter, and add the mixture at the end of cooking in the soup. After warming it up for a few minutes, remove it from the heat (no need to bring it to a boil).
Cauliflower puree for children - useful tips from experienced chefs
If you are preparing cauliflower puree for the first feeding of a baby, you do not need to salt it, thinking that the child may not like its fresh taste. The fact is that the taste sensations of infants are very different from the taste sensations of adults. For the baby, it will be just the first acquaintance with adult food and with new taste sensations. It is important to pay very serious attention to the preparation of such dishes, since, having taught your child to eat vegetable dishes from the very beginning, you will not face the problem of organizing his rational nutrition at an older age.
