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WHAT IS WEANING?
To wean – literally means ‘to take away from – here, is our discussion to state WEANING means starting complementary feeds while continuing to breast feed.
WHY WEAN?
Breast mild alone is not enough to meet nutritional needs after 6 months age. As growth tends to fast though body weight is approx 1/20 of an adult, energy requirement is ¼th and protein requirements is 1/5th of an adult.
WHEN TO WEAN?
As per WHO guidelines, weaning is best started after 6 months of age. Early introduction of weaning foods may interfere with Breast feeding.
WHICH ONE? COMMERCIAL Vs HOME BASED
- Commercially available weaning foods have lots of disadvantaged like:
- They are expensive
- They contain excessive sugar/salt
- Their protein content for excess of infants requirements (about 3 times)
- Over dilution and contamination.
Method: Roast sago – add sago ½ cup of boiling water and cook. Prepare a batter of Bengal gram powder in ½ cup of water, pour it into cooked sago, stirring coninously. Cook for 10 minutes. Add jaggery and cook for another 5 minutes. Method: Roast wheat dalia and add to boiling water containing 2 bar leaves and cook until it is soft. Then add sugar and boiled Milk. Method: Boil jagger solution. Mix ragi and Bengal gram flour and make a batter with hot water. Pour the batter slowly in to the jagger solution, stirring continuously. Boil for 10-15minutes. Method: Clean and dehusk bajra. Roast and powder bajra, green gram dal, ground and till seeds. Mix all the powders together with skimmed milk powder , store in an airtight container. Whenever required, mix the powder with boiling water or mil to desired thickness and add salt or sugar to taste. Method: Cook rise and dal together and wash. Boil spinach, mash and strain. Add this spinach puree, salt and heated oil to the rice dal mixture, stir and serve. Method: Boil Mild and add suji. Soak on slow fire till semi solid consistency. Add Sugar. Method: Boil and mash rice and green gram dal. Boil, mash and strain the spinach. Add this spinach, powdered Bengal gram dal and salt to the rice + dal mixture and cook for a few minutes. Season with oil. Method: Clean and wash rice and lentil separately and cut vegetables into small sizes. To boiling water add a piece of onion, ginger, bayleaf cardamom and rice and cook until half cooked. Then add lentil and vegetables and cook until soft. Season with oil and salt. This can be made with out vegetable also. Method: Roast rice and dal and grind into granules. Cook green gram dal with ¼ cup water and mash. To hot oil add mustard, onion and fry then add water and salt. Add the rice granules and the vegetables to the water and stir. Cook for 10 minutes and add green gram dal paste. Drumstick leaves may also be used instead of vegetables. Method: Brown onions in oil and ad cumin and mustard seeds. Add vegegables and cook till tender adding minimum quantity of water. Finally add rice, cook for 2/3 minutes. Method: Clean rice and wash rice, Boil milk, add rice cook till semi-solid, add sugar. Method: Clean rice and wash rice. Add rice to water and cook till soft, add salt to taste. Method: Roast wheat atta in oil/ghee on low heat till light brown colour. Add Jaggery or sugar to it and mix well. Variations: a. Add boiled mild to make porridge like b.Honey or salt also can be used instead of jaggery or sugar. c.Add steamed apple or fruit juices or vegetable puree with salt is added. Groundnut 25gms Jaggery 25gms Gingelly seeds half of groundnut Method: Roast groundnut and gingelly seeds. Pound them with jaggery, make small balls with mixture. Method: Mix cholam flour, Bengal gram flour, coconut scrapings and alt together. Sprinkle tow spoons of water, then mix, and steam for 15 minutes. Mix jaggery powder and serve. Method: Dissolve jaggery in water. Add bengal gram flour, ragi flour and coconut scraping – to jaggery water to make a thick dough. Prepare the adai on a greased iron pan (tawa). Method: Soak Bengal gram dal, black gram dal and rice separately for a few hours. Grind them separately and mix. Add curd and salt and ferment the mixture overnight. Add amarnath leaves, season with oil and mustard seeds, and pour the butter into idly moulds or greased plate and steam. Method: Roast and powder rice and red gram dal. Mix the two and make a batter with cold water. Boil, mash and strain spinach. Mix the batter and spinach puree with jaggery syrup and cook for a few minutes. Method: Chop, boil and mash leafy vegetables. Mix the mashed vegetable and Bengal gram flour with the atta and make a dough prepare the chapattis. Method: Clean and wash rice and lentil separately and cut vegetables small. To boiling water, add a piece of onion, ginger, bayleaf, cardamom, and rice, and cook until half cooked. Then add lentil and vegetables and cook until soft. Season with oil and salt. This can be made without vegetables also.
