Spinach is a one- and two-year herbaceous plant up to 50 cm high, resembling sorrel, growing on all continents. It was first cultivated in Persia. “The General among the greenery” - this is how he was called in the Arab world, where the plant was very popular, treatises were dedicated to him. A vegetable was brought to Europe in the 13th century, it was served on the table at the royal court in France, and from the 18th century. began to use the Russian monarchs. Spinach with croutons was a dish of aristocrats, and only at the end of the 19th century. it became accessible to the middle class.

This attitude towards spinach is quite justified - it is one of the ten most useful vegetables. In terms of the amount of vegetable protein, for example, spinach is in second place after green peas.

Spinach is very popular in American and European cuisine, where it is included not only in salads, but also in soups, vegetable and meat dishes, and even smoothies (thick fruit drinks with milk). In Russia, not everyone knows about the beneficial properties of the plant, about the possibility of including it in a child's diet, about dishes that can be prepared from spinach for children.

The following nutrients are found in 100 g of fresh spinach:

• 2.9 g proteins;
• 3.6 g carbohydrates;
• 0.4 g fat;
• 1.3 g of dietary fiber;
• 0.4 g of ash;
• 91.4 g of water.

The nutritional value of 100 g of vegetable is 23 kcal. The bulk of carbohydrates are simple sugars; dextrins and starch are only 0.1 g / 100 g of greens. Proteins contain 10 essential and 8 non-essential amino acids.

Spinach includes a generous supply of vitamins: , PP, K, niacin, biotin, most of the vitamins from (B2, B4, B1, B3, B6, B9, B5), beta-carotene.

The set of minerals in the green leaves of the plant is quite wide.

• sodium;
• phosphorus;
• potassium.

Trace elements found in the vegetable:

• copper;
• selenium;
• manganese.

The vegetable is rich in calcium and iron, but oxalates and phytic acid, which are found in spinach, interfere with their absorption. And oxalates, by the way, are more in it than in other vegetables. Therefore, no more than 5% of the calcium contained in greens is absorbed in the body. The bioavailability of calcium in spinach is the lowest among all vegetables.

Benefit

Spinach has many health benefits. That is why it is used in many cuisines of the world.

This modest plant combines a maximum of useful properties, so spinach occupies a worthy place in many cuisines of the world. Already at the beginning of the growing season, bright green leaves appear, ready for use.

The most important health benefits of spinach:

1. Phytonutrients with antioxidant properties (ascorbic acid, lutein, vitamin E) contribute to the removal of toxic substances and toxins from the body. This improves the condition of the skin and mucous membranes, helps in the treatment, promotes wound healing, and prevents the development of malignant diseases. Spinach is included in the diet.
2. An almost complete set of B vitamins plays an important role in ensuring the functions of the nervous system, activating metabolic processes, and the proper development of vital organs. The vegetable is useful in stressful situations and increased mental stress of schoolchildren.
3. Spinach can be considered one of the main sources of vitamin B9 (folic acid), which, together with minerals, is important for the synthesis of blood cells and prevention in a child.
4. In 100 g of vegetable leaves, the iron content (important for the prevention and treatment of anemia) is equal to ¼ of the daily requirement for it.
5. In terms of the amount of carotene contained, spinach is second only to. This vitamin is important for normal vision in children. The carotenoid zeaxanthin, which is rarely found in other products, also has a positive effect on vision.
6. The unique composition of the vegetable helps to strengthen the skeleton, teeth, prevent rickets in children, osteoporosis (increased bone fragility due to poor mineralization).
7. Manganese and phosphorus are involved in metabolic processes in the brain, help to increase the intellectual abilities of the child.
8. Spinach vitamins and minerals increase the activity of the immune system in children, help to recover from infections faster.
9. Having a positive effect on digestion and a mild laxative effect, spinach helps to get rid of, creates favorable conditions for the development of a healthy intestine. Thanks to the stimulation of the secretion of the salivary glands, the pancreas, spinach is easily digested.
10. Due to the low calorie content, a healthy vegetable can be consumed by children with.
11. Vitamin PP and ascorbic acid strengthen the vascular wall, prevent increased bleeding.

Possible harm and contraindications

For the safety of eating spinach, the quality and freshness of the product are important, since when it is stored for more than 2 days, toxic substances accumulate in the leaves.

The most useful is a freshly prepared dish, it is not recommended to use it after heating.

Spinach contains oxalic acid, which, when combined with calcium, creates oxalates, compounds that can form kidney stones that prevent the flow of urine. Therefore, spinach is contraindicated in children with diseases of the urinary system.

The use of spinach is also contraindicated in such diseases:

• violation of the water-salt balance in the body;
• rheumatism;
• liver disease.

Because of its high protein content, spinach can cause an allergic reaction. Among its manifestations, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loose stools come to the fore; there may be skin rashes.

Therefore, without consulting an allergist, spinach should not be introduced into the diet of a child whose close relatives have this vegetable.

How to choose and store

It is very important to choose a quality plant. Spinach leaves should be bright green, fresh and not limp, without damage or signs of decay. You should not buy yellowed and faded sheets, with spots.

The best choice would be young leaves up to 5 cm long, since they contain less oxalic acid.

If spinach grows in its own garden, then the leaves should be harvested in the afternoon. This is due to the fact that during the day the content of vitamin C in the leaves changes: if in the morning it is 85 mg, then at noon it is 110 mg / 100 g.

It is recommended to store spinach in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, placing it in a plastic bag or a damp cloth. Spinach should not be placed next to apples or bananas, as this will hasten the onset of rotting greens. The shelf life of spinach in the refrigerator should not exceed 2 days.

Leaves can be frozen for long term storage. For this you should:

• rinse the greens thoroughly with running water;
• dry on a paper towel;
• divide into portions (for one use);
• place them in plastic bags in the freezer.

Spinach can be stored this way for up to 3 months, but without re-freezing.

When and how to introduce into the baby's diet

At 8 months, crumbs can be offered mashed potatoes from thermally processed spinach.

The opinions of foreign and Russian experts on the age for introducing spinach into infant nutrition differ:

• Foreign manufacturers produce various options for dishes for children containing spinach, recommending their use from 4-6 months. The German company Humana produces "Potatoes and Spinach", the company HiPP produces "Spinach with Creamed Potatoes", offering them for babies after 4 months.
• Russian experts believe that it is better to give these greens to children after 8 months, when the child has already consumed other leafy vegetables. Moreover, the introduction should begin with thermally processed spinach, that is, as part of vegetable puree or soup.

You can use the ready-made food for children of the American company Gerber "Rabbit Stew with Spinach" or the Slovenian company Organicstar, which produces Spinach, Rice. These ready meals are recommended for babies from 8 months.

For the first sample, 1 tsp is enough. finished product. After that, the mother should monitor the baby's reaction to the new vegetable. In the absence of adverse events, manifestations of allergies, the dose is gradually increased to 50 g. It is recommended to give a dish with spinach twice a week, not more often.

But mom can cook healthy meals for the baby at home on her own. Both fresh herbs and frozen ones are suitable for this:

• Fresh, without yellowed and faded leaves, greens should be washed (and not soaked) with running water, remove thick stems and dry on a paper towel.
• Spinach is added at the very end of cooking to reduce the loss of nutrients due to temperature.
• If frozen herbs are used, then they are immediately (without defrosting) added to the dish being prepared (soup or stew) at the very end of its preparation. In this case, the loss of vitamins will be only 5%. With preliminary defrosting, the loss of nutrients will be 35%.
• When using fresh herbs, 2-3 rosettes of leaves (3-5 g) are enough for the 1st time.

Children can only be given a freshly prepared dish, since during storage, nitrate salts are formed in the product, which can have a harmful effect on health.

Spinach without thermal exposure can be given to babies after 2 years. Greens are recommended to be added to the salad in the ratio of 50 g of leaves per 200 g of lettuce.

Recipes for children's meals

Spinach can be combined with meat, vegetables. It is added to the finished dish by stewing separately in a small amount of water for 5 minutes. In the finished dish is added rubbed through a strainer.

For kids, mom can cook mashed meat or vegetables with spinach, soufflé, mashed soup. Children over 2-3 years old may like a colored (green) omelet, pie. Moms can offer children spinach leaves with different fillings - with pate from, with cheese or vegetables.

Omelet with spinach

Cooking:

• rinse and dry on a paper towel 50 g of leaves;
• heat the pan with 1 tsp. butter and add finely chopped spinach;
• add water 2 tbsp. l. and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, no more;
• beat 2 eggs well with 250 ml of milk and a pinch of salt;
• pour the resulting mixture into a frying pan and cook over low heat for 10 minutes under the lid.

Cottage cheese and cheese casserole with spinach

Cooking:

• to 250 g add flour 2 tbsp. l., 2 eggs and mix everything well to get a homogeneous mass;
• finely chop 200 g of washed and dried spinach leaves;
• cut into cubes 50 g of hard cheese;
• mix all the ingredients, salt;
• grease the baking dish with vegetable oil and put the resulting mixture into it;
• Bake on medium heat for 45 minutes.

Soufflé for a couple

The dish may be suitable for babies who still do not know how to chew food well. Cooking:

• steam in a frying pan covered with a lid on minimum heat 1 rosette of fresh herbs, adding a little water (or 1 tablespoon of frozen leaves without adding water);
• chop 100-120 g of boiled chicken fillet with a blender and add the yolk of 2 eggs, a pinch of salt and milk (30 ml) to it;
• beat the resulting mixture well;
• beat the remaining egg white until foamy, add to the meat, mix gently;
• grease the baking dish with butter;
• put the resulting mixture into the mold, filling it 2/3 of the volume;
• cover the form with oiled paper and place in a double boiler, close it with a lid and leave for half an hour;
• in the absence of a double boiler, you can take a container of water, place a soufflé mold in it and send it to the oven for 30 minutes at 180 ° C;
• after cooling, the soufflé is carefully removed from the mold.

Instead of chicken for such a dish, you can use fish, cottage cheese.

Soup with spinach

Cooking:

• rinse with running water 100 g of chicken fillet;
• put the meat in a saucepan, pour 300 ml of water and boil the broth;
• rinse and dry 100 g of spinach leaves, boil them for 5 minutes in a saucepan, drain;
• rub the spinach through a strainer;
• add milk (200 ml), butter (2 tablespoons) to the finished broth;
• in a small amount of water, dilute 2 tbsp. l. flour and pour the mixture into the broth;
• bring the soup to a boil again and thicken;
• add grated spinach, salt, remove from heat after boiling;
• when serving on a plate, you can add grated hard cheese, parsley and dill, croutons made from bread.

Summary for parents

The unique composition of spinach causes a versatile positive effect of the vegetable on the body. It is no coincidence that the presence of this vegetable on the table of monarchs and aristocrats was mandatory.

Spinach should be introduced into baby food as early as the first year of life. The minerals and vitamins contained in this greenery will help the organs and systems of the child's body to form and function correctly.

On the other hand, spinach cannot be treated as a harmless plant. There are contraindications for its use, they must be reckoned with. Only with the correct introduction into the diet and following the rules of cooking, spinach will benefit the health of the child.

Light, tasty and very healthy soup with spinach for children diversifies the child's menu. Take note of the recipe. The soup is prepared quite quickly and simply. The finished soup has a bright, attractive color that will attract the attention of the child.

Spinach is very healthy for children. It contains iron, iodine, calcium, potassium and magnesium. As well as a large number of vitamins, especially A, C, folic acid and vitamin Dz. The use of spinach is good for the cardiovascular, nervous systems, as well as for the gastrointestinal tract.

In order for a dish with spinach to benefit the child, the following rules must be observed:

• When preparing food for children, choose young spinach leaves, which contain a minimal amount of oxalic acid.
• Remember that spinach dishes can only be given fresh to children, since during long-term storage, salts are formed in spinach that are harmful to the body.
• You can store spinach dishes only for a day, in the refrigerator.

Ingredients for 2 servings:
spinach - 70 gr.
carrots - 0.5 pcs.
onion -0.5 pcs.
potatoes - 1 pc.
water or meat broth - 400 ml.
salt - 0.25 tsp
chicken egg - 1 pc.
sour cream - 2 tbsp.

Soup with spinach for children, recipe:

Rinse the spinach leaves thoroughly under running water and pat dry. Finely chop the spinach.

Wash the carrots, peel and grate on a fine grater.

Remove skin from onion and chop finely.

Wash the potatoes, peel them with a vegetable peeler and cut them coarsely, for example into quarters.

Bring water or beef broth to a boil and season with salt.

Put potato quarters, grated carrots and finely chopped onion into the salted broth. Cook the soup until the potatoes are cooked under the lid over medium heat for 12-15 minutes.

06

While the soup is cooking, prepare the egg for dressing the dish. Wash the egg, put in a saucepan with cold salted water. After boiling, boil the egg over low heat for 8-10 minutes. Pour the boiled egg immediately with cold water so that it can be easily peeled. After the egg has cooled, remove the shell from it. Grate the peeled egg on a fine grater.

When the potatoes are cooked in the soup, take them out into a bowl and mash them with a fork. Send the mashed potatoes back to the soup.

Then add the chopped spinach to the soup. Stir and cook covered for 5 minutes.

In our country, this herbaceous plant is not honored, everyone thinks with horror about the prospect of cooking anything from it. But in fact, with the right approach, spinach dishes can be not only very tasty and nutritious, but also useful for children and adults. Learn how to make soup, pies, and more to make the most of your family's diet in this article.

First, let's figure out if we really need spinach greens. The leaves of this plant contain protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, easily digestible fiber, a huge list of useful minerals, including iron and vitamins A, B, C, E, K, PP, which are preserved during heat treatment. In addition, it removes toxins from the body, stimulates the pancreas and improves metabolic processes.

So, spinach is not in favor, but, as you know, not everything is tasty that is healthy. Fortunately, with the right preparation, dishes from these greens will give odds to many well-known and proven recipes.

But before we get started, there are a couple of simple rules to remember:

• We always choose the youngest leaves, as they have the lowest content of oxalic acid.
• Any spinach dish for children or adults should be fresh. Long-term storage contributes to the accumulation of harmful salts, so we keep food in the refrigerator for no more than a day.

You can introduce this product into the diet of children in the form of soup from about a year and a half. Use the following recipe and, depending on what your baby is used to at this age, vary it.

Ingredients

• Spinach - 100 grams
• Small onion - 1 pc.
• Vegetable oil - 2 tsp
• Egg - 1 pc.
• Cream 10% - 1 tbsp per plate
• Water - 400 ml
• Slice of loaf for croutons

Cooking

1. Finely chop the washed spinach and send it to stew in a saucepan with the addition of water and oil.
2. We send the chopped onion to it, simmer for another 3-4 minutes, add the remaining water, salt and cook until cooked for about another 15-20 minutes.
3. While our soup is cooking, boil a hard-boiled egg, cool and knead with a fork so that there are no large pieces left.
4. Pour the chopped egg into the finished soup, bring to a boil, turn off.

Serve hot with cream or a spoonful of sour cream. You can add our usual vegetable fried or mushrooms to the soup - you will get an additional healthy dish for adults.

This spinach soup can be made with rice or small star pasta for a more hearty meal.

For children of the same age, you can cook an omelette with the addition of this greens.

For one serving, we need an egg, 2 tablespoons of cream or milk, 2 tablespoons of chopped spinach and salt.

• We let greens in the pan for a couple of minutes, and then pour, as usual, with salted egg mixture.
• We fry under the lid.

The same omelet can be made in the form of a steamed soufflé.

• To do this, lightly stew the spinach, mix it with an egg beaten with milk and pour it into a small metal bowl (you can use a mug), pre-lubricated with butter or vegetable oil.
• We put in a double boiler or in a water bath. In the latter case, it is necessary to cover the mug with oiled paper and only then close the lid so that the condensate does not spoil our omelette.

We got a 100% dietary dish.

For older children, you can cook meatloaf, which will appeal to all family members, not only in the daily menu, but also in the festive menu.

Ingredients

• Poultry meat (chicken or turkey fillet) - 4 servings.
• Chicken egg - 2 pcs.
• Young spinach - bunch
• Hard cheese - 70 - 80 g (preferably oblong).
• Greens - optional.

Cooking:

1. Cut the chilled fillet on one side, not reaching the end of about a centimeter. When unrolled, you will get a layer of meat. Cover with clingfilm, carefully beat it off so as not to tear.
2. Whip the washed spinach in a blender bowl with 50 g of water. Add eggs to the green puree, beat again, salt.
3. Pour half of the egg mixture into a hot non-stick frying pan and bake on both sides, like a regular pancake. We do the same with the rest. We should have two egg-spinach pancakes.
4. Unfold the beaten fillet again and put half of the cooled pancake on top.
5. We cut the cheese lengthwise into 4 large pieces according to the number of future rolls. We lay it transversely on one edge of the meat and twist it tightly. The resulting roll is wrapped in foil.
6. We bake all four rolls in an oven preheated to 190 degrees for half an hour.
7. We take out the finished rolls, cool and only then unfold and cut.

They can be served with a side dish, and as an independent cold appetizer on an adult table, and as a main dish for dinner for children.

Baking is also good with spinach. Consider two completely different versions of pies. We cook the first with shortcrust pastry, the second with puff pastry.

Gets a juicy, fragrant and very tasty afternoon snack or breakfast.

Ingredients

• Flour - 250 g
• Butter (from the refrigerator) - 120 g
• Chicken egg - 1 pc.
• Salt - a pinch
• Spinach fresh or frozen - 300 g
• Any cheese - 150 g
• Nuts (pine nuts or cashews) - 1/3 cup

Cooking

1. We will make dough on the table. Pour flour, salt, put chopped butter on top and continue to grind it with a knife, mixing with flour in this way. At the end, knead the dough with your hands, form a ball out of it, wrap it in a film and put it in the refrigerator for an hour and a half.
2. In the meantime, we are engaged in the filling: stew the spinach until soft with the addition of a small amount of oil, salt. Grind the nuts in a blender bowl and add most of them to the spinach, and leave the rest for decoration. Three cheese on a grater and also add half to the filling.
3. Then, we take out the dough, roll it into a cake with a thickness of no more than 5 mm and put it in a baking dish so that we get high sides. We put in an oven preheated to 180 degrees and bake for 15 minutes and take it out.
4. We spread the spinach mixture on the cooled cake, and sprinkle all the remaining nuts and cheese on top. Put in the oven and bake until the cheese is browned at the same temperature for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Thanks to cheese and nuts, the cake turns out to be hearty, spinach makes it extremely healthy and light, and all lovers of flour dough will like it!

In addition, the filling can be varied at will, adding boiled chicken meat, fish or even seafood - spinach goes well with all of the above.

Another puff pastry pie recipe is similar in filling to the previous one, only it is made even easier.

We will need:

• A pack (preferably a roll) of puff pastry,
• 300 g spinach (can be frozen)
• 3 eggs
• 250 g hard cheese.

Cooking

1. While the dough is defrosting, prepare the filling: chop the washed spinach, drive 2 eggs into it, add the grated cheese and mix well.
2. Then we unfold the dough, cut it into 4 parts and put the filling in the center of each strip.
3. We pinch the edges to make a “sausage”, there will be four of them, and in a round baking dish we lay them all out from the center to the edges, pinching the tips - we get a very beautiful radial pattern.
4. Lubricate everything with yolk and send to bake in the oven for 15 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.

Serve slightly chilled.

* Cook's advice
Avoid excess liquid in the filling - if the spinach has been frozen, thoroughly evaporate all the moisture from it so that the pie does not soak.

So, there are a lot of recipes for spinach dishes for children and adults - they are all good, as they allow us to enjoy all the facets of the taste of such a healthy product.

Technological card No. 33 - spinach soup with sour cream like in kindergarten:

The technology of cooking cabbage soup from spinach with sour cream as in kindergarten:

To prepare spinach soup with sour cream, as in kindergarten, you will need spinach (I have frozen), potatoes - 2 medium potatoes, carrots - one small, onion - half a medium head, lemon juice - 2 full tablespoons, sour cream - also 2 full tablespoons and a hard-boiled egg for serving, optional.
The recipe calls for plain water, but I used water and broth in half to make it tastier.

Throw the spinach into the pan without defrosting. Add some water (I added about 200 grams) and lemon juice, simmer for 2-3 minutes. The color of spinach, of course, will not change for the better, it will become so swampy.

After heat treatment, spinach (whole or half) is proposed to be rubbed through a sieve. But since I took frozen spinach, I already had it all crushed before freezing, so grinding was not required in my case.

Peel potatoes, carrots and onions.
Cut the onion into small cubes, regular potatoes (about a centimeter), and carrots can be grated. Throw vegetables into boiled water (1 liter).
According to the technology, it is proposed to first boil potatoes for 10 minutes, and then add onions and carrots.

After 15 minutes, add the spinach from the pan and cook the soup for another five minutes. Salt.
Kindergarten technologists suggest cooking the soup for another 15 minutes, but, to be honest, I don’t see the need for this - all the vegetables are already ready.

I put sour cream personally, for everyone on a plate, at will. These kindergarten-style spinach soup with sour cream is served with half a hard-boiled egg.
Bon appetit everyone!

After learning that spinach is very good for growing babies, mothers often wonder: “What is this vegetable”? Spinach has not gained such popularity in our country as in European or American cuisine, where the green leaves of the plant can be found in salads, soups, meat and vegetable dishes, thick fruit drinks with milk (smoothies).

It is said that an error in the description of its composition contributed to the extraordinary popularity of the plant. Denoting the iron content, the researcher incorrectly put a comma, increasing the amount of a valuable microelement at times. But even after the discovery of inaccuracies, the hype among adherents of a healthy diet has not ended. Spinach has entered the recipes of many cuisines of the world and has taken its rightful place in the composition of industrial baby food.

In central Russia, spinach is grown as an annual plant. A native of the Middle East looks like a sorrel. Rosettes of delicate bright green leaves appear at the beginning of the growing season immediately ready for use.

Spinach, without exaggeration, can be called a storehouse of vitamins important for a growing organism - A, B2, D, C, B6, K, E, PP. No less impressive composition of trace elements involved in the growth of all cells of the baby and strengthening the child's body as a whole. These are selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, zinc, copper, iodine, iron, manganese.

Greens are rich in flavonoids and antioxidants, dietary fiber and the carotenoid lutein. In terms of protein content, it is second only to legumes.

Spinach in baby food, thanks to its unique composition, contributes to:

• normalization of all types of exchange;
• prevention of rickets and the formation of strong bones and teeth;
• strengthening the body's defenses;
• anemia treatment;
• getting rid of constipation.

Antioxidants counteract the harmful effects of free radicals and prevent cancer. Dietary fiber cleanses the intestines and creates a comfortable environment for the growth of beneficial microflora. Lutein boosts immunity.

And manganese, according to the director of the Center for Health Culture, nutritionist E.V. Shchetinina, is responsible for metabolic processes in the brain and has a positive effect on intelligence.

The advantages of spinach include its low calorie content and easy digestion due to the stimulation of the salivary glands and the activity of the pancreas.

At what age do you start dating?

On the shelves of specialized departments of baby food, a wide range of purees with the addition of these greens is presented.

The German brand "Humana" recommends giving its products "Potato and Spinach" and "HiPP" "Spinach with Potatoes in Cream" to children from 4 months of age. Manufacturers Gerber (USA) Rabbit stew with spinach and Organicstar (Slovenia) Spinach, rice - for children from 8 months of age.

The availability of greens in fresh or frozen form allows you to prepare healthy mashed potatoes for your baby on their own. Such a product can be introduced into the diet of an infant from 7-8 months in the amount of 50 g.

• Fresh rosettes of greens with a uniform rich color are suitable for baby puree. Faded or yellowed leaves are of no nutritional value and must be removed.
• During heat treatment, some of the useful substances are destroyed. Therefore, the cooking time is limited to a few minutes. For the same reason, spinach is added to vegetable stews and soups at the end of cooking.
• The leaves are rich in oxalic acid. Milk or cream is added to neutralize it.
• Frozen greens do not lose their beneficial properties and do not particularly differ in taste from a fresh plant. But during heat treatment, frozen spinach should be added to dishes a few minutes earlier.
• In the diet of infants, spinach can appear no more than 2 times a week.
• It is allowed to offer the baby only a freshly prepared product. During storage, this nutritious green releases harmful nitrate salts.

From the age of 2, the child's menu can include fresh leaves of the plant, which have reached 5 cm in length. They are added to salads at the rate of 50 g per 200 g.

Appropriate combination of products

Spinach is versatile and goes well with vegetables and meat. But in its pure form, due to the lack of a pronounced taste, it is often rejected by kids.

Does not require long preparation. It is added to an almost ready dish after 5 minutes of stewing in a small amount of water, after passing through a sieve.

An obligatory component of all children's dishes with spinach is milk or cream. These products are designed to neutralize oxalic acid and eliminate, perhaps, the only drawback of the product.

For babies, they prepare vegetable and meat purees and spinach soufflé, add it to puree soups.

Older children willingly meet on the menu with greens, pies, salads and just spinach leaves with delicious fillings: cheese, liver and egg pate, pieces of baked fish with vegetables.

Both fresh and frozen

There is no significant difference in the beneficial properties of frozen and fresh spinach. Greens retain their rich composition even after defrosting. After the freezer, the product is immediately placed in hot water, that is, it is introduced into the dish being prepared. In this case, the loss of vitamins will be only 5%. Whereas pre-thawing in cold water will increase nutrient loss by up to 35%.

In season, fresh leaves are more in demand. Since 2-3 small green rosettes are enough to prepare small children's portions, leftovers can be saved. To do this, spinach wrapped in a damp cotton napkin is placed in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Stock up on tender vitamin leaves for the winter by freezing. Divided into small portions, frozen greens are convenient to add to different dishes for the baby over the next 3 months.

When cooking, be guided by the following proportions: frozen spinach should be taken 2 times less than fresh (according to the recipe).

Recipes for children of the first year of life

For the preparation of simple, beautiful and healthy dishes, you can use spinach leaves more than 5 cm in length. They are thoroughly washed under running water, and the harsh stems are cut out with a knife. Next, the leaves are crushed - chopped with a knife into small squares or strips. The product is ready for heat treatment, for which 5 minutes will be enough.

The main processing method is steam. To do this, use a double boiler, slow cooker or an ordinary deep frying pan with a lid. Then the greens are thrown into a colander and, when it cools down a little, they grind. It turns out a dark green puree, which can be safely included in the children's diet.

Soup puree

Ingredients:

• 0.5 l chicken broth;
• 4 sockets of spinach;
• 2 tbsp. l. butter;
• 50 g cream;
• 2 tbsp. l. flour;
• 20 g hard cheese.

Cooking method:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the flour on it until golden brown.
2. Pour the broth into the flour, bring to a boil, add the cooked (steamed) spinach, cream and salt to taste.
3. Bring the contents of the pot back to a boil and remove from heat.
4. Pour some of the soup into a child's serving bowl. You can add dill and a pinch of grated cheese.

Omelette with greens

Ingredients (for 1 serving):

• 1 egg;
• ¼ cup milk;
• incomplete h. l. butter;
• 2.5 st. l. water.

Cooking method:

1. Spread chopped spinach into pieces in a heated frying pan with butter, add water, cover with a lid and simmer for about five minutes.
2. Beat the egg until foamy with milk and salt, pour into a pan, cover with a lid.
3. 10 minutes on low heat - and a delicious children's breakfast is ready.

Steam soufflé with chicken

This gentle soufflé is designed for little gourmets who are not yet ready to chew on pieces of food.

Ingredients:

• 1 socket fresh or 1 tbsp. l. frozen spinach;
• 1 egg;
• 30 ml of milk;
• ½ cup boiled chicken meat, cut into small pieces and chopped in a blender;
• a pinch of salt;
• incomplete h. l. butter for greasing the mold.

Cooking method:

1. Defrost frozen spinach in a frying pan under a lid over low heat. Simply steam fresh herbs in a frying pan with the addition of a small amount of water.
2. Egg yolk, salt on the tip of a knife and milk are added to the chopped chicken meat, beat thoroughly.
3. Separately, beat the egg white until foamy and add, gently mixing, to the minced meat.
4. Lubricate the culinary mold with butter and fill 2/3 of the volume.
5. You can cook the soufflé in a double boiler, covering the contents of the form with oiled paper, and only then with a lid. There is another way: the mold is placed in a larger container filled with water, and all together they are sent to the oven for half an hour (at a temperature of 180 ° C).
6. It remains to cool the soufflé and carefully remove it from the mold.

Steamed spinach soufflé can be made with veal, fish, zucchini and Brussels sprouts. And for an afternoon snack, the option with cottage cheese is perfect.

Precautionary measures

Tender green spinach rosettes are not as safe as they might seem. In some cases, the plant is deceitful and causes an allergy in a child. The reason is the high protein content. Characterized by the appearance of pain in the abdomen, loose stools and vomiting, while skin rashes fade into the background.

The second important point to remember is the presence of oxalic acid in the greens. By binding with calcium, it forms hardly soluble compounds - oxalates, which impede the outflow of urine in diseases of the kidneys and urinary system. In the presence of indicated ailments, spinach is contraindicated in the child's diet.