Supplementary Foods for Infants|ICDS Supervisor Kerala Study Materials
Supplementary Feeding
This process of introducing foods other than breast milk in the diet of the infant is called supplementary feeding.
It is also referred to as wearing.
What kind of supplementary foods
should be given:
Check also: ICDS Supervisor Books
Liquid,Semi solid & Solid Supplemets for Infants
In general, based on the age of
the infant, one could vary the texture and consistency of the supplements as
follows:
(a) Liquid Supplements at—4-6
months.
(b) Semisolid to solid
supplements—well cooked and mashed between 6-8 months.
(c) Solid supplements—chopped or
lumpy between 8-12 months.
Liquid Supplements
To begin with, at about 4 months, along with
breast milk, certain liquid supplements like juices, soups or other milk substitutes
(like animal milk) can be given.
Juices of seasonal fruits such as
oranges, musambi and grapes provide protective nutrients (likely vitamin
C) which are not present in
sufficient amounts in breast milk. Along with fruit juice, soups of green
leafy vegetables may be given.
The soup can be prepared by
boiling the vegetable in minimum water and a little salt and then straining it
through a sieve. The liquid obtained may then be fed to the baby. In addition,
thin dal soup can also be given.
In the early stages fruit juices can be diluted with equal amounts of boiled water and only a couple of teaspoons can be fed.
Thereafter, the amount can be gradually
increased and at the same time the dilution can be cut down. In a few weeks the
baby can be given 3 ounces or 85 ml (a little less than half glass) of orange
juice or the soup.
A Word of Caution: Juices, soups when diluted with excess water and strained may not be able to provide adequate nutrients.
Hence, it is advised to use
minimum of water for dilution.
Similarly mash the dal/rice with
the water used for cooking and feed it to the infant instead of serving ‘dal ka
pani’.
Semisolid and Solid Supplements
As the child grows, the kind and
quality of food given changes.
From liquid supplements there is
a gradual transition to semisolid/solid foods.
The first solid food commonly
offered at 5-6 months is a soft thin, liquidy porridge mad e from the staple food
of the community.
The porridge can be prepared by cooking the
cereals (i.e., wheat, rice, semolina etc.) with milk and sugar. Such a
preparation is called the basic mix i.e., when the staple (cereal) has one food(usually
a protein source) added to it. A common basic mix served to the infants in the
south is ‘ragi kanjee’ and in the north ‘suji kheer’.
Other than the porridge, starchy fruits and vegetables which are cooked well and mashed can be given round 5-6 months.
Roots and tubers, vegetables that
can be given in the mashed state include potatoes, sweet potatoes, yam,
carrots, green leafy vegetables.
It is advisable to boil these
vegetables in minimum water till tender and then to mash them properly.
The mashed vegetable can be fed
as such or with a little salt or/and ghee/butter could be added to provide more
energy.
Remember, only the pulp of vegetables
is to be given.
The skin and seeds, if any, and
other fibrous matter is to be discarded.
Among the fruits—bananas, papaya,
mangoes or any other seasonal fruit could be mashed and given as such, whereas,
other fruits like pineapple, peaches
etc. need to be first stewed
(i.e., boiled in a little water and sugar till tender) and mashed before being served.
Remember to discard skin, seeds
of the fruits before serving.
Other supplements which could be
given include
yolk of a hard-boiled egg, finely
minced and cooked meat, mashed fish (without bone), well-cooked and mashed
dals.
Salt, can be added to taste. Small amount of
fat (i.e., butter) can also be added to provide more energy.
Along with all these
supplementary foods remember breastfeeding should be continued.
Solid Supplement
By eight
months, you would notice that the baby starts teething.
This is the right time to change him over to
chopped and lumpy (thick) foods. The foods which were boiled and mashed earlier
should be now just boiled and cut into small pieces before being served.
For instance, vegetables like
potato and carrots could be boiled and cut into small pieces. Minced meat and
fish could be boiled and served as such instead of mashing.
Soft cooked rice or small pieces
of chapaties may also be introduced at this stage.
As the infant is teething, it is
beneficial to give more of crunchy foods like a hard biscuit or a piece of
toast/rusk or a slice of raw carrot or a fruit segment (seeds and skin removed)
which would be ideal for the child to chew.
These foods would aid in teething
and provide exercise to the gums.
In addition to this, thick
porridges can be prepared and served to the infant. Earlier you studied about
the basic mix i.e., cereal porridges prepared by adding milk and sugar.
Now other than milk, foods like
pulses, animal foods, green leafy vegetables, other vegetables can also be
added to the staple to form a multimix.
When the staple i.e., the cereal
has more foods added to it, (protein source plus vitamin/mineral source) we
call it a multimix.
A commonly used multimix in the
north is ‘khichri’ and ‘pongal’ in the south. Multimixes can be prepared by
mixing the following food items:
Cereal + pulse + green leafy
vegetable
Or
Cereal + pulse + milk
Or
Cereal + pulse + vegetable + curd
Or
Cereal + animal food + green
leafy vegetable
Or
Cereal + milk + fruit + nuts
(finely ground)
Or
Cereal + animal food + green
leafy vegetable
Or
Cereal + animal food + orange
yellow vegetable (carrot, pumpkin etc.)
Multimixes can be introduced as
early as 6-7 months of age.
By the age of one year (i.e., 12
months) the baby can take all solid foods. In fact, the infant should be eating
food prepared for the family, for
example rice/dal; chapati/ dal; rice/fish; chapati/subji. A chapati can be
crumpled into small pieces and softened with milk, dal or curd and salted or
sweetened according to the baby’s taste and served.
Rice can be served with dal and
vegetable all mixed well. Attempts should be made to get the infant slowly on
to the family meal pattern.
Along with these foods
breastfeeding should be continued.
But if breast milk has ceased,
then the child can be given half a litre of animal milk per day either a such
or as curd, cottage cheese or milk pudding or porridge.
Along with the supplementary
foods, one should provide plenty of water/fluids to the infants. Small amounts of
boiled and cooled water should be given 2 to 3 times a day or more often,
depending on the need.
More water needs to be given
during hot seasons and especially if the baby has diarrhoea.
ICDS Supervisor Questions and Answers
Common Health Problems in India & Different Levels of Health care in India
Read Also:
1. Meal Planning for the Infant
2. Spplementary foods for Infants
4. How to Feed Infant? Meal Plan for Infants
5. Meal Planning for the Prechoolers
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