Meatballs for babies can be packed with essential nutrients such as proteins and heme iron since minced or chopped meat is the main ingredient. The other ingredients meatballs may include are cheese, eggs, and vegetables, which also have high nutritional value. These soft, small balls are easy to hold and can help babies learn self-feeding. Additionally, meatballs are typically safe for babies beginning a solid diet unless they are allergic to ingredients such as eggs. However, you could avoid or substitute eggs in meatballs. Read on to know about the safety, possible benefits, precautions, and the right age to introduce meatballs to babies, as well as some baby-friendly recipes.
When Can Babies Eat Meatballs?
Dr. David Shafran, a pediatrician at Cleveland Clinic and head of Pediatrics at K Health, says,“Meatballs, though soft if cooked well, might initially present a choking hazard and should not be introduced until better chewing skills have developed. In most infants, this would be around nine months of age. Even then, I’d be certain to cut those meatballs into smaller pieces and avoid adding harder foods like onions to the mix. I’d keep it simple with single-ingredient meatballs.” However, consult your pediatrician if you wish to feed meatballs to your baby earlier than nine months of age. Once your pediatrician approves, you can serve meatballs first in puree or mashed forms. Alternatively, you can cut the meatball into small pieces and serve them to your baby for baby-led weaning. Then, as the baby grows and can hold and eat the food themselves, you can feed them halved meatballs. When you serve your baby meatballs, abstain from using cured (deli meat) meat as they have a high fat and sodium content (1). Additionally, if they aren’t cooked well, they raise the risk of listeria infection (listeriosis) (2). Therefore, avoid feeding processed meat to babies.
Nutritional Overview Of Meatballs
Based on the meat type and seasonings, there are different meatball types. Beef, veal, lamb, chicken, mutton, pork, turkey, and fish are some meats that you can use to make the meatballs. Although different meatball types will have a slightly different nutritional profile, on average, meatballs are a good source of protein, heme iron, vitamin B3, B6, B9, B12, and essential minerals, such as zinc and selenium Choose a meat type that gives more iron per serving. For instance, red meats, such as beef, lamb, pork, and veal, have high amounts of heme iron (3). Pork and chicken liver have the highest iron content (4).
Possible Benefits Of Meatballs For Babies
Here are some of the vital benefits that a baby may incur from meat intake.
How To Prepare Meatballs For Babies?
Here are some simple tips that you should keep in mind when preparing meatballs for babies.
1. Ensure the meat is well-cooked and soft
It is necessary to make easy-to-swallow meatballs for babies. If meatballs are undercooked, they will have a hard texture, making it difficult for a baby to swallow, raising the choking risk. Besides, it will increase the chances of bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection. Therefore, experts recommend broiling, baking, roasting, braising, pot roasting, or stewing meat. To ensure the food is cooked to the right temperature, use a food thermometer to check the temperature of the cooked meatball. For instance, thoroughly cooked ground beef, pork, veal, and lamb should measure 160°F (71°C) after removing from the heat source (9). If there are any tough meat portions in the meatball, remove them before feeding to minimize the choking risk.
2. Mix meat with veggies and herbs
It enhances the meatball’s nutritional density. You may also give texture to meatballs with bread crumbs. Use whole-wheat bread crumbs or coarse oat flour. Prepare a salt less sauce or gravy using herbs, such as dried oregano, thyme, or basil, and spices, such as cumin and cinnamon, to improve the meatball’s flavor. Add multiple ingredients to meatballs only when the baby is already consuming single-ingredient meatballs comfortably.
3. Keep the portion size small
Small meatballs are easy to hold and eat. However, even with small meatballs, you need to be careful with the size. Introduce minced or finely chopped meatballs to the baby to minimize the choking risk. As the baby grows, you can gradually modify the meatball serving size age-appropriately.
For six-month-olds, quarter a small meatball and mash the pieces slightly before serving them to the baby. If the baby is facing difficulty self-feeding, completely mash the meatballs and feed the baby with a spoon.
For nine-month-olds, serve small pieces of meatballs as finger food to let your baby self-feed. In addition, since meatballs are soft and easy to grab and hold, they can help nine-month-olds hone their pincer grasp.
For 12-months-olds, you can serve small meatballs halved. However, if the baby finds it challenging to hold the meatball, you can still cut it into smaller pieces. Go at your baby’s pace and make sure they are feeding comfortably before progressing onto larger pieces.
Now that you know how to prepare meatballs for babies, learn the necessary precautions you should take for safe feeding.
Precautions To Take When Feeding Meatballs To Babies
Observe the following precautions to ensure the safe consumption of meatballs by babies:
Nutritious Meatball Recipes For Babies And Toddlers
Here are some age-appropriate meatball recipes that you can feed your baby and toddler.
1. Cheesy meatballs (6+ months)
You will need:
½ cup iron-fortified baby oats ½ cup breast or formula milk 1 ¼ lb. beef (medium ground) 1 cup cheddar (finely grated) 1 egg (beaten) 1tsp dried oregano 1tsp dried thyme ½tsp black pepper powder
How to make:
2. Meat and veggie meatballs (9+ months)
You will need:
200g beef (minced) ½ red onion (finely chopped) ½ zucchini (coarsely grated) ½ carrot (peeled and coarsely grated) ¼ cup green peas (boiled and mashed) ¼ cup mozzarella cheese 1tsp mixed herbs Canola oil
How to make:
3. Mini meatballs in sauce (12+ months)
You will need:
300g low-sodium tinned tomatoes (drained) 100g turkey (minced) 1 red onion (finely chopped) 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped) 1tsp dried mixed herbs 1tbsp olive oil
How to prepare:
