4 benefits of sweet potatoes for the health of children

Sweet potato feeding is not only good for the eyes and nervous system, but also for the benefits of many people because of the treatment and prevention of constipation for the baby.

Sweet potatoes are very nutritious root vegetables, especially vitamin A and beta-carotene. Therefore, many experts advise mothers to add sweet potatoes to the diet of young children to help their baby develop healthy. But what benefits will babies receive sweet potatoes regularly? If you are wondering about this, please follow the following shares of aFamilyToday Health for the answers.

Benefits of sweet potatoes for baby's health

Sweet potatoes are a type of tuber that is used quite commonly in many parts of the world. Sweet potatoes contain a lot of nutrients that are good for the health of children such as:

1. Vitamin A and beta-carotene

Sweet potatoes are very good food for children because they are rich in vitamin A, a nutrient essential for eye development. Not only that, sweet potatoes are also rich in beta-carotene. This is a precursor to vitamin A, which helps provide a large amount of vitamin A to the body. Arguably, sweet potatoes are the tubers with the highest vitamin A content of any vegetable. So this is an extremely good food for your baby during the  weaning period .

2. Starch and fiber

Sweet potatoes are rich in starch and fiber, which helps to energize the body and aids in digestion.

3. Rich in vitamins

In addition to vitamin A, sweet potatoes also contain many vitamins that are good for the body such as C, E, K, B1, B6 and B9. These vitamins will help the organs in the body develop healthy and reach developmental milestones at the right time.

4. Rich in minerals

Minerals help normal metabolism in the body. Sweet potatoes are a very rich source of minerals with many important minerals that the body needs such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc.

Nutritional composition of sweet potatoes

Here are the nutrients content in 100g sweet potatoes:

Energy: 86kcal

Starch: 20,12g

Sugar: 4.18g

Fiber: 3g

Protein: 1.57g

Fat: 0.05g

Calcium: 30mg

Iron: 0.61mg

Magnesium: 25mg

Phosphorus: 47mg

Potassium: 337mg

Sodium: 55mg

Zinc: 0.3mg

Vitamin C: 2.4mg

Vitamin B1: 0.078mg

Vitamin B2: 0.061mg

Vitamin B3: 0.557mg

Vitamin B6: 0.209mg

Vitamin B9: 11µg

Vitamin A: 709 µg

Vitamin E: 0.26mg

Vitamin K: 1.8 µg

How to choose and preserve sweet potatoes

When choosing sweet potatoes to prepare baby food and the whole family, you should choose bulbs that are not scratched, not cracked, or chipped, pick up the potatoes to feel heavy, firm, and not crushed. Avoid buying bulbs that are black or pitted, as this is a sign that the potato has been deep or damaged. In addition, you should buy sweet potatoes at reliable locations, buy potatoes grown according to VietGap standards to avoid buying poor quality vegetables.

You do not need to store the potatoes in the refrigerator and can be kept at room temperature, but you should use them all within a week. If you want to last longer, store the potatoes in a cool, dark, and dry place at about 15ºC. However, do not let the potato sit for more than a month.

How to prepare baby sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes can be processed in many ways. However, no matter how you cook it, always wash the potatoes, remove the skin because this peel is difficult to digest.

Roasting: Roasting will make the sweet potatoes soft and not soft. You take a toothpick to poke holes in the potato and bake in the oven at about 200ºC for 45 minutes or until the potato is soft. After the potatoes are done, just cut them in half and scoop the sweet potato meat to feed your baby.

Steaming: Steaming will help keep the sweet, pulpy taste of sweet potatoes. Peel, cut in half and steamer over medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until desired softness is achieved.

Recipe to prepare delicious foods from sweet potatoes for babies

Sweet potatoes are one of the first weaning foods you can offer your baby. You can mash sweet potatoes with vegetables, roots or meats to feed your baby. However, it should be noted that these recipes are only suitable for babies older than six months.

1. Mashed sweet potato

Resources:

Sweet potato

Country

Processing:

After you buy sweet potatoes, wash them, but don't peel them, then put in the oven and bake at 200 degrees C for 45 minutes. If you don't feel like baking, you can place it in the steamer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are fully cooked.

Remove the baked potato from the oven and cut it in half. Then, use a spoon to scoop the sweet potato meat out of the skin and puree it and use a sieve to make the sweet potatoes smooth. Ladle into a cup and let your baby enjoy.

2. Sweet potatoes and mashed apples

Resources:

Apple

Sweet potato

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Processing:

This is a simple and easy sweet potato recipe. First, you can grill or steam the sweet potatoes. Then, use a spoon to scoop out the sweet potato meat from the shell and puree it. With apples, you use a spoon to puree it and then filter it through the sieve so that the food is not chubby, making it difficult for your baby to swallow.

3. Sweet potatoes and mashed chicken

Resources:

Chicken boneless

Sweet potato

Processing:

Boil chicken and sweet potatoes in separate pots or steam until soft. You peel, cut the potatoes into small pieces and then put them in the blender together with the chicken, taste a little spice to taste.

After grinding, pour the mixture into a cup and let your baby enjoy.

4. Sweet potatoes and mashed peas

Resources:

Sweet potato

Peas

Apple sauce

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Processing:

Grilled or steamed sweet potatoes, then peeled and machine, blended with boiled peas. While grinding, you can add a little apple sauce to enhance the flavor of the dish. After you finish grinding, you can scoop it out and let your baby enjoy.

5. Mashed sweet potatoes and carrots

Resources:

Sweet potato

Carrot

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Processing:

This is a snack recipe with a pretty simple carrot and sweet potato combination. First, steam the carrots, cut into small pieces and puree. You can steam or bake sweet potatoes until they are soft, then scoop the meat out of the skin with a spoon. Then put both the potatoes and carrots in a puree, if the mixture is too thick, add a little more water and taste the seasoning to taste. You can use this dish to make lunch or dinner for your baby.

6. Sweet potato and banana mash

Resources:

Sweet potato

Banana

Country

Processing:

Bake or steam the sweet potatoes until they're soft, then scoop out the meat in a blender with a few chopped banana pieces and a little water. After grinding, scoop the mixture into a cup and let your baby enjoy.

Another way to cook is to puree the bananas, use a sieve to filter the bananas and potatoes until they are smooth, and then feed your baby.

7. Sweet potato congee

This dish is suitable for babies from 12 months old.

Resources:

1 cup of cereal

4 sweet potatoes

3 cups of water

1 cup of milk

Doing:

To cook sweet potato porridge, you can choose any kind of cereal, but prefer easy-to-digest ones like rice, oats ... Give 1 cup of cereal, chopped sweet potatoes, three cups of water and one cup of milk. cook until the grains are evenly open and the potatoes are soft. After the porridge is done, draw it into a cup and let your baby enjoy.

What foods can sweet potatoes be combined with?

Some foods, when combined with sweet potatoes, will bring an extremely wonderful taste, stimulate the taste buds and help children feel more delicious.

Vegetables: Children often do not like to eat vegetables because they have a pale taste and unpleasant smell. However, if you feed your child vegetables with sweet potatoes, they will be quite excited.

Cereals: Mix a little grains like barley, oats… with sweet potatoes and you will see your baby "solve" this dish very quickly.

Meats: Combining sweet potatoes with meats will increase the flavor of the dish and help children fully absorb the nutrients in this food.

Yogurt: Yogurt and mashed sweet potato will be a great combination you can give your child to try.

Fruit: You can combine sweet potatoes with any fruit to enhance the flavor of the dish.

Can young children be allergic to sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes, like any other food, are also known to cause an allergic reaction, although this is very rare. However, when feeding your baby for the first time, you should also pay attention to monitor your baby's symptoms. Allergic symptoms may appear minutes or hours after your baby eats:

Urticaria: Small red spots appear on the skin in patches

Difficulty breathing: Your baby will feel short of breath, wheezing or gasping

Abdominal pain: This symptom may be accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea

Swelling: Your child's lips and tongue will swell, causing discomfort when swallowing

Weakness and dizziness: Your baby will be dizzy, tired due to allergy symptoms.

Here are some of the fairly common allergy symptoms, if you notice your baby has these symptoms, you should seek immediate medical attention.

Through the above sharing, hope you have some more information about the use of sweet potatoes for the health of children. With this information, you might consider adding this root to your baby's diet.