Salt content - help!

IsItJustMeOr...

Bit confused here so maybe some of you may be able to help.

My little man is 8 months old and weaning fantastically! I'm home making 99% of his food (bar his breakfast cereal at the moment) and introducing as much as I can and NEVER add salt to any of this.

Going by research a baby of his age should be taking well below 1g of salt a day and some of this is obviously already added in baby cereals and his formula.

I have read that wild red salmon and sardines etc as a convenience food are great for babies 'on the go' but this is where I worry about the salt content.
They obviously have the % of salt to preserve and natural content.
Obviously fresh fish is the best but what about tinned wild red salmon and sardines in oil or spring water at times? Some say they are great...some say avoid. Confused!

Just wondering what are the experienced opinions on here and am I worrying too much if he only gets them once a week?

I do so realise it isn't a McDonald's or cheesy fries but still... :-)

Thanks in advance!

Victor

Some salt isn't a huge problem - it helps maintain the body's natural balance.

The important bit is the total salt content of the food and the amount of the food eaten - a tiny bit of food with a higher salt content isn't as bad as a large amount of food with medium salt content.

If you ask them, McDonald's will normally do fries without the salt added after cooking. Burgers also have salt added at the time of cooking. Both will of course have some level of salt in them naturally and from processing.

Oral Slang

Yes, it is confusing & I think I'm a bit obsessed with watching salt & sugar content. I just look for the product with the lowest salt/sugar content & hope that's ok - crackers, hummus, yoghurts etc as everything mentions Adults rda, rather than childrens. I think once you're cooking most meals from scratch & not giving a lot of jars of sauce or processed food you should be ok.

ceadaoin.

IsItJustMeOr... wrote: »

Bit confused here so maybe some of you may be able to help.

My little man is 8 months old and weaning fantastically! I'm home making 99% of his food (bar his breakfast cereal at the moment) and introducing as much as I can and NEVER add salt to any of this.

Going by research a baby of his age should be taking well below 1g of salt a day and some of this is obviously already added in baby cereals and his formula.

I have read that wild red salmon and sardines etc as a convenience food are great for babies 'on the go' but this is where I worry about the salt content.
They obviously have the % of salt to preserve and natural content.
Obviously fresh fish is the best but what about tinned wild red salmon and sardines in oil or spring water at times? Some say they are great...some say avoid. Confused!

Just wondering what are the experienced opinions on here and am I worrying too much if he only gets them once a week?

I do so realise it isn't a McDonald's or cheesy fries but still... :-)

Thanks in advance!

According to the BLW book I had, once you use the ones in oil and not brine then they are fine. I've used tinned tuna,salmon,mackerel and sardines and my daughter liked them all. Plus once a week won't do any harm anyway especially if you aren't adding any salt to his other food.

I dont think they can be compared to McDonald's because they are a very healthy food regardless of the salt content.

lounakin

Oral Slang wrote: »

Yes, it is confusing & I think I'm a bit obsessed with watching salt & sugar content. I just look for the product with the lowest salt/sugar content & hope that's ok - crackers, hummus, yoghurts etc as everything mentions Adults rda, rather than childrens. I think once you're cooking most meals from scratch & not giving a lot of jars of sauce or processed food you should be ok.

I don't understand the whole jar of processed food thing... it seems more work to have to buy them every time rather than peeling a couple of vegetables steaming them for 10 minutes than blending and getting a two week portion out of it!

pwurple

lounakin wrote: »

I don't understand the whole jar of processed food thing... it seems more work to have to buy them every time rather than peeling a couple of vegetables steaming them for 10 minutes than blending and getting a two week portion out of it!

To some people that is like asking them to build car from scratch. Must make sure to teach our kids to cook!

lounakin

pwurple wrote: »

To some people that is like asking them to build car from scratch. Must make sure to teach our kids to cook!

I guess they don't see how simple it can be!

Oral Slang

We used to be jar people until we had our little one though, just because we'd get in from work at 5, throw some mince or chicken into the pan & add a jar & voila - a dinner. Have been trying to make from scratch now though, should have done it years ago, but now have an excuse to do it.

Any nice & tasty bolognaise receipes out there? Got 1 from my friend which I like, but my other half thinks it's very bland. I think he's too used to salted sauces.

IsItJustMeOr...

Thanks for all the replies.
Yeah I think considering all his food is home made, healthy wild tinned salmon isn't a problem once a week!
He doesn't even know what a jar of baby food looks like.

It can be an information overload at times in regards what's right and what's not and off course lots of different opinions.

Thanks!

staticdoor71

Oral Slang wrote: »

We used to be jar people until we had our little one though, just because we'd get in from work at 5, throw some mince or chicken into the pan & add a jar & voila - a dinner. Have been trying to make from scratch now though, should have done it years ago, but now have an excuse to do it.

Any nice & tasty bolognaise receipes out there? Got 1 from my friend which I like, but my other half thinks it's very bland. I think he's too used to salted sauces.

This is my bol recipe and my 9mth old loves it (all bought in aldi) enough to feed two adults and 3 baby dinners

Mince doh
Peppers, carrotts, courget, butternut squash (i put this in everything its delish) add what ever veg u like I don't like mushrooms or onions so I blitz them and add them.

So fry mince
Add veg
I teaspoon of red pesto. 95 cent a jar in aldi
3 chopped sundried tomatoes. Bout a euro a jar in aldi
A carton of passata (sieved toms, 59 cent aldi)

Just let it simmer for about twenty mins
But literally throw anything into it.

I make my curry the same except I mix curry powder with coconut milk and passata

Daughter will eat both. I don't even make hers separate any more she's too interested in what we have. We nearly need a buffer plate. I've still not found something she won't eat apart from that vile baby "rice"

Oral Slang

Thanks for that staticdoor71. Need to try another 1 to see will my other half like it. I used to buy a jar & then add peppers, corn, mushrooms, pepper, garlic powder & herbs, so it really was very tasty. The recipe I got from my friend didn't have very much veg - only carrots, onion, garlic & mushroom. I was reluctant to mess around with it until I got it right, but it is a bit bland.

I hate onions myself, but am forcing myself to put them into recipes, so just chop them tiny so I can't pick them out. The baby has twice come across bits, made a face & spit them out, so the cycle may be continuing!

How does the curry work out? I have to say I am lazy with that. I buy the block of curry paste in my butchers & just mix it with water. Add in peas, corn, mushrooms, peppers etc., but am worried about the salt content of the paste.