Would it be good idea to give few fried potatoes every alternate day to 18th month old baby to get him gain some weight?

Please suggest ! Hetal replied. fried potatoes are not a good idea, once a while is fine ! like weekly,,,rather if you have a oven, roast the baby yukon potatos in oven, put a dash of olive oil/ne oil, some seasonings,and let it cook at 350 until potatoes are cooked, mostly the small medium sized baby potatoes takes some 20mins to cook and it also depends on what kind of cooking range you have..or else, simplest, boil the potatoes/pressure cook them whole with some salt, and then roast them with some seasonings on hot pan..let them roast until the aroma comes ! great to give,,,add in some sauted vegies,like cauliflower, zuchini,peas...
dont give alternately,,its not needed that much.

if your baby is not good at weight, add in ghee instead of oil, add in banana, apricots to his diet, add in cheese to his diet,add in nuts but watch for ne rashes or allergies, add in sweet potatoes with cauliflower and always add one green leafy vegetable with potatoes,,for ease digestion,,,,and add in lots of lentils or dals(esp toor dal,channa dal) in his diet, with sprouts in addition !!!!! give him good fats(proteins : tofu, pastas,eggs with yolks,chicken with skin,if you are eating,)
instead of fats that are just going to put his weight(potatoes,sweetpotatoes) uselessly and he wont be using those calories to the most.he will endup being plumpy without good health! dont do that to him. also add in extra feed of yogurt, flavor it with pure vanilla extract(not essence), or add in cardamom or cinnamon to it,,its tastes great that way,,and give whole milk/cows milk until 2 years of age and further as well, if he is comfortable with it. its in US that most of the babies who are above 75% growth by weight are recommended to go for 2% milk or skimmed milk after 2 years of age,,so as to control on their weight percentile. so you might want to consider that.

1.What kind of cheese can I give him?
avoid giving mild cheddars...always give your baby hard cheese or sharp cheddars.mild cheddars have added cultures and is not safe for babies below 2 years.

give ne cheese that doesnt contain renett which is an animal fat. always go for cheese that has natural fat derived from vegetables or just culture,,but not animal fat ! in india, amul cheddar is good to give, in US, sharp cheddar, colby jack, american cheese, is good to give to babies under 2 years,,there shoudnt be more than 3 ingrediants in it, milk, salt, natural enzymes or natural colour with enzymes.
also, parmasean cheese is best in taste and flavour and has just the right amt of calcium babies need ! add in all the foods you gvie !

2.How can I give macaroni with cheese(how to cook it)?.
take ne type of pastas,mostly try multigrain or whole grain or mixed grain pastas then the ones with semolina as its ingrediant..
cook macroni pastas, or ne shape pastas, that can hold cheese very well prefereably shell pastas, elbow macroni,Manicotti(small puffs like pipe),Ditalini (\";Little Thimbles\";,,small version of pipes)....
put a pan, add in any hard cheese preferbly sharp cheddar, let it melt and add some milk, and let it boil, add in italian seasonings or oregano,parsley flakes to it, some pepper if you are giving, and add in the cooked pastas.& you are good to go.

this is one recipe of pastas that is basic with vegies & tofu -- cook it faster with dash of olive oil/ne vegetable oil, salt,tomatoes,lite dash of italian seasonings(if available),or ne spices that you have introduced,add in some tofu,,and some vegies,, put all that in pressure cooker with good amt of water,,,let it whistle upto 5 whistles and you are good to go.
try to use small sizes pastas in cooker for better results.noodle pastas dont go well in cooker,,rest all are fine !

3.You mentioned cheese cubes....what kind of?
if its not available, take the block of cheese and put in mixie, and pulse it until it crumbles ! make sure the cheese is nicely chilled to avoid making it sticky while pulsing in mixie.or else try cheese crumbles its the same available in market.

4. Healthy powders in Milk?
horlicks,complan jr are good to give above 15 months in india,in US too many parents are giving, and in US,nesquik and couple other companies have diff pwders with or without chcolate,,mostly dr recommend which one your child needs..some has more iron and some has more calcium..it also depends alot on how baby reacts to it,,so you might to watch on it.

5. Is cerelac(from india) a good option?
yeah its good not bad,as far as your baby is able to accept it without any indigestion prob there is no harm in it ! ask your dr which one is right for you.

6. Can I give him dhaniya powder mixed in veggi for some taste?
baby above 9months is ready for mild spices like jeera pwder, coriander pwder, turmeric,parsely, italian seasonings,salt,corainder,hing in tadka, curry leaves or dried curry leaves,cardamom, cinnamon,nutmeg(not more than a pinch in whole batch of food),pure vanilla drops in yogurt,and above 1 year baby is ready for black pepper-just a dash,,
in vegies, you can start introducing,capscicums/bell peppers, a dash of ginger pwder in winters in his foods,,and some people have started with onions and garlic depnding on your baby preferences and his reactions with it,,but its better wait for such spicy flavours.

rest i dont need to add nething,,aarti has given you great tips.to my knwledge,,the name reva in sanskrit also means Narmada river ! and no doubt its a wonderful name indeed..

Good Luck

Aarti replied. Reva,

1.What kind of cheese can I give him?

Where are you based? If us, you can start with Kraft singles or mild cheddar. In India you could try the Amul or Britannia slices.

2.How can I give macaroni with cheese(how to cook it)?.

I wish I had an exact recipe. The only way I know is it to
- cook elbow macaroni according to the package
- make some white sauce and add grated cheddar cheese to it (if in India I am not sure what is the brand - any cheese which will melt in heat should be good).
- mix the cooked pasta and white sauce-cheese mixture.
- it is usually put in a baking dish, topped with cheese and bread crumbs and baked in the oven till the topping is bubbly. i skip that step sometimes.
There are many easy recipes for mac and cheese on the internet. That's where I got it from.

3.You mentioned cheese cubes....what kind of?

Again, in the US try mild cheddar cubes. In India, you could try the Amul which comes in a box or can. I am sure there are many new brands available right now.

4. Healthy powders in Milk?

What I meant was something like Horlicks instead of just sugar. Your doctor might suggest the right one.

5. Is cerelac(from india) a good option?

I am not aware of the latest cerelac flavors available and the relevant ages in which to give them. You could ask your doctor or a member from India.

6. Can I give him dhaniya powder mixed in veggi for some taste?

You can add dhaniya/jeera/hing. Any of those. I think by 18 months I was adding a dash of black pepper to my son's rice or eggs. I was slow to introduce a lot of typical masala mixtures to my son's diet. I waited until he was 2 but the practice varies according to each family. So, you can ask your elders.

In my earlier mail I completely forgot our Indian snacks. You can give idli, dosa, upma all topped with a pinch of ghee. Most kids that I know love idli. My friend's son who is 20 months happily eats it with coconut chutney.

Hope this is a start. I got a lot of my ideas from the Internet or books. I am sure there might be good ones in India.

Good luck, Aarti Aarti replied. Dear Reva,

I am sure moms have mixed opinions about this. As a weekend or casual snack it is okay. But I wonder if it will be too much on an alternate day basis. Does your doc say that your child is underweight? If so, you can ask for his/her suggestions. I face a similar situation with all grandmothers and aunts constantly worrying about my son's stick think figure. But I assure them that he can wrestle with them just fine! He eats his veges, fruits and dairy. I can't pump in any more.

Ultimately, we should try to teach healthy eating habits. There might be a chance that your child can get too fond of the fried potatoes and not want anything else more healthy. Sometimes the results of our diet patterns do not show up in childhood but might affect us at teenage or later.

A few suggestions if you have not already tried them -

- Milk with something added to it preferably some health powder, not just sugar.
- Milk, cheese and egg scramble (if consume eggs)
- Boiled/baked sweet potato or regular with a little butter or cream on it. Pressure cooked sweet potato with butter and a dash of brown sugar is heavenly.
- Cubed cheese as a snack.
- Yogurt-fruit smoothies.
- Upto age 24 months you can continue to give full fat milk (check with doc)
- Yogurt and rice.
- Do check with your doc, but if there are not allergy issues, peanut butter on bread or apple is a nice way to increase calories.
- Cheese spread on salt crackers.
- macaroni and cheese
- Months 13-24 are the most challenging. Toddlers can be fussy, moody eaters. Instead of three meals like adults you could try if possible to give 5 smaller meals.
- Whenever possible, try to make the food look interesting. Cut up cheese slices in shapes, decorate his yogurt rice with carrots, put a smiley face on his omelettes etc.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need any recipes.

By the way, I love your name. I have been wondering if I should use it if I have a daughter.

- Aarti