Beets Baby Food Nitrates

Add beets to your little one s diet once she has had a taste of a few yellow and green vegetables.

Beets baby food nitrates.

Leafy greens like spinach and rocket tend to be top of the crop for nitrate content with other rich sources include celery and beetroot juices and carrots. For babies younger than age 4 months also avoid home prepared spinach beets turnips and collard greens which may contain high levels of potentially harmful compounds from soil nitrates. When selecting beets for homemade baby food try to purchase fresh beets whenever possible. In fact the most common cause of methemoglobinemia in babies including those older than 6 months of age is the ingestion of infant formula made with nitrate containing well water.

1 small onion peeled and chopped. After your baby has tried a variety of green and yellow veggies and she s at least 8 months old add beets to the mix. 1 white potato peeled and cut into small cubes. The medium sized beets are more tender and tasty than the large beets.

Basic baby borscht beet soup 3 medium beets peeled and cut into small cubes. When can a baby eat food with a beet. 2 oz 1 4 cup natural yogurt. 16 fl oz 2 cups homemade or low sodium vegetable broth stock.

The ideal age and time for your babies to have food with beets in them are usually between 8 to 10 months. Serve not more than one to two teaspoons of beets to babies less than a year old as nitrates cannot easily be digestible and can cause a condition called baby blue syndrome or methemoglobinemia. Drinking water especially well water can contain high levels of nitrates from fertilizer run off. And baby food isn t the only dietary source of nitrates.

Once they reach the age of 1 you can increase the intake of beets in their diets. Since beets are rich in nitrates you might want to check their tolerance with it and make sure you avoid too many servings.