Kinder Kitchen Nutrition - vitamins and minerals

List of key minerals and vitamins

There are a number of vitamins and minerals vital for your child to maintain a healthy diet. Below is a list of a number of these and an explanation of how they help the body.

Vitamin A: Growth, healthy skin, boosts immune system

Vitamin B: Helps digestion, healthy nervous system

Vitamin C: Growth, healing of wounds and helps fight infection

Vitamin D: Helps with formation of bones

Vitamin E: Helps with cell structure

Calcium: Bones, teeth and growth

Iron: Healthy blood and muscles. Children will lack energy and feel run down if they lack iron in their diet. Red meat is best source of iron.

Thiamine: Essential to help the body process carbohydrates

Niacin: Helps overall body function, healthy liver

Folic acid: Healthy red blood cells

Today's nutritious recipe from Kinder Kitchen - Grandma's dahl

Today's recipe is a great way of introducing different flavours to a baby. This is a great recipe to feed a baby from 9-12 months. You could feed your baby garlic, ginger and cinnamon on their own before adding all three to a dish so as not to overwhelm them.

Grandma’s dahl (from 9-12 months)

Ingredients:

45 grams of lentils – washed (please refer to the instructions on the pack)
½ medium onion, finely chopped
½ clove of crushed garlic
½ tsp of ginger, finely grated
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Preparation and cooking:
1. In a medium saucepan, fry the onion, garlic and ginger in a little oil for a couple of minutes on a low heat
2. Add the lentils, one mug of water and the cinnamon
3. Cover the saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer with a lid on for 30-40 minutes until the lentils are tender.

Serve with rice, boiled potatoes, on top of jacket potato or just on their yummy own.