Prune compote - a healthy and nutritious drink for babies

For many mothers, prune compote for babies from constipation is a revelation. They are upset why they didn’t know about this miracle drink earlier when they encountered this problem. Let's talk about how prunes can save hundreds of children's bellies from constipation.

​Why aren’t girls, along with other subjects, taught the art of being a mother to a baby? Of course, the advice of relatives, the Internet, thousands of books and, finally, the maternal instinct has not been canceled. But there are still things that should have been known earlier.

Prunes are, without a doubt, the number one natural remedy for constipation. Moreover, dried fruit will be equally effective for both adults and children. It is noteworthy that it is perfectly absorbed by the baby’s sensitive digestion, which is only in the formative stage. The immaturity of the digestive tract, by the way, ensures the presence of constipation in infants. As statistics tell us, more than 25% of children encounter them in the first year of life. This means that prune drinks will be a real salvation for their mothers.

How to choose the right product

Before you cook prune compote for your baby, you must choose the right main ingredient so as not to harm the baby.

As you know, prunes are produced from Vengerka (a variety of plums). The times when dried fruits were made naturally by hanging in the shade are long gone. Today, people speed up this process by dipping the plum in a container of sonic soda. After this, cracks form on the peel, due to which the prunes dry out much faster. And to protect the product from pests, it is treated with sulfur dioxide.

Chemically processed foods look better than traditionally dried foods. Therefore, when choosing prunes, you should look for black matte fruits with a pit. The shine of plum, which buyers love so much, is achieved with the help of glycerin or fat of unknown origin, and this will not be beneficial for the baby. If prunes have a smoky taste, this means that they were treated with liquid smoke.

You should carefully select foods for babies. The packaging of truly worthy prunes, which are not harmful to the health of the child, must indicate that they were dried in the traditional way and no chemicals were used in their processing.

Few contraindications

Prunes will be fraught with danger if the baby gets carried away with eating dried fruit. Then the opposite effect is guaranteed: treatment of constipation will result in the appearance of diarrhea. Sometimes, with an unjustified increase in the portion of compote or individual intolerance, allergic reactions occur in infants. So pay attention to the dosage.

Prunes will be a contraindication for anyone who suffers from diabetes or is prone to obesity, because dried fruit is considered a fairly high-calorie product: 100 g contains 232 kcal.

Beverages

Depending on the preparation method, prune drinks are divided into categories:

1. Decoction. The easiest way to prepare a drink for babies. The decoction is prepared over low heat: you should cook the dried fruits in boiling water for about 10 minutes. In total, for one glass of water you will need to take 3 fruits of each dried fruit, which must first be kept in cold water for about 15 minutes. Before serving to the baby, the drink should be cooled to the required temperature.
2. Infusion. A drink with an unsaturated taste contains many useful substances. As in the previous version, the fruits must be cooled in cold water, and then pour boiling water over them and wrap the container well. The drink in this state will cool for about 6 hours, after which it can be given to the baby immediately.
3. Prune compote for babies. This drink is the most common because it contains the maximum amount of useful elements. But you should be careful with it, since this option can cause allergic reactions in the child due to the high sugar content. The most interesting recipe is compote of prunes and dried apricots for babies: a couple of glasses of water, a tablespoon of sugar and five fruits of the main ingredients are mixed in a container and then sent to the fire. Boil the drink over low heat for about 15 minutes. This recipe is undoubtedly a favorite among all parents and children, but there are other options besides it. You can get acquainted with them, as well as the beneficial properties of the compote, below.

What are the benefits of prune compote?

Using this dried fruit in a baby’s menu allows you to:

1. cope with vitamin deficiency
2. improve metabolism (due to high fiber content)
3. remove toxins and waste from the body
4. improve the child’s mood, have a positive effect on the nervous system (it is a natural antioxidant)
5. prevent the proliferation of E. coli, salmonella
6. strengthen the heart muscle

It is also useful to give such a compote because it has a bactericidal effect, thereby protecting the child’s body from pathogenic infections during epidemics. The properties of this dried fruit are especially appreciated in the prevention and treatment of constipation. Unlike many medications, it can be used during the neonatal period, it is not addictive and can rarely cause allergic reactions.

Introduction to diet

You should start giving prune compote for babies in minimal portions: from one teaspoon to 100-150 ml per day. The baby may perceive new foods differently, so his reaction must be monitored carefully. Dried berries and fruits are not to the taste of even some adults, but they can use them forcefully if it is necessary for treatment, but an infant will not do this.

Doctors recommend giving babies a one-component prune compote for babies, the recipe for which is provided below. In this way, you can easily identify allergic reactions to ingredients and individual intolerances of the child. You can enhance the laxative effect with dried apricots or figs, but these components should also be introduced gradually and in small portions.

If the child does not want to drink a drink at all, then you should not force him. Perhaps he is simply not yet ready to consume components unknown to him, from which an incomprehensible odor emanates. Over time, he will still fall in love with compote and it will become his favorite treat. Dried plums have a sourness that is immediately noticeable, but you can easily get rid of it by masking it with honey, syrup or some other dried fruit.

When can you give prune compote to a baby?

You can give prunes in any form from the age of six months, when a healthy child should begin complementary feeding. But babies often suffer from constipation, and prunes are one of the best natural ingredients that can gently solve this problem. Homemade prune drinks can be given to a baby from three months a few drops at a time, observing his reaction to the new product.

It is not recommended to give prunes to a baby until the age of three months, but they can enrich mother’s breast milk: a nursing woman can use it to solve problems with constipation in a newborn.

Compote for constipation

Young parents are accustomed to purchasing a variety of juices and cereals for their babies, but more experienced mothers know for sure that dried fruit compotes are the best for their children. With dried fruits, of course, there will be a little more trouble than with fresh ones, since it will take about half an hour to cook them, but still the effect of such drinks will exceed all expectations.

To prepare the simplest compote for your baby, you only need to take prunes and thoroughly clean them of dust and dirt: pour chilled water over the fruit, hold for about 15 minutes and drain the water. Thanks to this procedure, the debris will sink to the bottom of the container and the product can be safely used without fear for the baby’s health. Once the ingredients are ready, they need to be immersed in a pan of boiling water and cooked for about 25-30 minutes. Then you will need to drain the liquid into a separate clean container and give the compote to your baby from there.

A good option is compote of apples and prunes for an 8-9 month old baby, which is prepared using a thermos. The main ingredients are apples and prunes. They are cleaned in the same way as described above: in cold water. You need to put all the fruits in a thermos, pour exactly a glass of boiling water and leave it for a day. Then you need to pour the contents of the thermos into a separate container, add another glass of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.

From five months onwards, infants can be given compote made from prunes and dried apricots/raisins. The first ingredient must be cleaned and boiled for 20 minutes, and the rest do not need cooking, because they just need to be poured with boiling water. The infusion of dried apricots or raisins should be left for literally 5-10 minutes, and then combined with boiled prunes and left until the morning.

A universal recipe suitable for children, teenagers and adults is compote of cherries, prunes and black currants. At first glance, this combination may seem strange, but in the end, everyone will like this drink. To prepare, you will need to remove the stems from the berries and rinse thoroughly. The prunes should be cooked for about 25 minutes, and at this time the cherries and currants should be poured with hot syrup and allowed to soak for about 10 minutes. You will need to put this mass in a jar along with the prune decoction and add the syrup again, but this time cold. The drink should be infused for about 20 minutes, after which both adults and children can safely drink it.

Age restrictions

No matter what wonderful properties dried fruit gives us, it is not suitable for all children due to age restrictions:

• A newborn (up to 60 days) obviously will not appreciate this experiment, because his digestion is not yet ready for such bold innovations.
• But at 4-4.5 months, you can carefully offer your baby an infusion of prunes; after 6 months, it will be time for compote and puree.

A breastfed baby can feel the laxative effect of prunes for constipation with the help of her mother: she just needs to eat a couple of fruits. However, there are some restrictions here: until the baby is 3 months old, the mother is advised to refrain from using them.

Portions

Children who have weak immunity and other health problems are allowed to give about 5 ml of compote up to one year. The following rules will help cure your baby:

• compote should be given in the first half of the day (before 13 hours), not during breastfeeding, but between them;
• At first, you need to give your baby no more than half a teaspoon of the drink, and then gradually increase the dose to several spoons.

To get the desired effect, you should adhere to the optimal dose. Every parent should know how to cook prune compote for a baby correctly, so as not to harm his health, but only to save him from unnecessary problems. There is no need to force your child to drink a drink if he does not want to. It is quite possible that, for example, at 8-9 o’clock in the morning he will refuse sweet compote, and literally a couple of hours later he will be happy with such a delicacy.

The effect is inevitable

You may be wary of natural remedies. And if you put them on a par with pharmaceutical drugs, then the latter will benefit you because of their effective action.

Conventional medicines often cast doubt on traditional medicine. But this principle is mercilessly destroyed by prune compote, because its effect on constipation in infants can be safely put on a par with expensive drugs from the pharmacy. Another big question is which of these can help better. In the case of this dried fruit, we rely on its naturalness, as well as the following advantages:

• antibacterial effect;
• normalization of the gastrointestinal tract;
• increasing immunity;
• energizing and relieving fatigue;
• cleansing the body of toxins and waste;
• increased metabolism;
• strengthening the heart.

This entire complex of vital functions elevates prunes to the status of a valuable gift from nature. This miraculous product will not only save your baby from constipation, but will also provide the most positive effect on the entire body as a whole. And this benefits both mother and baby.

The simplest infusion

This recipe consists of just a few basic steps, so your preparation time will only take a few minutes:

1. Take 5-10 fruits and before brewing them, rinse them thoroughly in boiled water.
2. Then you should pour 200-250 ml of berries. boiling water and cover the drink with a lid.
3. Leave the infusion for 12 hours.
4. After this, strain the drink and it will be ready to drink.

We recommend preparing this compote in the evening and leaving it overnight. It is recommended to give it to babies for constipation in the first half of the day, and the first portion will be 1 tsp. For young children, you can dilute it with a small amount of boiled water to achieve a milder laxative effect. This technique also works with decoction: you get healthy water from prunes.

The decoction is in use

Prune compote is traditionally prepared for infants aged 5-6 months, and is used in most cases for bottle-fed babies. If the child is fed breast milk, it is useful for the mother to include this drink in her diet. Now you will learn how to prepare a decoction of prunes and you will be able to put this recipe into practice:

1. Take 20 berries and peel them.
2. Rinse the dried fruits thoroughly in warm water and place in a small bowl.
3. Pour 400 ml prunes. water, add 20 g of sugar.
4. Place the future broth on the fire and wait until it boils.
5. After this, remove the compote from the stove, cover with a lid and leave until completely cool.

Prune decoction for babies against constipation is notable for its long-lasting effect, but it is slowly absorbed by the body's cells.