Benefits
Egg is considered as one of the most allergenic 8 foods. We will talk about when and how to introduce eggs but first let's start with benefits of egg.
Eggs contain high quality protein and many important amino acids and is very easy to digest and the body uses almost all of it. Click here for our delicious egg recipes.
Nutritional value of eggs: Egg contains primarily A, D, E and B group vitamins and other vitamins in significant amounts. Egg yolk contains Vitamin A and this is required for bone development. Egg yolk is one of the foods that contains Vitamin D and prevents bone development from lack of Vitamin D in children. Also choline content of egg plays a major role in increasing brain function.
Zinc mineral that egg contains supports child's growth, development and boosts his immune system. Also iron content of egg is very high. Considering numerous benefits of egg, you may well yearn for having your child eat eggs.
We told you at the beginning, egg is highly allergenic, especially the egg white. For this reason, babies are first given egg yolk. The general time to introduce eggs to your baby is around month 8 but you may start earlier or later depending on allergy history of your baby. Do not forget to consult your doctor. It is quite hard to eat egg yolk by itself, especially if it is not cooked well.
Egg white is not recommended until age 1. To avoid any risks, start giving egg white in small portions and gradually increase the amount.
If your child is allergic to eggs, don't worry, after the age of 2, children show less allergic reactions. You may try it again by consulting your doctor.
Keep in mind
Eggs should be kept in their cardboard boxes without washing. Washing it may remove its natural protective coating.
If egg is kept for a long time, its weight decreases. You can test whether an egg is fresh or spoiled from its weight. Add 60 grams of salt to half liter of water and then place the egg inside, if the egg sinks to the bottom it means the egg is fresh, and if it stays on the surface, the egg is spoiled.
When you cook the egg with its shell, white part boils in 4 minutes and the entire egg boils in 12 minutes.
It is important to adjust the boiling time of the egg. If the boiling time is too long and the egg is spoiled, the iron in the egg yolk will combine with sulphur in the egg white and will create a green circle around the yolk.
It is harder to digest the egg that is cooked for a long time and B group vitamins will be lost depending on the cooking method applied. To prevent any loss, instead of frying the eggs, prefer other cooking methods.
Warning
All recipes containing eggs should be cooked. It is harder to digest the raw egg and micro-organism contamination risk arises. The most common one is the salmonella infection.