Can Babies Have Tuna?

You can consider introducing tuna to your baby’s diet at 6 months of age. This would be soon after you started introducing other solid foods such as fruits and veggies.

However, it is essential to talk to your pediatrician before you dive into adding any type of fish to your baby’s diet.

Common concern parents have when it comes to feeding tuna to their babies is the risk of allergies. You should pay attention to allergy risks every time you add a new dish to your baby’s diet.

• When it comes to tuna, some pediatricians consider adding fish to the diet of a baby as early as 6 months can actually prevent allergies.
• The good news is that tuna is not the type of fish that is commonly known to generate allergic reactions in babies. As a matter of fact, it is considered to be one of the healthiest options. The risk of developing allergies is a lot greater with shrimp and shellfish.
• However, you still need to be aware of the potential signs of an allergy so you can identify it in case it happens.
• Common signs of allergies include hives, rashes on the skin, potential swelling of the lips or eyes, difficulty breathing, sneezing, diarrhea, or vomiting.

If you notice that your baby has such reactions after eating fish, you should address your doctor before giving them that fish. But if you try with tuna, the risk is smaller than with other types of fish.

One of the most straightforward tuna recipes includes only 3 ingredients and requires no cooking.

• All you have to do is blend a can of tuna along with a can or yogurt and one medium-sized avocado.
• Once you obtain a homogeneous cream, you can feed it to your baby.
• This simple recipe is consistent enough to keep your baby full for a few hours and can make for a delicious lunch.

You can also incorporate tuna into a salad if your baby is used to eating solids. This might be a great recipe for babies that are close to a year old or beyond this age. And it is effortless to prepare as well.

• For this recipe, you need 1 can of tuna, 1/4 cup of whole milk yogurt, 1 tbs of parsley, 1/2 tbs of Dijon mustard, and 1 avocado.
• Get the tuna out of the can and drain it, so it is completely dry.
• Put it in a bowl and add chopped avocado along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix them together, and you got a very healthy salad for your little baby.
• There is no need to add extra salt to this recipe.

This is an exciting recipe, and even if it could be more complicated than others, you shouldn’t struggle with it too much. Keep in mind that this recipe is recommended for babies older than 1 year.

• To prepare this recipe, you need a can of tuna, 1 or 2 baby biscuits depending on the size, 1 egg, 2 small potatoes, 1 tbs of Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 tbs of onion flakes.
• Start by boiling the potatoes a minimum of 20 minutes. You can try to see how boiled they are by using a fork.
• Once your potatoes are boiled, mash them into a puree.
• Also, smash the biscuit into little crumbs.
• Mix all the recipe’s ingredients into a bowl until you obtain an even consistency.

You can create little balls out of this mixture and cook them in butter or oil. If you are preparing this for your baby, butter is always a better choice.

Another delicious recipe comes from combining fish with hummus. This might sound difficult, but it is actually easier than you might expect.

• You need 1 tbs of hummus and 1 tbs of tuna from a can.
• You will also have to add 1 or 2 tbs of flour, some basil, black pepper, and lemon juice as an optional ingredient.
• You will have to add all the ingredients in 1 bowl and mix them enough to create the texture you are going for.
• Once you get the dough just right, you can spoon it into little balls and fry it in a pan.
• Make sure you fry it evenly on both parts.
• Considering that this dish contains both hummus and tuna, you can be sure that it will be nutritious enough for your baby.

Suggested Reading:

Can Babies Have Hummus?

As a new mom, you might wonder about adding some diversity to your baby’s meals. Can babies have hummus? Can babies eat chickpeas? Explore answers here.

Read more

Tuna and rice can make for a delicious and nutritious dinner that is ideal for babies of a minimum of 7 months.

• It is straightforward to prepare the tuna and rice recipe as all you need is 2 tbs of rice, 1 tbs of tuna, 1 tbs of frozen peas, and 1/4 cup of vegetable stock.
• You will have to cook the rice like you usually would and place it in a pan along with the tuna and the rest of the ingredients.
• Allow it 5 minutes to cook together and take it off the stove.
• Now your baby’s dinner is ready to serve.

You can feed it to your baby like this, or you can blend it for a creamier consistency.

The last but possibly one of the tastiest tuna recipe is the tuna and pasta one. This recipe is also recommended for babies older than 7 months. To make this recipe, you need little ingredients, and preparing it is simple as well.

• Use around 8 oz of integral pasta, 1 and 1/2 tbs of unsalted butter, 1 chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 and 1/4 cup of milk, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, 1 can of tuna, 1/2 cup of canned sweetcorn.
• Cook the pasta you are using according to the instructions they come with.
• Fry the chopped onion in the heated butter for about 5 to 6 minutes until it gets soft and glassy looking.
• Add the flour to the pan and keep mixing it. Once the flour and onions are mixed together, start adding the milk while you keep stirring.
• You will notice that the mixture converts into a thick sauce.
• When the sauce is thick and consistent, turn off the fire and add the cheddar cheese.
• Keep mixing everything until the cheese blends in with the rest of your sauce.

Add the pasta on a plate, add the tuna from the can and finally, add the sauce. The dinner for your baby is made, and you can be sure that they will love it as it tastes delicious!

While tuna is a healthy choice for your baby, it is essential to know that they don’t need to have it every meal or even every day. As a matter of fact, the FDA recommends feeding your baby about 3 portions of fish a week. They don’t need more than that, and this is even the recommended portion for an adult.

Cooking the fish correctly and purchasing quality fish are also essential aspects that you need to keep in mind. You shouldn’t overfeed your baby with fish due to the pollutants and mercury in it.

While there are better options for fish, keep in mind that too much of it can work against the right development of your baby’s nervous system.

Brine tuna, being it in cans or as a dish by itself, is not recommended for babies.

• This is too salty for their health, and even if they might like the taste, you should avoid it at all costs.
• Salty foods can be dangerous because your baby’s kidneys are not well developed to process it.
• It is equally important to not add any extra salt to your tuna recipes. This is especially important if you use canned tuna as this tuna usually comes with a certain amount of salt anyway.

Shellfish might be another option you consider to give your baby as you introduce different foods to their diet. If you can give your baby fish from 6 months, you will have to wait until 12 months to give them shellfish.

Also, even after your baby is 1 year old, you will have to pay attention to what shellfish you give them and how you prepare it.

• Shellfish is one of the most common types of fish when it comes to allergies.
• The allergy risk is the main reason you should postpone giving shellfish to your baby.
• Due to the risk of allergic reactions, some pediatricians recommend you waiting as long as 3 years before giving your baby shellfish.
• Ultimately, the decision will be up to you, but waiting until they are 3 years will reduce the risk of an allergic reaction significantly.

However, you should also consider the history of your family in terms of allergic reactions. If you have close relatives that suffer from allergies or if you as the parent have such reactions to certain foods, you might want to postpone the shellfish to up to 3 years and even beyond that.

A great tip that most pediatricians will give you is to make sure that your baby eats fruits, veggies, and meat before you add seafood to their diet. This will help them develop their digestive system and be more immune to potential allergic reactions.