Cheese - is it too salty?

[DanielMummy]

Someone just told me that cheese is too salty to give to babies. Is this true? Lots of the recipes in my baby cookbooks use cheese. So far my baby has already had edam, mild cheddar, cottage cheese and cream cheese. He's 8 months old and been having dairy for about 2 months. He really loves cheese. Are there any salt-free or lo-salt cheeses?

bump

cheese is a bit salty but I wouldn't worry - my dd2 has been wolfing down cottage cheese, cheddar etc since 7 months or so. Some cheeses are much more salty, like halloumi and things, but 'normal' cheese is fine IMO. Plus it has all the lovely calcium.

I give ds cheese, I know it's quite high in salt, but I try not to let him have any other 'salty' foods in the same day. He's nearly 1.

Thanks Donnie and PanicPants. I feel more reassured that I haven't been overdosing him on salt now.

Besides all the hv and recipes, and nutrionists recomment it anyway.

Just re-read your original msg PanicPants. Does that mean its best to avoid a cheesy recipe for supper, if I've done a cheesy recipe at lunch-time?

bumping just in case you're online today PanicPants.

DanielMummy

Cheese is really high in salt. If you check out the "wheel of death" things that lots of the supermarkets are putting on packaging now, standard cheddar is in the red zone for salt.

Would agree with PanicPants about not giving other high salt food in the same day. I try not to give two cheesy meals in a day (although sometimes dh thwarts me!).

Don't forget that bread is also a high salt food - 0.5g in a slice. I think these two were the main ones that I tried to be aware of - apart from all the processed foods that are chock full, obviously

tend to agree that cheese too salty although boots do cheese granules that are suitable for babies you just mix it up an add to recipe!think that tesco an asda do a similar version and lots of other things too

I think you have to remember 'everything in moderation'. If you were feeding him cheese throughout the day 7 days a week then it might be a concern but as part of a sauce or a small snackette here and there it's fine as cheese has far much more than salt in it and certainly not a huge amount in the grand scheme. It's added salt that is the real no no with the under 1's - they still need a certain amt of salt in their diet just like we do.

Slight clarification - meant to say 'has far much more else in it other than salt - honestly!!!!

Thanks everyone. Didn't realise that bread was also high salt. I often give him toast or sandwiches for snacks, sometimes with the filling being cheese. I'd better get my breadmaker out from the back of the cupboard and start making some again, as it will be easy to omit the salt from that.
But I'm not going to get a cow in the back garden and start making my own cheese. Got to draw the line somewhere.

DM I'd agree with cornflake girl and wouldn't give 2 cheesy meals in a day.

Hadn't heard about he cheese granual things though so will go hunting for them as that sounds like an ideal solution.

Does anyone know if you can buy a low salt bread?

DanielMummy

I wouldn't worry about salt. I went through a big panic about it, and then calmed down and went down the moderation route as CountTo10 suggests.

IMO the important things are a balanced diet, and not developing your son's taste for salty flavours - because that is what is going to cause him the biggest problems later in life. So be careful about the salt that you add to meals (especially hidden in curry paste, mustard, stock and other things that you might use to add flavour when not adding straight salt) - but don't get hung up on it

OMG both my dds get through bread like nobody's business! I had no idea it contained salt, let alone a lot of it. Will have to take stock of their diet now.

Thanks everyone. Well I tried looking in Waitrose this morning to see if they had the cheese granules but I couldn't find them. Are they the type of thing that will be on the cheese aisle or is it a dry packet type product?

waitrose too posh!!!try large branches of boots,they do have cheese granules for babies try them in mashed potatoes!!add ebm or formula saw recently also boots do realy great squash mine used to love rosehip one

I'll try boots then. Is it with the baby food?

And does it have all the goodness of cheese but without the salt?

Just a word of warning about low-salt foods - these can contain salt substitutes, where the sodium in salt (sodium chloride) is replaced with another mineral, like potassium and magnesium. Excess amounts of these minerals can be as bad as excess sodium. They also don't do anything to train your child's palate to prefer non-salty foods, which is the thing that will help them stay healthy as an adult.

IMO, you'd be better off using normal cheese, and just being careful about not giving your LOs excessive amounts. Probably cheaper and less hassle too

Sorry, should have made clear in the last post - I don't know whether these cheese granules contain a salt substitute - just guessing that they might.

if it is the cow and gate 'baby cheese sauce' granules you are talking about, then they were discontinued ages ago so you will more than likely not be able to get hold of them. I certainly never found them when I started weaning my dd (now 2.9years). Ended up making our own cheese sauce with a normal cheese instead.

I'll have a look in Asda tonight and if they have something I'll check the ingrediants.

I looked on Ocado website, and the only cheese granules on there, were a Bisto one, and the ingredients definitely weren't baby suitable, all sorts of E numbers, etc, plus salt anyhow.
Also I asked the helpline on the Cow and Gate website, and they confirmed that they have definitely discontinued both their baby cheese sauce and gravy products.
Boots website doesn't seem to do any babyfood, and my local branch is really small, so I think it very unlikely that I'll find any there.

Looked in Asda and boots, and nothing at all in there.

Just need to limit the amount of cheese and other high salt foods.