Your baby is biologically ready to begin eating solids after completing six months of age. Moong dal is an excellent transition dish in this period. Yellow Moong dal for babies is ideal since its composition is identical to mother’s milk. Introducing your baby to moong dal in solid or semi-solid form might be slightly difficult because the flavor and texture will be unfamiliar to your baby who has been only on milk so far.
Choosing organic foods with no pesticides or chemicals is great for your little one providing the the required nourishment while being safe for your little one. The same applies when opting to choose moong dal for your little one. Here is everything you need to know about feeding this lentil to your baby.
In This Article
- Is Yellow Moong Dal Safe For Babies?
- When Can You Introduce Moong Dal to Your Baby?
- Nutritional Value of Yellow Moong Dal
- Amazing Top 5 Health Benefits of Yellow Moong Dal For Babies
- Precautions to Take While Introducing Yellow Moong Dal to Babies
- Are There Any Side Effects of Yellow Moong Dal For Babies?
- Top 3 Healthy and Tasty Yellow Moong Dal Recipes For Babies
- FAQ’s
Is Yellow Moong Dal Safe For Babies?
Moong dal is absolutely safe and healthy for babies. The first step in creating a meal plan for your baby is determining which foods are high in nutrients and will benefit your little one’s health as babies have tiny appetites and expend more energy (1).
Lentils, also known as dal, are nutrient-dense and excellent sources of protein (2). Moong dal is extremely beneficial for all babies, simple to cook and easy to digest.
When Can You Introduce Moong Dal to Your Baby?
Moong dal is highly preferred across most Indian households as one of the first weaning foods (3). This is because the composition of the dal is considered to be quite close to the mother’s milk.
In addition, it is easy to digest and can also help the baby put on a healthy weight. Dal pani is often started in families to replace mother’s milk as a weaning food.
You can introduce moong dal around the 6th to 8th month mark when you are planning to start weaning your baby.
[Read: Rice Water For Babies]
Nutritional Value of Yellow Moong Dal
A variety of lentils can be included in the meal plan to make the meals more healthy for your infant. It is also strongly advised to buy organic lentils for your baby, and the list of nutrients included in yellow moong dal is shown below.
| Nutrients | Amount (per 100 g) |
| Protein | 25.5 (g) |
| Fiber | 9.8 (g) |
| Sodium | 29 (mg) |
| Folate | 479 (mcg) |
| Sugar | 2 (g) |
| Carbohydrate | 60 (g) |
| Energy | 353 (calories) |
| Iron | 7.5 (mg) |
Amazing Top 5 Health Benefits of Yellow Moong Dal For Babies
Yellow Moong Dal has a low-fat content, and a high protein content, and cooks fast. It is always first on the list of dals to give newborns during weaning since it helps the baby’s digestive system cope during the early stages of weaning.
1. Proper Physical Growth
Dal promotes physical growth and contains folate (4). It is usually advised to include folate in a meal since it promotes cell growth and the development of the body’s neurological system (5). Moong dal’s high protein content can benefit your baby’s hair, skin, nails, and development.
2. Immunity Development
To keep your infant from being sick all the time, feed them yellow moong dal. Regular consumption of lentils is known to help strengthen the immune system (6). It keeps your baby strong and may prevent the recurrence of common ailments such as coughs and fevers.
[Read : How to Increase Immunity in Babies?]
3. Increased Energy
As the dal contains nutrients like iron, it helps in the growth of the baby, and the high calories will provide your baby with increased energy and keep them active for the rest of the day (7).
4. Good Gut Health
Babies often suffer from gut and digestion-related issues due to still developing digestive systems. A shift from milk to solids is a time this issue comes to the fore. Babies often suffer from conditions such as colic. Lentils are rich in dietary fiber and help maintain a healthy gut (8).
5. Easy to Prepare
The best part about lentils is that they are highly nutritious and take less time to cook. Pressure cooking them for a few whistles gets them ready to eat. Blending or mashing helps babies easily have them without much difficulty. Yellow moong dal takes the least time to cook and is versatile with the types of dishes that can make made using it.
Precautions to Take While Introducing Yellow Moong Dal to Babies
One of the very first things you want to do before introducing solid foods to your baby is to consult your pediatrician. Here are a few precautions to take note of while feeding yellow moong dal to your baby.
- Make sure that the dal is cooked properly, which can be ensured by three to four whistles on a pressure cooker. You can also directly boil dal with water but make sure it is cooked through and quite soft,
- Every time you add a new ingredient to your baby’s diet, make a note of any noticeable allergic reactions your baby might have. In case your baby is showing any allergic reaction, you may need to wait for some time before reintroducing it to your baby. This applies to dal too.
- Watch out for allergic reactions such as skin rashes, allergies, redness, bumps on the skin, digestive issues such as gas or diarrhea, breathing-related issues etc.
- Always start with small quantities, make sure your baby is able to digest and assimilate it properly and then you can gradually increase their intake.
[Read : The 3-Day Wait Rule For Babies To Introduce Solids]
Are There Any Side Effects of Yellow Moong Dal For Babies?
Here are a few side effects you can expect when feeding moong dal to your infant, especially for the first time.
- A protein-rich diet has barely any side effects, but we know that excess of anything is bad. Feeding too much yellow moong dal to your baby may result in nausea, irritability, diarrhea, etc.
- Start with giving a small portion of it to see if your baby has any allergic reactions to it.
- Some babies may develop gas or digestion issues for the first time. In such cases, you may consult the pediatrician to check the future course of action.
[Read : Gas in Babies]
Top 3 Healthy and Tasty Yellow Moong Dal Recipes For Babies
There are multiple healthy as well as tasty recipes available for you to make and feed your baby to keep him hooked to yellow moong dal. A few of them are:
1. Moong Dal Water
Clean the yellow moong dal and place it, along with water, in a pressure cooker. Wait for three whistles, turn off the stove and allow the cooker to cool down. Blend or mash the dal thoroughly with some purified water, pass the mixture through a strainer, and give it a final blend. Moong dal water is now ready to be served to your new bundle of joy.
2. Moong Apple Meal
Drain the yellow moong dal after soaking it for 30 minutes. In a pressure cooker, combine the diced apple, water, ghee, and salt. Cook for 2 minutes. Mash the cooked mixture until it is lumpy. Allow it to cool before adding the lemon juice right before feeding time.
3. Stewed Moong
Pressure-cook soaked and drained moong dal for 2 whistles with 2 cups of water, salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and half a teaspoon ghee. Mash the dal with a fork or a big spoon. The finished product should be lumpy rather than puree-like. To the mashed dal, add the tempered ghee, and it is ready to be served.
Yellow Moong dal for babies is considered a vegetarian superfood. It is high in high-quality proteins as well as other important elements. The high protein content helps to develop and repair tissues, such as muscles, bones, cartilage, blood, and skin.
At six months, your baby is biologically ready to begin eating solids. Moong dal is an excellent transition dish at this point. Moong dal is ideal for newborns since its composition is comparable to that of mothers’ milk.
FAQ’s
1. Is Moong Dal Easy to Digest For Babies?
If cooked and mashed properly, moong dal is easy to digest for a baby and becomes a great healthy meal as well.
2. Does Moong Dal Cause Gas in Babies?
Moong dal as compared to other dals, cause less gas in babies, but to avoid causing gas, you have to cook it with carrom seeds, cumin seeds, or fennel seeds.
3. What Are The Benefits of Yellow Moong Dal For Babies?
Moong dal is rich in protein and fiber promoting growth and immunity in babies. The rich iron content in moong dal makes it a must to add to your baby’s diet. It also promotes growth and provides energy for babies who are going through multiple milestones and need loads of energy to keep them going.
[Read Also: Dalia (Broken Wheat) For Babies: Health Benefits]
References
- Menu planning for babies – [https://heas.health.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Menu-planning-for-babies.pdf]
- Nutrient profile and effect of processing methods on the composition and functional properties of lentils (Lens culinaris Medik): A review – Dhull – 2023 – Legume Science – Wiley Online Library – [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/leg3.156]
- Mung Bean (Vigna radiata L.): Bioactive Polyphenols, Polysaccharides, Peptides, and Health Benefits – PMC – [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6627095/]
- Folate Content in Legumes – [https://biomedres.us/fulltexts/BJSTR.MS.ID.000940.php]
- Folic acid is necessary for proliferation and differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts – PubMed – [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28471487/]
- Polyphenol-Rich Lentils and Their Health Promoting Effects – PMC – [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5713359/]
- Iron Fortification of Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) to Address Iron Deficiency – PMC – [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579656/]
- Prebiotic Potential of Dietary Beans and Pulses and Their Resistant Starch for Aging-Associated Gut and Metabolic Health – PMC – [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9100130/]
