What to Expect the Toddler Years (184 page)

Trim fat from meat and skin from poultry before cooking; chemicals tend to accumulate in fatty tissue. Avoid organ meats, particularly liver, which, because it processes toxins in the animal’s body, generally contains high levels of potentially harmful chemicals.

Trim skin, gills, and dark fatty areas from fish and remove innards—contaminants collect in these parts.

After the age of two, give your toddler skim or low-fat dairy products, because chemicals, if any, also tend to accumulate in milk fat. (Even if your toddler does pick up some of these chemicals before the age of two, it’s unlikely that enough will accumulate to cause later problems.) When possible, buy milk that comes from cows that are not fed hormones.

Limit fish and seafood intake to less than 12 ounces a week, even when you know it comes from uncontaminated waters. As a rule, it’s a good idea to alternate species of fish, especially when feeding young children. Avoid fish from waters known to be polluted (usually lakes and rivers); off-shore fish and farmed fish tend to be the safest. In general, small fish are safer than large, and lean fish are safer than fatty fish. Young children (and pregnant women) should not eat fish caught by sport fishermen for home consumption or even commercially caught swordfish, shark, king mackerel, fresh tuna, and tilefish at all because of potentially high mercury and PCB levels. Opt instead for sole, flounder, tilapia, trout, salmon, and pollack. Canned light tuna is okay, but should be limited. For more information on seafood safety, call the FDA’s Food Safety Hotline: (888) SAFEFOOD, or log on to their website:
www.foodsafety.gov
. You can also check with your local Health Department, Fish and Game Department, or E.P.A.

As if concerned parents don’t have enough worries about the foods they serve their children, every once in a while questions circulate about the safety of the pots, pans, dishes, and glassware that the food is cooked, served, or stored in. Sometimes the concerns raised are unfounded, sometimes they are fully justified.

Pots and pans.
You’ve scoured the supermarket for the safest foods for your toddler. But how safe are the pots and pans you’ll be cooking them in? In most cases, very:

Nonstick. The material used to make food slide off the surfaces of these pans is not absorbable by humans, so even if bits flake off, there is no danger. Do avoid using high heat with these pans, however; since it’s been suggested that the fumes given off might be harmful.

Aluminum. Though tiny amounts of aluminum can leach into highly acidic or salty foods (such as tomato sauce) if the pots are uncoated, the amount is so small that most experts agree there’s no cause for concern.

Iron. Though this type of cookware is difficult to maintain, the iron it leaches into acidic foods when they are cooked for long periods is not only innocuous, but can actually be a good source of dietary iron.

Stainless steel. This cookware, too, may leach iron along with chromium and nickel into foods. But since iron and chromium are important nutrients, and nickel is no problem (unless your toddler or someone else in the family has a nickel allergy), it’s generally safe to use stainless steel utensils. The older the pots, the fewer minerals leach into foods.

Copper. The copper in unlined copper pans can dissolve into foods; eating the foods so contaminated can cause nausea and vomiting. So only use lined copper pans. It’s safe, however, to beat egg whites in a copper bowl.

Pyrex, CorningWare, other heat-proof glass cooking utensils, and enamel-clad metal. All of these appear safe to use. Always be careful, however, to use according to directions, since excessive heat or direct heat can lead to cracking and breaking.

Microwave cookware. Always look for the label “Safe for microwave use.” Do not use cottage-cheese or yogurt containers or other plastic containers not meant for use in the microwave; the plastics could melt or leach into foods. When heating foods high in fat or sugar (which can reach very high temperatures in the microwave), use glass or ceramic cookware rather than plastic, even if the plastic is micro wave-safe.