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Porridge for children

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Porridge for children is an important part of a healthy diet, since cereal products are a source of vegetable proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and various vitamins.

Introduction to the children's menu of new products begins at an early age, (from 5-6 months), especially nutrition in the form of boiled and crushed cereals for babies, which are poorly gaining weight.

You should start with cereals, which do not contain gluten (gluten), so as not to provoke an allergy and a violation of the functions of the digestive system.

It does not contain gluten in corn, rice, buckwheat, it is recommended that they begin to accustom crumbs to adult food.

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What porridge to give to the child?

Today every mother can choose her own, buy her baby a ready-made soluble product or make a delicious and healthy lunch at home.

Ready-made cats for children are quickly prepared, additionally enriched with vitamins and trace elements, necessary for the full development of crumbs, in addition, such ready-made infant formulas have a uniform consistency, and the baby swallows such food more easily.

But the store mixes are quite expensive, in addition, some manufacturers use various food additives (starch, sugar, etc.), which is harmful for unformed digestive organs, especially not suitable for first-season feeding.

Before buying a ready-made soluble product, you should carefully read the composition, for the crumbs are suitable dairy-free mixtures, which contain no gluten, sugar, salt.

During home cooking, you should follow some simple rules that will maximize the preservation of nutritional properties:

  • grind the grains you need before the cooking process
  • babies of early age are contraindicated with bran, millet, boiled polished rice
  • To prepare children's dishes it is necessary on water, adding only after the readiness of breast milk, infant formula, sugar, oil, etc.
  • it is desirable to prepare in proportions of 1: 3 (but it all depends on the individual preferences of a small fastidious).

Use of cereals for children

Since ancient times, cereals have been one of the first dishes with which young children are fed. Such popularity of cereals has, in the first place, due to its benefits, both for children and for adults.

Now porridges for children are made with age, with the addition of various vitamins and minerals, as well as with fruits or vegetables. However, almost any cereal in itself has a huge benefit for the body, which was known several centuries ago.

Cereals improve bowel function, promote digestion, give energy, which is very important for a growing baby. Some cereals can help with digestive disorders, for example, rice, helps with diarrhea, and buckwheat, oatmeal, yolk - with constipation.

How to cook a porridge for a child?

To prepare porridge for children, you must first prepare all the necessary products, the groats should not contain small debris, husks and other contaminants, if necessary, you must thoroughly clean it, rinse well under running water. If you plan to add fruit or vegetables, they also need to be thoroughly washed.

For cooking, you should use a dish with a thick bottom to avoid burning. The prepared croup is filled in the pan (the kids can be grinded beforehand with a blender or in a coffee grinder), the necessary amount of water is poured (3-4 tablespoons of 250-300ml of water or milk) and cooked on low heat until cooked. In the end, you can put sugar, oil, vegetables or fruit (mashed potatoes).

Recipes for cereals for children

Porridges for children will not only be useful, but also delicious if they are properly prepared and added to improve the taste of fruit, sugar, butter, etc.

There are many recipes for this healthy dish, among which you can identify the most successful:

  • Rice gruel with apple: 3 tbsp. Rice, 250ml water, apple, sugar to taste.

Rice pour cold water, put peeled and cut into pieces of apple, put on fire and cook on low heat for 15 minutes, after the readiness to add oil (for a softer consistency you can shake with a blender).

  • Oatmeal with banana: 3 tbsp. Flakes, 250ml milk (or water), half banana, salt, sugar.

In the boiling milk to pour sugar, salt and add oat flakes, cook on a small fire for about half an hour. Slightly cool and put small pieces of banana, if desired, whip with a blender.

  • Milk Corn: 3 tbsp. Cereals, 100ml of milk, 250ml of water.

Put corn into cold water, boil for about 20 minutes over low heat, then pour in milk, bring to a boil and boil for another 5-10 minutes, add butter and pieces of banana after cooking.

  • Kashka from millet with a pumpkin: 0,5st. Cereals, 250ml of milk, 1 st. Finely chopped pumpkin, butter, salt, sugar.

Millet pour water (the liquid should be above the level of cereals by about 2 cm), boil on low heat for 15 minutes.

Pump the pumpkin and cook until softened, then crush it in a mash and add to the prepared millet. Add salt, sugar, butter to taste (if it's thick, you can top up a little hot milk and boil a few minutes).

Semolina

Manka has an exceptional chemical composition and favorably affects digestion at any age.

It contains a large amount of vitamin E, B3 and B9, phosphorus, potassium, which play an important role in the development of the baby.

It is also worth noting that during cooking in the manga all useful properties remain.

Such a diet experts recommend to babies with irreversible violations of kidney function, because because of the lack of protein squirrel, it is considered ideal for babies with such a pathology. In addition, the semolina contains a small amount of fiber and is well suited for nutrition when exhausted.

Manka has long been used to feed the baby, including toddlers for up to a year. But in recent studies, experts have found that the mango inhibits the absorption of vitamin D, iron and calcium due to the constituent phytin. Also gluten (gluten), which is a part of manga, can provoke severe allergic reactions, therefore, experts recommend gluten-free cereal for children (buckwheat, rice, corn), and limit the mango to 2-3 times a week.

Buckwheat

Experts agree that buckwheat is in the first place in nutritional properties for a growing organism. It is most useful for young children - does not contain gluten, is easily digested and has a high nutritional value (contains vitamins B, PP, E, flavonoids, trace elements). In addition, buckwheat contains a large amount of iron, so with a reduced level of hemoglobin, it must necessarily be in the baby's diet.

Buckwheat can be used without fear to feed babies. Ready-to-eat mixtures of buckwheat (store) are shown from the age of 5 months, after the crumb gets used to such food, it can be cooked independently of the shredded buckwheat (about 7-8 months). After a year, the baby can already be given a well-brewed whole-grain buckwheat.

Corn porridge

Corn improves digestion, stimulates intestinal peristalsis, helps cope with constipation, helps reduce the processes of fermentation and putrefaction in the intestine.

Corn is enriched with vitamins and minerals that help to strengthen immunity, improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system, strengthen the bone tissue (such a diet experts recommend in case of problems with the teeth).

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Rice porrige

Rice gives a large supply of energy, which is necessary for a growing child's body. It has a pleasant taste and most kids enjoy eating rice with vegetables or meat puree, and sweet, with the addition of fruit or syrup of berries.

Cucumbers from rice can be given with half a year, so this croup does not contain gluten and is well absorbed.

Rice does not irritate the intestinal mucosa due to starchy-mucous components, they gently envelop the stomach and protect it from various irritants.

Also rice is enriched with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, it is a source of proteins, carbohydrates, but remember that rice has fixing properties, so if there is a tendency to constipation, it is better not to abuse such nutrition.

Milk porridge

Milk porridge is considered one of the most important dishes of the daily diet. Begin to enter such dishes after vegetable purée, about 5-6 months. Cereals with milk are useful not only to kids, but also to schoolchildren, because they help the baby grow and develop properly.

Oatmeal

For babies, oatmeal gruel is considered to be the most useful, among all cereals. Oatmeal contains fiber, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, it improves the digestive system, helps with constipation.

The maximum of nutritional properties is contained in whole grains of oats. Oat flakes are processed, during which some valuable substances are destroyed.

The advantage of flakes lies mainly in the speed of their preparation (from 5 to 25 minutes), but when choosing a product, preference should be given to those flakes that need to be cooked for at least 20 minutes.

Millet porridge

The maximum benefit is a millet of bright yellow color. But it is worth remembering that it contains a large amount of fats that are rapidly oxidized, so the more the millet lies, the lower the benefits.

Pshenka has unique properties: it improves the functioning of the hematopoietic system, heart, blood vessels, liver, cleanses the body of toxins, antibiotics.

Grinded millet contains vitamins B, A, E, a large number of microelements (calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, iodine, fluorine, etc.).

To babies up to a year whole grains to give it is not recommended, as the unformed digestive system is not capable to digest such food, but the millet, crushed in a flour, undoubtedly, will be useful.

Cats of millet are recommended to be given several times a week, necessarily alternating with other cereals (buckwheat, rice, wheat, etc.).

Wheat porridge

Wheat, as well as other porridges for children, is the main source of fiber, which improves the work of the digestive system and prevents the development of gastrointestinal diseases.

Wheat is often served in kindergartens and young children of primary school age, and is also part of the hospital menu.

Croup of wheat is rich in microelements (calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, etc.), vitamins (PP, A, E, B12, B6, etc.), has a high nutritional value.

Another plus of wheat is its ability to reduce muscle fatigue after heavy loads, due to its constituent biotin.

Experts recommend that after severe illnesses include in their diet, boiled milk on the wheat, which will help to recover quickly.

Herculean porridge

Hercules is oatmeal, and the benefits of such nutrition are related to nutrients found in oats.

First of all, such a diet is useful for bones and teeth, because in 100 g of oatmeal contains a third of the daily dose of phosphorus, which helps to absorb calcium.

Also in oats are vitamins of group B, which have a positive effect on the heart and nervous system, as well as vitamins PP, A, E, F and minerals (iron, potassium, magnesium, etc.).

The main advantage of Hercules is that the flakes retain a part of the shell and the embryo, in which, as is known, contains the maximum amount of nutrients.

It is recommended to give cereal with oatmeal flakes with half a year, oats have an antioxidant effect, remove toxins from the body, improve the metabolism of amino acids, proteins, cholesterol, and this diet is indicated for babies with a tendency to allergies.

Barley porridge

Yachka is made from barley, a unique source of useful minerals and vitamins. Caps from barley cereals are useful, first of all, by strengthening bones and teeth, since barley contains a large amount of phosphorus, which is necessary for the normal assimilation of calcium. Also the yak improves digestion, removes harmful substances,

It should also be noted that the yak strengthens the defenses of the body, helps to resist viruses, has a mild diuretic effect and reduces muscle spasm.

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Pumpkin porridge

Pumpkin flesh contains a large number of vitamins, trace elements, proteins, fiber. The alkalizing substances that make up the pumpkin improve the condition with increased acidity. In addition, the pumpkin is indicated for impaired renal or cardiac function.

Pumpkin rolls are recommended for breakfast and dinner, they are easily digested and provide energy for a long time, besides, it does not cause a feeling of heaviness in the tummy.

You can cook pumpkin with rice or millet (you can also combine two kinds of cereals), to improve the taste, you can put grated apple, raisins, sugar.

Porridge with vegetables

Kashitsa with vegetables are a natural remedy for the prevention of constipation. In addition, the growing body receives a double portion of vitamins, microelements, fiber.

It should be noted that for the baby you need to choose seasonal vegetables, or those that are stored in the winter for a long time (carrots, cabbage, etc.).

New types of vegetables are introduced into the diet gradually, in small portions, when unwanted reactions appear, a new type of product should be immediately eliminated.

Night porridge for the child

Cats for the night experts recommend usually for the weaning of the baby from night awakenings for "snacks". As a rule, the pediatrician recommends making the last feeding more satisfying, so that the baby sleeps all night and does not feel hungry.

There are special ready-made products that, according to the producers, are soothing and help to fall asleep (usually producers add lime or chamomile extracts).

Gluten-free porridge

Gluten-free gruels are usually used as the first complementary foods. Gluten has the property of causing severe allergic reactions, so babies with an imperfect digestive system should be given gluten-free products.

Do not contain gluten corn, rice, buckwheat.

When using gluten-containing foods, villi in the intestine begin to stick together, as a result of which the digestive process is disrupted, the body begins to "starve" because of a shortage of nutrients. Such conditions are extremely dangerous for the baby, so gluten-free gourds are considered an ideal option for the first complementary meal. Over time, when the baby's digestive system can normally digest gluten, other cereals can be included in the diet, but experts recommend using them not more often 2-3 times a week.

It is not worth completely refusing gluten-free products, according to some data, the absence of gluten in the diet leads to a shortage of B, D, calcium and iron vitamins.

Kashi in the multivariate

The multivarka allows to save a maximum of vitamins and microelements in the process of heat treatment, since all the moisture that is in the products remains inside. In addition, cooking requires a minimum amount of oil, and in some recipes it is generally not required, but the taste of the dish does not deteriorate.

It is worth noting that modern models of multivarches have a built-in timer that starts the cooking mode at a certain time, as a result, a delicious and healthy breakfast will be ready by the time the baby wakes up with minimal effort.

Depending on individual preferences, it is possible to obtain a mixture of any consistency, as a rule, to regulate the density by adding or reducing the amount of water, but in each case, using the trial and error method, look for "your ideal recipe".

To make porridge for children in a multivark, you need to choose the usual kind of cereals, not quick cooking, which has become more popular lately.

Rice gruel in the multivark: 300ml of water (can be diluted with milk), unpolished rice - 30g, butter 5g, salt, sugar to taste.

Rice is well rinsed under running water, lubricate the bottom of the multivark bowl and put rice into it, add water, salt, optional add fructose syrup, set the program "Milk mixture" for 30 minutes (in some models, the time of certain programs is automatically set).

After cooking, you can whip with a blender or rub through a sieve.

Recipes of dairy-free cereals for children

Milk porridge for children is less high-calorie, but the content of nutrients and vitamins in it is not less. Such a diet is especially suitable for children with lactose intolerance (carbohydrate, which is part of all dairy products).

  • Corn: water - 250ml, corn - 2 tbsp., Salt, butter.

Corn is well rinsed, filled with water and brought to a boil, reduce the heat and bring to the ready (about 25-40 minutes). After cooking, you can grind it in a blender, then heat it in a saucepan until boiling and season with butter.

  • Rice steamed rice: 10-15g parboiled rice (you can preliminary grind it in a coffee grinder), 40-60ml of water, apple, butter.

Crushed rice pour water (1: 4) and steamed on a steam bath for 20 minutes (you can use a steamer). Minutes for 10-15 before the end of cooking put in a sliced apple, sugar to taste.

  • Steamed pumpkin with pumpkin: 100 g of grated pumpkin, 250ml of water, 2 tbsp. Manki.

Water bring to a boil, put the grated pumpkin, boil for five minutes and gradually add the mango, stirring constantly, bring to the ready (if it turned out too thick consistency, you can pour a little water and boil for several minutes).

Allergen porridge for children

Allergy to rump may occur due to gluten (gluten), which is part of many cereals (rye, barley, wheat, oats). Gluten gives cereal stickiness, thanks to it the flour turns into dough, and after cooking the croup becomes viscous.

But with a tendency to allergies, gluten can cause extremely unwanted reactions.

Particularly "dangerous" are considered porridges for children from such cereals as rye, oats and barley, but the most allergenic is wheat, from which they make everything known for a long time mango.

The minimum allergenic properties are rice, buckwheat, corn. But in rare cases, an allergy to buckwheat groats may develop, in the first place it is associated with animal protein, which is found in large quantities in buckwheat.

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What if the child does not eat porridge?

Porridges for children are very useful, but, unfortunately, not all children like to eat them. Refusal of the proposed dish can occur if the crumb did not like the taste or consistency.

If the baby refuses to eat the mixture, you can put in them pieces of fruit, berries, honey or jam (if there is no allergy).

Most toddlers do not like too thick gruel, so you can pour more water during cooking to get a more fluid consistency, if you want, you can use a blender.

Some mothers resort to cunning and say that at the bottom of the plate lies a candy (a cookie, an apple or another favorite dessert of the baby), but to get it, you have to eat everything that is in the plate. You can also make a drawing of jam, for example, paint a sun, a typewriter or a kitten.

If any tricks do not help, and your child continues to refuse the mixtures, you can prepare other dishes from cereals, for example, bits, pies, casseroles, etc.

Porridges for children have undoubted benefits. The growing crumb gets most of the necessary nutrients and vitamins with just one serving of gruel. It is recommended to introduce cereals into the children's menu about half a year and best if they become an integral part of baby food, up to the senior school age.

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